Canada and the United States each have policies and mandates that deal with the management of toxic substances and chemicals and their release into the Great Lakes Basin. In Canada, this is covered by the Chemicals Management Plan under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999. In the United States, it is the Toxic Substances Control Act that deals with these matters. The two countries have previously identified 8 contaminants that require cooperative binational efforts to manage the severity and extent of their potential contamination. These are known as Chemicals of Mutual Concern (CMCs).
Defining Criteria With Public Input
How exactly do these chemicals become designated as CMCs? To make a consistent framework for this decision, under Annex 3 of the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, Environment and Climate Change Canada and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency have drawn up a set of 6 criteria that are described in The Draft Binational Screening Criteria for Chemicals of Mutual Concern. This document is currently available for public review. Comments and questions will be accepted until Dec 16, 2019.
Binational.net: Draft Binational Screening Criteria for Nominated Chemicals of Mutual Concern Available for Public Review
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