I . Library copy OOOR89001 GREAT LAKES COMMITTEES AND WORKGROUPS SUPPORTING THE CLEAN WATER ACT AND THE GREAT LAKES WATER QUALITY AGREEMENT U.S. EPA Great Lakes National Program Office Chicago, Illinois August 31, 1989 ------- How the Policy Committee Will Work The Committee will meet twice a year in advance of the semi-annual Parties' consultations and at other times if needed. The Committee will operate on a consensus basis whenever possible and where consensus cannot be attained, members may provide minority opinions if necessary; Meeting agendas will be established by the Committee chair after considering suggestions from members. Members may place items on the agenda in any meeting by consensus; One standing subcommittee exists in the form of the U.S. Section of the Binational Objectives Development Committee and the U.S. Chemical Objectives Work Group which reports to it: Work Groups and Task Forces will be established by consensus as needed to conduct the business of the Committee; Work Group and Task Force reports will be considered by the Committee and forwarded to the EPA NPM with recommendations for action among U.S. organizations or for consideration in binational consultations; Staff support will be provided by GLNPO through its staff or by contract or cooperative agreements; Staff (secretariat) support will include arranging meeting facilities, keeping of minutes and the drafting of issue papers and reports in consultation with committee members. GLNPO staff will provide a minimum base level of support. The extent of supplemental support will depend upon the availability of funds and establishing satisfactory contract/cooperative agreement support. ------- h- i ^_ JOR FUNCTIO 1 CD CO DC LU O LU Q o DC CL FACILITATE Q u. 0 EMENTATIOIX — i D_ 1 ro GREAT LAKE LJU X H- ER QUALITY H EEMENT DC CD <^> CC |s ^2 1^ Z If) H 2 o u. 2 < cc o CC Z O. O AJOR PRODUCTS ^ REPORTS TO IJC 1 ANNUAL REPORT eg TO CONGRESS h- UJ CD Q Z> CQ ^ UJ K UJ •ZL _j 00 0 £ O LU ° DC UJ Q Q_ H CC o o O 5 >- «" §< CO 10 > « Q ^ < UJ DC CD 00 O CO 00 I I LU p: cc 2 § I O ------- WORKGROUPS AND COMMITTEES SUPPORTING THE CLEAN WATER ACT AND THE GREAT LAKES WATER QUALITY AGREEMENT The 1987 revisions to the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement (GLWQA) between the United States and Canada (the Parties) require: the Parties to hold semi-annual meetings to review progress and workplans for implementation of the GLWQA; and to report progress of the Parties to the International Joint Commission (IJC) on a bi-annual basis. The Clean Water Act (CWA), Section 118, requires the US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) to report to Congress annually on progress by Federal and State agencies in meeting the requirements of the GLWQA. To respond to these new requirements in the GLWQA and the CWA, the US Policy Committee was formed to provide coordination and advice in these areas. The group is composed of representatives from appropriate Federal and State agencies and public interest groups. The primary focus of the US Policy Committee is to prepare for the semi-annual meetings of the Parties as required by the GLWQA. The Committee also supports the preparation of the annual report to Congress and bi-annual reports to the IJC. Exhibit 1 illustrates the various workgroups and committees that support the implementation of the GLWQA and respond to the requirements of the CWA. Exhibit II provides further illustration of the workgroups and committees supporting the U.S./Canada responsibilities under the GLWQA. The functions of three of the four committees shown under the US Policy Committee in Exhibit 1 can be met by existing groups: For contaminated sediments, the Section 118 Demonstration Program (Assessment and Remediation of Contaminated Sediments) will be utilized; For nonpoint source matters, the Great Lakes Phosphorus Task Force is utilized; and For Annex 2 management and planning matters, the water program directors and the GLWQA Implementation Workgroup will continue to be utilized. If these existing workgroups prove unable to provide needed responses to needed requirements, new groups will have to be established. For objectives development work, there was no existing group for this function, therefore, a new US/Canada Objective Development Committee was created to develop and revise objectives and related Annex 1 products. This committee will report to the US and Canadian Parties co-chairs through the US Policy Committee. A US Chemical Objectives Development Workgroup will develop US chemical objectives and criteria in cooperation with US regulatory programs. These objectives and criteria will be coordinated through the bi-national Committee. Secretariat support for the US Policy Workgroup is provided by the Great Lakes National Program Office (GLNPO) staff and through cooperative agreements. This includes support of State and public interest group participation to ensure public input and full consideration of the Great Lakes Governors Toxics Substances Control Agreement. ------- Exhibit I ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE FOR IMPLEMENTING THE CLEAN WATER ACT (CWA) AND THE GREAT LAKES WATER QUALITY AGREEMENT (GLWQA) IJC FUNCTIONS U.S. PARTY FUNCTIONS Reports to the IJC and to Congress Facilitate CWA/GLWQA Implementation Conduct Meetings of the Parties P R O D U C T S GREAT LAKES NATIONAL PROGRAM MANAGER (NPM) GREAT LAKES NATIONAL PROGRAM OFFICE (GLNPO) I U.S. POLICY COMMITTEE (GLNPO DIRECTOR, CHAIR) S U B C O M M I T T I E S GLWQA Implementation Work Group Surveillance Atmospheric Action Plans U F F I C E S T A F F S U P P O R T (RAPs/LMPs) INTERNATIONAL JOINT COMMISSION (IJC) RECOMMEND TO THE PARTIES (US/CANADA) 1 RECOMMENDATIONS AND REPORTS TO THE IJC COMMISSIONERS IJC WATER QUALITY BOARD (WQB) GLNPO CO-CHAIR I WQB PROGRAMS COMMITTEE GLNPO DIRECTOR, CO-CHAIR s u B C O M M I T T I E S 8/31/89 ------- Exhibit II US/CANADA SEMI-ANNUAL MEETINGS US POLICY COMMITTEE G.L. Initiative Steering Commitee Technical Work Group Public Partici- pation Group U.S. Sediment Coordinator GLWQA Implementation work group ]Other work groups J 'as needed ' US Objectives development work group Binational objectives development committee Ecosystem objectives development work group Chemical objectives development work group | ActionPlans L 'JRAPs/LMP_s[; Surveillance Coordinators Atmospheric Coordinators Sediment Coordinators iLoadings & Sources 1 Coordinators COA BOARD 8/30/89 ------- TERMS OF REFERENCE U.S. GREAT LAKES WATER QUALITY AGREEMENT POLICY COMMITTEE The terms of the U.S./Canada Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement (GLWQA), as revised in 1987, commit the Parties to many accomplishments that can only be achieved through the cooperative efforts of many federal and state organizations. There are also new reporting and consultation commitments that were added in 1987. One specific consultative requirement is that "The Parties, in cooperation with State and Provincial Governments, shall meet twice a year to coordinate their respective work plans with regard to the implementation of this Agreement and to evaluate progress made". The U.S. Department of State and External Affairs Canada have agreed that these meetings should be at the working level and conducted on their behalf by USEPA and Environment Canada. To assist in fulfilling the terms of the GLWQA the U.S. Policy Committee (Policy Committee) has been established to provide a forum to bring together representatives of the affected federal, state and public interest organizations to: Identify key provisions of the GLWQA that require the coordinated efforts of more than one program to produce the needed result and identify the key steps needed to ensure success; Identify situations where GLWQA revisions are not being met due to a lack of adequate coordination and the key steps needed for correction; Identify situations where a lack of sufficient priority by one or more organizations is resulting in failure to implement the GLWQA and recommend solutions; Identify matters that need to be addressed in the semiannual meetings of the Parties; Review matters to be discussed in these semiannual meetings and advise the Great Lakes National Program Manager (NPM) (who is the lead for the U.S.) concerning the interests and concerns of the committee members; Advise the NPM on matters and information that should be included in reports to the International Joint Commission (IJC) and to the U.S. Congress; Review and comment on draft reports to the IJC and U.S. Congress; Advise federal agencies on actions needed to better coordinate with and support the Great Lakes Governors' Toxic Substances Agreement and the Great Lakes Charter; Provide a mechanism in support of the GLWQA provisions calling for public consultation by including publicinterest group members in the regular business of the Committee and advising the NPM on related matters. ------- GREAT LAKES COORDINATION U.S. EPA HEADQUARTERS GREAT LAKES NATIONAL PROGRAM MANAGER GREAT LAKES NATIONAL PROGRAM ADVISORY COMMITTEE ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR FOR WATER ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR FOR THE OFFICE RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR FOR INTERNATIONAL ACTIVITIES GREAT LAKES NATIONAL PROGRAM OFFICE DIRECTOR REGIONAL ADMINISTRATORS FOR REGIONS II, III, V (DRA FOR REGION V SERVES AS RA REGION V) U.S. EPA REGIONAL GREAT LAKES NATIONAL PROGRAM MANAGER GREAT LAKES NATIONAL PROGRAM OFFICE DIRECTOR GREAT LAKES COORDINATING COMMITTEE REGIONS II, III, V OPERATING DIVISIONS OFFICE OF RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT (ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH LAB - DULUTH) ------- GREAT LAKES NATIONAL PROGRAM OFFICE INTERNAL EPA COORDINATION Within EPA, Great Lakes activities are coordinated primarily through two committees in addition to the coordination which occurs through the intergovernmental structure. The Great Lakes Coordinating Committee (GLCC) advises the GLNPO Director on extramural projects to be funded using Great Lakes line item monies and serves as a coordinative forum at the Regional level. Membership represents Divisions and Offices from Regions II, III and V, and the Environmental Research Laboratory at Duluth (ORD-ERL-Duluth). The Great Lakes National Program Advisory Committee (GLNPAC) is convened by the Great Lakes National Program Manager at the headquarters level to address policy issues and headquarters level coordination. Membership represents the Assistant Administrator for Water, ORD, the Office of International Activities, and the Regional Administrators for Regions II, III, V (The DRA of Region V serves for the RA). In addition to overall coordination by the GLCC and GLNPAC, coordinative committee structures are established for all major GLNPO-sponsored projects such as the Upper Great Lakes Connecting Channels study and the Green Bay Mass Balance Project. ------- |