Publications

IJC publications contain both board and corporate documents, including reports, fact sheets, infographics, and presentations. Contractor reports are created on behalf of or in coordination with the IJC or its boards by a separate entity, including individuals, companies, and governments. Government reports are documents developed by US or Canadian local/provincial/state/federal government that are of interest to the IJC or board.

IJC Content

Displaying 1 - 50 of 110.

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2023 Consultant Report and Summary Letter In 2021, the IJC’s Water Quality Board launched the Manure Nutrient Management Collaborative (Collaborative) with representatives from agriculture, conservation, business, environmental science and government leaders, working toward protection of water...
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In 2023 the WQB, with a team of consultants, produced a report that collected and analyzed ecological, economic, social, political, demographic, technological and cultural data to identify key drivers and trends expected to influence the Great Lakes region over the next 30 years. From this, four...
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Following up on its 2019 report “ Use of Modeling Approaches to Affect Nutrient Management Through Adaptative Management”, this IJC Great Lakes Science Advisory Board-Research Coordination Committee report focuses on progress to date in implementing the Lake Erie Nutrient Adaptive Management...
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This white paper presents the results of a collaboration between the International Joint Commission’s Health Professionals Advisory Board and the Great Lakes Beach Association to assess the binational extent, experience and effects of Great Lakes Beach Sanitary Surveys in the United States and...
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The Great Lakes Science Strategy for the Next Decade (the Science Strategy) summarizes the science gaps and related resource needs identified by hundreds of knowledge-holders convened by the International Joint Commission (IJC). This Summary Report provides an overview of the project and integrates...
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As part of the International Rainy Lake of the Woods Watershed Board’s implementation of the IJC’s climate change guidance framework, the Adaptive Management Committee engaged water resources experts, IJC staff, and the public in a half-day, in-person workshop in Fort Frances, ON on the margins of...
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This infographic outlines the roles and responsibilities for the management of water levels in the Rainy-Lake of the Woods basin.
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Annex 10 (Science) of the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement assigns the International Joint Commission (IJC) and its Science Advisory Board (SAB) a role in providing input to the Parties on priority science issues on a three year basis. This document summarizes the SAB’s advice to the Parties on...
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Welcome to the first edition of the Tri-Board Tribune, a quarterly newsletter designed by the Great Lakes Water Levels Boards of the International Joint Commission (IJC) to share information and articles related to the entire Great Lakes – St. Lawrence River basin and provide regional updates...
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Welcome to the first edition of the Tri-Board Tribune, a quarterly newsletter designed by the Great Lakes Water Levels Boards of the International Joint Commission to share information and articles related to the entire Great Lakes – St. Lawrence River basin and provide regional updates presented by...
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Welcome to the first edition of the Tri-Board Tribune, a quarterly newsletter designed by the Great Lakes Water Levels Boards of the International Joint Commission to share information and articles related to the entire Great Lakes – St. Lawrence River basin and provide regional updates presented by...
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About Water Quality Board Watching Briefs The Great Lakes Water Quality Board (WQB) develops watching briefs for the purpose of summarizing significant developments, events and information in a factual manner on specific, defined topic areas. They are periodically updated and serve to keep the WQB...
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In 2021 the WQB produced a report (updated August 2023) on the topic of decommissioning nuclear power plants in the Great Lakes basin, which identified potential opportunities in the decommissioning process to reduce threats to the Great Lakes environment. The WQB recommends binational alignment of...
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The report outlines changes that have occurred since the last report in 2014, focusing on the primary areas of concern in the watershed of nutrients and algae, contaminants, climate change, aquatic invasive species, and erosion/water levels. The report also highlights concerns about the health of...
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Reports The Great Lakes Water Quality Board completed its third Great Lakes Regional Poll in 2021. The 2021 Great Lakes Regional Poll results provide a snapshot of Great Lakes residents' views on topics including: the importance to protect the Great Lakes environmental health and water quality, and...
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The connecting waters are vital links in the economic and ecological network of the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River system, but they are threatened by multiple stressors. Present monitoring activities are insufficient to adequately inform the management of these connecting waters. The Great Lakes...
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The Health Professionals Advisory Board conducted a proof-of-concept pilot study to assess whether it is feasible to collect comparable, binational water quality and population health data for locations around the Great Lakes, and whether such data could be used to generate conclusions and examine...
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In 1913, a ground-breaking IJC monitoring study linked untreated sewage pollution to widespread disease in the Great Lakes. One hundred years later, the question remains whether nearshore fecal bacterial/microbial water quality is getting better or worse. While technology to prevent and track this...
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This report provides background on the IJC Climate Adaption Guidance Framework and an update on implementation by the IRLWWB and Adaptive Management Committee.
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The International Joint Commission presents its second triennial assessment of progress on Great Lakes water quality pursuant to Article 7.1 (k) of the 2012 Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement (GLWQA). This report provides advice and recommendations to assist the federal governments to better meet...
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An environmental stressor is any factor whose presence adversely affects individuals, populations, or ecosystems. Often but not necessarily the result of human activities, examples include many different pollutants, excess nutrients, habitat loss and invasive species. Recognizing that interactions...
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The Health Professionals Advisory Board (HPAB) has undertaken a human health review of selenium at the request of the International Joint Commission (IJC) and developed this technical report with the assistance of contractor Michael Kosnett. Selenium is an essential nutritional element that supports...
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2020 Report In June 2020, the International Joint Commission’s Science Advisory Board (SAB) completed a report entitled Understanding Declining Productivity in the Offshore Regions of the Great Lakes. The report includes a number of findings and a recommendation aimed at improving coordination...
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In September 2019, the International Red River Board (the Board) recommended that the International Joint Commission (IJC) adopt proposed nutrient concentration objectives and targets for the Red River at the boundary between the United States and Canada. This proposal is the culmination of a...
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The Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement (the Agreement) charges the International Joint Commission (IJC), supported by its Great Lakes advisory boards, with several responsibilities including identification of emerging issues facing the Great Lakes. To help fulfil this responsibility the IJC’s Great...
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Annex 10 (Science) of the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement assigns the International Joint Commission (IJC) and its Science Advisory Board (SAB) a role in providing input to the Parties on priority science issues on a three year basis. The Parties’ initial Draft Priorities for Science and Action...
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This report represents a peer review of the RESPEC report (2016 report: The development of a Stressor Response Model for the Red River of the North, referred to in this document as the “report” for brevity), with specific attention to concerns raised by the Minnesota municipalities (Letter of July...
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This report summarizes the results of the first phase of a project to address the need for Water Quality Objectives and Alert Levels for the Rainy-Lake of the Woods Watershed. Water Quality Objectives are internationally agreed upon standards, whereas Alert Levels are advisory level triggers that...
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The purpose of this document is to compile unbiased background information about nuclear energy production, the nuclear regulators, the decommissioning process, radioactive waste management, and status of the nuclear power facilities in the Great Lakes basin. The background report is also...
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This report presents the findings and recommendations of the project, Use of Modeling Approaches to Affect Nutrient Management through Adaptive Management, led by the International Joint Commission's (IJC) Great Lakes Science Advisory Board - Research Coordination Committee (SAB-RCC). The objective...
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This report presents the recommendations of the Great Lakes Water Quality Board (WQB) to the International Joint Commission (IJC) on the topic of manure management for confined animal feeding operation practices and policies in the state and provincial jurisdictions in the Great Lakes. The...
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In 2016-2017 the International Joint Commission’s Science Advisory Board, Science Priority Committee, completed an analysis of commercial fertilizer and manure application in the western Lake Erie basin. The resulting report was adopted by the International Joint Commission and is available at...
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In this report, ECCC provides the results of trend analyses for water chemistry data obtained at both the Forest City and Milltown stations. Mann-Kendall trend tests (or the Seasonal variant of the test) were conducted for each water quality parameter, to identify monotonic changes in concentrations...
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