Boards, Studies, and Committee
The Accredited Officers, appointed by the two governments, are responsible for the measurement and apportionment of waters of the St. Mary and Milk rivers in accordance with the IJC’s 1921 order.
The board provides scientific advice to the IJC and Great Lakes Water Quality Board. It also develops recommendations on all matters related to research and the development of scientific knowledge pertinent to Great Lakes water quality. The board conducts its work through two standing Committees: the Science Priority Committee and the Research Coordination Committee.
The board has broad responsibilities for assisting the IJC with the functions, powers and responsibilities assigned to it in the Agreement.
The Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Adaptive Management (GLAM) Committee gathers information to undertake the modeling and assessment needed to support ongoing evaluation of the regulation of water levels and flows. The GLAM Committee reports to the Lake Superior Board of Control, Niagara Board of Control and the Lake Ontario-St. Lawrence River Board.
The board assists the IJC and its other boards by providing advice on clinical and public health issues related to the transboundary environment. The board also recommends ways to communicate more effectively about these issues.
The board reports on the effects of the Grand Coulee Dam and its reservoir, Franklin D. Roosevelt Lake, on water levels and flows at the boundary.
On March 8, 2024, the Governments of Canada and the United States provided a Reference that incorporates a proposal developed in partnership with the Ktunaxa Nation to the International Joint Commission (IJC), under the Boundary Waters Treaty of 1909, requesting the IJC undertake certain actions regarding the impact of transboundary water pollution in the Elk-Kootenai/y watershed.
The actions outlined in the Reference will be conducted by two separate groups:
As part of the March 8, 2024, request to the IJC from the Governments of Canada and the United States, in partnership with the Ktunaxa Nation, the International Joint Commission (IJC) was asked to appoint an independent Study Board to explore the impacts of water pollution in the Kootenai/y watershed to protect the river system.
The board oversees the operation of the Corra Linn Dam and ensures that conditions set for Kootenay Lake in the IJC’s order of approval are maintained.
This international board appointed by the two national governments oversees the discharge from Lake of the Woods whenever the level of the lake rises above or falls below certain prescribed extreme elevations. Under normal conditions the levels are managed by the Canadian Lake of the Woods Control Board (https://www.lwcb.ca/).
The board ensures that outflows from Lake Ontario are regulated in accordance with the IJC’s orders of approval.
The board ensures that outflows from Lake Superior are regulated in accordance with the IJC’s orders of approval.
The board monitors the operation of the Chippawa-Grass Island Pool control structure above Niagara Falls and oversees the annual installation and removal of the ice boom at the head of the Niagara River.
The board ensures that outflows from Osoyoos Lake are regulated in accordance with the IJC’s orders of approval.
The board ensures that the outflows from Rainy and Namakan lakes are regulated in accordance with the IJC’s orders and reports on the ecological health of boundary waters in the entire watershed.
The board keeps the IJC informed of basin activities that affect flows across the boundary, and water quality and ecosystem health in the Red River and its tributaries. The Board also monitors the implementation of flood-related recommendations made by the IJC.
The International Souris River Board ensures a more eco-systemic approach to transboundary water issues, compliance for the apportionment of river flows, oversight of flood operations, and assists the Commission in preventing and resolving transboundary disputes.
The board helps to prevent and resolve disputes over the boundary waters of the St. Croix River, monitors the ecological health of these waters and ensures that four dams comply with the IJC’s orders of approval.
The International Joint Commission’s (IJC) International St. Mary and Milk Rivers Study Board, launched in November 2021, is exploring options to improve access to apportioned waters by each country, in recognition of climate change and challenges to apportionment since the original 1921 Order was issued.