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 84.

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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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The International Watershed Initiative's 25th Anniversary Showcase Report: Building on the Achievements of the IWI as a Binational Solution to Transboundary Water Issues
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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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This report looks at efforts to manage nutrients in Lake Erie and Lake Ontario by assessing federal, state and provincial Domestic Action Plans and their implementation, reviewing eight previous IJC reports on nutrient management, and assessing the extent to which key IJC recommendations have been...
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The 2022 Osoyoos Lake (nk’mip) Water Science Forum was hosted by the Osoyoos Indian Band and the Town of Osoyoos, October 27 - 29, 2022, in sẃiẃs (Osoyoos, B.C.) The forum was presented by the Okanagan Basin Water Board, the International Joint Commission, the Okanagan Nation Alliance, along with...
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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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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 International Kootenay Lake Board of Control (IKLBC) mandate and 1938 Order of Approval for Kootenay Lake (1938 Order) established a framework that has been used to manage Kootenay Lake for over 80 years. Many significant changes have occurred during this period, including the construction and...
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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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In keeping with its role to monitor the health of the St. Croix river aquatic ecosystem, the International St. Croix River Watershed Board has released a study exploring opportunities and constraints for improved fish passage for the lower stretches of the St. Croix River.
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The Fifth Report to Governments on the International Watersheds Initiative (IWI) describes what the IJC has accomplished through the IWI program between 2015 and 2019 and lays out priorities for the next five-year period. Over the past five years, the IWI has helped enable the IJC to carry out its...
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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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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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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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In January 2017 the WQB produced a Climate Change and Adaption in the Great Lakes project summary that focused on the need for coordinated binational action in developing a climate adaption and resiliency strategy for the Great Lakes. The WQB undertook follow-up work to explore ways to advance...
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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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As part of its ongoing International Watersheds Initiative (IWI), the International Joint Commission (IJC) held a workshop in April 2016 at which its boards identified the need for a framework that would help them prepare for climate change. This document presents the essentials of the framework and...
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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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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 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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This document is meant to initiate a larger effort to design an International Joint Commission (IJC) strategy to supports its control, watershed, and pilot watershed Boards’ efforts in addressing climate change as it pertains to Board mandates. This draft was reviewed by IJC staff and members of the...
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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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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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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. The work group has identified several key success factors necessary for watershed...
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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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