Annex 2: Great Lakes Areas of Concern
and Remedial Action Plans

Great Lakes Areas of Concern (AOCs) are severely degraded geographic areas within the Great Lakes basin. They are defined by Annex 2 of the 1987 Protocol to the U.S.-Canada Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement as "geographic areas that fail to meet the general or specific objectives of the Agreement where such failure has caused or is likely to cause impairment of beneficial use of the area's ability to support aquatic life."

The U.S. and Canadian governments identified 43 such areas including 26 in U.S. waters, 12 in Canadian waters, and five binational sites shared between the U.S. and Canada on connecting river systems (the Niagara River and St. Lawrence River AOCs each have a U.S. and Canadian Remedial Action Plans).

Two AOCs, both in Ontario, Canada, have been formally delisted: Collingwood Harbour and Severn Sound. The governments have also designated Spanish Harbour and Presque Isle Bay as "areas of recovery" where remaining beneficial uses will be restored through natural recovery rather than further remedial actions.

The Agreement directs the two federal governments to cooperate with state and provincial governments to develop and implement Remedial Action Plans (RAPs) for each Area of Concern. The RAPs identify specific problems and describe methods to correct them. They are typically compiled by a state or provincial department in charge of natural resources, signed by the secretary or minister of that department, and submitted to the International Joint Commission for comment. Advisory committees, comprised of local stakeholders, are involved in the development of the RAPs.

The Agreement requires each RAP take an ecosystem approach to restoring and protecting beneficial uses in each AOC. A RAP also must include problem identification, steps to solve these problems that include determination of responsible parties, a timetable for action, and documentation that problems are resolved.

Because each AOC is faced with different environmental problems, each RAP is unique in its approaches to restore impaired beneficial uses and to identify the options for remediation. The goal of the RAPs is to accurately reflect the environmental conditions, encompass the concerns of all stakeholders, and secure a clear commitment for full implementation.