2019 Progress Report of the Parties

2019 PROGRESS REPORT OF THE PARTIES Pursuant to the 2012 Canada-United States Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement U.S. spelling is used throughout this report except when referring to Canadian titles. Units are provided in metric or U.S. customary units for activities occurring in Canada or the United States, respectively. Discussions of funding levels or costs in dollars is provided using Canadian dollars for activities occurring in Canada and U.S. dollars for activities occurring in the United States. Cat. No.: En164-53/2-2019E-PDF ISBN: 978-0-660-30888-3 II 2019 PROGESS REPORT OF THE PARTIES Table of Contents Executive Summary �� iv Why the Great Lakes are Important ��2 Articles ��4 Areas of Concern Annex �� 10 Lakewide Management Annex �� 23 Chemicals of Mutual Concern Annex �� 38 Nutrients Annex �� 49 Discharges from Vessels Annex �� 64 Aquatic Invasive Species Annex �� 70 Habitat and Species Annex �� 86 Groundwater Annex �� 96 Climate Change Impacts Annex �� 103 Science Annex �� 110 III 2019 PROGESS REPORT OF THE PARTIES Executive Summary The Great Lakes are an invaluable resource, vital to control nuisance growth of Cladophora algae. The the ecological, social and economic well-being of both information will be used to develop ecological Canada and the United States, and the species and models and test the feasibility of managing people that depend on them. Cladophora by limiting phosphorus inputs. • Finalized binational Strategies for In 2012, Canada and the United States reaffirmed Hexabromocyclododecane (HCBD), their joint commitment to protect the lakes through a Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs), and renewed Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement. Since Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers (PBDEs) and signing of the renewed agreement, the Governments of initiated measures to reduce anthropogenic inputs Canada and the United States have worked to implement of these designated Chemicals of Mutual Concern its provisions in cooperation and consultation with state into the waters of the Great Lakes. and provincial governments, tribal governments, First • Canada completed a nearshore assessment of the Nations, Métis, municipal governments, watershed Canadian shoreline of Lake Erie and the Huron-Erie management agencies, local public agencies, and the Corridor, and the United States continued their use public. of existing domestic programs to assess nearshore aquatic habitat and further enhance the restoration The Progress Report of the Parties is issued every and assessment of habitats and native species. three years to report on achievements in restoring and • Restored and protected Great Lakes habitat and protecting Great Lakes water quality and ecosystem species on thousands of acres within the Great health. A great deal has been accomplished since Lakes watershed. the issuance of the last Progress Report in 2016. • Continued robust regulatory regimes in both Accomplishments have included: Canada and the U.S. to manage discharges from • Completed all remedial actions required to restore vessels, resulting in no significant discharges of water quality and ecosystem health in five Great polluting substances from vessels or shore side Lakes Areas of Concern. marine transportation-related facilities during this • Eliminated 33 occurances of environmental damage reporting cycle. or human health threats caused by water pollution • Significantly reduced, in the last decade, the rate (collectively called “Beneficial Use Impairments”) in at which nonindigenous species have become Great Lakes Areas of Concern. Nine more Beneficial established in the Great Lakes. Use Impairments are on track to be eliminated by • Prevented Bighead and Silver Carps from becoming the end of 2019. established in the Great Lakes, through a variety of • Finalized and initiated implementation of the prevention and control efforts in the Chicago Area Binational Phosphorus Reduction Strategy for Waterway System. Lake Erie. This binational strategy is founded on • Enhanced knowledge of groundwater and climate six domestic action plans, including a joint plan for change impacts to the waters of the Great Lakes. Canada and Ontario, a joint plan for the United • Coordinated the applied use of science to support States federal and state agencies, and state-specific management actions, and assessed the State of the plans for Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. Great Lakes using ecosystem indicators. • Initiated research to determine the factors that IV 2019 PROGESS REPORT OF THE PARTIES Why the Great Lakes are Important Provide drinking water to 1 in 10 Americans 1 in 4 Canadians Contains 20% of the world’s surface freshwater Are home to more than 350 fish species 3,500 plant and animal species The Great Lakes-St. Lawrence region accounts for 30% of combined Canadian and U.S. economic activityand employment OUR COMMITMENTS Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement Progress Report of the Parties Canada and the United States Pursuant to Article 5, Section 2(e), recognize the integral relationship of the Agreement, Canada and the between an environmentally healthy United States agree to produce and Great Lakes system and the social release a binational Progress Report and economic well-being of both of the Parties to document binational countries, as well as the very direct and domestic actions relating to this connection between water quality and human health. Agreement. The first Progress Report of the Parties Both countries are committed to protecting and was released in 2016 and this report marks the second restoring the Great Lakes. release of the Progress Report of the Parties. For over 45 years, the Canada-United States Great Lakes This Progress Report of the Parties documents binational Water Quality Agreement (Agreement) has provided and domestic actions taken over the 2016 to 2019 time a binational framework for pursuing cooperative period to fulfill the commitments in the Agreement. binational and domestic actions to restore and protect While the report is an extensive account of efforts the water quality of the Great Lakes. over the last three years in support of the Agreement, this report cannot comprehensively describe all of the restoration and protection efforts being implemented within the Great Lakes basin ecosystem. 2 2019 PROGESS REPORT OF THE PARTIES OUR PROGRAMS The Agreement provides the framework for binational cooperation towards restoration and protection of Great Lakes water quality; how- ever, each country uses its own domestic programs to implement the Agreement’s commitments Within Canada, a mix of national, Within the United States, legislation provincial and regional policies, at the federal, state, tribal, munici- programs and initiatives are applied pal, and local levels authorizes and to restore and protect the Great directs environmental protection Lakes. The Great Lakes Protection and restoration programs. These Initiative is a key federal program programs are the foundation for the that combines science and action to restoration and protection of the address the most significant threats to Great Lakes water Great Lakes. In recent years, the Great Lakes Resto- quality and ecosystem health. Since protection and ration Initiative has greatly increased implementation restoration of the Great Lakes is a shared responsibility, activities by funding over 4,000 new projects that ad- Canada also continues to work in close collaboration dress the most significant Great Lakes environmental with the Province of Ontario through the 2014 Canada- issues, including: restoring Areas of Concern, prevent- Ontario Agreement on Great Lakes Water Quality and ing and controlling invasive species, reducing excess nu- Ecosystem Health. The Canada-Ontario Agreement is trients, and restoring native habitats and species. a targeted five-year action plan for coordinating Great Lakes restoration and protection activities. Visit the governments of Canada and United States Great Lakes websites for further information: www.canada.ca/great-lakes-protection www.epa.gov/greatlakes www.glri.us binational.net 3 2019 PROGESS REPORT OF

Load more