|
 |
RAP Frequently Asked Questions
1. What happened to Hamilton Harbour?
In the 19th century, vast marshes in Hamilton Harbour provided habitat for wildlife. Pike and bass were so abundant that local residents caught them using spears. The Harbour's fishery accounted for 15 percent of the Lake Ontario catch in 1900. Soup made from turtles caught in the harbour was a specialty at a local hotel.
As the population and development increased, sewage flowing into the harbour made the water unsafe for swimming; beaches were closed for the first time in the 1940s. Marshes and shoreline habitat gradually shrank as the harbour was filled in - a quarter of the water area has disappeared since 1926. The industrial plants that grew up around the harbour continued to discharge their wastes into its water. By 1977, the last commercial fisherman had left.
Since the 1960s, as awareness of the toll being taken by pollution has grown, measures have been taken to reduce dramatically the flow of contaminants into the water. But when "areas of concern" were being identified in the Great Lakes Basin in the early 1980s, Hamilton Harbour was not clean enough to be left off the list.
Today the federal and provincial environment ministries, under the Canada Ontario Agreement (COA) are working with local stakeholders to develop and implement the Hamilton Harbour Remedial Action Plan.
2. What is the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement?
The Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, first signed in 1972 and renewed in 1978, expresses the commitment of Canada and the United States to restore and maintain the chemical, physical and biological integrity of the Great Lakes Basin Ecosystem. It includes a number of objectives and guidelines to achieve these goals. It reaffirms the rights and obligation of Canada and the United States under the Boundary Waters Treaty and has become a major focus of International Joint Commission activity. It was created under the Boundary Waters Treaty of 1909 to help prevent and resolve disputes over the use of waters along the Canada-United States boundary.
In 1987, a Protocol was signed amending the 1978 Agreement. The amendments aim to strengthen the programs, practices and technology described in the 1978 Agreement, to increase accountability for their implementation, and to stop pollution from entering specific locations around the Great Lakes. Timetables are set for implementation of specific programs. Both countries committed to developing Remedial Action Plans (RAP) for each Area of Concern.
3. What is an Area of Concern?
An Area of Concern (AOC) is a polluted location on the Great Lakes. Most of the identified sites are near large urban areas where pollution from industries, sewage treatment plants, landfills and other sources enters nearby creeks, rivers, harbours and water channels. Some of the pollutants remains in these waterways for years and decades, and combine with other pollutants to create unsafe conditions for people and wildlife that come in contact with the water.
In the 1980s Hamilton Harbour was identified as one of 42 Areas of Concern in the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement. Industrial activity and residential sewage had polluted the water and the bottom sediments and marshes filled in - the ecosystem was severely degraded. To address these issues, the Hamilton Harbour Remedial Action Plan (RAP) was published in 1992. Hamilton Harbour's action plan is based on the stakeholder approach, now adopted as a model by groups addressing environmental issues worldwide.
4. What are the Stages of a Remedial Action Plan?
Each Area of Concern was charged with developing and implementing a Remedial Action Plan divided into three stages:
Stage 1: Environmental Conditions and Problem Definition -
This stage outlines the starting point for the Area of Concern.
Stage 2: Goals, Options and Recommendations -
This stage defines the remedial actions to clean up the Area of Concern.
Stage 3: Evaluation of Remedial Measures and Confirmation of Restoration of Uses -
This is the stage where the designation of an Area of Concern is removed when a set of environmental conditions are shown to be met. For Hamilton Harbour, this final “delisting” step is targeted to occur in 2015.
5. Quick Hamilton Harbour RAP Facts
| Size of Hamilton Harbour Watershed |
|
49,400 ha |
| Size of Hamilton Harbour |
|
42 km |
| Size of Cootes Paradise Marsh |
|
250 ha |
| Number of Recommendations in RAP Stage 2 Update 2002 |
|
57 |
| Number of Tasks in RAP Stage 2 Update 2002 |
|
159 |
| Number of Wastewater Treatment Plants discharging into Harbour |
|
4 |
| Number of Combined Sewer Overflows in the City of Hamilton |
|
23 |
| Number of Conservation Areas within the Watershed |
|
21 |
| Estimated Cost of Cleanup (pre 1990 – 2015) |
|
$1.4 billion |
| Number of Member Organizations represented on BAIT |
|
17 |
|
|
|
|
Back to Top