A Guide to the GLWQA >

Summary of the Agreement

The current Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement is a lengthy document, describing in great detail the programs and other activities the governments intend to carry out to restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the waters of the Great Lakes Basin Ecosystem. Policy goals, major commitments, and organizational and procedural matters are contained in the body of the Agreement. Most detailed program descriptions, schedules and reporting arrangements are contained in Agreement annexes, which are integral parts of the Agreement. A brief summary of the articles and annexes follows; the full text of the Agreement can be found on the Commission's website: http://www.ijc.org/en/activities/consultations/
glwqa/agreement.php.

Annexes
Articles

Summary of Agreement Articles

Article I provides definitions of the terms used in the Agreement. It is in this article that it defines the Great Lakes Basin Ecosystem as "the interacting components of air, land, water and living organisms, including humans, within the drainage basin of the St. Lawrence River at or upstream from the point at which this river becomes the international boundary between Canada and the United States."

Article II defines the purpose of the Agreement, which is to restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the waters of the Great Lakes Basin Ecosystem.

Article III outlines the general objectives for the Great Lakes system. The Great Lakes system is defined as all streams, rivers, lakes and other water bodies within the drainage basin up to the St. Lawrence River, at or upstream from the point at which this river becomes the international boundary between Canada and the United States. The general objectives state that these waters should be free from, as a result of human activity,

• substances that settle to form objectionable sludge deposits or adversely affect aquatic life or waterfowl;
• floating materials such as debris, oil, or scum in amounts that are unsightly or deleterious;
• heat material that produces color, odor, or taste that interferes with beneficial uses;
• materials and heat that produce harmful or toxic conditions to human, animal, or aquatic life; and
• nutrients in amounts that create growths of aquatic life, which interfere with beneficial uses.

Article IV outlines the adoption of specific objectives for the boundary waters of the Great Lakes system, and notes that these objectives are detailed in Annex 1 of the Agreement.

Article V requires that the governments' water quality standards and other regulatory requirements be consistent with the achievement of the general and specific objectives of the Agreement, and commits the governments to use their best efforts to ensure that state and provincial requirements also meet these objectives.

Article VI details how the federal governments, in cooperation with state and provincial governments, will develop programs to address pollution from the following sources: municipal; industrial; agriculture, forestry and other land use activities; shipping; dredging; onshore and offshore facilities; airborne; contaminated sediment; and contaminated groundwater.

Article VII details how the International Joint Commission will assist in the Agreement's implementation and explains its responsibilities. The Commission is required to fully report to the federal, state and provincial governments at least every two years concerning progress toward the achievement of the Agreement's general and specific objectives, and of its annexes. The Commission also may submit a summary report in alternate years, and may at any time make special reports. All of the Commission's reports are to be distributed to the governments and to the public.

Article VIII outlines the makeup and responsibilities of the two boards that will advise the Commission. A Great Lakes Water Quality Board serves as the Commission's principal advisor, and a Great Lakes Science Advisory Board provides advice on research and all science matters to the Commission and the Water Quality Board. The Agreement creates a Great Lakes Regional Office, to be administered by the Commission, to provide administrative support and technical assistance to the two Boards, and to provide an information service for the programs undertaken by the Commission and the Boards. Terms of reference outlining the duties and functions of the two Boards and the Regional Office are appended to the Agreement.

Article IX details how the governments and the Commission should cooperate to exchange water quality information.

Article X explains the Agreement consultation and review process to be carried out between the governments, including consultations following the governments' receipt of Commission reports. The governments must meet twice a year to coordinate their respective work plans and to evaluate progress, and they must conduct a comprehensive review of the operations and effectiveness of the Agreement following every third Commission biennial report.

Article XI commits the governments to seek appropriate funds to implement the Agreement, enact additional necessary legislation, and cooperate with the Great Lakes state and provincial governments in all matters relating to the Agreement.

Article XII emphasizes that nothing in the Agreement diminishes the rights and obligations of the governments as set forth in the Boundary Waters Treaty.

Article XIII details how the Agreement, its annexes and terms of reference may be amended by the governments.

Article XIV notes that the Agreement shall enter into force upon signature by the duly authorized governmental representatives and remain in force for five years, and thereafter until terminated with twelve months' written notice by one government to the other.

Article XV explains how the 1978 Agreement supersedes the 1972 Agreement.

Summary of Agreement Annexes

Annex 1: Specific Objectives, includes the specific goals and objectives for persistent and non-persistent toxic substances, including pesticides, nutrients, metals and other organic and inorganic substances as well as pathogens and radionuclides.

Annex 2: Remedial Action Plans and Lakewide Management Plans, provides principles and procedures for the governments to use to restore beneficial uses in Areas of Concern and the open waters of the Great Lakes. This includes the development and implementation of Remedial Action Plans and Lakewide Management Plans, and the review of these plans at different stages by the International Joint Commission.

Annex 3: Control of Phosphorus, sets target loadings for phosphorus in each of the Great Lakes and describes the programs to be developed that will reduce the phosphorus inputs to the Great Lakes.

Annex 4: Discharge of Oil and Hazardous Polluting Substances from Vessels, requires the adoption of compatible regulations and programs to reduce discharges of oil and hazardous polluting substances. These include vessel design, construction and operation, and the training of personnel.

Annex 5: Discharge of Vessel Wastes, calls for the development of compatible regulations dealing with the discharge of garbage, sewage and wastewater from vessels.

Annex 6: Review of Pollution from Shipping Sources, requires ongoing review, consultation and analysis of a wide range of issues related to marine sources of pollution.

Annex 7: Dredging, establishes a committee under the Great Lakes Water Quality Board to review dredging practices and activities, with particular attention to wetlands threatened by dredged materials disposal activities.

Annex 8: Discharges from Onshore and Offshore Facilities, addresses discharges from onshore and offshore facilities, particularly those related to oil exploration, exploitation and transportation.

Annex 9: Joint Contingency Plan, directs the U.S. and Canadian Coast Guards to develop, amend and maintain a joint Canada-USA marine contingency plan to respond to pollution incidents in the Great Lakes.

Annex 10: Hazardous Polluting Substances, commits the governments to maintain and continually update a list of substances known to have toxic effects on aquatic and animal life and that have a risk of being discharged to the Great Lakes basin, and to develop and implement discharge prevention programs.

Annex 11: Surveillance and Monitoring, describes the activities to be undertaken to assess compliance with Agreement requirements, achieve goals and objectives, evaluate water quality trends, and identify emerging problems. This includes development of ecosystem health indicators.

Annex 12: Persistent Toxic Substances, outlines the governments' agreement to develop and adopt programs and measures to eliminate discharges of persistent toxic substances to the Great Lakes.

Annex 13: Pollution from Nonpoint Sources, specifies programs and measures to reduce nonpoint pollution from urban and rural land use activities, and commits the governments to develop and implement watershed management plans and to preserve and rehabilitate wetlands.

Annex 14: Contaminated Sediment, describes the governments' agreement to map, assess and manage contaminated sediments by establishing compatible criteria, evaluating methods to quantify transfer of contaminants from sediment to biota, and developing management procedures.

Annex 15: Airborne Toxic Substances, addresses research, surveillance and monitoring, modeling and pollution control measures related to atmospheric deposition of persistent toxic substances using data from sampling network stations.

Annex 16: Pollution from Contaminated Groundwater, commits the governments to mapping groundwater systems, assessing their quality, coordinating programs, controlling sources of contamination, and reporting progress on implementation.

Annex 17: Research and Development, delineates research needs to support the achievement of Agreement goals, and specifically details research related to cause/effect relationships; varying lake levels; sources, fate and effects of pollutants; non-native species introductions; and control of municipal and industrial wastes and effluents.

Next section >

Last update: