Georgia Basin / Puget Sound
International Airshed Strategy
and Inventory of Air Quality Practices

Background

background - Canadian air quality
background - U.S.A. air quality
background - transboundary air quality
background - GB/PS International Airshed Strategy

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background - transboundary air quality

The first significant case of US-Canadian transboundary air pollution, the Trail Smelter Arbitration, also created a global precedent. The smelter began operations in the 1890s in southern British Columbia, near the U.S. border. Soon after, nearby farmers in Washington State complained that sulphur dioxide (SO2) emissions from the plant were damaging their land, livestock, and businesses. The dispute was pursued through a lengthy legal process that culminated in the Trail Smelter Arbitration. The most important result from this arbitration, which concluded in 1941, was the finding that "no nation may undertake acts on its territory that will harm the territory of another state", a global precedent in the area of transboundary air pollution.

Another binational environmental effort between Canada and the United States is the International Joint Commission, which was formed in 1909 as part of the Boundary Waters Treaty. While The Commission originally dealt with water-related issues, it now also considers air quality matters as well, such as the 1991 Canada-USA Air Quality Agreement.

One of the most important transboundary air quality accomplishments was the Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution. The need to address regional acid rain was motivation for the Convention, which was signed by 34 Governments and the European Community in 1979. It was the first international legally binding instrument to deal with problems of air pollution on a broad, regional basis. Besides laying down general principles of international cooperation for air pollution abatement, the Convention sets up an institutional framework bringing together research and policy.

Following important American and Canadian efforts toward improved air quality, both countries met to discuss cross-border air pollution, and develop the 1991 Canada-USA Air Quality Agreement. This Agreement was designed address shared concerns regarding transboundary air pollution.

At the province-state level, the 1992 Environmental Co-operation Agreement (pdf) was signed between Washington State and the Province of British Columbia. This Agreement emphasized coordinated action and information sharing on environmental matters of mutual concern including air quality. And in 1994, a Memorandum of Understanding (pdf) was signed between these agencies, as well as the Greater Vancouver Regional District and Northwest Air Pollution Authority to ensure timely prior consultation on air permitting.

In January 2000, Environment Canada and the USA Environmental Protection Agency signed a Joint Statement of Co-operation on the Georgia Basin and Puget Sound Ecosystem. This Statement outlines common goals and objectives, confirms the commitment and leadership of the two federal governments and recognizes the special interests of residents and their governments. It also acknowledges the collaborative efforts already underway throughout the Georgia Basin / Puget Sound Ecosystem, and establishes a formal Canada-USA mechanism at the regional level to act on the challenges of sustainability.



In December 2000, Canada and the United States negotiated the Ozone Annex (pdf) under the 1991 Canada-USA Air Quality Agreement. This Annex includes commitments by both countries to dramatically reduce the smog-causing pollutants, nitrogen oxides (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that cause ground level ozone to form, that can harm human health and the natural environment.

In December 2001, Administrator Christine Todd Whitman and Region 10 Administrator John Iani, both of the USA Environmental Protection Agency, expressed their continued support for this important transboundary initiative to Environment Minister David Anderson and Washington State Governor Gary Locke.

Meanwhile, co-operative discussions between American and Canadian partners continue, recently culminating in the August 2002 signing of the Statement of Intent that pledges continued collaborative efforts regarding present and future air quality issues in the Georgia Basin / Puget Sound airshed.

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background - GB/PS International Airshed Strategy

The Georgia Basin/ Puget Sound International Airshed Strategy aims to protect air quality and address concerns about human and environmental health. It supports the "keeping clean areas clean" goal of the Canada-wide Standards implementation process. In also supports the commitment under the Ozone Annex to the 1991 Canada-USA Air Quality Agreement to determine if air quality issues along the border between B.C. and adjacent American states should be addressed when the Annex comes up for renewal in 2004.

In 2004, negotiations on the Ozone Annex will begin again, with the possibility of a new, western Ozone Annex to address the issues in transboundary airsheds between British Columbia and Washington, Idaho and Montana states. Work in support of these upcoming negotiations is proceeding.




Other available backgrounds include Canada and the U.S.A.

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