Volume 22, Issue 3, 1997 November/December 1997

The International Joint Commission welcomes new members whom it recently appointed to its boards and thanks those who have completed their service for the time and talent they contributed. Colonel Michael W. Pratt, commander and district engineer, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New England District succeeds Colonel Michael S. Meuleners on the International St. Croix River Board of Control. Brigadier General Hans A. Van Winkle, commander and division engineer, Great Lakes and Ohio River Division of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has been appointed to succeed Dwight A. Beranek as the co-chair of the International Niagara and St. Lawrence River Boards of Control, and as member of the International Lake Superior Board of Control. Colonel James Hougnon, commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Great Lakes Regional Office was appointed as an alternate and will act on behalf of General Van Winkle when necessary. James T. Bernier, chief administrative officer with Bernier Carr & Associates was appointed to the International St. Lawrence River Board of Control replacing John Spence. David Ullrich, acting Region 5 administrator, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has been appointed as the U.S. co-chair of the Great Lakes Water Quality Board, replacing Val Adamkus who recently retired (see following item). Harvey Shear, regional science officer for Environment Canada's Ontario Region was appointed Canadian co-chair of the Council of Great Lakes Research Managers. Christopher Goddard, executive secretary, Great Lakes Fishery Commission was appointed as a member to the council. Michael Goffin, director for Great Lakes and Corporate Affairs, Environment Canada has been appointed to the Great Lakes Water Quality Board. Simon Llewellyn resigned his positions on both the Water Quality Board, and as co-chair of the International Rainy River Water Pollution Board. Ron Shimizu, acting regional director, Environmental Conservation Branch of Environment Canada's Ontario Region replaces Llewellyn as Canadian co-chair to the Rainy River Board. Dwight Williamson has been appointed to the Red River Pollution Board replacing long-term and retiring member Max Morelli. Colonel James M. Rigsby, commander and district engineer for the Seattle District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers succeeds Colonel Donald T. Wynn as the U.S. co-chair, International Kootenay Board of Control and member of the International Osoyoos Lake Board of Control.

La Commission mixte internationale accueille de nouveaux membres qu'elle a récemment nommés à son conseil d'administration et remercie ceux qui ont achevé leur service pour le temps et le talent qu'ils lui ont consacrés. Le colonel Michael W. Pratt, commandant et ingénieur de division, Génie militaire des É.-U., District de la Nouvelle-Angleterre, remplace le colonel Michael S. Meuleners en tant que membre américain du Conseil international de contrôle de la rivière Sainte-Croix. Le brigadier-général Hans A. Van Winkle, commandant et ingénieur de division, Division des Grands Lacs et de la rivière Ohio, Génie militaire des É.-U., a été nommé pour remplacer Dwight A. Beranek en tant que coprésident des conseils de contrôle de la rivière Niagara et du fleuve Saint-Laurent, et en tant que membre du Conseil international de contrôle du lac Supérieur. Le colonel James Hougnon a été nommé suppléant du brigadier-général Van Winkle. James T. Bernier, administrateur principal de Bernier Carr & Associates, a été nommé membre américain du Conseil international de contrôle du fleuve Saint-Laurent en remplacement de John Spence. M. David Ullrich, administrateur régional provisoire, Agence américaine de protection de l'environnement, Région 5, a été nommé coprésident américain du Conseil de la qualité de l'eau des Grands Lacs pour remplacer Val Adamkus, qui a récemment démissionné. Harvey Shear, agent scientifique régional, Région de l'Ontario, Environnement Canada, a été nommé coprésident du Conseil des gestionnaires de la recherche des Grands Lacs. Michael Goffin, directeur, Grands Lacs et Affaires ministérielles, Environnement Canada, a été nommé au Conseil de la qualité de l'eau des Grands Lacs. Simon Llewellyn a démissionné avec regret de son poste au Conseil de la qualité de l'eau des Grands Lacs et en tant que coprésident du Conseil de lutte contre la pollution de la rivière à la Pluie. M. Ron Shimizu remplace M. Llewellyn en tant que coprésident du Conseil de lutte contre la pollution de la rivière à la Pluie. Dwight Williamson a été nommé membre du Conseil de lutte contre la pollution de la rivière Rouge pour remplacer Max Morelli, membre de longue date, démissionnaire. Le colonel James M. Rigsby, commandant et ingénieur de district, District de Seattle, Génie militaire des É.-U., remplace le colonel Donald T. Wynn en tant que coprésident américain du Conseil international de contrôle de la rivière Kootenay et en tant que membre du Conseil international de contrôle du lac Osoyoos.

Former Co-chair Valdas V. Adamkus was recognized for his long-term dedication by fellow members of the International Joint Commission's Great Lakes Water Quality Board during the celebration of the 25^th anniversary of the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement in Niagara Falls, NY. As the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (U.S. EPA) Region 5 Administrator since 1981, Adamkus was responsible for all of the agency's air, water, hazardous waste and other pollution control programs in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin, as well as managing U.S. EPA's Great Lakes National Program.

Adamkus served as deputy regional administrator from 1971-1981 and was frequently called to represent U.S. EPA on environmental missions in the Soviet Union and eastern European countries. In 1974, he was the first U.S. EPA representative to be invited on a lecture tour in the Soviet Union, and in the following year, he was invited to serve as advisor to the United Nations World Health Organization. Adamkus is fluent in five languages: English, Lithuanian, Polish, Russian and German.

In 1985, President Ronald Reagan presented him with the distinguished Executive Presidential Rank Award, the highest honor that can be bestowed upon a civil servant. Adamkus also holds U.S. EPA's highest award, the Gold Medal For Exceptional Service.

The IJC again wishes to publically acknowledge Adamkus' dedication to the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement's principles and his understanding of its strengths. For this, the IJC and the Great Lakes community are truly thankful. Good Luck Val!

Thomas Behlen was appointed director of the International Joint Commission's (IJC) Great Lakes Regional Office in Windsor and began his term on October 27, 1997.

Behlen comes to the IJC from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (Ohio EPA) where he served as chief of its Division of Surface Water since 1994. As chief, he represented Ohio EPA's director on the IJC's Great Lakes Water Quality Board, Council of Great Lakes Governor's Great Lakes Initiative Work Group, and the Ohio Lake Erie Commission. Behlen was also on the Board of Directors for the Association of State and Interstate Water Pollution Control Administrators and served on the state-U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Water Operations Committee.

Prior to his work at Ohio EPA, Behlen was an assistant city attorney for Columbus, Ohio representing the city on utilities, development and health issues regarding the environment and public nuisance.

Behlen has a bachelor of science degree in biology from Yale University and a law degree from Capital University. He is originally from Rocky River, Ohio on the shores of Lake Erie near Cleveland.

In recognition of his distinguished contribution to international law, Leonard Legault, chair of the International Joint Commission's Canadian Section, was recently awarded the John E. Read medal by the Canadian Council of International Law. Legault is a career diplomat who has served in many senior assignments with the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade. He has been a member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration, ambassador for Canada in the Gulf of Maine fishery case and head of the Canadian Delegation to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights.

Commissioner Pierre Béland received the 1997 NAUI Environmental Award in recognition for his research on beluga whales, in the St. Lawrence River, that are highly contaminated with industrial and agricultural pollution. Based in California, NAUI is the National Association of Underwater Instructors, the largest scuba diving association in the world.

A prominent cause of environmental damage in the 1970s, mercury pollution is once again surfacing as a big issue. Although mercury is released naturally through processes such as volcanic activity and the weathering of rocks, so much mercury has been emitted to the atmosphere in North America from electrical power plants, waste incinerators and other key sources, that global atmospheric levels of this element have been increased by two to five times during the past century.

Taking Stock: North American Pollutant Releases and Transfers 1994, a new report prepared by the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC), calls for joint action by the three North American Free Trade Agreement countries to address the health and environmental problems caused by transboundary air pollution. Over 30 scientists from the United States, Canada, and Mexico collaborated to review the sources, pathways and effects of air pollution in North America.

Pollutants such as pesticides, ozone, particulate matter and mercury have been found to travel great distances through the air and to cross national boundaries. Once deposited on land or in water, some of these substances, such as mercury, bioaccumulate through food webs. Others, such as ozone and particulate matter, have been be linked to increased rates of chronic health problems and early mortality. U.S. air emissions of mercury are about 220 tonnes a year, compared to about 20 tonnes in Canada, according to the CEC. Most deposition of mercury in Canada is coming from sources outside its borders.

Direct discharges of mercury to the water made many fish unsafe to eat in the 1970s. Awareness of the problems caused by mercury subsided after control measures were put in place -- until recently. Toxic forms of mercury last a long time in the environment, where they can accumulate in the tissues of living creatures, including humans, and cause damage to the nervous system and the unborn. For a copy of the report, contact the Commission on Environmental Cooperation at (514)350-4300; fax (514)350-4314; email rvincent@ccemtl.org or on the World Wide Web at http://www.cec.org(.)

Canadian Environment Minister Christine Stewart recently released a study detailing how the benefits to human health and the economy of the Montreal Protocol's ozone-depleting substances control measures will far exceed the costs industry is bearing to meet those choices. The Right Choice at the Right Time projects, by the middle of the next century, a significant reduction worldwide in cases of cancer caused by excessive ultraviolet radiation and economic benefits totaling $459 billion (CAD) compared to overall costs of $235 billion (CAD). Ozone levels in the upper atmosphere were estimated to return to near normal by about the year 2050-2060 because of control measures in place to reduce and eliminate the release of ozone-depleting substances such as CFCs.

It concludes that because of the Protocol efforts, approximately 19 million fewer cases of nonmelanoma skin cancer will occur worldwide, as well as significantly fewer cases of melanoma skin cancer, cataracts and skin cancer related deaths. Fisheries, agricultural, forestry and building sectors also will benefit from reduced exposure to ultraviolet radiation. Costs to comply with the Protocol's controls over the same period are estimated to be lower than previously expected because of technological breakthroughs leading to alternatives that are cheaper than the ozone-depleting substances they replace.

The study was released at the United Nations meeting in Montreal marking the 10^th Anniversary of the Montreal Protocol. In 1987, the Montreal Protocol was the first International treaty to protect the atmosphere from human impacts. For more information, or to request a copy of the report, contact Environment Canada's Jim Armstrong (819)953-5375; Denis Langlois (819)953-1878; or Montreal Protocol Media Centre (514)393-9654.

Ontario municipalities are "turning on" to a new cost-saving technique. A project to reduce energy used in removing pollutants from sewage is being expanded across Ontario. The municipalities of Paris, Cobourg, Desoronto, Elmvale and Carelton Place are implementing a new technique known as "on-off aeration." Currently, many sewage treatment plants pump air through the sewage to stimulate treatment processes that help reduce organic pollutants and ammonia. This aeration represents the bulk of a sewage treatment plant's energy costs. To cut these costs, "on-off aeration" involves pumping air through sewage only at strategic periods rather than continuously.

"This project cut energy costs by 25 percent at the pilot study in Tillsonburg," says project manager Dr. Richard Jones, "while maintaining previous levels of ammonia removal." Environment Canada's Great Lakes 2000 Cleanup Fund (GLCUF) and the Ontario Ministry of Environment have agreed to expand the project. Information from the five new test sites will be used in a guidance manual.

Thirty percent of Ontario's 200 sewage treatment plants could benefit from this technique," says Ms. Sandra Kok of GLCUF. "These types of plants are not unique to Ontario and I believe on-off aeration is applicable to all of North America." The initial experiment at the Tillsonburg sewage treatment plant took place between July 1995 and March 1996. The on-off aeration manual is slated for release in late 1998.

For more information, contact Sandra Kok, Great Lakes 2000 Cleanup Fund, Canada Centre for Inland Waters, 867 Lakeshore Road, Burlington, ON L7R 4A6. (905)336-6281; email Sandra.Kok@EC.GC.CA(.)

Revised: 24 December 1997
Maintained by Kevin McGunagle, mcgunaglek@ijc.wincom.net