Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement - 50th Anniversary Review

In 2020, the IJC’s Great Lakes Water Quality Board (WQB) initiated a project to review the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, in anticipation of the Agreement’s 50th anniversary in 2022. The primary purpose was to assess whether mechanisms for implementing the Agreement could be strengthened to facilitate progress towards its goals. The work was also intended to inform the Parties’ responsibility to review the Agreement following the release of the IJC’s 2023 Triennial Assessment of Progress Report. 

A consultant team conducted an in-depth literature review and interviews with stakeholders and subject-matter experts. The resulting consultant report identified strengths, barriers, and opportunities to enhance the Agreement’s implementation. The consultant report represents the views of the consultants and not necessarily the views or opinions of the IJC.

The WQB developed recommendations informed by the work of the consultant team, and transmitted its recommendations, along with the consultant report, to the Commission via a letter in December 2022. The letter from the WQB and the consultant report subsequently informed the IJC’s 2023 Third Triennial Assessment of Progress Report on Great Lakes Water Quality, and will inform its 2026 Fourth Triennial Assessment of Progress Report on Great Lakes Water Quality.