U.S.- Canada Air Quality Agreement Progress Report

Nov 6: U.S. EPA has posted the United States - Canada Air Quality Agreement Progress Report, 2006. The International Joint Commission (IJC) is responsible for inviting comment on the Air Quality Agreement Progress Report and for providing a synthesis of the comments to governments to assist them in implementing the Agreement. The Air Quality Committee will have the benefit of the synthesis as it implements the Agreement and prepares the next Progress Report. Comments on any aspect of the Agreement are being solicited and should be submitted to the contacts listed in the report by February 28, 2007.

The 2006 Progress Report, prepared by the bilateral Air Quality Committee, is the eighth biennial report compiled under the 1991 Canada–United States Air Quality Agreement. The report highlights actions undertaken by Canada and the United States in the last two years to address transboundary air pollution within the context of the Agreement -- namely, acid rain and ground-level ozone. The report indicates that over the last two years, Canada and the United States have continued to successfully reduce their emissions of sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx), the major contributors to acid rain. Both countries have also made considerable progress in meeting the requirements of the Ozone Annex to reduce emissions of NOx and volatile organic compounds (VOCs), the precursors to ground-level ozone. Canada and the United States have focused their actions on reducing these emissions from major sources such as electric generating units, industrial sources, and on-road and nonroad transportation. Each country’s progress in achieving the requirements of the Acid Rain Annex and the Ozone Annex is summarized in the report.

The 2006 Progress Report includes the third five-year comprehensive review of the Air Quality Agreement, which has been organized in a question and answer format to better address requirements in the Agreement and public comments on the 2004 Progress Report submitted by the IJC. The review responds to several deferred issues from previous reviews in 1996 and 2002, highlights progress on several topics, and outlines future areas of potential focus.

Access the complete 84-page report (click here). [*Air]