Great Resources
GLEN Reports and Public Comments
Radionuclides
Radionuclides as Chemicals of Mutual Concern
In 2016, 110 groups nominated radionuclides as Chemicals of Mutual Concern under the GLWQA. We revised that application in 2022 to reflect the "Government Screening Criteria" that the governments had just developed. The "renomination" document linked in below is the document we then submitted to the governments. Now 9 years after the process started, the Canadian governments are chose to making a decision on this matter.
Governent Response to Citizens Proposal
The first document is the recommendation that the Canadian and U.S. governments made to the Great Lakes Executive Council. The second document presents the detailed reasoning and information sources for their recommendation.
110 environmental, health and other advocacy groups nominated radionuclides in 2016 and again in 2022 to be named Chemicals of Mutual Concern (CMCs) under the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement (GLWQA)
In June 2025, the Annex 3 co-leads from the Canada Water Agency and the United States Environmental Protection Agency recommended to the Great Lakes Executive Committee (GLEC) that they drop radionuclides from further screening and consideration as CMCs. Their approach and evaluation reflect a failure to use the GLWQA as their guide.
On September 5, 2025, 126 groups urged GLEC to send radionuclides for “detailed screening and Binational Summary Report.” The following reports and summary commentary were submitted to support our critique of the Governments’ report.
Cover Letter to Great Lakes
Executive Committee
John Jackson, Fe de Leon, Cindy Folkers
Summary Commentary on Government
Assessment of Radionuclides as CMCs
John Jackson
ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND PAPERS
REFERRED TO IN SUMMARY COMMENTARY
Chemicals of Mutual Concern and
the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement
John Jackson
Large gaps in our understanding of radionuclide emissions on public health: the current need for more data and greater health protection
Cindy Folkers and Mary Olson
Adequacy of Government Action
on radionuclides under the GLWQA
Theresa McClenaghan
State of Government Control
of Radionuclides in the U.S.
Michael Keegan
Unexpected and Catastrophic Events
Barry Boyer
Nuclear Waste Transport
Brennain Lloyd
Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement Resources
The Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement at Fifty
This report, published in the fall of 2022, provides GLEN's overview of the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement in its fiftieth year, including a critique of successes and limitations, and recommendations for future action.
Letter to Great Lakes Executive Committee (GLEC) about GLWQA July 2024 Review Process
The federal governments are starting a review of the 2012 GLWQA aiming to see whether changes should be made in the GLWQA or in the implementation of the Agreement. GLEN has put together the letter below to tell the governments what we think the process for this review should be, A particular focus in our letter is on the roles that the engaged public should have in the process.
Letter to Great Lakes Executive Committee (GLEC) about GLWQA July 2024 Issues to be Reviewed
We submitted an additional letter to the Great Lakes Executive Committee telling them the issues that GLEN wants to have reviewed as well as added to a revised GLWQA with our preliminary thoughts of the needed changes.
Letter to Great Lakes Executive Committee (GLEC) about GLWQA December 2024 Issues to be Reviewed
We sent a letter to the Great Lakes Executive Committee in response to their document on "the scope and nature of the GLWQA".
GLEN Comments on the Governments' Science & Action Priorities
Every three years, the Canadian and Federal governments put together their priorities for science and action for each Annex in the GLWQA. This is a very important document because it is the basis against which they will report three years later. The attachment is our submission to the governments recommending changes to their proposed priorities, which will cover the period 2023 - 2025.
Great Lakes Restoration Initiative
GLEN Comments on the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative IV, May 24, 2024
GLEN submitted comments on the plans for the GLRI's next four years, recommending increased attention to topics ranging from drinking water to physical integrity, and urging a more cohesive approach to integrating climate change in future GLRI projects.
Great Lakes Areas of Concern
Results of the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River AOC 2022 Survey
The purpose of GLEN’s survey was to gather an assessment from citizens involved in Great Lakes Areas of Concern (AOCs) of progress towards the general goal of the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement (Agreement) “to restore and maintain the chemical, physical and biological integrity of the waters of the Great Lakes,” and towards the specific objectives of removing 14 “Beneficial Use Impairments” (BUIs).
Contaminated Sites St. Lawrence River - Ambioterra - September 2022
This report prepared for GLEN contains an evaluation of the Zones d’intervention Prioritaires (ZIP’s) in the Quebec part of the St. Lawrence River. These are the equivalent of the Areas of Concern in the rest of the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River basin.