1. John Nevin
International Joint Commission
The IJC, Boundary Waters Treaty and the
Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement
Wednesday, January 23, 2013

2. Transboundary Basins
Columbia River
Basin
Souris Rainy River
River Basin Basin Missisquoi Bay
Lake Champlain
Saint. Croix
River Basin
St. Mary - Milk
River Basin Red
River Basin
The Great Lakes
and Waterways
More than a century of cooperation protecting shared waters 2

3. Boundary Waters Treaty Negotiated in 1909
at a time of industrialization and urbanization
of the Great Lakes and other boundary waters
Cleveland
The Hamilton
Ohio Water
Ontario Steel &
Works Plant,
Iron Company,
July 4, 1903
1900
Toronto, Ontario 1896
3
3

4. THE BOUNDARY WATERS TREATY (1909)
 ORIGIN – border disputes over use Sir George Gibbons
of transboundary waters.
 PURPOSE – provides the
principles and mechanisms to help
prevent and resolve disputes along
the boundary
 The IJC was created by the Treaty
and remains a key part of the US-
Canada relationship.
More than a century of cooperation, protecting shared waters.

5. Origins of the Boundary Waters Treaty
Digging the St. Mary Canal Schoellkopf Power Station
Montana, 1908 Niagara Falls NY, 1895
More than a century of cooperation protecting shared waters 5

6. Niagara Falls (What might have been?)
More than a century of cooperation protecting shared waters 6

7. Sir George Gibbons – 1916 Speech
More than a century of cooperation protecting shared waters 7

8. SOME KEY PRINCIPLES OF THE TREATY
 Equal and similar rights to the use of
boundary waters;
 Order of precedence of use –
sanitary/domestic, navigation, power
generation/irrigation;
 Structures/diversion not to affect levels
and flows on the other side; and,
 Must not pollute water on either side to
the injury of health or property on the
other side.
More than a century of cooperation, protecting shared waters.

9. Equality: Parity of Power
“The High Contracting
Parties shall have, each on
its own side of the boundary,
equal and similar rights in
the use of the waters
hereinbefore defined as
boundary waters.”
Article VIII, Boundary Waters
Treaty of 1909
More than a century of cooperation, protecting shared waters.

10. THE COMMISSION’S STRUCTURE
 Six Commissioners (three from Canada,
three from the U.S.; two of whom are co-
chairs)
 A creation of the treaty, but not a creature
of governments. The IJC an international
organization which is a permanent,
binational, objective, independent, unitary
body
 Sectional offices in Ottawa and
Washington DC
 Regional office in Windsor, Ontario
More than a century of cooperation protecting shared waters

11. IJC – Principles of Operation
 Independent – commissioners serve
without instruction from governments
 Complete equality between two countries
 Decisions made by consensus
 Sound science - joint fact finding
 Experts serve in personal and
professional capacity
 Extensive stakeholder engagement
 Full public involvement
More than a century of cooperation protecting shared waters

12. IJC Operations – APPLICATIONS/ORDERS
 Rules on applications for approval of projects
affecting boundary and transboundary waters
 May regulate the operations of projects, for
example, water control structures at the outlets of
lakes superior and ontario - both boundary waters
More than a century of cooperation protecting shared waters

13. Boundary Waters Treaty of 1909
Order of Precedence
“The following order of precedence shall be observed
… and no use shall be permitted which tends
materially to conflict with or restrain any other use
which is given preference over it in this order of
precedence:
1. Uses for domestic and sanitary purposes;
2. Uses for navigation, including the service of canals
for the purposes of navigation;
3. Uses for power and for irrigation purposes.”
More than a century of cooperation protecting shared waters 13

14. Regulatory Structures at Sault Ste. Marie
Power Plants
Control Works
More than a century of cooperation protecting shared waters 14

15. Regulation of Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River
More than a century of cooperation protecting shared waters 15

16. What is the IJC Mandate for References?
 IJC looks into issues as asked to by the two
National governments.
 IJC replies with an independent report and
make recommendations to the governments
on these issues.
 An example is the current reference under the
Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement.
 One of the first references was regarding
pollution of boundary waters – report in 1918.
More than a century of cooperation protecting shared waters 16

17. IJC 1918 Water Quality Report
 Improvements
in death rates
were due to the
protection of
water supplies
through use of
bleaching
powder and
liquid chlorine.
More than a century of cooperation protecting shared waters 17

18. What is the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement?
The purpose of the Agreement is “to restore
and maintain the chemical, physical and
biological integrity of the waters of the
Great Lakes basin ecosystem"
President Richard Nixon and Prime Minister Pierre
The Cuyahoga River on fire in 1969. Trudeau signing the Great Lakes Water Quality
Agreement, April 15, 1972
More than a century of cooperation protecting shared waters 18

19. Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement Timeline
More than a century of cooperation protecting shared waters 19

20. IJC 1996: “the battle against eutrophication
has been substantially successful”
Baker, D. B. and Dolan, D. M. 2009. Lake Erie Phosphorus: Tributary Loading Data and Long-
term trends. Western Lake Erie Basin Conference, Maumee Bay State Park. March 11, 2009.
20

21. Lake Erie Phosphorus Loading
More than a century of cooperation protecting shared waters 21

22. Columbia River Saint John
Basin River Basin
Souris Rainy River
River Basin Basin Missisquoi Bay
Lake Champlain
Saint Croix
June 13, 2009 River Basin
Secretary of State Clinton
St. Mary - Milk
and Minister Cannon River Basin Red
celebrate centennial of River Basin
the Boundary Waters
The Great Lakes
Treaty with the IJC. and Waterways
More than a century of cooperation protecting shared waters

23. Most Applications Were Approved
Figure 1: Status of Applications
49
6 6
Approved No action/deferred Withdrawn /Technical
Concerns
More than a century of cooperation protecting shared waters

24. The Record – 1909 to 2006
Figure 2: Trends in Applications and References
19
17
15
14
12
8 s 7
6
1
1909-1929 1930-1949 1950-1969 1970-1989 1990-2006
References (57) Applications (61)
More than a century of cooperation protecting shared waters

25. Remarkable Level of Consensus
Figure 3: IJC Dockets 1909-2006
Agreement
Reached
No Agreement
More than a century of cooperation protecting shared waters

26. For more than one hundred years, the
International Joint Commission has
worked with the governments of the
U.S. and Canada to prevent potential
disputes and to resolve amicably
problems involving air and water quality
and water quantity from coast to coast.

27. John Nevin
International Joint Commission
The IJC, Boundary Waters Treaty and the
Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement
Wednesday, January 23, 2013