GLIN==> RELEASE: Governments Remain Silent on Lack of Public Input

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media release

February 16, 2010

 

Governments Remain Silent on Lack of Public Input

3-week silence is a poor signal for citizens concerned about the Great Lakes

 

Environmental organizations warn that the public is at risk of being shut
out of renegotiation of the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, a landmark
policy that, since 1972, has driven critical public health and water quality
improvements in the region.

 

In a letter sent to the governments three weeks ago, the groups expressed
concern that this oversight would seriously undermine confidence in the
final Agreement, depriving the governments of public input now and public
support later. To date, government negotiators have failed to acknowledge
the letter and its recommendations. 

 

"Canada and the United States have created a process that stifles public
involvement and shuts out constructive input," said John Jackson, Director
of Clean Production and Toxics with Great Lakes United. "Ultimately, this
will fail their citizens, fail the communities dependent on the lakes for
their livelihood, and fail the Great Lakes themselves."

 

The letter of concern was sent after the governments outlined steps for the
renegotiation that would rush the process through by the end of the year.
The first step of that process, a "governance" comment period, closed
yesterday - giving the public just a month's notice to offer input on a
complex set of issues and no hint of what either nation is proposing.

 

In comments on governance issues submitted yesterday to the governments, the
groups argued that if we fail to reform governance issues - the rules and
systems by which the U.S. and Canada and their agencies work together on
Great Lakes challenges - then our ability to make genuine progress on
specific issues such as toxics, invasive species, and climate change will
fall far short of what the lakes need.

 

"It is critical that we work out successful governance to protect the
largest shared freshwater ecosystem in the world, because stressors on this
fragile system continue to grow," said Sarah Miller, a Water Researcher with
the Canadian Environmental Law Association.

 

The groups are concerned that if this comment period is any example, the
whole process of renegotiating the Agreement could fail. The Agreement has
been renegotiated twice in the past. In each instance, public and scientific
input has been critical in better defining the agreement's scope, and in
setting strong obligations that have dramatically improved the health of the
Great Lakes. For example, in 1987, more than 30 citizen hearings were held
across the region.

 

"We are at a watershed point for the Great Lakes. "President Obama is
investing unprecedented resources in restoring Great Lakes water quality and
habitat, and the public is rallying to the call to restore and protect the
Great Lakes in the face of new threats. Failure to build a stronger Water
Quality Agreement and fully engage a concerned public will undermine this
investment, and the impact will reverberate on both sides of our border for
years," said Jane Elder, Coordinator with the Forum on Nature and Democracy.

 

"Without public guidance during renegotiation of this binational agreement,
we're far less likely to see any eventual restoration benefit on the
ground," said Lyman Welch, Water Quality Program manager for the Alliance
for the Great Lakes. "If no one's watching now, who will be watching when
the rubber meets the road during the agreement's implementation?" 

 

The groups are calling on the negotiators, members of Congress and
Parliament, and leaders in state, provincial governments to urge President
Obama and Prime Minister Harper to instruct their negotiators to give
citizens of both nations the opportunity to participate in this essential
agreement. 

 

The letter to the governments included six recommendations to improve the
process:

1.      Release a draft government position or options paper on governance
issues. 

2.      The release of the draft government position or options paper should
set off a 60-day public comment period. 

3.      Once the governments have negotiated draft language on governance,
release it again for a public comment period. 

4.      For the "issues" consultations, follow a process similar to
recommendations 1-3, with the release of a draft position or options paper
followed by a 60-day public comment period followed by another opportunity
for comment after the governments have completed their first round of
negotiations on the topic.

5.      Compile a web-posted summary of comments received from public input
at each stage of the consultations. 

6.      Release a final draft of the complete revised Great Lakes Water
Quality Agreement for comment prior to completing negotiations and hold
public hearings in both countries on this draft. 

 

For More Information:

 

The governance recommendations, endorsed by 32 groups, are available at: 

http://www.glu.org/en/information_centre/preliminary-comments-and-recommenda
tions-governance-issues-consideration-during-2 

 

 

The letter to the governments regarding the poor public comment process,
including recommendations to improve it, is available at
http://www.glu.org/en/press/canada-and-us-rushing-through-renegotiation-grea
t-lakes-agreement

 

Contacts:

 

John Jackson | Director of Clean Production and Toxics | Great Lakes United 

519-744-7503, cell: 519-591-7503 | jjackson at glu.org

 

Sarah Miller | Water Policy Researcher | Canadian Environmental Law
Association 

416-960-2284 x213 | MillerS at lao.on.ca

 

Jane Elder | Coordinator | Forum on Nature and Democracy  

608-255-2087 | jane at janeelderstrategies.com

 

Lyman Welch | Manager, Water Quality Program |Alliance for the Great Lakes

312-939-0838 x230 | LWelch at greatlakes.org

 

 

_________________________________________________________
Brent Gibson
Director, Communications
Great Lakes United
613-867-9861
 <mailto:bgibson at glu.org> bgibson at glu.org |  <http://www.glu.org>
www.glu.org

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Represented by UAW Local 55

 

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