Great Lakes Governance: Treaties, Water Compacts, and Indigenous Rights in the Basin

The Great Lakes basin is governed by a complex web of overlapping jurisdictions that includes two federal governments, eight U.S. states, two Canadian provinces, and dozens of Indigenous nations with treaty rights and governance authority over water and land within the basin. Understanding this governance landscape is essential for anyone following Great Lakes policy issues, from water quality regulation to resource extraction and cross-border trade.

The Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement

The cornerstone of binational Great Lakes governance is the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement (GLWQA), first signed by Canada and the United States in 1972 and most recently amended in 2012. The Agreement establishes shared objectives for water quality, identifies chemicals of mutual concern, and mandates coordinated action on priorities including nutrient management, invasive species, and habitat restoration.

Implementation of the GLWQA is overseen by the International Joint Commission (IJC), a binational body established under the Boundary Waters Treaty of 1909. The IJC has six commissioners, three appointed by each country, and operates through advisory boards and science committees that provide recommendations on Great Lakes issues. The Commission publishes a Triennial Assessment of Progress report that evaluates how effectively the two countries are meeting their GLWQA commitments.

The Great Lakes Compact

The Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact, enacted by the eight Great Lakes states and ratified by the U.S. Congress in 2008, is the primary legal framework governing water withdrawals from the basin on the American side. The Compact prohibits diversions of water outside the Great Lakes basin with narrow exceptions, and requires each state to implement water conservation and efficiency programs.

The Compact’s most significant provision is its ban on new diversions, which prevents the transfer of Great Lakes water to water-scarce regions outside the basin. This prohibition was driven by concerns about long-distance water exports, particularly following proposals in the early 2000s to pipe Great Lakes water to the American Southwest. The only exception granted under the Compact has been for the community of Waukesha, Wisconsin, which lies just outside the basin boundary and was permitted to access Lake Michigan water in 2016 under strict conditions.

On the Canadian side, Ontario regulates Great Lakes water taking under the Ontario Water Resources Act and the Great Lakes Protection Act, 2015. The provincial framework mirrors many of the Compact’s provisions, including restrictions on diversions and requirements for water taking permits above specified thresholds.

Indigenous Governance and Water Rights

Indigenous nations hold constitutionally protected rights to water and resources in the Great Lakes basin under Section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982, and through treaties dating to the 18th and 19th centuries. In Ontario, the Anishinaabe nations of the Robinson-Huron Treaty (1850) and Robinson-Superior Treaty (1850) hold treaty rights across much of the northern Great Lakes shoreline.

The Anishinabek Nation, representing 39 First Nations in Ontario, has been increasingly engaged in Great Lakes governance through involvement in IJC advisory processes and direct government-to-government negotiations on water quality issues. In 2023, the Chiefs of Ontario passed a resolution asserting inherent jurisdiction over water within treaty territories, calling on Canada and Ontario to recognize First Nations as equal partners in Great Lakes governance rather than stakeholders to be consulted.

In the United States, several tribal nations hold reserved treaty rights to fish in Great Lakes waters. The 1836 Treaty of Washington, reaffirmed through decades of litigation culminating in the 2000 Consent Decree, guarantees fishing rights for five Chippewa and Ottawa tribes in the northern Great Lakes. These rights include both a share of the allowable commercial harvest and a voice in fisheries management decisions.

Provincial and State Roles

Ontario’s role in Great Lakes governance extends across multiple provincial ministries. The Ministry of the Environment, Conservation, and Parks oversees water quality monitoring and regulation. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry manages fisheries and Crown land along the Great Lakes shoreline. The Ministry of Infrastructure coordinates with federal authorities on port and transportation infrastructure.

On the American side, each of the eight Great Lakes states has its own environmental regulatory agency with authority over water quality, fisheries, and shoreline management within state boundaries. The Great Lakes Commission, an interstate compact agency, coordinates policy among the states and facilitates information sharing on basin-wide issues.

Current Policy Challenges

Several active policy debates illustrate the complexity of Great Lakes governance. The ongoing dispute over Line 5, Enbridge’s petroleum pipeline crossing the Straits of Mackinac between Lakes Michigan and Huron, has pitted Michigan’s environmental concerns against Canadian energy interests and federal pipeline jurisdiction. The Canadian government invoked the 1977 Transit Pipelines Treaty in 2021, asserting that Michigan cannot unilaterally shut down a pipeline that carries Canadian oil, while Michigan argues that the pipeline poses an unacceptable risk to the Great Lakes.

Water level management remains contentious, particularly along Lake Ontario where the IJC’s Plan 2014 regulation plan has faced criticism from shoreline property owners who experienced flooding during the high-water events of 2017 and 2019. The IJC is currently reviewing the plan’s performance and seeking public input on potential modifications.

Detailed information about Great Lakes governance structures and current policy issues is available from the IJC at ijc.org and the Great Lakes Commission at glc.org.