WORKING PAPER SERIES 023
NORTH AMERICAN LINKAGES
The International Joint Commission and the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement
Lessons for Canada-United States Regulatory Co-operation
Rick Findlay and Peter Telford Pollution Probe
April 2006
Policy Research Initiative Working Paper Series
The Working Paper Series presents ongoing analytical work developed in relation to the PRI’s horizontal projects. The papers are presented in the language of preparation only, with a summary in both official languages. They do not necessarily represent the views of the Policy Research Initiative or the Government of Canada.
Série de documents de travail du Projet de recherche sur les politiques
La série de documents de travail présente les travaux d’analyses en cours réalisés dans le cadre des projets horizontaux du PRP. Les articles sont présentés uniquement dans la langue dans laquelle ils ont été rédigés, avec un résumé dans les deux langues officielles. Ils ne reflètent pas l’opinion définitive du Projet de recherche sur les politiques ni du gouvernement du Canada. Table of Contents
1. Introduction...... 1
2. Institutional History ...... 2 Boundary Waters Treaty...... 2 International Joint Commission ...... 2 Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement - Summary...... 3 Evolution of the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement ...... 4 Review of the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement ...... 6
3. Administration of the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement...... 6 Roles and Responsibilities of the Parties (Canada and the United States)... 6 Management Structures of the Parties...... 7 Role of the International Joint Commission ...... 8 IJC Management Mechanisms...... 8
4. Analysis of the GLWQA...... 10 New Challenges ...... 10 New Concepts ...... 12 Improved Co-ordination Mechanisms...... 13
5. Interjurisdictional Challenges...... 15 Canadian and US Federal Legislative Processes...... 15 Federal-Provincial and Federal-State Relationships...... 17 Involvement of Municipal Governments ...... 19
6. Conclusions...... 20
Notes ...... 22
References...... 23
1. Introduction
Canada and the United States share one of the world’s most valuable natural features – the Great Lakes. With 18 percent of the world’s surface freshwater supplies and a combined surface area of over 325,000 km2, the Great Lakes are one of the most important freshwater resources in the world. The Great Lakes basin supports a population of over 35 million, including about a third of the total Canadian population and a tenth of that of the United States. This population is growing rapidly, with more than a 30 percent increase over the last quarter century. More than 85 percent of this population is urban, located in the basin’s many towns and major cities. Twenty-four million people rely directly on the Great Lakes as a source of drinking water.
Management of environmental issues is particularly challenging when two or more jurisdictions share responsibility for a given water body. Jurisdiction for the Great Lakes is shared by two federal governments (Canada and the United States), two Canadian provinces (Ontario and Quebec), eight US states (New York, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, and Minnesota), and hundreds of municipal governments. In the Great Lakes, the difficulties are exacerbated by the need to also share responsibility across many different agencies within each country.
A profusion of agencies, institutions, treaties, and agreements provide various means and measures for management of environmental issues in the Great Lakes basin. A full and detailed description and history of these organizations and their products or achievements has been assembled by a number of authors (e.g., Dempsey, 2004). This paper does not attempt such comprehensive coverage but, instead, examines selected elements of institutional action that have led to successes and failures in managing the transboundary issues of the Great Lakes region. Many of these issues are unique to the region; others are common to many areas in the world with shared water systems. All provide valuable lessons for future joint Canada-US efforts in the Great Lakes region and, indeed, in other bilateral regulatory and administrative exercises.
Interjurisdictional agreements on transboundary environmental issues should be based on the application of: