13 www.georgianbay.ca GBA UPDATE Fall 2022 representing each of the five Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River basin and synthesized them into a summary video ≥ Hosted a series of GLEN events in Niagara Falls ≥ Brought forward the public comments to ECCC and the EPA at the 2022 Great Lakes Public Forum ≥ Submitted a detailed report to the governments which spells out concerns and recommends improvements that should be implemented Going forward, GLEN will: ≥ Fulfill an integral role in shaping the next 10-year GLWQA by remaining fully engaged on its drafting and finalization ≥ Provide a long-term forum for future public comments, concerns, and issues to hold governments accountable and assess progress What are the significant accomplishments of the GLWQA over the last 50 years? ≥ Lake Erie recovery from extreme pollution ≥ Important scientific breakthroughs and regulatory advances on persistent toxic chemicals in the food web ≥ Productive action on airborne toxics ≥ Significant progress on the clean-up of 41 toxic hot spots, termed Areas of Concerns (AOCs) In addition, the GLWQA has successfully incorporated: ≥ Consultations with Indigenous communities and traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) ≥ How climate change impacts are threatening water quality What are the shortfalls that have and will require public vigilance and commentary? ≥ Failure to embrace a precautionary approach (for instance, when approving new industrial developments) or to take preventative action (when faced with an emerging threat), both of which have resulted in a continuous stream of new water quality issues ≥ Failure to take bold action at critical moments, (e.g., invasives, toxics, and algal blooms), but instead adoption of an incremental approach, which has not solved these highly impactful issues ≥ Lack of specific goals with timelines ≥ Lost opportunity and commitment to enforcing a zerodischarge policy for persistent toxic substances, including radionuclides ≥ Failure to adequately address nutrients from agricultural sources, which has caused Lake Erie to degrade again and contributed to increased algae outbreaks throughout the Great Lakes basin ≥ The Areas of Concern (AOC) clean-up progress has been slow and there has been insufficient follow-up to prevent pollution that has been cleaned up from recurring ≥ Failure to prevent the disruption of natural water flows that have resulted from such things as shoreline hardening and straightening of rivers, which has caused habitat destruction ≥ Use of natural areas for toxics disposal ≥ Failure to assess source waters where public drinking water is drawn ≥ Focus on fish consumption advisories rather than implementing long-term fish contamination solutions What are the primary impacts of these achievements and failures for the Bay? ≥ The slow rollout of ballast water regulations led to many highly destructive invasive species entering our waters, such as quagga mussels and round goby, before the improvements were implemented. ≥ Both Severn Sound and Collingwood Harbour were listed as AOCs, due to their poor water quality and environmental degradation, but remedial action plans, with strong support from local organizations, have successfully restored water quality and the environment in both locations. ≥ The list of chemicals of mutual concern is inadequate and urgently needs to be expanded (e.g. adding plastics/ microfibres). GBA has been pushing for years for improvements in preventative measures on hazardous chemicals. ≥With warming waters due to climate change, the alarming increase in algae outbreaks has been exacerbated by inadequate farm run-off reduction policies. GBA’s Aquaculture Committee has provided numerous comments on nutrient loading from open net pen aquaculture (fish farming) operations in Lake Huron over the years (see: https://bit.ly/aquaculture_sub). ≥ Grass carp pose a major threat to the health and preservation of our wetlands, and continued binational action is crucial to the continued success of our efforts at preventing the introduction of all Asian carp into the Great Lakes. These are just some examples of why the GLWQA is so important for preserving and even improving water quality in the Bay, but the ongoing performance on all 10 Annexes listed in the accompanying infographic is vital for our continued enjoyment of this special place.
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