IJC Disappointed in Slow Great Lakes Clean-up Progress

by Herb Gray and Dennis Schornack

In 1972 Canada and the United States signed the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement and pledged to restore the Great Lakes ecosystem to physical, chemical, and biological health and maintain this shared but threatened environmental treasure for future generations. This Agreement demonstrates that two neighbouring nations could make a visionary commitment. Progress has been made; however, we believe that achievement of the needed restoration has been slow and that too many challenges remain.

In our just-released Eleventh Biennial Report to the two governments, the International Joint Commission highlights three critical issues our two nations must address in order to restore this world-class ecosystem: cleaning up sediment contaminated with toxic substances, preventing further introductions of alien invasive species, and improving the monitoring and reporting of ecosystem health, especially through the use of understandable ecological "indicators."

Our Eleventh Biennial report warns that research continues to show toxic substances in parts of the Great Lakes ecosystem can injure human health and that the primary pathway for exposure is the consumption of fish.

Toxic substances, ranging from pesticides to heavy metals to PCBs, that contaminate the Great Lakes ecosystem, threaten human health, particularly that of children exposed in the womb to chemicals ingested by their mothers through contaminated fish. In a special 1987 amendment, or protocol, to the Agreement the two nations agreed to attack the problem of highly polluted locations in a structured manner. Forty-three Areas of Concern were designated, with the understanding that each country would develop Remedial Action Plans (RAPs) to clean up and restore these areas to health. But progress has been slow, hampered by woefully inadequate funding, a lack of leadership for RAP implementation, and in many cases, the sheer size of the problem - the Areas of Concern contain millions of cubic meters of contaminated sediment. We have often seen decades pass before remedial action is taken, even while research showing subtle but persistent human health injuries from eating contaminated fish, as well as impacts on fish, wildlife, and the ecosystem continue. Fifteen years of experience has proven that the current regulatory focus and funding is inadequate, and that the governments need to do far more.

Alien invasive species, transferred, usually unwittingly from foreign ecosystems, have shown they can thrive in the Great Lakes, unhindered by any natural controls, such as predators they might confront in native ecosystems. Exploding zebra mussel populations, for instance, have caused millions of dollars of damage to water structures and great ecological harm, and they are only one of 160 non-indigenous species now inhabiting the system. A real risk remains that the next alien species entering the Lakes could cause even greater damage. The U.S. and Canada have responded by developing regulations and procedures surrounding ballast water discharge from ships entering the ecosystem through the St. Lawrence River, because ballast water is the primary source of the threat. But risks remain because the majority of ships entering the Great Lakes system can legally claim "no ballast on board," but still harbour alien species in virtually empty ballast tanks, or in the bio-films contaminating hulls or anchor chains. In light of the high risk, we believe our two national governments must urgently take more aggressive steps to prevent future alien species introductions, including new rules and programs to assure that "no ballast on board" ships do not contaminate our waters.

Finally, using measures of "Drinkability," "Swimability," and "Fishability," it becomes clear that while the Great Lakes remain a good source of treatable drinking water, some areas remain unsafe for swimming and, in all of the five lakes, many fish are subject to restrictions on the quantity that may be eaten. These broad indicators of ecosystem health will help policy makers and the public track changes in environmental quality and allow regulatory agencies to report on them meaningfully. Because so many uncertainties about the ecological state of the lakes remain, funding for research and monitoring, using a variety of indicators, both broad and finely focused, needs to be increased.

The Great Lakes Quality Agreement continues to stand out as a beacon to guide stewardship of this magnificent ecosystem. The benefits of investing in the largest freshwater ecosystem on earth clearly are compelling: our health, our economy and our environment will all profit. Therefore, we call on the governments to intensify their work and their investments to protect our shared, unique, invaluable shared resource.

Herb Gray and Dennis Schornack are the Canadian and U.S. Chairs of the International Joint Commission