Environmental groups urge more participation in renegotiation of U.S.-Canada water agreement

Though it’s received almost no news coverage, and few seem aware of it, the U.S. and Canada are in the process of renegotiating a longstanding diplomatic agreement on Great Lakes water protection.

The Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement was first signed by Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau and President Nixon in 1972, and was revised in 1978 and again in 1987. The agreement committed the two countries to protecting the health of the Great Lakes ecosystem by prohibiting the discharge of toxic pollution, and eliminating dangerous, persistent toxic substances. It was critical in the restoration of Lake Erie and in identifying the highly contaminated areas that have become known as Areas of Concern.

Now, as the U.S. prepares to spend $475 million dollars on Great Lakes projects as part of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, some conservation groups are warning that failure to carefully coordinate with Canada will undermine those efforts.

In a joint letter to the U.S. and Canadian governments, a bi-national coalition of conservation groups warned that the renegotiation of the water agreement was proceeding too swiftly and did not allow for meaningful public comment and participation.

“The current plan does not involve citizen observers,“ Jane Elder, an American environmentalist who participated as a citizen observer in the 1987 revision of the agreement, said in an interview today. “The negotiating teams have been named and they do not include [Great Lakes Czar Cameron Davis].”

Elder said that she feels that the agreement, which falls under the authority of the U.S. State Department, is not being treated with the seriousness it deserves.

“Great Lakes cleanup requires a shared bi-national vision and agenda,” Elder said. “Projects not united by common strategy lose the opportunity to have a multiplying effect.”