Amending the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement

Background

The Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement (GLWQA), first signed in 1972, revised in 1978 and amended by protocol in 1987, expresses the commitment of Canada and the United States to restore and maintain the chemical, physical and biological integrity of the Great Lakes basin ecosystem, and includes a number of objectives and guidelines to achieve these goals. The Agreement reaffirms the rights and obligation of Canada and the United States under the Boundary Waters Treaty.

In 2007, the governments of Canada and the United States completed a comprehensive public review of the operation and effectiveness of the current Agreement (the results of which are documented in Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement Review 2007: Final Agreement Review Report). The key outcome of the public review was that, while there have been many successes; the GLWQA is outdated and unable to address current threats to Great Lakes water quality.

Recognizing that the GLWQA is out of date, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lawrence Cannon and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced on June 13, 2009, at the Boundary Waters Treaty Centennial Celebration in Niagara Falls, that the two countries would begin negotiations to amend the Agreement.

Negotiations of amendments to the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement formally commenced on January 27, 2010

On April 8, 2010, senior officials from Environment Canada, Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada, the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency met for the second formal negotiating session for amending the GLWQA.

Plenary 2 update April 16, 2010

On January 27, 2010, senior officials from Environment Canada, Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada, the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency successfully concluded the first formal negotiating session for amending the Canada-United States Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement. A summary of the meeting is provided in the following documents.

Plenary 1 update February 16, 2010

Binational Public Engagement Process

The Governments of Canada and the United States (the Parties) will be hosting two binational public forums, one in Canada and one in the United States, and a Webinar to review significant changes being contemplated for an amended Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement. The first forum will be held on September 8, 2011 in Toronto, Ontario and the second forum will be held on September 13, 2011 in Chicago, Illinois. A Webinar will also be held on September 13, 2011. In addition, written comments will be accepted through e-mail to Environment Canada (glwqa-aqegl@ec.gc.ca) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (glwqa@glnpo.net) until September 20, 2011.

For further information on the forums, webinar and how to submit your comments:

Binational Public Engagement for the Negotiations to Amend the GLWQA

Additional Information

GLWQA Review Reports:

IJC Reports:

Synthesis of Public Comment on the Forthcoming Review by the Federal Governments of Canada and the United States of the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement: A Report to the Governments of the United States and Canada (PDF) (84 pp, 4.46MB) January 2006
Advice to Governments on their Review of the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement: A Special Report to the Governments of Canada and the United States (PDF) (41 pp, 1.46MB) August 2006
13th Biennial Report on Great Lakes Water Quality (PDF) (28 pp, 571K) December 2006

For further information, please contact:

James Schardt
USEPA-Great Lakes National Program Office
P: 312 353-5085
schardt.james@epa.gov

Great Lakes Environment Office
Environment Canada - Ontario
P: 416-739-4826
glwqa-aqegl@ec.gc.ca

For technical difficulties with this website, please contact:

Pranas Pranckevicius
USEPA-Great Lakes National Program Office
P: 312 353-3437
pranckevicius.pranas@epa.gov