Great Lakes Binational Toxics Strategy

IMPLEMENTING THE BINATIONAL TOXICS STRATEGY
Implementation

Stakeholders Forum
November 16-17, 1998 - Chicago, Illinois

1998 Progress Report - Final Draft
Overview of the Binational Toxics Strategy Implementation

1.0 INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND

What Is the Binational Toxics Strategy?

In keeping with the objectives of the 1987 Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, on April 7, 1997, Canada and the United States signed the Great Lakes Binational Toxics Strategy: Canada-United States Strategy for the Virtual Elimination of Persistent Toxic Substances in the Great Lakes, also known as the Binational Strategy, or BNS. The purpose of the BNS is to set forth a collaborative process by which Environment Canada (EC) and the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), in consultation with other federal departments and agencies, Great Lakes states, the Province of Ontario, tribes and First Nations, and Great Lakes Basin stakeholders, will work toward the goal of virtual elimination of certain targeted persistent toxic substances resulting from human activity in the Great Lakes Basin. The Strategy recognizes that the Great Lakes are an invaluable natural endowment for the residents, for the economy, and for many fish and wildlife species, and seeks to protect and ensure the health and integrity of the Great Lakes ecosystem.

The BNS provides a framework for actions to reduce or eliminate persistent toxic substances, especially those which bioaccumulate. It establishes reduction challenges in the time- frame 1997 to 2006 for 12 "Level I" persistent toxic substances:

The Strategy also identifies "Level II" substances which have the potential to significantly impact the Great Lakes ecosystem through their use or release. The Level II substances include cadmium and cadmium compounds, 1,4-dichlorobenzene, 3,3'-dichlorobenzidine, dinitropyrene, endrin, heptachlor (+heptachlor epoxide), hexachlorobutadiene (+hexachloro-1,3-butadiene), hexachlorocyclohexane, 4,4'-methylenebis (2-chloroaniline), and pentachlorobenzene. The governments are encouraging the promotion and implementation of pollution prevention activities to reduce or eliminate Level II substances. USEPA and EC have agreed to periodically reconsider the substances addressed by the Strategy to determine whether any Level II substance should be placed on the Level I list, whether any new substances threatening the Great Lakes should be included on the Level I or Level II lists, and whether any other changes should be made.

The BNS acknowledges and builds on existing Canadian and U.S. regulatory programs that address the targeted substances. In addition, the Strategy aims to build on prior and existing pollution prevention and virtual elimination efforts in the Great Lakes area. In particular, the Canada-Ontario Agreement sets the framework within which all Canadian work related to the BNS takes place.

The Concept of Virtual Elimination

In the 1987 Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement (GLWQA), Canada and the U.S. agreed that "... the discharge of any and all persistent toxic substances be virtually eliminated," and agreed to work toward this end by developing programs and "measures for the control of inputs of persistent toxic substances including control programs for their production, use, distribution, and disposal..." In 1990, the International Joint Commission (IJC) urged the countries to develop and implement a comprehensive binational program to achieve virtual elimination of persistent toxic substances in the Great Lakes environment. As a result, both Canada and the U.S., in their response to the IJC’s Seventh Biennial Report on Great Lakes Water Quality, stated their intent to develop such a binational strategy to honor the agreements made in the 1987 GLWQA.

The BNS reaffirms each country’s commitment to virtual elimination, as stated in the GLWQA, and outlines a framework by which the countries can work together to achieve this objective. Setting specific reduction challenges for the targeted substances, the BNS establishes interim quantitative reduction targets and timelines for achieving these reductions in order to track progress toward the virtual elimination of these substances. However, the BNS recognizes that it may not be possible to achieve total elimination of all persistent toxic substances, since some may be the result of natural processes and thus persist at background or "natural" levels. In addition, for technological or economic reasons, complete elimination may not be possible. In the case of naturally occurring substances, the anthropogenic sources of pollution will be targeted for reduction through life-cycle management so as to achieve naturally occurring levels. In all cases, virtual elimination is being sought through the most appropriate, common sense, practical, and cost-effective combination of voluntary, regulatory, or incentive-based actions, taking into consideration all feasible options. The challenges and actions outlined in the BNS are intended to represent significant milestones on the path toward virtual elimination.

Although the options for achieving virtual elimination include both regulatory and non-regulatory actions, the primary emphasis of the BNS is on pollution prevention and collaboration with stakeholders in support of voluntary initiatives.

IMPLEMENTATION OF THE BNS

Partnerships and the Role of Partners

USEPA’s Great Lakes National Program Office (GLNPO) and EC have been leading the implementation of the BNS, with the assistance of two environmental non-governmental organizations (ENGOs) and one industry association. The ENGOs are the National Wildlife Federation (NWF) and Great Lakes United (GLU). The industry association is the Council of Great Lakes Industries (CGLI). Other partners in the implementation effort include USEPA’s Regions 2 and 3, various industry stakeholders, other ENGOs, and state, provincial, tribal, First Nations, and local, municipal, and regional government offices.

In June 1997, a meeting of Great Lakes stakeholders was convened by GLNPO and EC to review a draft BNS implementation plan. After review of stakeholder comments, a copy of the final implementation plan was sent to the Great Lakes stakeholders, along with a letter inviting participation in substance-specific workgroups formed for the purpose of achieving the reduction challenges for the Level I substances.

The responsibilities of and actions taken by EC and USEPA in leading the Strategy implementation effort include the following:

• Providing guidance in the implementation process by drafting a BNS Implementation Plan with input from stakeholders;
• Demonstrating leadership in the implementation process by coordinating public stakeholder meetings, substance-specific workgroup meetings, and an Integration Group meeting;
• Keeping the project on schedule by preparing to meet the challenge goals in the time frames required;
• Making the decision to delegate certain issues to the Integration Group, e.g. contaminated sediments and long-range transport;
• Providing administrative support by creating the BNS List Server, Web Pages, and Discussion Forum;
• Ensuring coordinated actions across government programs by contacting representatives of other toxics reduction efforts;
• Publicizing BNS implementation efforts by producing an outreach brochure/package and display to stimulate greater stakeholder participation;
• Reporting progress and successes, including this first Progress Report;
• Communicating recommendations to other governments and policy makers;
• Providing the logistical support for meetings, including the Stakeholder Forum, by scheduling times and locations and preparing agendas.

Substance-specific Workgroups

A kick-off meeting for implementation of the BNS was held on March 23, 1998 in Chicago. Seven workgroups were formed, one for each of the following targeted substance groups: PCBs, mercury, dioxins/furans, alkyl lead, octachlorostyrene, hexachlorobenzene/ benzo(a)pyrene, and the canceled or restricted pesticides. Each workgroup was led by EC and USEPA co-chairs, with facilitators available to guide discussions according to the four-step framework outlined in the BNS. The BNS implementation plan states that the workgroups are intended to be information-gathering, fact-finding, information-exchange entities which formulate ideas, suggestions, and options for reductions, and which present their findings to EC, USEPA, and the stakeholder community at-large. Thus, through the workgroups, stakeholders have the opportunity to submit ideas, suggestions, and comments to the governments and other decision-makers, who will then take action as appropriate. The workgroups are open to any interested stakeholder. EC and USEPA have encouraged balanced participation from a broad constituency, including tribes/First Nations, states, provinces, municipalities, environmental groups, industry, academia, and community groups.

Activities vary from workgroup to workgroup, depending on previous efforts and the status of the targeted chemicals. Representative actions include:

• Recruiting additional members from industry;
• Determining sources of the substance within and outside the Great Lakes, by economic sector;
• Within each source, identifying why and how the substance is used or released;
• Characterizing the sectors and/or facilities generating, releasing, storing, or using a substance;
• Determining environmental loadings and whether the substance is naturally-occurring or results from human use;
• Assessing long-range transport across states, regions and international borders;
• Analyzing current regulations and their impact on the presence of the substance;
• Identifying options for substitutions or new or modified processes;
• Recommending and implementing actions to be undertaken by governments and stakeholders, particularly industry, that encourage progress toward the goal of virtual elimination.

As was expected from the outset, each workgroup faces its own challenges and is making progress toward its challenge goal at its own pace. Because the Strategy specifically challenges EC and USEPA to encourage and support voluntary programs by industry to reduce the generation, use, and/or release of targeted contaminants, the workgroups are encouraged to establish or continue partnerships with key Great Lakes industries to foster "cleaner, cheaper, smarter" ways of preventing or reducing pollution.

Integration Group

The need for a group to address organizational, administrative, process, and other cross-cutting issues was recognized by the stakeholders during the development of the BNS implementation plan. Therefore, a separate workgroup, called the Integration Group, was established under the BNS structure to address cross-cutting issues and to help the substance-specific workgroups focus on action and achieving results. Following the March 23, 1998, BNS kickoff meeting, the substance-specific workgroups referred the following issues to the Integration Group for consideration: long-range transport; contaminated sediments; incineration/ combustion issues; U.S.- Canadian BNS challenge goal consistency; workgroup recruitment; and public access to BNS information.

On June 19, 1998, the Integration Group was convened for the first time, with invitations to participate extended to Great Lakes stakeholders. Participants in this first meeting included 28 attendees from Canada and the U.S. Based on workgroup recommendations and their own identification of cross-cutting issues, members recommended focusing on the following topics:

• membership balance: targeting recruitment to ensure success by the substance-specific workgroups;
• reporting goals, mechanisms and tools to measure and inform the public about progress toward BNS challenge goals;
• using the World Wide Web and other communication tools to disseminate information about BNS-related efforts;
• strategies to address sources outside the Great Lakes Basin that are contributing to problems in the Great Lakes; and
• recognition/incentives programs: ways to encourage sources to go "beyond compliance" in order to achieve BNS goals;
• contaminated sediments as a consideration in implementing the BNS.

The Integration Group identified a number of options and concerns and asked the government agencies to follow up on these issues. The Integration Group expects to meet again once or twice a year, as issues arise.

Stakeholder Forum

EC and USEPA have agreed to convene a stakeholder forum to periodically assess progress made under the BNS. The BNS Stakeholder Forum, which is scheduled to meet twice a year, serves as a public forum to exchange information; to report progress, successes, impediments and suggested changes; to evaluate the status of Level I and Level II substances and refine the challenge milestones as necessary; and to discuss potential actions and future direction.

The first Stakeholder Forum, at which the governments will jointly report progress and assess the status of reduction efforts, will be held on November 16, 1998.

Cross-Cutting Issues

Long-Range Transport

In addition to the substance-specific challenges being undertaken by each of the workgroups, the BNS mandates a joint Canadian-U.S. obligation to:

Assess atmospheric inputs of Strategy substances to the Great Lakes. The aim of this effort is to evaluate and report jointly on the contribution and significance of long-range transport of Strategy substances from world-wide sources. If ongoing long-range sources are confirmed, work within international frameworks to reduce releases of such substances.

Although the BNS does not set a time frame for reporting on the long-range transport of pollutants from world-wide sources, EC and USEPA are committed to the development of a long-range transport report. This report will ultimately be a formal assessment of long-range transport contributions of toxic chemicals to the Great Lakes, and will review options for joint U.S.-Canadian actions. An outline of this report is expected to be available in the Spring of 1999. Environmental context summaries prepared under the BNS will also describe the role of long-range transport in conveying toxic substances to the Great Lakes. In addition, USEPA and EC will continue to seek opportunities to advocate for action on long-range transport in national and international fora.

Contaminated Sediments

A joint Canadian-U.S. challenge similarly applies to contaminated sediments:

Complete or be well advanced in remediation of priority sites with contaminated bottom sediments in the Great Lakes Basin by 2006.

As with long-range transport, the governments recognize that the BNS alone cannot resolve all of the issues associated with contaminated sediments, and that the BNS must work to influence national and international policy on this issue. Although the substance-specific workgroups are not expected to focus on contaminated sediments in their individual reduction efforts, they have been asked to include sediments in their source assessments, and to describe the role of contaminated sediments in environmental context summaries prepared under the BNS. EC and USEPA intend to use the IJC’s Sediment Priority Action Committee (SedPAC) as a forum to discuss progress, issues, options, and recommendations regarding contaminated bottom sediments. To improve communication on this topic, a link will be established between the BNS web site and USEPA Region 5's sediments web page.

USEPA staff involved in the BNS effort have met with the agency’s Regional Sediments Team, and have developed strategic directions as well as ideas for a sediments information management system, currently under review by EC. In Canada, the evaluation of 250 innovative technologies for the safe handling and treatment of contaminated sediments has been documented in conjunction with the Great Lakes 2000 Cleanup Fund. The implementation of a computerized, searchable Sediment Technology Directory (SEDTEC) of 250 remediation technologies is also being promoted, on a pilot basis, in Canada and the cleanup of priority contaminated sediments is being pursued.

Contaminated sediment is also being addressed in Canada and the U.S. through Remedial Action Plans (RAPs) and Lakewide Management Plans (LaMPs). Over the last ten years, approximately $500 million has been spent on 24 sediment remediation projects undertaken in 14 different Great Lakes Areas of Concern (AOCs). The subject of contaminated sediments and future remediation efforts will be discussed by EC and USEPA with the Integration Group at an upcoming meeting.

Level II Substances

The Strategy also explicitly defines a challenge for Level II substances: to promote pollution prevention and the sound management of these substances, as well as to increase knowledge of sources and environmental levels of these pollutants.

EC is committed to developing information on the occurrence, fate, and effects of organometal compounds, including tributyl tin, and to upgrading and improving public access to an existing import/export hazardous waste information database. In the U.S., control measures adopted as a result of the Clean Air Act for major source sectors, such as iron and steel and wood preservation, are expected to substantially reduce emissions of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs).

Reporting/Communication

The governments are required to report progress on a regular basis. This is the first Binational Strategy Progress Report. Similarly, in order to assess progress toward meeting the BNS challenges, EC and USEPA are responsible for establishing a process for determining baseline release levels and loadings of targeted substances, based on best available data. The substance-specific workgroups are presently involved in this effort. In addition, the octachlorostyrene, alkyl-lead, and pesticides workgroups are in the process of preparing reports describing their efforts to meet the BNS challenge goals, all of which are expected to be completed in draft by December 1998. Individual activity and progress reports from each of the substance-specific workgroups appear in Section 2 of this Progress Report.

To improve the coordination of all participants in the BNS implementation effort, electronic communication was initially thought to be the most efficient and environmentally-friendly means of exchanging information. Because actual face-to-face meetings were anticipated to be infrequent, the BNS implementation plan recommended electronic communication channels to keep participants informed and to speed the implementation process. BNS web pages (www.epa.gov/bns and www.cciw.ca/glimr) were developed on the Internet to provide rapid, two-way information transfer while conserving paper and other resources. These web pages contain letters, minutes, documents, and relevant reports associated with the BNS and its implementation. A discussion forum for the exchange of information, ideas, and opinions on implementation issues can also be found at the web sites. In addition, a BNS List Server was created to communicate and send documents via e-mail.

However, this electronic communication system has been under-utilized, in particular the discussion forum. USEPA and EC staff and workgroup leaders are considering the best means of improving communication among BNS participants between scheduled meetings. 

3.0 LINKAGE WITH RELATED EFFORTS

Lakewide Management Plans

In 1987 the Amendments to the 1972 Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement created the process for the development of Lakewide Management Plans (LaMPs) for Critical Pollutants in each of the Great Lakes. The LaMPs are intended to assess the critical pollutants as they relate to the impairment of beneficial uses of the Great Lakes, and to develop measures to restore beneficial uses where they have been impaired. The LaMP process embraces the concept of virtual elimination, and covers substances and sets reduction targets on a lake-specific basis. An effort is being made to coordinate LaMP and BNS efforts in order to produce a cohesive, unified program to address persistent bioaccumulative toxics pollutants in the Great Lakes area.

A LaMP for each of the Great Lakes is expected to be submitted to the IJC at four stages: 1) when definition of the problem is complete; 2) when chemical load reduction schedules are complete; 3) when remedial measures are selected; and 4) when monitoring indicates that the contribution of critical pollutants to impaired uses has been eliminated and beneficial uses restored. Each of the Great Lakes is in a different situation with respect to its LaMP. The Lake Superior LaMP is nearing completion of Stage 2 and about to embark on Stage 3. The Lake Michigan LaMP is nearing completion of Stage 1. The Lake Erie LaMP is in the middle of its Stage 1 efforts, the Stage 1 LaMP for Lake Ontario was finalized in May 1998, and Lake Huron has not yet begun the LaMP process.

Remedial Action Plans

The Great Lakes Remedial Action Plan (RAP) program originated from a 1985 recommendation made by the International Joint Commission's Great Lakes Water Quality Board and was formalized in the 1987 amendments to the GLWQA. The aim of RAPs is to restore beneficial uses in 43 Areas of Concern (AOCs) in the Great Lakes Basin. Through the RAP program, Canada and the U.S. are committed to cooperating with state and provincial governments to incorporate a systematic and comprehensive ecosystem approach to use restoration, and to ensuring that the public is consulted in all actions undertaken to develop and implement RAPs for all designated AOCs in the Great Lakes basin. As part of this process, critical pollutants are being addressed along with the need for reduction targets, which in turn is assisting in achieving the goals of the BNS.

GLNPO maintains information on the U.S. AOCs, including current RAP status, scheduled meetings, progress and achievements, beneficial use impairments, research, publications, community involvement, and funding partners. Environment Canada provides updates on Canada’s RAPs, including progress reports for the 17 Canadian AOCs in Lakes Erie, Huron, Ontario and Superior, and the connecting channels. These updates can be accessed via the Internet at http://www.ec.gc.ca/raps-pas/default.asp?lang=En&n=A290294A-1.  

Canada-Ontario Agreement

The Canada-Ontario Agreement Respecting the Great Lakes Basin Ecosystem (COA) was established in 1994 to satisfy the requirements of the 1987 Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement (GLWQA). The COA provides the framework, within Canada, for systematic and strategic coordination of shared federal and provincial responsibilities for ecosystem management in the Great Lakes Basin. The agreement established priorities, targets, and schedules for environmental issues of concern in the Basin, identifying more than 50 targets to be achieved during the six-year term of the COA. These targets address three main objectives: to restore degraded areas, to prevent and control pollution, and to conserve and protect human and ecosystem health. The COA identifies Tier I and Tier II substances, along with their reduction targets. These substances and targets have been incorporated into the Challenge goals within the BNS.

Toxic Substances Management Policy (TSMP)

The Toxic Substances Management Policy outlines the Canadian federal government’s approach to the management of toxic substances. The TSMP was developed to strengthen the protection of human health and the environment, and serves to provide guidance and an improved consistent approach to the assessment and management of substances by the federal government. The Policy presents a management framework based on two key objectives: virtual elimination from the environment of toxic substances that are persistent, bioaccumulative, and primarily the result of human activity (Track 1), and life-cycle management of other toxic substances including naturally occurring substances and substances of concern to prevent or minimize their releases to the environment (Track 2). In July 1998, a notice was issued under CEPA to put the following chemicals on Track 1: Aldrin, Chlordane, DDT, Dieldrin, Endrin, Heptachlor, Hexachlorobenzene, Mirex, PCBs, Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins, Polychlorinated dibenzofurans, and Toxaphene.

PBT Strategy

The USEPA has developed a draft toxics reduction plan, entitled the Persistent, Bioaccumulative, and Toxic (PBT) Strategy. The aim of the PBT Strategy is to respond to the cross-media issues associated with PBT pollutants by going beyond the traditional single-statute approaches in order to reduce risks to human health and the environment from existing and future exposure to PBT pollutants. The initial focus of the PBT Strategy is the Level I substances of the BNS, but whereas the BNS primarily seeks voluntary reductions, the PBT Strategy intends to use the full range of USEPA tools to prevent and reduce releases of these substances. These tools include voluntary, regulatory, programmatic, remedial, international, compliance monitoring and assistance, enforcement, research, and outreach programs. The approach of the PBT Strategy is to coordinate efforts on the targeted substances among all USEPA national and regional programs.

Internationally, related efforts include a legally-binding protocol on persistent organic pollutants (POPs) negotiated in February 1998 by members of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) under the Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution (LRTAP). The objective of the LRTAP protocol is to control, reduce, or eliminate discharges, emissions, and losses of persistent organic pollutants. These include the substances targeted by the BNS. In June 1998, 55 member countries signed the LRTAP protocol. A second pact signed by the member countries will reduce emissions of lead, cadmium, and mercury below 1990 levels and phase out leaded gasoline.