There are 43 Great Lakes “Areas of Concern” (AOCs), seven of which are on Lake Superior, 4 in Canada and 3 in U.S.A. Additionally, the St. Marys River connecting Lakes Superior and Huron is also an Area of Concern. AOCs are environmentally impaired locations identified by the governments of Canada and the United States, in cooperation with the International Joint Commission under the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement (GLWQA, 1978, amended 2012). Environmental impairments may include significant chemical, physical, and biological degradation including pollution and impacts to habitat.

Remedial Action Plans (RAPs) in Areas of Concern seek to guide restoration efforts, ecosystem recovery and protection through 3 stages:

Stage 1 Identify environmental problems and sources of pollution.
Stage 2 Evaluate and carry out actions to restore the area.
Stage 3 Confirm that these actions have been effective and that the environment has been restored.

InfoSuperior deals with Lake Superior Areas of Concern including the following :

• Thunder Bay
  • North Harbour
• Nipigon Bay
• Peninsula Harbour
• Jackfish Bay Area in Recovery