Resolution: Supporting the Development of Science-Based, Locally-Derived Restoration Goals for Great Lakes Areas of Concern
Adopted on October 3, 2003

Whereas, The United States-Canada Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement of 1972, as amended, provides for the designation of Areas of Concern (AOCs) in need of remedial actions to address documented pollution problems; and

Whereas, 31 U.S. and binational Areas of Concern have been designated, each with a Remedial Action Plan (RAP) process that coordinates and focuses the efforts of multiple levels of government and other stakeholders; and

Whereas, substantial progress has been made in characterizing the sources and causes of beneficial use impairments, identifying necessary remediation activities, and generating broad stakeholder involvement in and support for the RAP process; and

Whereas, implementation of the Great Lakes Legacy Act, coupled with state-specific environmental bond programs, will support critical remediation activities in the AOCs in coming years;

Whereas, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) is reorienting its programs to expedite progress in restoring the AOCs, has finalized guidelines for removing communities from the list of toxic hot spots and has committed to a Great Lakes Strategy that calls for completing restoration and "delisting" of 10 Areas of Concern by 2010; and

Whereas, restoration and delisting of the Great Lakes AOCs is a key priority in the Great Lakes Commission's Great Lakes Program to Ensure Environmental and Economic Prosperity; and

Whereas, formally delisting AOCs will require documentation that beneficial uses have been restored to a level consistent with applicable federal and state regulatory standards and criteria and the desires of stakeholders in communities in the AOCs; and

Whereas, the Great Lakes Commission is working with U.S. EPA's Great Lakes National Program Office, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Great Lakes states and local RAP groups to support cleanup efforts in the AOCs, including the development of restoration targets for the AOCs.

Therefore, Be It Resolved, that the Great Lakes Commission calls on the U.S. EPA and the its member states to collaborate with local RAP groups in developing measurable, science-based restoration targets for the AOCs that provide an objective and credible mechanism for documenting progress in restoring beneficial uses and, ultimately, justifying the delisting of individual AOCs when all restoration targets have been met; and

Be It Further Resolved, that the Great Lakes Commission calls on U.S. federal agencies (including U.S. EPA, U.S. Geological Survey, Army Corps of Engineers, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, among others) and state agencies to coordinate their programs to provide technical assistance and regulatory guidance to RAP participants in developing AOC restoration targets, as well as the monitoring necessary to document progress in achieving those targets; and

Be It Finally Resolved, that the Great Lakes Commission recommends that RAP restoration activities funded under the U.S. federal Great Lakes Legacy Act and state-specific environmental bond programs also incorporate the monitoring necessary to document progress in achieving targets and to facilitate AOC delisting.

Unanimously adopted by the Great Lakes Commission at its 2003 Annual Meeting in Chicago, Illinois, October 3, 2003.