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Great Lakes Binational Toxics Strategy

Stakeholder Forum - 1998

IMPLEMENTING THE BINATIONAL TOXICS STRATEGY
Implementation Plan and Structure

In keeping with the obligations of the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, Canada and the United States on April 7, 1997, signed the "Great Lakes Binational Toxics Strategy: Canada-United States Strategy for the Virtual Elimination of Persistent Toxic Substances in the Great Lakes" (Strategy). This Strategy seeks percentage reductions in targeted persistent toxic substances so as to protect and ensure the health and integrity of the Great Lakes ecosystem.

This implementation plan, drafted by Canada and the United States with input from stakeholders, sets out a structure and process for implementation of the Binational Strategy. This document reflects comments and suggestions from the June 1997 Binational Strategy stakeholder meeting as well as submitted written comments.

I. Background

The purpose of this plan is to establish a systematic, straight-forward and "common-sense" approach to implementation of the challenges and action items of the Binational Strategy by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), Environment Canada (EC) and stakeholders.

The approach presented here represents a new, innovative way of doing business. The Agencies are committed to a process as open, flexible and non-bureaucratic as possible. We are striving to design a process which can engage all elements of the Great Lakes community in positive actions contributing to reductions. To that end, we have designed a process which is non-hierarchical, action and result focused, open and accountable.

The Great Lakes community is complex, with many processes and networks in place working toward pollution prevention. These include: Remedial Action Plans (RAPs), Lakewide Management Plans (LaMPs), the Niagara River Declaration of Intent, the State of the Lakes Ecosystem Conference (SOLEC), and many others. The implementation process of the Strategy must productively build upon these existing efforts.

In structuring this implementation process, we have had to explore new forms of organizing multiple stakeholders across a wide geographical area -- two countries, various states, a Province and several jurisdictions. Some examples we are looking at include the process structured by the Ozone Transport Assessment Group (OTAG), which offered one kind of model, relying heavily on an electronic network to facilitate information collation and exchange, openness and inclusiveness. The Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) used another model of public consultation, information gathering and exchange, across wide geographic zones, in the development of their North American Regional Action Plans. The Agencies will take advantage of lessons learned from these and other similar efforts and will strive to make this implementation process the most open, participatory and effective it can be.

Finally, although we have presented a blueprint for an implementation process in this paper, we are open to suggestions, feedback and changes. The process will be monitored closely, and mid-course corrections made if necessary.

II. Principles

The implementation process needs to:

III. Methodology

The implementation process will be guided by the general analytical framework outlined in the Strategy, and consist of the following four steps to address each priority substance or category of substance:

IV. Organizational Structure and Responsibilities

We anticipate that activities and discussions relating to implementation of the Strategy will take place either through the substance or chemical-specific Work Groups, where most of the information exchange, information gathering and work on the four-step methodology will occur, or at a Binational Strategy Stakeholder Forum, a meeting held twice a year (or on an as-needed basis), during which progress will be reported on and evaluated. It is anticipated that the Fora will help to ensure accountability in the implementation of the Binational Strategy.

Roles and Responsibilities

Work Groups

For the most part, the work groups will be formed around a specific challenge or substance and will be considered information-gathering, fact-finding and information-exchange entities. These groups will use the Strategy's four-step methodology as a framework for structuring actions and activities. The work groups will formulate ideas, suggestions and options for reductions, and will present findings to the stakeholder community at-large, either at the Binational Strategy Stakeholder Forum or another meeting. We envision that the implementation process will provide ample opportunity for the ideas, suggestions and comments of these work groups to be presented to the governments and to other decision makers. Thus, the work groups will channel findings and ideas to the governments and the governments will take actions as appropriate. These work groups will be open to any interested stakeholder. We intend to encourage balanced participation by a wide spectrum of stakeholders, representing Tribes/First Nations, States, Provinces, Non-Governmental Organizations, and Industry, etc. Informal "guidelines" or "ground rules" for the work groups may be established, with input from the stakeholders.

Another work group, entitled the Integration Work Group, will be formed to work on organizational, administrative, process and other cross-cutting issues. This work group will consist of employees of USEPA and EC, as well as any other interested parties.

The roles and responsibilities of the substance-specific work groups may include the following:

The roles and responsibilities of the Integration Work Group may include the following:

Binational Strategy Stakeholder Forum

The Forum will serve as a general meeting of the entire stakeholder community, members of the public, and any other interested party, and will take place approximately twice a year. The Integration Work Group will set the agenda, with input from the stakeholders. Facilitators will be used as necessary to advance the proceedings of the Stakeholder Forum.

Functions of the Forum may include the following:

Governments

Roles and responsibilities of the Federal, State, Provincial governments and Tribes/First Nations may include:

V. Reporting/Communication

All relevant actions taken by stakeholders and governments will be included in progress reports, presented at the State of the Lakes Ecosystem Conference (SOLEC) and/or the Biennial IJC meeting, on the implementation and results achieved under the Strategy. EC and USEPA, with input from the work groups, are responsible for drafting the reports.

We will use electronic communication preferentially (e.g., internet/e-mail/list server groups) as the most efficient and pollution prevention-friendly way to exchange information. We anticipate setting up a general Binational Strategy web site, with links to work group specific sites and other relevant toxics reduction activities.

 

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