Number: 1983-14
WHEREAS, the Great Lakes are one of the great natural resource wonders of the world, constituting one-fifth of all fresh water on the face of the earth; and
WHEREAS, the majority of many chemical pollutants such as PCBs enter the Great Lakes from the atmosphere; and
WHEREAS, newly discovered evidence of high mercury levels in rain in northeastern Minnesota demonstrates that the phenomenon of “toxic rain” in the Great Lakes Basin Ecosystem is poorly understood; and
WHEREAS, in 1982 the U.S.-Canadian International Joint Commission reported under the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement of 1978 that “enough is known already about the atmospheric input of toxic and hazardous substances to the Great Lakes System to warrant considerable concern,” and recommended implementation of “specific remedial programs;” and
WHEREAS, the U.S.-Canadian Memorandum of Intent on Transboundary Air Pollution by-passed the International Joint Commission and includes no reference to airborne contaminants other than acid rain; and
WHEREAS, there are now no mechanisms or remedial programs by which the waters of the Great Lakes Basin Ecosystem can be protected from adverse impacts from airborne pollutants;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation, in annual meeting assembled March 17-20, 1983, in Albuquerque, New Mexico, calls upon the governments of the United States and Canada to direct a formal Reference to the International Joint Commission, pursuant to Article IX of the Boundary Waters Treaty of 1909 and Article VII of the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement of 1978, to thoroughly study the impacts of airborne pollutants on waters of the Great Lakes Basin Ecosystem and to make recommendations to the governments for a comprehensive management strategy to remedy problems identified by the Commission.