john nevin, ijc
TRANSCRIPT
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
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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
More than a century of cooperation protecting shared waters
Niagara Falls (What might have been?)
More than a century of cooperation protecting shared waters 6
Sir George Gibbons – 1916 Speech
More than a century of cooperation protecting shared waters 7
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.
More than a century of cooperation, protecting shared waters.
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
More than a century of cooperation, protecting shared waters.
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
More than a century of cooperation protecting shared waters
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
More than a century of cooperation protecting shared waters
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
More than a century of cooperation protecting shared 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.”
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Regulatory Structures at Sault Ste. Marie
More than a century of cooperation protecting shared waters 14
Power Plants
Control Works
Regulation of Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River
More than a century of cooperation protecting shared waters 15
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.
16 More than a century of cooperation protecting shared waters
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.
17 More than a century of cooperation protecting shared waters
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
More than a century of cooperation protecting shared waters
The Cuyahoga River on fire in 1969.
Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement Timeline
More than a century of cooperation protecting shared waters 19
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
More than a century of cooperation protecting shared waters 21
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.
More than a century of cooperation protecting shared waters
Most Applications Were Approved
Figure 1: Status of Applications
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Approved No action/deferred Withdrawn /Technical
Concerns
More than a century of cooperation protecting shared waters
The Record – 1909 to 2006
Figure 2: Trends in Applications and References
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1214
17
7
19
15
6
1
1909-1929 1930-1949 1950-1969 1970-1989 1990-2006
References (57) Applications (61)
s
More than a century of cooperation protecting shared waters
Remarkable Level of Consensus
Figure 3: IJC Dockets 1909-2006
Agreement
Reached
No Agreement
More than a century of cooperation protecting shared waters
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