Ontario Under the 1986 Canada-Ontario Agreement Respecting Great Lakes Water Quality
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Technical Summary 3 I Swmnd dqi~itof Canada Under m- - ----- the 1987 Protor?olto the 1978 -- -= - -C I S Great LabsWater Quality 8+prrosmnmnt =-E .--F-s 0- - E -I II This report is printed on recycled paper containing post-consumer flbres. ~galementdisponible sous le titre: Dewdeme rapport prksente par le Canada en vertu du Protocole de 1987 sur 1'Accord de 1978 relatif A la qualit6 de l'eau dans les Grands Lacs - Precis technique de l'ensemble des activites Issued under the authority of the Minister of the Environment Q Minister of Supply and Services Canada 199 1 Cat. No. En40-1 1 123-1990-23 ISBN 0-662-19095-5 SECOND REPORT OF CANADA UNDER THE 1987 PROTOCOL TO THE 1978 GREAT LAKES WATER QUALITY AGREEMENT TECHNICAL SUMMARY Prepared by: The Government of Canada and the Government of the Province of Ontario under The 1986 Canada-Ontario Agreement Respecting Great Lakes Water Quality December 1990 Tecl7nical Summary "The Parties [Crznada and Ontario] agree that their long term strrzfegic objective is% restore and protect the chemical, physical and biolosical irztegrity of the Great Lakes Basin Ecosystem as a rntilti-zrsc resource zolzose base provides the setting and foundation for social dez~elopmentand economic investment." Article II, Strategic Objective, Canada-Ontario Agreement This report is dedicated to all citizens of the Great Lakes Basin who have contributed in the past and wlzo zoill contribute in the future to the preservation and restoration of this vital resource for present arzd future generations. Tecl~nicalSummary Table of Contents LIST OF TABLES .............................................IV LIST OF FIGURES ............................................V LIST OF MAPS AND ILLUSTRATIONS ...............................VI INTRODUCTION .............................................1 INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK ...................................3 ANNEX 1: SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES ................................ 5 Ecosystem Objectives ...................................5 Standard Methods and Lists of Substances ......................6 ANNEX 2: REMEDIAL ACTION PLANS AND LAKEWIDE MANAGEMENT PLANS . 9 The Development of Remedial Action Plans ...................... 9 Success Stories .......................................12 RAP Development Progress ...............................16 The North Shore of Lake Superior Remedial Action Plans ............16 Thunder Bay ......................................16 Nipigon Bay ......................................18 Jackfish Bay ......................................20 Peninsula Harbour ...................................22 Spanish River .....................................22 Severn Sound .....................................25 Collingwood Harbour ................................25 Wheatley Harbour ...................................29 Hamilton Harbour ...................................29 Metro Toronto and Region ..............................33 Port Hope Harbour ..................................35 Bay of Quinte .....................................37 Binational Remedial Action Plans ..........................40 St . Marys River ..................................... 40 St . Clair River .....................................40 Detroit River ......................................43 Niagara River .....................................45 St . Lawrence River ..................................47 Federal-Provincial Remedial Action Plan Co-ordinators/ Public Advisory Committee Chairs ........................49 Lake Ontario Toxics Management Plan ........................51 Lakewide Management Plans ..............................51 ANNEX 3: CONTROL OF PHOSPHORUS ............................55 Phosphorus Load Reduction Plan ............................55 Municipal Industrial-Control Programs ........................55 Phosphorus Non-point Sources: Programs and Measures ..............56 Soil and Water Environmental Enhancement Program (SWEEP) ..........57 Monitoring and Surveillance ...............................62 Technical Summary ANNEX 4: DISCHARGES OF OIL AND HAZARDOUS POLLUTING SUBSTANCES FROM VESSELS ............................63 ANNEX 5: DISCHARGES OF VESSEL WASTES .........................65 ANNEX 6: REVIEW OF POLLUTION FROM SHIPPING SOURCES ............67 Zebra Mussels .......................................68 ANNEX 7: DREDGING ........................................71 ANNEX 8: DISCHARGES FROM ONSHORE AND OFFSHORE FACILITIES .......73 ANNEX 9: JOINT CONTINGENCY PLAN ............................75 ANNEX 10: HAZARDOUS POLLUTING SUBSTANCES ....................77 ANNEX 11: SURVEILLANCE AND MONITORING .........: .............79 Federal Activities .....................................79 Canada-United States Binational Activities ......................83 Provincial Activities ....................................84 ANNEX 12: PERSISTENT TOXIC SUBSTANCES .........................97 Federal Activities ......................................97 Provincial Activities ..................................... 99 ANNEX 13: POLLUTION FROM NON-POINT SOURCES : .................105 Rural Non-point Source Pollution ...........................105 Urban Non-point Source Pollution ..........................108 Wetlands and their Preservation ...........................109 ANNEX 14: CONTAMINATED SEDIMENT ...........................113 ANNEX 15: AIRBORNE TOXIC SUBSTANCES .........................117 Research ..........................................117 Surveillance and Monitoring .............................120 Pollution Control Measures .............................. 121 ANNEX 16: POLLUTION FROM CONTAMINATED GROUNDWATER ..........123 Federal Programs ....................................123 Federal/Provincial Programs .............................124 International Consultation ...............................125 Provincial Programs ..................................125 ANNEX 17: RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT ..........................127 Great Lakes University Research Fund .........................127 Technical Sulnrnary APPENDICES APPENDIX ONE .GOVERNMENT RESPONSES TO RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE FOURTH AND FIFTH BIENNIAL REPORTS OF THE INTERNATIONAL JOINT COMMISSION AND THE SEPTEMBER. 1990. INTERNATIONAL JOINT COMMISSIONIGREAT LAKES FISHERY COMMISSION'S REPORT. EXOTIC SPECIES AND THE SHIPPING INDUSTRY: THE GREAT LAKES .ST . LAWRENCE ECOSYSTEM ATRISK .........................................129 APPENDIX TWO .GOVERNMENT CONTACT LIST ......................151 APPENDIX THREE .PUBLICATIONSIPRESENTATIONS ................... 155 Annex1 ..........................................155 Annex2 ..........................................155 Annex 3 and Annex 13 .................................160 Annex6 ..........................................162 Annex11 .........................................162 Annex12 .........................................169 Annex14 .........................................172 Annex15 .........................................174 Annex16 ......................................... 177 CANADA-ONTARIO AGREEMENT RESPECTING GREAT LAKES WATER QUALITY BOARD OF REVIEW AND COORDINATING COMMITTEE .................179 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .......................................180 Technical Summary LIST OF TABLES - TABLE I Canadian Areas of Concern - Anticipated Schedule of Submissions of Remedial Action Plans to the International Joint Commission .......... .ll TABLE I1 Comparison of 1988 and 1989 Ontario Municipal Point Source Discharges to the Lower Lakes .............................56 TABLE 111 Compliance With Phosphorus Control Requirements ................56 TABLE IV Comparison of 1987 and 1989 Ontario Industrial Point Source Discharges to Lake Erie ................................. .57 TABLE V Summary of Expenditures Under the Sweep Agreement 1985 to 1990 .......58 TABLE VI Expenditures for MNR's Wetlands Management Program ............110 TABLE VII Ambient Air Toxics Monitoring Protocol (Environmental Protection) ......119 Technical Stlrnrnary LIST OF FIGURES FIGURE 1 Lake Ontario Total Phosphorus .............................80 FIGURE 2 Lake Ontario Nitrate/Nitrite Filtered ..........................80 FIGURE 3 Total Phosphorus Load at Niagara-on-the-Lake ....................82 FIGURE 4 Nitrate-Nitrite Nitrogen Load at Niagara-on-the-Lake ................83 FIGURE 5 Mean Concentration of PCB in Coho Salmon Collected at the Credit River ........................................86 FIGURE 6 Mean Concentration of Mirex in Rainbow Trout from the Ganraska River Mouth ..................................86 FIGURE 7 Lake St . Clair Walleye Mean Annual Mercury 1970-1989 ..............87 FIGURE 8 Lake Superior at Peninsula Harbour PCB in Lake Trout 1976-1987 .........88 FIGURE 9 Lake Superior at Peninsula Harbour Mercury in Lake Trout 1976-1989 ......89 FIGURE 10a Niagara River .Canadian Sites PCB in Cladophora .................90 FIGURE lob Niagara River .American Sites PCB in Cladophora (Love Canal. Bloody Run Creek)..................................... 90 FIGURE 10c Niagara River .American Sites PCB in Cladophora (Gill Creek) ..........90 FIGURE lla Niagara River .Canadian Sites Mercury in Cladophora ...............91 FIGURE 1:Lb Niagara River .American Sites Mercury in Cladophora ...............91 FIGURE 12a Niagara River .Canadian Sites Lead in Cladophora .................92 FIGURE 12b Niagara River .American Sites Lead in Cladophora ................. 92 FIGURE 13a Niagara River .Canadian Sites Aluminum in Cladophora .............93 FIGURE 13b Niagara River .American Sites Aluminum in Cladophora .............93 FIGURE