October 2006
GLU Launches New E-Services
Great Lakes United is currently developing an improved e-mail messaging service! The first phase includes the introduction of a new monthly e-bulletin, Between Editions. This bulletin is a complement to our printed Great Lakes News, and features news and announcements affecting the Great Lakes while providing a quick glimpse of articles we are working on for future editions of our printed newsletter.
In addition to our acclaimed Aquatic Invasive Species and Navigation list services, we are also preparing to launch three new lists: Clean Production, Annex and Members. The first will keep subscribers updated on GLU’s activities on the toxics and clean production front, while the Annex list will ensure up-to-date information on the progress of implementing Annex 2001. The members list will be for members of GLU only, and provides a better means of maintaining links within our coalition.
By signing up for any of our lists you will receive updates on that particular issue, as well as general GLU news and announcements that are included in Between Editions.
As these new services roll out, we hope you enjoy them. If you have any question please e-mail us at greatlakesnews@glu.org.
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Public Placed in Dangerous Binational Crossfire
The US Coast Guard’s proposal to conduct live fire training in 34 zones on the Great Lakes to the surprise of the Canadian government and citizens of the US and Canada underlines the need for stronger binational cooperation and communication. This time, however, mistakes could mean injury or death to a public caught in the crossfire. Public hearings across the basin are rapidly approaching, and a comment period is open until November 13, 2006.
The safety of the public and the protection of the environment are the most obvious concerns that the proposal brings forward. However, at the heart of the issue is how the US and Canadian governments collaborate in a post-9/11 world, and ensure an open and healthy dialogue that avoids putting the public and the environment at risk.
There has been a long history of collaboration and largely successful communications across both domestic and international borders in the Great Lakes region; however, there have been numerous occasions when communication has failed, despite rigorous and elaborate protocols. For example, in 2003 and 2004 these systems failed on three separate occasions. In each case, drinking water intake stations were uninformed of a chemical spill up river in Sarnia. It was not until the spills were reported in the news media that the US stations were made aware so that they could shut down their pumps.
Binational communication is complex affair. But, our region knows that the safety of the public and the environment is improved when our two governments can work together. Indeed, the Canadian government has been quite amenable to the requests of the US Coast Guard when it comes to ensuring public and environmental safety. In this spirit Canada recently granted permission for the US Coast Guard to set up a temporary outpost near Montreal in Canadian territory.
The outpost, when it was announced, was a welcome opportunity to help monitor the ballast tank management practices of ocean vessels entering the St. Lawrence Seaway. This most current action by the US Coast Guard, however, undermines centuries of friendly collaboration and the very definition of binational cooperation that allowed for advances such as the outpost. The US-Canada border is a global model for a peaceful and productive relationship. But, these ties will be permanently undermined when one side sees it fit to unilaterally militarize their vessels.
Diplomatic sources at Foreign Affairs Canada have indicated to Great Lakes United that while recent concessions to nineteenth century peace treaties were made to accommodate mounted rifles on ships, the establishment of live fire training zones caught the department by surprise.
In a global political climate punctuated by an apprehension toward the US military, efforts to enhance US national security should build international trust, not erode it. The current reality raises the need to explore internationally palatable options to enhance security across the US-Canada border, both jointly and publicly.
The US Coast Guard has temporarily suspended live fire training exercises pending public comment. Great Lakes United encourages concerned individuals and organizations to submit their comments before the period closes November 13, 2006. Public consultations have also been announced and will take place in: Duluth, Minnesota on October 16; Grand Haven, Michigan on October 18; Port Huron/Marysville, Michigan on October 19; Cleveland Ohio, on October 23; Rochester, NY on October 30; Milwaukee, Wisconsin/Chicago, Illinois region (exact location to be determined) on November 1, and; Charlevoix, Michigan on November 3.
A website has been established to provide information concerning the 34 proposed permanent safety zones on the U.S. Great Lakes: www.uscgd9safetyzones.com/go/site/1295/ The site will contain information such as all copies of Federal Registry entries, charts of the proposed zones, public hearing details, comment submission information, and press releases.
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An Unsettling Settlement
In June, New York State announced that Occidental Corporation would pay $12 million for damages to natural resources. Though the importance of this deal cannot be underestimated in terms of engaging in clean-up actions now, the deal also includes a clause that would release Occidental Chemical from liability for its current and past operations on the Niagara River, Lake Ontario and St. Lawrence River. Is this a deal with a short term gain in exchange for a dangerous long-term risk? What if the containment measures fail? Who will be held responsible if some of the most frightening dumpsites on the planet spring a leak?
Sarah Miller of the Canadian Environmental Law Association has fought for over 25 years to protect the environment and this settlement troubles her.
In an upcoming article for Great Lakes News she writes, “As an Ontarian I have always been jealous of New Yorkers who have been lucky to receive direct environmental benefits from creative settlements. On the surface this seems to be a win-win settlement.”
The most notorious dumpsite is the Hyde Park Dump. Between 1952 and 1975 the site was used to bury over 70 000 tonnes of chemicals, including up to 16 000 tonnes of cancer-causing materials. Not only that, but the site is the largest known repository to the most deadly form of dioxin.
The Great Lakes are home to a toxic legacy that is well-acknowledged by Basin residents. But, as time passes it easy to forget about just how much of these chemicals are buried in the region.
In light of the New York Settlement, in the next edition of Great Lakes News Miller will present a detailed review of just where these sites are located and what we can find in them.
In the meantime, New Yorkers are urged to make this decision an election issue. As the November elections approach, ask the candidates what their plans are for New York’s toxic legacy.
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GLU Hosts Workshop at State of the Lakes
Great Lakes United is excited to be sponsoring a green chemistry workshop at the upcoming State of the Lakes Ecosystem Conference (SOLEC). Green chemistry is about designing products without the use or release of toxic chemicals. Green chemistry along with clean production strategies and extended producer responsibility can move us closer to a healthy environment for workers and communities. The history of the Great Lakes is intertwined with the production of hazardous chemicals. Let’s turn the legacy of toxicity in the Great Lakes Basin into a bastion of green innovation. The workshop features a keynote presentation by Dr. John Warner of the Center for Green Chemistry at University of Massachusetts, Lowell. Co-author of Green Chemistry: Theory and Practice, Dr. Warner is an expert in green chemistry, directing a large research group in a diverse set of projects incorporating principles of green chemistry. Bringing together aspects of community outreach, public policy and industrial pollution, Dr. Warner’s work demonstrates how principles of Green Chemistry can be immediately aligned with commercial applications.
The workshop will look at policy levers and barriers to creating a green chemistry network here in the Great Lakes region. This workshop is for everyone interested in green chemistry, whether they work for a state or federal governments, in industry, or in an academic or other setting. The bulk of the workshop will be spent in breakout working groups, led by experienced green chemistry experts, with time at the end for a final report-back session.
SOLEC will be held November 1-3 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The green chemistry workshop is scheduled for November 3. For more information on SOLEC or to register, visit: http://www.solecregistration.ca.
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Water Quality Review: On Track, but Problematic
The official review of the Canada – U.S. Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement continues its slow march to a decision by the two countries: should the cornerstone agreement of Great Lakes environmental protection be revised—or not?
The review is a heavily technical and bureaucratized process. The bad news has been the relative lack of technical backgrounding for workgroup discussion—the lead environmental agencies have refused to provide any independent technical assessment of the promises made in the Agreement and the success or failure of the governments to meet them. This has made examination of Agreement promises and their fulfillment somewhat of a he-said-she-said process, slowing down discussion and assuring a technically deficient end-product. Compounding the challenge is a lack of knowledge about the Agreement among bureaucrats engaged in the Review.
The good news is that a large number of scientists and citizens have been involved in the review from its earliest stages providing good preparation for the second round of public involvement coming late next spring. Furthermore, that second round of comment will be simpler in organization—release of a single, concise document and a limited comment period—and clearer in terms of outlining the major issues in the debate about the future of the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement.
Perhaps the most important issue in that debate, so far unaddressed because the governments could not agree on striking a workgroup for the purpose, is the nature of governance in the Agreement: 1) In general, how can the governments be held to better account for their promises? 2) In particular, how can the U.S.-Canada International Joint Commission, charged in the Agreement with reporting on progress toward fulfilling the promises, be empowered to do its job? 3) How can the Binational Executive Committee, a body of officials from both countries charged with implementing the Agreement, be upgraded from merely a group of agency leaders negotiating just minimum contributions to Agreement implementation and responsible to no one in particular for actual performance? And, 4) How can the Agreement include and empower sub-federal governments, from states and provinces to regions, counties, and cities, without whose contributions Great Lakes protection can never be fully achieved?
The next stopping point in the two-year review process—only after the review is complete will the governments decide about revision—is submission of a final report to the U.S. and Canadian environmental agencies at the end of December. In late March or early April the agencies will forward that final report to Canada’s Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade and the U.S. Department of State. Those agencies are officially responsible for deciding if the two countries should talk about revising the agreement. They will look at the report and hold their own public hearings on it.
The current official review, about half way through its two-year schedule, is being conducted by nine issue workgroups, open to anyone interested, ranging in charge from “scope and purpose of the Agreement” and “special issues” to toxic substances and coastal health.
The nine workgroups have completed interim reports that will be debated internally for the rest of the year before being forwarded to the overall review leadership team, officially called the Agreement Review Committee. That will be followed by amalgamating the nine reports into one document, final debate on recommendations, March or April submission to the U.S. Canadian diplomatic departments, and the holding of public hearings by those departments sometime in the summer.
For more information on the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement review process visit our page on the issue at http://www.glu.org/english/water_quality_agreement/index.htm.
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Getting Heard in Great Lakes News
Great Lakes News is the acclaimed source for news and information about the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River and the Basin community. Reaching a circulation of over 6000 by print and countless more on the web, Great Lakes News is an excellent opportunity to target a dedicated and attentive audience of Great Lakes professionals, advocates and citizens.
All members of GLU can publish free announcements of up to 200 words so long as they are relevant to the Great Lakes. To get your announcement into the next edition of Great Lakes news, send your announcement to greatlakesnews@glu.org by October 20.
And, new to the next edition, we are now accepting paid advertisements. Whether you have an upcoming event, campaign, or need to just get information out about your work, Great Lakes News is an excellent medium. For more information on rates and requirements please contact us at greatlakesnews@glu.org. Advertisements and payment must be received by October 20. As always, members of GLU receive a 25% discount.
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Support Great Lakes United
Great Lakes United is approaching its twenty-fifth anniversary. Since our founding we have worked tirelessly and successfully with governments, industry, unions, and citizens of First Nations and Tribes to better protect and restore the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River. Our success is only possible with the generous support and commitment of our members; we are strong because our members have made us so. Great Lakes United is a testament to the value of cooperation between a diverse and committed coalition of groups and individuals that cut across social, political and economic divides.
Join Great Lakes United and let us bring together our voices under a common vision. Click here to explore the value of membership and the options available.
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