WPCy  F& S^zyo[ ٖRs1ӎdOC ᲽO\ E.O'=L rAF6E4mi9̼t FL' z{[F8-+Yd*|QbKVƿ !%@ؕe?zn2-EaXʤTk!#w]I*>ɧ]ލ*!IU5!OgC3R\04X,ǘ"?vkkӰP-)^ghP-{߳_$E͎|p8 5#!UN %U 0([w@4 m 0eN2^ 4UN@U@ B 0N 0@9 HP LaserJet 4L,,,,,,0xhH  Z6Times New Roman RegularX($ VDEVDDU erh(G:\USERSJ3|x U 1, 2, 3,Level 1Level 2Level 3Level 4Level 54#)2Quick 1.   .0  0,((9 Z6Times New Roman Regular(C Z(Times New Roman  d>$"Small Circle"0  2b$Square0 !  _XTRX3'LetterheadX3' Letter3' Letter3'TMEDIARELEASEJuly26th,2000For Immiediate  Immediate Release L     `     ` 0   (# (#   DXX_IJC_ԀAdvisesU.S.AndCanadianFederalGovernmentsThatGreaterEffortsAre  L  NeededorGreatLakesAgreementMayFail#XblXD#   L    ItisclearthatunlesstheUnitedStatesandCanadiangovernmentstaketheactionstheCommissionnowrecommends,theywillfailtoachievethepurposetheysetforthemselvesin1978(undertheGreatLakesWaterQualityAgreement)torestoreandmaintainthechemical,physical,andbiologicalintegrityofthewatersoftheGreatLakesBasinEcosystem,saystheInternationalJointCommissioninitsTenthBiennialReportonGreatLakesWaterQualityreleasedtoday.   &]%XXbl HumanhealthconcernsfromeatingcontaminatedGreatLakesfish,cleanupofcontaminatedsediment,airdepositionofpersistenttoxicsubstances,urbanlanduse,andmonitoringandinformationneedsarecitedasmajorconcernsinthenewreport. ThepowerofthevisioncapturedintheAgreementhasnotbeenreflectedinthetwogovernmentsimplementationefforts.Althoughprogresshasbeenmade,Governmentshavenotcommittedadequatefundingor,(moreimportantly,)takenthedecisiveactionsrequired...toensurethatthecitizensofbothcountriescansafelyswimin,drinkwaterandeatfishfromtheGreatLakes,the_IJC_Ԁsays.   InitsTenthBiennialReportonGreatLakesWaterQuality,the_IJC_Ԁmakesdirectrecommendationsregarding  thefollowingconcerns:#XblX%&]#&]%XXbl ContaminatedSportFish: &]%%&]Provincialandstategovernmentsshouldrequirethatsportfishconsumption  p advisoriesstateplainlythateatingGreatLakessportfishmayleadtobirthanomaliesandotherserioushealthproblemsforchildrenandwomenofchildbearingage.Theseadvisoriesneedtobeaddressedanddistributeddirectlytowomen,andtheyneedtoclearlyidentifyfishtobetotallyavoidedinthelightoftheprecautionaryapproach.#&]%%&] #    ContaminatedSediment: &]%%&]Sediment_remediation_Ԁisalargescale,highcostproblemthroughouttheGreatLakes L"! basin.Federal,provincial,andstategovernmentsshouldimmediatelydevelopacomprehensiveprogram,settingprioritiesandtimetablesandprovidingtheresourcesforcompletionof_remediation_ԀineachAreaofConcern#&]%%&] #. $X#  AirborneToxicSubstances: &]%%&]Thefederalgovernmentsshouldidentifybothinbasinandoutofbasinsources %!% ofatmosphericdepositionofpersistenttoxicsubstances,andusethisinformationtoformulateandimplementappropriatepreventionandcontrolmeasures.TheGreatLakesBinational_Toxics_ԀStrategymustbestrengthenedtoaddressfullytheissueofairbornetoxicsubstances.0    X(#( _#&]%%&]## Urbanization: Theimpervioussurfacesofcities,townsandsuburbsincreaserunoff,whichcancontain  nutrients,pathogens,sediment,industrialchemicalsandpesticidesintowaterways.Theincreasedrunoffcanexacerbateerosion,floodingandthreatengroundwater.Althoughmeasureshavebeentakeninspecificlocations,governmentsatalllevelshavetogiveadequateattentiontotheissueofurbansprawl.   p  AlienInvasiveSpecies: Thesespecies,suchaszebramussels,aremostoftenintroducedthroughtherelease  ( ofballastwaterfromships.&j %%&#X‚ X %&j) #Thefederalgovernmentsshouldadoptandimplementabinationalballast   waterresearchstrategy,andasktheCommissiontodevelopbinationalstandardsfordischargesofballastwaterandthemostappropriatemethodsforimplementingthosestandards.#XX XX‚`#&%XX     MonitoringandInformationManagement: &j %%&#X‚ X %&j#Federal,provincialandstategovernments#XX XX‚7#X‚ XXXshoulddevelop `  andmaintainthefullrangeofcoordinatedmonitoringandsurveillanceprogramsnecessarytoenablethemtofulfilltheircommitmentsundertheGreatLakesWaterQualityAgreement,andadoptabinationalinformationpolicytosupportimplementationoftheGreatLakesWaterQualityAgreement.#XX XX‚#&%XX  p  TheInternationalJointCommissionisabinationalCanadaUnitedStatesorganizationestablishedbythe1909BoundaryWatersTreatytoassistthegovernmentsinpreventingdisputesrelatedtoboundarywatersalong  theU.S./Canadianborder.TheCommissionsreportisissuedbienniallyasrequiredbytheGreatLakesWaterQualityAgreement.#XX%&O#W Contacts:  L X‚ XXXCFUS.,_Windsor_/_Detroit_:0 _Jennifer_Ԁ_Day_Ԁ0 (# (#0(#(#5192576733_or_Ԁ3132262170_ext_.6t7733<(#(# _Washington_,_D.C._:0 _Frank_Ԁ_Bevacqua_Ԁ0 (# (#2027369024,|(#(# _Ottawa_,_ON_:0 ` 0 ` (#` (#_Fabien_Ԁ_Lengell_0 (# (#0(#(#61399500880(#(##XX XX‚U#US.,CF, t