Under the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, Canada and the United States have agreed to identify chemicals of mutual concern (CMC) and develop strategies to reduce their release into the waters of the Great Lakes.
Canada and the United States have completed the screening of the nomination of sulfates as a possible CMC.
Canada and the United States have determined that no additional binational action for sulfates under Annex 3 is warranted at this time based on the criteria-based screening of sulfates, which concluded that:
- Sulfates are a localized issue on the U.S. side of the Lake Superior basin;
- Sulfate does not have transboundary, lake-wide or multi-lake impacts;
- There is no evidence to suggest sulfate is persistent or bioaccumulative;
- The Great Lakes environment is not a significant source of exposure to humans or wildlife; and
- Programs and management actions to address sulfate are in place at multiple levels of government.
Domestically, there are ongoing and planned research and management efforts at the federal and state level to address sulfates on the U.S. side of the Lake Superior basin.