Great Lakes Charter and Annex 2001
The Great Lakes, bordered by eight states and two provinces in the heart of North America, are the largest system of fresh surface water anywhere on planet Earth. These lakes are the lifeblood of Ontario, the source of drinking water for nearly three-quarters of Ontario’s population. The Great Lakes basin is home to most of the province’s human population and most of its biodiversity. The lakes also provide water for power generation, transportation and manufacturing for 45 per cent of Canada’s industries. We rely on them for recreation, inspiration and prosperity.
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The Great Lakes Charter
In 1985, an agreement was struck between Ontario, Quebec, and the eight U.S. states that border the Great Lakes (through the Council of Great Lakes Governors) to address water levels and flows and the environment of the Great Lakes basin. This agreement, the Great Lakes Charter, committed the provinces and states to work to protect the Great Lakes basin from threats of large-volume water diversions. The Charter included voluntary notice and consultation between jurisdictions if new or increased large-volume water diversions or consumptive uses were proposed.
Annex 2001
An addendum to the Great Lakes Charter, called Annex 2001, was signed in June 2001, in response to fears that water might be exported in bulk out of the basin. An Ontario event triggered these concerns. In 1998, the province issued a permit to take water to the Nova Group Inc., a company proposing to ship Lake Superior water in bulk to Asia. The resulting public outcry, and fears that this would trigger international trade agreements and open the tap on bulk water exports, led to cancellation of the permit.
In 1999, Ontario passed a Water Taking and Transfer Regulation, which prohibited large water transfers out of the Great Lakes basin. (For a full review, see the ECO’s 1999/2000 annual report Supplement.) Ontario, together with the other parties to the 1985 Charter, signed the Annex 2001 agreement, clarifying the principles under which decisions should be made about whether to approve large water takings.
Under Annex 2001, proposed water takings should be approved only if they:
- minimize loss through conservation and return flow
- have no significant adverse impacts on water quantity or quality
- improve waters and related resources
- comply with applicable laws and agreements.
Annex 2001 committed the 10 signatories to develop implementing agreements, within three years, to address proposed diversions or bulk water exports as well as growing water use within the basin. On July 19, 2004, the states and provinces announced that they had developed a pair of draft Annex 2001 implementing agreements, called the Great Lakes Basin Sustainable Water Resources Agreement and Great Lakes Basin Water Resources Compact. The Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, the lead negotiator for Ontario, posted the draft agreements on the Environmental Registry with 90-day comment periods, hosted meetings across Ontario to consult with the public, and consulted with First Nations. Consultation was carried out in Quebec and in the United States. The Council of Great Lakes Governors received over 10,000 comments in response to their request for input and at consultation meetings.
Public Participation
Much of the public response was critical of the draft agreements. Many groups called for stronger protection of the Great Lakes waters. One contentious issue was the “improvement standard” that required water use proposals to demonstrate that they would result in improvement of water and related resources. Some argued that only such an “improvement standard” could protect the basin from gradual degradation. Others feared that such a standard would be impossible to implement, and would in practice simply allow those able to pay for ecosystem improvement projects to buy their way into obtaining approval for proposed water takings.
Provisions to require water takers to return water back to the basin were also criticized by commenters who pointed out that diverting water into the Great Lakes Basin from other sources, to make up for water removed, could add to the current problem of alien species invasions. Critics also suggested that the water volume thresholds for triggering the agreement provisions were too high, excluding most water takings. Some called for stronger public consultation provisions, and stronger roles for the federal governments and the International Joint Commission. Many groups suggested that existing takings, not only proposed new takings, should be subject to water conservation requirements under the agreement.
Ministry Response
On November 15, 2004, in response to widespread concerns voiced during public consultation, the Minister of Natural Resources announced that Ontario would not sign the existing drafts of the Annex 2001 implementing agreements. MNR indicated that Ontario wants a “no diversions” agreement, or no net loss out of the basin. The ministry argued that while the draft agreements would strengthen water use regulation in many states, they are not as strong as Ontario’s laws that prohibit water transfer out of the basin. (For the ECO's review, please see Water Taking and Transfer Regulation under the OWRA). Ontario and the other Great Lakes jurisdictions returned to the bargaining table early in 2005.
On June 30, 2005, a new pair of draft agreements was released for 60-day public comment. The draft agreements were posted on the Environmental Registry, and MNR hosted a series of public information meetings across Ontario.
ECO Comment
The ECO commends the Ministry of Natural Resources for responding to public concerns and for insisting on stronger environmental protection provisions in the Annex 2001 implementing agreements. Pressures on the Great Lakes waters continue to mount: population and economic growth in the basin, climate change, and over-exploitation of water in other parts of North America and beyond. The ECO urges the Ontario government to ensure that the Annex 2001 implementing agreements are adequate, in the face of these challenges, to protect the precious Great Lakes waters, and to safeguard the public’s rights to participate in future decisions about water takings affecting the basin.
The ECO will continue to monitor developments and decisions on Great Lakes protection, and will report on this issue in future annual reports.
| This is an article from the 2004/05 Annual Report to the Legislature from the Environmental Commissioner of Ontario. |
Citing This Article:
Environmental Commissioner of Ontario. 2005. "Great Lakes Water Resource Agreements." Planning our Landscape, ECO Annual Report, 2004-05. Toronto, ON : Environmental Commissioner of Ontario. 64-67.
