Under the Canada-U.S. Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, the Parties to the Agreement – the U.S. and Canadian Governments – conduct a review of the operation and effectiveness of the Agreement every nine years.
During the summer of 2024, the Parties sought early feedback on the review. In the fall of 2024, taking into consideration public and other input received, they determined the scope of the review would focus on assessing the timeliness and successful completion of past priority goals, called Binational Priorities for Science and Action (or “BPSAs”).
Binational Priorities for Science and Action
Binational priority-setting and domestic implementation occur on a three-year cycle under the Agreement. At the start of a cycle, the U.S. and Canadian governments formally establish BPSAs that address known water quality threats. These priorities are organized under 10 focus areas, which are the “Annexes” of the Agreement. This is followed by the implementation of domestic actions in support of those priorities. At the end of this cycle, a “Progress Report of the Parties” is published to document progress made over the past three years.
Review findings
The review was completed over the winter and spring of 2025. The review found that the governments have been developing BPSAs consistent with the approach described in the Agreement, and that the vast majority of BPSAs from 2014 to 2025 were successfully completed in a timely manner. The review also noted that when challenges arose in implementing a BPSA, the countries continued to engage in discussions and share updates on policies and progress as a practical means of managing these situations. No significant impacts to Great Lakes water quality were identified as a result of these challenges.
The review also identified two binational efforts that require additional attention to improve the operation and effectiveness of the Agreement: the publication of Lakewide Action and Management Plans, as described in Annex 2, and the identification and development of strategies for Chemicals of Mutual Concern, as described in Annex 3.
Lakewide Action and Management Plans (LAMPs) are five-year ecosystem-based strategies for restoring and protecting the water quality of each of the Great Lakes. These plans are developed by the Lake Partnerships – teams of environmental protection and natural resources managers working on each lake. Lake Partnerships are led by the governments of the United States and Canada and include members from State and Provincial Governments, Tribal Governments, First Nations, Métis, Municipal Governments and watershed management agencies. As described in past Progress Reports of the Parties, restoration and protection activities have continued without interruption through domestic government program . However, there are regular delays in the final publication of the LAMP documents. The two countries have identified the development and publication of LAMP documents as an area for improvement and will develop a streamlined and efficient approach to this task.
Chemicals of Mutual Concern (CMCs) are pollutants identified by the two countries as requiring additional strategic coordination and communication. CMCs represent a small subset of the many chemicals managed through comprehensive domestic chemical management programs established over the past fifty years. As described in past Progress Reports of the Parties, these domestic chemical management programs have significantly reduced levels of pollutants in the Great Lakes ecosystem. However, there have been regular delays in the binational effort to consider and identify CMCs under the Agreement. The two countries have identified the binational effort to review/designate CMCs an area for improvement and will review previously published CMC strategies and the current chemicals nominated as CMCs to identify the appropriate path forward for this binational effort.
Next Steps
The results of this review will directly inform the U.S. and Canadian Governments’ development of the next set of BPSAs for the period 2026-2028.