GLIN==> The IJC invites you to comment on Priorities Work Group Reports

Submitted on behalf of Dr. John E. Gannon, Acting Director, Great Lakes
Regional Office of the International Joint Commission.
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The IJC invites you to comment on Priorities Work Group Reports

"Can I drink the water?" "Can I eat the fish?"  "Can I swim at the beach?"
"Can I walk the shoreline without rotting algae?"  "Can I stop the invasion
of aquatic aliens?"  "Can I 'rethink' the Great Lakes?"  "Can I make the
Great Lakes a better place?"

These questions are addressed in a series of reports released in September
by the International Joint Commission (IJC) on its 2007-09 Priorities under
the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement between Canada and the United
States.  These reports, developed by work groups of the IJC advisory boards,
address critical issues of the nearshore, eutrophication, beaches and
recreational water quality, chemicals of emerging concern, binational
aquatic invasive species (AIS) rapid response, and the benefits and risks of
Great Lakes fish consumption.

Commissioners of the IJC invite you to comment on the Work Group Reports
during an open public comment period running now through November 30th. The
Commission is developing its 15th Biennial Report on Great Lakes Water
Quality based on these reports and comments received from the public at its
Biennial Meeting in Windsor last month and during this open comment period.
Review the reports in English or French and provide your comments online
conveniently at  <http://meeting.ijc.org./> http://meeting.ijc.org./
<http://meeting.ijc.org> .

About the Canada-U.S. Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement
The original Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement was signed by Prime
Minister Pierre Trudeau and President Richard Nixon in 1972. Subsequently a
new Agreement was signed in 1978 and amended in 1987.  However, the
Agreement has not been updated or changed in more than 22 years. During this
time, our scientific knowledge and understanding and technology have grown
immensely. New threats to the well being of the Great Lakes ecosystem are
becoming better defined.  In response, on Saturday, June 13, 2009, U.S.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister
Lawrence Cannon committed to updating the Agreement.  Click here
<http://www.canamglass.org/glwqa/> http://www.canamglass.org/glwqa/
<http://www.canamglass.org/glwqa/>  for resource documents and information
regarding the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement.

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