Join the IJC Commissioners at an earlier time for the official kick-off of the 1999 Great Lakes Water Quality Forum. Originally scheduled at 7 p.m., the Ceremony will now begin at 5:30 p.m.
The International Joint Commission welcomes distinguished speakers:
Also joining the IJC on Friday evening will be John Norquist, Mayor of Milwaukee and a member of the Bad River Band of Chippewa Indians of Lake Superior to give a Traditional Native American Blessing.
A Great Lakes Gathering
Come one, come all to this evening kick-off reception. After the opening ceremony, come and visit with old friends and acquaintances from across the Great Lakes basin and meet new ones who share your interests and concerns. Desserts, coffee and a cash bar will be provided in the Great Lakes Environmental Expo.
Frank Lyons, Regional Administrator, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 5; and John Mills, Regional Director General, Ontario Region, Environment Canada will lead the presentation on programs and progress on both the domestic and binational fronts under the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement. A question and answer session will follow.
A Saturday evening dinner is planned outside on the Lake Michigan water front at the Wisconsin Lake Schooner. The theme of the evening is Everything Great about the Great Lakes. The Wisconsin Lake Schooner is the first Tall Ship built in more than 100 years and will be used as an environmental steward to re-acquaint the community near and far with our most valuable natural resource, the Great Lakes. You will be transported to shore-side tents where you can partake in a dinner of fresh Lake Michigan fish or other various specialties. Relax and enjoy songs of the Great Lakes performed by local entertainers and tour the shipyard. Dress casual and dress for the weather.
The dinner is open to all Biennial Forum participants at a cost of $25.00. Tickets can be purchased in advanced with registration.
This is your opportunity to be heard by Commissioners and to speak before government representatives and your peers. Remarks will be limited to 3 minutes and will be heard on a first come first serve basis. Speakers are encouraged to submit written testimony in advance, along with a short summary that may be placed on the Internet. Click here to view submitted comments.
Please join the Commissioners for the conclusion of the 1999 Biennial Forum on Great Lakes Water Quality. A closing presentation is planned to moderate a thought provoking and entertaining conclusion to the 1999 Great Lakes Water Quality Forum. Tentatively scheduled, electronic polling will provide immediate tabulation and reporting of your opinions on Great Lakes environmental issues.
The IJC Commissioners will detail their schedule and procedure to conclude their biennial review of progress toward fulfilling the promise of the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, culminating in specific advice to governments in their 10th Biennial Report on Great Lakes Water Quality. In addition, Commissioners will provide a look at how the Commission and the Great Lakes community can more effectively deal with environmental issues as we enter the 21st century and provide insight on recent references received from the Canadian and U.S. governments including water exports from the Great Lakes basin.
This pre-forum symposium will explore the human health and other related benefits of preparing and implementing Remedial Action Plans and Lakewide Management Plans. The purpose is to enhance restoration and management initiatives as the key to achieving progress under the Agreement through integrating information on the effects of persistent toxic substances on human health with the data on sources and the technology for cleanup; and considering the benefits of Agreement implementation.
This is a pre-forum symposium and requires a $20 dollar registration fee. Please see the registration form on page 7 to attend. Lunch is included.
The agenda for the symposium (below) includes a presentation by Kristan Aronson of Queens University, Kingston, Ontario on breast cancer risk and organochlorines. Through this presentation and others, participants can begin to examine evidence related to questions such as "Is there a linkage between environmental exposure to PCBs through the consumption of Great Lakes fish and the incidence of breast cancer?"
The focus of this pre-forum workshop will be on the development of policies and institutional structures for dealing with the invasion of exotic species. While other forums have discussed the marine biology and ecosystem effects of invasions, or the marine engineering and industrial technology of prevention and control measures, this day-long workshop will focus on the politics and law of the problem. Academic analysts from fields of political science, law, economics, sociology and history will contribute their thoughts along with senior policy advisers, program managers, industry representatives and sport fishing representatives to explore the options presented. Agenda and Whitepaper.
Although this special session is by invitation only, participants will be providing a public session on Sunday morning regarding the outcome of this workshop.
Annex 13, Pollution From Non-Point Sources, in the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement calls for the reduction of non-point pollution sources from land use activities in the Great Lakes system. The methods for achieving this goal call for developing and implementing total watershed management plans and changing land use patterns and land management practices in the basin. This workshop will provide the necessary tools and drive to move closer to this goal. Agenda and speakers
This session gives city and county officials and the public a chance to meet with like-minded peers from across the region. The growth of urban and suburban areas is leading to an increase in impervious surfaces and a related slowing of reversal of water quality in local streams and rivers as well as the Great Lakes. Officials and the public are invited to come interact, discuss and brainstorm issues related to sprawl and water resource management. The goal is to arrive at solutions that optimize development and preservation in order to maintain the character of communities while protecting habitat and water quality and reducing the threat of floods. Agenda and Speakers
In 1997, the IJC created an expert task force to investigate the feasibility of implementing a suite of environmental indicators to measure progress under the Agreement. The task force is preparing, in collaboration with SOLEC, to identify those desired outcomes and indicators, which are supported by adequate monitoring data, to be recommended for implementation. Discussion will focus on three key desired outcomes for the Great Lakes: swimmability, fishability and drinkability. Agenda and Speakers
Over time, the water levels (elevations) of the Great Lakes vary considerably. High levels occur during periods of heavy precipitation: and lows during droughts. The range of these variations has been limited somewhat in the 20th century by control works constructed in the St Marys River between Lakes Superior and Huron and in the St Lawrence River, the outlet for Lake Ontario.
While differences in water level affect navigation, hydropower generation, recreational boating and shoreline erosion, these variations also have significant impacts on the natural systems of the Great Lakes. This workshop, sponsored by the International Joint Commission and co-sponsored by the Great Lakes Fishery Commission and the Great Lakes Commission will address the influence of water levels on the sustainability of Great Lakes aquatic and terrestrial habitat and mitigation measures that can be undertaken to ameliorate any negative impacts. Agenda and Speakers
The Great Lakes Binational Toxics Strategy was signed by Canada and the U.S. on April 7, 1997. A panel presentation will describe the Strategy and showcase positive results over the past 2½ years by Environment Canada, U.S. EPA, and their partners in terms of reduction, use elimination, prevention and partnerships. Facilitated discussion will ask for your advice and insight to identify additional opportunities to meet the Strategy's challenges and targets, develop advice to ensure that the Strategy remains on track, and provide perspective and advice to the IJC for use in preparing its 10th Biennial Report.
The Great Lakes Science Advisory Board, Great Lakes Water Quality Board, Council of Great Lakes Research Managers and the International Air Quality Advisory Board will all be hosting public meetings and discussing their work and projects over the last two years. Each Board will distribute its own 1997-1999 Priorities and Progress under the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, discuss its recommendations to the IJC and answer questions from participants.
This session will provide an overview of multinational programs and their progress towards the control of persistent toxics, at the North American and global levels. An outstanding panel of speakers will reflect a variety of perspectives on initiatives with important implications for the long-term success of Great Lakes programs. Dr. Peter Orris, Professor and Director of Research for the Great Lakes Center of Occupational and Environmental Safety and Health, University of Illinois School of Public Health, and Co-Chair of the IJC's Health Professionals Task Force, will lead this session with panelists Dr. John Buccini of Environment Canada, chair of the UN negotiations towards an international Legally Binding Instrument on controlling persistent organic pollutants (POPs); Dr. Vyvyan Howard, head of Research, Fetal and Infant Toxico-Pathology, University of Liverpool; and Dr. Andrew Hamilton, head of the Science Division for the Commission for Environmental Cooperation established under the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation amoung Canada, Mexico and the U.S. Werner Braun from the Council of Great Lakes Industries will be providing an industry perspective. Agenda and Speakers
Pesticides are in widespread use in the rural agricultural, suburban and urban environments. They are found on our foods, lawns and in our children's schools. Significant advances have been made to quantify, track and reduce their use. This session will explore and publicize a number of recent developments and give useful tips for parents, grounds keepers, and public officials. Agenda and Speakers
The Great Lakes Water Quality Board's Sediment Priority Action Committee will convene this session targeted at local stakeholders throughout the Great Lakes basin who are working to further sediment remediation and management. The session explores the complexities surrounding sediment management, share decision-making tools, present examples of ecological and economic benefits, and provide an opportunity to make recommendations on overcoming obstacles to sediment management for beneficial use restoration. Gail Krantzberg, Ontario Ministry of the Environment, and Kelly Burch, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection are committee members and will be presenting during the session. Agenda and Speakers
During this session, both persistent toxic substances, such as dioxin, cadmium and mercury, and criteria pollutants, such as ozone and fine particulates, will be considered. Complementing material presented in 1997-1999 Priority Report, the Air Board will demonstrate linkages of selected persistent toxics from sources and source regions hundreds and thousands of miles away to deposition in the Great Lakes Basin. The sources and effects of ozone and fine particulates on urban communities such as Milwaukee will also be examined. Agenda and Speakers
This session focuses on achieving the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement's call for virtual elimination by having Lake Superior as a demonstration zone for zero discharge. It will allow U.S. EPA, Environment Canada, Michigan, Minnesota, Ontario, Wisconsin and their partners in the First Nations and tribes, industry, municipalities, citizens and environmental groups to showcase positive results in terms of reduction, use elimination, prevention and partnerships. Participants can provide advice, insight and perspective about the Binational Program for the benefit of all and ensure that the Binational Program continues to make progress. Information from this session will be used by the IJC in preparation of its 10th Biennial Report. Agenda and Speakers
Track the Lake Michigan sediment plume; follow the ups and downs of the perch population; learn the latest results of the Lake Michigan Mass Balance Study; and arrive at an understanding of how business and government can work together to reduce persistent toxic pollutants. Agenda and Speakers
This session focuses on two takeback initiatives in Europe for cars and electronic products. These initiatives stipulate 1) phaseout of a list of heavy metals and some halogenated materials; 2) achieving high material recycling rates without incineration; and 3) producer responsibility for the cost of waste management. Representatives from industry, government and ENGOs will explain in detail how the takeback programs will work. These will have direct repercussions on the North American car and electronic industry and demonstrate how a focus on products can achieve toxic use reduction in the Great Lakes. Agenda and Speakers
Mercury has been widely used in a wide range of commercial, consumer, medical and other applications. Recognizing its detrimental impact on human and ecosystem health, a concerted effort has been mounted to create community awareness and to reduce or eliminate uses. This session focuses on a number of practical initiatives that can be transferred to your own community. Agenda and Speakers
This workshop will present overviews of the fishery decline in the Great Lakes, the research that is underway to identify the causes of the decline, and research that needs to be conducted to assist in identification of causes and management options available to address it, both before and after definitive research is conducted. Agenda and Speakers
Researchers, decision makers, the general public and members of the media will all benefit and add to this session focusing on identifying research and communication needs, priorities, and improving regional information dissemination. Participants will be exposed to new tools and opportunities for collaboration in developing messages and making them more widely understood by a variety of audiences. All participants supporting Great Lakes renewal will gain training in message development and dissemination.