[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 159 (Wednesday, November 12, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2329-E2330]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  COMMEMORATING THE 25TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE GREAT LAKES WATER QUALITY 
                               AGREEMENT

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. STEVE C. LaTOURETTE

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, November 12, 1997

  Mr. LaTOURETTE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commemorate the 25th 
anniversary of the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement [GLWQA]. This 
groundbreaking agreement between the United States and Canada was 
signed on April 15, 1972, by President Richard Nixon and Canadian Prime 
Minister Pierre Trudeau as a binational pledge to reduce and prevent 
Great Lakes pollution. The GLWQA grew out of a need to reverse the 
decades-long trend of decline in the health and beneficial uses of the 
Great Lakes.
  My constituents have been especially impacted by water quality since 
my district includes the longest Lake Erie shoreline of any Ohio 
congressional district. In the late 1960's, Lake Erie was considered to 
be a dead lake, with stinking mats of algae growing profusely, and huge 
parts of the lake rendered uninhabitable for fish due to lack of 
oxygen. After a comprehensive study of this problem was conducted, it 
became apparent that these problems were the result of eutrophication, 
or the overfertilizing of the lake. Too much phosphorus was being 
dumped into Lake Erie from various sources, including farms, factories, 
and private homes. The 1972 GLWQA included provisions for the reduction 
of phosphorous loadings into Lakes Erie and Ontario.
  As a result of the 1972 GLWQA, phosphorus levels significantly 
decreased in the Great Lakes. In Lakes Erie and Ontario, phosphorus 
loadings have been reduced by almost 80 percent. The United States and 
Canada achieved this binational goal through improvements in sewage 
treatment, lowering the levels of phosphorus in detergents, and 
reducing agricultural runoff.
  In 1978, the GLWQA was revised and the two countries pledged to 
restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity 
of the waters of the Great Lakes basin ecosystem. Toxic substances were 
a major concern by the late 1970's, and the two countries committed 
themselves to achieving zero discharge of toxic substances in toxic 
amounts and the virtual elimination of persistent toxic substances. 
These persistent toxics bioaccumulate in organisms and increase in 
concentration up the food chain. Some of these substances, such as 
PCB's and dioxin, have been shown to cause adverse health effects in 
humans and wildlife.
  Again, my constituents have been impacted by the constant plague of 
persistent toxics which were dumped into the lakes during a time when 
the consequences of pollution were not understood. The Ashtabula River 
and harbor in northeast Ohio was a dumping ground for toxic waste for 
years.
  The 1987 protocol to the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement 
reinforced the 1978 commitments of the United States and Canada and 
highlighted the importance of human and aquatic ecosystem health. 
Provisions were added to clean up 42 local areas of concern in the 
Great Lakes and included the development and implementation of remedial 
action plans [RAP's] and lakewide management plans [LaMPs].
  The Ashtabula River and harbor was designated as an area of concern 
by the International Joint Commission [IJC] in 1985, and a remedial 
action plan has since been developed to clean the river up. Under the 
leadership of the IJC, a coalition of interested parties has worked 
continuously to make the Ashtabula River and harbor one of the first 
successful cleanup sites in the Great Lakes. The Ashtabula River 
Partnership has made great strides in recent years to secure the 
commitment of the Army Corps of Engineers to safely dredge the 
sediments and dispose of them in a manner consistent with our 
obligation to protect the environment.
  The accomplishments under the GLWQA extend beyond my constituents' 
corner of the Great Lakes. As a result of the United States and 
Canadian commitment to reducing toxic substance releases, cormorants in 
the Great Lakes region have significantly increased in population from 
the 1950's to the 1970's levels

[[Page E2330]]

when the number of nesting pairs of cormorants dropped by 86 percent. 
Concentrations of DDE and PCB, both persistent toxic substances, 
decreased in cormorant eggs by more than 80 percent between 1971 and 
1989. Concentrations of chlorinated compounds, such as dioxins and 
furans which are used in the bleaching process of pulp and paper mills, 
have decreased in the Great Lakes by 90 percent since the late 1980's.
  On November 1, 1997, in Niagara Falls, NY, the International Joint 
Commission, with Canada and the United States, celebrated the 25th 
anniversary of the GLWQA. This event was attended by many people in the 
Great Lakes community hailing from United States and Canadian 
Government agencies, environmental organizations, public interest 
groups, and industry. The key speakers at the celebration were Deputy 
Secretary John Garamendi, United States Department of Interior, and the 
Honorable John Fraser, Canadian Environment Embassador, as well as a 
member of my staff, Mr. Brett Kaull.
  At this landmark anniversary of the GLWQA, we must not rest on the 
laurels of the accomplishments of the past, for there is still much to 
be done to restore the environment of the Great Lakes, This effort will 
require vigilance and commitment from the United States and Canada, 
Federal and local governments, industry, and the public. In 1999, the 
United States and Canada will review the agreement's objectives and 
terms to determine whether to update its scope. Let us continue to work 
together in a concerted effort to achieve the goal of bringing back the 
Great Lakes to their former preeminence as a natural resource to be 
enjoyed for generations.

                          ____________________