ANNEX 2 - REMEDIAL ACTION PLANS AND LAKEWIDE MANAGEMENT PLANS

  1. Definitions

    As used in this Annex:

    1. "Area of Concern" means a geographic area that fails to meet the General or Specific Objectives of the Agreement where such failure has caused or is likely to cause impairment of beneficial use or of the area's ability to support aquatic life.

    2. "Critical Pollutants" means substances that persist at levels that, singly or in synergistic or additive combination, are causing, or are likely to cause, impairment of beneficial uses despite past application of regulatory controls due to their:

      1. presence in open lake waters;

      2. ability to cause or contribute to a failure to meet Agreement objectives through their recognized threat to human health and aquatic life; or

      3. ability to bioaccumulate.

    3. "Impairment of beneficial use(s)" means a change in the chemical, physical or biological integrity of the Great Lakes System sufficient to cause any of the following:

      1. restrictions on fish and wildlife consumption;

      2. tainting of fish and wildlife flavour;

      3. degradation of fish wildlife populations;

      4. fish tumors or other deformities;

      5. bird or animal deformities or reproduction problems;

      6. degradation of benthos;

      7. restrictions on dredging activities;

      8. eutrophication or undesirable algae;

      9. restrictions on drinking water consumption, or taste and odour problems;

      10. beach closings;

      11. degradation of aesthetics;

      12. added costs to agriculture or industry;

      13. degradation of phytoplankton and zooplankton populations; and

      14. loss of fish and wildlife habitat.

    4. "Point Source Impact Zone" is defined as an area of water contiguous to a point source where the water quality does not comply with the General and Specific Objectives of this Agreement.

  2. General Principles

    1. Remedial Action Plans and Lakewide Management Plans shall embody a systematic and comprehensive ecosystem approach to restoring and protecting beneficial uses in Areas of Concern or in open lake waters.

    2. Such Plans shall provide a continuing historical record of the assessment of Areas of Concern or Critical Pollutants, proposed remedial actions and their method of implementation, as well as changes in environmental conditions that result from such actions, including significant milestones in restoring beneficial uses to Areas of Concern or open lake waters. They are to serve as an important step toward virtual elimination of persistent toxic substances and toward restoring and maintaining the chemical, physical and biological integrity of the Great Lakes Basin Ecosystem.

    3. The Parties, State and Provincial Governments, and the Commission have identified Areas of Concern and the development of the of Remedial Action Plans for them has begun. Furthermore, the Parties and State and Provincial Governments have begun developing lakewide strategies for Lakes Ontario and Michigan. By incorporating an Annex for Remedial Action Plans and Lakewide Management Plans in this Agreement, the Parties intend to endorse and build upon these existing efforts.

    4. Point source impact zones exist in the vicinity of some point source discharges. Pending the achievement of the virtual elimination of persistent toxic substances, the size of such zones shall be reduced to the maximum extent possible by the best available technology so as to limit the effects of toxic substances in the vicinity of these discharges. These zones shall not be acutely toxic to aquatic species, nor shall their recognition be considered a substitute for adequate treatment or control of discharges at their sources.

    5. The Parties, in cooperation with State and Provincial Governments, shall ensure that the public is consulted in all actions undertaken pursuant to this Annex.

  3. Designation of Areas of Concern

    4. The Parties, in cooperation with State and Provincial Governments and the Commission, shall designate geographic Areas of Concern. The Commission, in its evaluation role, shall review progress in addressing Areas of Concern, and recommend additional Areas of Concern for designation by each Party.

  4. Remedial Action Plans for Areas of Concern

    1. The Parties shall cooperate with State and Provincial Governments to ensure that Remedial Action Plans are developed and implemented for Areas of Concern. Each plan shall include:

      1. a definition and detailed description of the environmental problem in the Areas of Concern, including a definition of the beneficial uses that are impaired, the degree of impairment and the geographic extent of such impairment;

      2. a definition of the causes of the use impairment, including a description of all known sources of pollutants involved and an evaluation of other possible sources;

      3. an evaluation of remedial measures in place;

      4. an evaluation of alternative additional measures to restore beneficial uses;

      5. a selection of additional remedial measures to restore beneficial uses and a schedule for their implementation;

      6. an identification of the persons or agencies responsible for implementation of remedial measures;

      7. a process for evaluating remedial measure implementation and effectiveness; and

      8. a description of surveillance and monitoring processes to track the effectiveness of remedial measures and the eventual confirmation of the restoration of uses.

    2. The Parties, in cooperation with State and Provincial Governments, shall ensure that affected State and Provincial Governments not now covered by this Agreement will be involved in the development of such plans and consulted on their implementation.

    3. The Parties shall cooperate with State and Provincial Governments to classify Areas of Concern by their stage of restoration progressing from the definition of the problems and causes, through the selection of remedial measures, to the implementation of remedial programs, the monitoring of recovery, and, when identified beneficial uses are no longer impaired and the area restored, the removal of its designation as an Area of Concern.

    4. The Remedial Action Plans shall be submitted to the Commission for review and comment at three stages:

      1. when a definition of the problem has been completed under sub-paragraphs 4 (a) (i) and (ii);

      2. when remedial and regulatory measures are selected under sub-paragraphs 4 (a)(iii), (iv),(v) and (vi); and

      3. when monitoring indicates that identified beneficial uses have been restored under sub-paragraphs 4(a) (vii) and (viii).

  5. Designation of Critical Pollutants for the Development of Lakewide Management Plans

    6. The Parties, in cooperation with State and Provincial Governments and the Commission, shall designate Critical Pollutants for the boundary waters of the Great Lakes System or for a portion thereof. The Commission, in its evaluative role, shall review progress in addressing Critical Pollutants and recommend additional Critical Pollutants for designation by the Parties. Substances on List No. 1 under Annex 1 Supplement shall be considered for designation as Critical Pollutants.

  6. Lakewide Management Plans for Critical Pollutants

    1. The Parties, in consultation with State and Provincial Governments, shall develop and implement Lakewide Management Plans for open lake waters, except for Lake Michigan where the Government of the United States of America shall have that responsibility. Such Plans shall be designed to reduce loadings of Critical Pollutants in order to restore beneficial uses, Lakewide Management Plans shall not allow increases in pollutant loadings in areas where Specific Objectives are not exceeded.

      Such Plans shall include:

      1. a definition of the threat to human health or aquatic life posed by Critical Pollutants, singly or in synergistic or additive combinations with another substance, including their contribution to the impairment of beneficial uses;

      2. an evaluation of information available on concentration, sources, and pathways of the Critical Pollutants in the Great Lakes System, including all information on loadings of the Critical Pollutants from all sources, and an estimation of total loadings of the Critical Pollutants by modelling or other identified methods;

      3. steps to be taken pursuant to Article VI of this Agreement to develop the information necessary to determine the schedule of load reduction of Critical Pollutants that would result in meeting Agreement Objectives, including steps to develop the necessary standard approaches and agreed procedures;

      4. a determination of load reductions of Critical Pollutants necessary to meet Agreement Objectives;

      5. an evaluation of remedial measures presently in place, and alternative additional measures that could be applied to decrease loadings of Critical Pollutants;

      6. identification of the additional remedial measures that are need to achieve the reduction of loadings and to eliminate the contribution to impairment of beneficial uses from Critical Pollutants, including an implementation schedule;

      7. identification of the persons or agencies responsible for implementation of the remedial measures in question;

      8. a process for evaluating remedial measure implementation and effectiveness;

      9. a description of surveillance and monitoring to track the effectiveness of the remedial measures and the eventual elimination of the contribution to impairments of beneficial uses from the Critical Pollutants;

      10. a process for recognizing the absence of a Critical Pollutant in open lake waters.

    2. The Parties shall classify efforts to reduce Critical Pollutants by their stages of elimination progressing from the definition of the problem, through the selection of remedial measures, to the implementation of remedial programs, the monitoring of recovery, and the removal of designation as a Critical Pollutant when it is no longer likely to cause, singly or in synergistic or additive combination with another substance, impairment of identified beneficial uses.

    3. Lakewide Management Plans shall be submitted to the Commission for review and comment at four stages;

      1. When a definition of the problem has been completed under sub-paragraphs 6 (a)(i), (ii) and (iii);

      2. When the schedule of load reductions is determined under sub-paragraph 6(a) (iv);

      3. When remedial measures are selected under sub-paragraph 6 (a)(v), (vi) and (vii); and

      4. When monitoring indicates that the contribution of the Critical Pollutants to impairment of identified beneficial uses has been eliminated under sub-paragraphs 6(a)(viii) and (ix)

  7. Reporting Progress

    1. Point Source Impact Zones that are associated with direct significant discharges of industrial and municipal wastes shall be identified delineated and reported to the Commission beginning September 30, 1989. They shall be reviewed biennially and their

    2. limits revised to achieve the maximum possible reduction in size and effect in accordance with improvements in waste treatment technology and consistent with the policy of virtual elimination of persistent toxic substances.

    3. The Parties shall report, by December 31, 1988, and biennially thereafter, to the Commission on the progress in developing and implementing the Remedial Action Plans and Lakewide Management Plans and in restoring beneficial uses. Information from these reports shall be included in the Commission's biennial report under paragraph 3 of Article VII.