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 73.

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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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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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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 January 2019, the Committee published its 2018 phase one report that recommended the development of a Great Lakes groundwater and surface water conceptual framework. The latest report from the Great Lakes Science Advisory Board-Research Coordination Committee describes the scientific, technical...
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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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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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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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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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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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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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The International Joint Commission’s Science Advisory Board (SAB) Science Priority Committee undertook a synthesis of the science related to observed and potential impacts of crude oil on Great Lakes water quality and ecosystem condition and identified additional research, monitoring and information...
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Slides from the Great Lakes Water Quality Board's webinar presenting the results of its Second Binational Poll
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A report by the Great Lakes Water Quality Board that presents the key findings of a poll conducted in 2018 of U.S. and Canadian citizens in the Great Lakes basin related to Great Lakes Water Quality. The poll was the second conducted by the WQB and follows the first poll which was completed in 2015.
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This assessment of fertilizer application and impacts in the western Lake Erie basin (WLEB) was conducted by members of the International Joint Commission Science Advisory Board's Science Priority Committee (SAB-SPC), with the assistance of an advisory group and a contractor. It considers primarily...
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The purpose of this project was to assess the flow of information to decision makers in the Great Lakes, identify barriers to the flow of this information, and provide recommendations to the IJC and the Parties to address these barriers.
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This report presents the recommendations of the Great Lakes Water Quality Board on the topic of how watershed management plans should be used to manage nutrient pollution in Lake Erie. The implementation of effective watershed management plans is an important tool in a holistic approach to reducing...
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Governments exist to serve the people. With this in mind, the International Joint Commission presents its first 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...
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This report provides the recommendations of the Water Quality Board to address the challenges in seeking alternatives to the use of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) as flame retardants, and avoiding the release of PBDEs during product use, recycling and disposal through the implementation of...
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The International Joint Commission visited St Catharines, Ontario as part of public meetings in six communities in the spring of 2017 to gather public comment on the Canadian and US governments’ Progress Report of the Parties (PROP) and the IJC’s draft Triennial Assessment of Progress (TAP) report.
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As part of the International Joint Commission’s efforts to obtain public input on Agreement progress, public meetings were held in six communities across the Great Lakes region. Two meetings were held at the studio of WNED-WBFO public television to hear from community leaders, scientists and other...
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The International Joint Commission visited Toledo, Ohio as part of public meetings in six communities in the spring of 2017 to gather public comment on the Canadian and US governments’ Progress Report of the Parties (PROP) and the IJC’s draft Triennial Assessment of Progress (TAP) report.
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The International Joint Commission visited Sarnia, Ontario as part of public meetings in six communities in the spring of 2017 to gather public comment on the Canadian and US governments’ Progress Report of the Parties (PROP) and the IJC’s draft Triennial Assessment of Progress (TAP) report.
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The International Joint Commission visited Sault Ste Marie, Ontario as part of public meetings in six communities in the spring of 2017 to gather public comment on the Canadian and US governments’ Progress Report of the Parties (PROP) and the IJC’s draft Triennial Assessment of Progress (TAP) report...
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Cyanotoxins are an unfortunate consequences of harmful algal blooms in fresh water systems in both Canada and the United States. This report is a literature review of the state of ecological and epidemiological science of cyanobacterial toxins with an emphasis on its relevance to conditions in the...
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The IJC has developed this draft triennial assessment report, informed by a larger staff developed technical appendix that includes fuller analyses, technical information, discussion of relevant science and references. This report and the staff technical appendix report will be revised after...
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The SAB-RCC, through contractors, thoroughly assessed Great Lakes indicators’ data availability and accessibility and identified potential improvement for indicators used to report progress in meeting the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement objectives.
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As part of the International Joint Commission’s efforts to obtain public input on Agreement progress, two public meetings were held to connect with several scientists and citizens in Wisconsin who are committed to restoring and protecting their part of the Great Lakes. The afternoon roundtable at...
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As part of the International Joint Commission’s efforts to obtain public input on Agreement progress at the Great Lakes Public Forum, a public roundtable was held to connect with local citizens who are committed to restoring and protecting their part of the Great Lakes. The evening roundtable at...
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This document summarizes the SAB’s advice to the Parties on their Draft 2017-2019 Binational Priorities for Science. This advice benefited from input provided by the IJC’s Great Lakes Water Quality Board. General comments that apply to all Agreement Annexes are presented first, followed by general...
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This report presents the recommendations of the Great Lakes Water Quality Board's Legacy Issues Work Group on the topic of how watershed management plans should be used to manage nutrient pollution in Lake Erie.
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In 2012, Canada and the United States significantly revised the GLWQA to strengthen and modernize the Agreement and included a new requirement for a Progress Report of the Parties (Report) to be issued once every three years “to document actions relating to this Agreement”. This reporting...
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The IJC identified a suite of 16 ecosystem indicators composed of 41 metrics to assess progress towards achieving the objectives of the 2012 GLWQA. In April 2014, the IJC asked the SAB - Science Priority Committee (SPC) to identify a smaller set of indicators and metrics from this existing set that...
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Oraclepoll Research Limited was commissioned by the International Joint Commission’s (IJC) Great Lakes Water Quality Board (WQB) to conduct a telephone survey of residents living in the Great Lakes basin catchment area. The survey was intended to establish baseline data across an array of...
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This report provides the recommendations of the Water Quality Board's Legacy Issues Work Group, with regard to the development of a strategy by the governments of Canada and the United States to address polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in the Great Lakes.
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As part of its triennial reporting commitments under the 2012 GLWQA, the IJC has been engaged in efforts to improve evaluation and reporting, outcomes and progress related to the General and Specific Objectives in the Agreement.
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Under Article 7.1 (k) of the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, the International Joint Commission has a responsibility for “providing to the Parties, in consultation with the Boards established under Article 8, a triennial “Assessment of Progress Report.” The Commission has also requested advice...
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When the International Joint Commission (IJC) submitted its report on Protection of the Great Lakes on February 22, 2001, the two federal governments authorized the Commission to review its recommendations after three years and at 10-year intervals thereafter. 2014 marks the 10th year since the...
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This report provides a framework for assessing the effectiveness of programs and other measures conducted under the auspices of the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement (GLWQA), as amended in 2012.
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