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John Nevin International Joint Commission The IJC, Boundary Waters Treaty and the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Transboundary Basins

More than a century of cooperation protecting shared waters

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Columbia River Basin

St. Mary - Milk River Basin

Souris River Basin

Red River Basin

Rainy River Basin

The Great Lakes and Waterways

Saint. Croix River Basin

Missisquoi Bay Lake Champlain

3 3

Boundary Waters Treaty Negotiated in 1909

at a time of industrialization and urbanization

of the Great Lakes and other boundary waters

Cleveland

Ohio Water

Works Plant,

July 4, 1903

The Hamilton

Ontario Steel &

Iron Company,

1900

Toronto, Ontario 1896

THE BOUNDARY WATERS TREATY (1909)

ORIGIN – border disputes over use

of transboundary waters.

PURPOSE – provides the

principles and mechanisms to help

prevent and resolve disputes along

the boundary

The IJC was created by the Treaty

and remains a key part of the US-

Canada relationship.

Sir George Gibbons

More than a century of cooperation, protecting shared waters.

Origins of the Boundary Waters Treaty

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Digging the St. Mary Canal

Montana, 1908

Schoellkopf Power Station

Niagara Falls NY, 1895


Niagara Falls (What might have been?)

More than a century of cooperation protecting shared waters 6

Sir George Gibbons – 1916 Speech


SOME KEY PRINCIPLES OF THE TREATY

Equal and similar rights to the use of

boundary waters;

Order of precedence of use –

sanitary/domestic, navigation, power

generation/irrigation;

Structures/diversion not to affect levels

and flows on the other side; and,

Must not pollute water on either side to

the injury of health or property on the

other side.


Equality: Parity of Power

“The High Contracting

Parties shall have, each on

its own side of the boundary,

equal and similar rights in

the use of the waters

hereinbefore defined as

boundary waters.”

Article VIII, Boundary Waters

Treaty of 1909


THE COMMISSION’S STRUCTURE

Six Commissioners (three from Canada, three from the U.S.; two of whom are co-chairs)

A creation of the treaty, but not a creature of governments. The IJC an international organization which is a permanent, binational, objective, independent, unitary body

Sectional offices in Ottawa and Washington DC

Regional office in Windsor, Ontario


IJC – Principles of Operation

Independent – commissioners serve

without instruction from governments

Complete equality between two countries

Decisions made by consensus

Sound science - joint fact finding

Experts serve in personal and

professional capacity

Extensive stakeholder engagement

Full public involvement


IJC Operations – APPLICATIONS/ORDERS

Rules on applications for approval of projects

affecting boundary and transboundary waters

May regulate the operations of projects, for

example, water control structures at the outlets of

lakes superior and ontario - both boundary waters


Boundary Waters Treaty of 1909

Order of Precedence

“The following order of precedence shall be observed

… and no use shall be permitted which tends

materially to conflict with or restrain any other use

which is given preference over it in this order of

precedence:

1. Uses for domestic and sanitary purposes;

2. Uses for navigation, including the service of canals

for the purposes of navigation;

3. Uses for power and for irrigation purposes.”

13 More than a century of cooperation protecting shared waters

Regulatory Structures at Sault Ste. Marie


Power Plants

Control Works

Regulation of Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River


What is the IJC Mandate for References?

IJC looks into issues as asked to by the two

National governments.

IJC replies with an independent report and

make recommendations to the governments

on these issues.

An example is the current reference under the

Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement.

One of the first references was regarding

pollution of boundary waters – report in 1918.


IJC 1918 Water Quality Report

Improvements

in death rates

were due to the

protection of

water supplies

through use of

bleaching

powder and

liquid chlorine.


What is the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement?

The purpose of the Agreement is “to restore

and maintain the chemical, physical and

biological integrity of the waters of the

Great Lakes basin ecosystem"

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President Richard Nixon and Prime Minister Pierre

Trudeau signing the Great Lakes Water Quality

Agreement, April 15, 1972


The Cuyahoga River on fire in 1969.

Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement Timeline


IJC 1996: “the battle against eutrophication

has been substantially successful”

Baker, D. B. and Dolan, D. M. 2009. Lake Erie Phosphorus: Tributary Loading Data and Long-

term trends. Western Lake Erie Basin Conference, Maumee Bay State Park. March 11, 2009.

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Lake Erie Phosphorus Loading


Columbia River Basin

St. Mary - Milk River Basin

Souris River Basin

Red River Basin

Rainy River Basin

The Great Lakes and Waterways

Saint Croix River Basin

Missisquoi Bay Lake Champlain

Saint John River Basin

June 13, 2009 Secretary of State Clinton and Minister Cannon celebrate centennial of the Boundary Waters Treaty with the IJC.


Most Applications Were Approved

Figure 1: Status of Applications

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Approved No action/deferred Withdrawn /Technical

Concerns


The Record – 1909 to 2006

Figure 2: Trends in Applications and References

8

1214

17

7

19

15

6

1

1909-1929 1930-1949 1950-1969 1970-1989 1990-2006

References (57) Applications (61)

s


Remarkable Level of Consensus

Figure 3: IJC Dockets 1909-2006

Agreement

Reached

No Agreement


For more than one hundred years, the International Joint Commission has worked with the governments of the U.S. and Canada to prevent potential disputes and to resolve amicably problems involving air and water quality and water quantity from coast to coast.

John Nevin International Joint Commission The IJC, Boundary Waters Treaty and the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Download - John Nevin, IJC

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