Great Lakes, Updated

Posted on September 6, 2012
Written by Kerry Freek

Cameron Davis at the 2010 IAGLR conference in Toronto.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency administrator Lisa P. Jackson and Canadian environment minister Peter Kent will sign an updated Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement (GLWQA) tomorrow. The agreement was last updated in 1987, and the two governments began negotiations in 2009 to strengthen the agreement. Cameron Davis, Jackson’s senior advisor, wrote in an EPA blog post that the new version of the GLWQA will:

Emphasize prevention of future harm, which is good for the environment, public health and makes better fiscal sense.
Contain major new Annexes (issue-specific sections) dedicated to invasive species prevention, habitat and native species restoration, and preparing coastal communities for climate change.
Reaffirm or strengthen the 1987 version’s efforts to fix past environmental problems, such as in Areas of Concern, contaminants, and nutrients.
Include more opportunities for public input.

Watch the live signing tomorrow at 2 p.m. EDT here, and check for more Great Lakes coverage in Water Canada’s November/December 2012 issue.