Canada/Ontario Agreement COA
A federal/provincial agreement under which Canada's obligations to the Canada/U.S. Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement are coordinated and implemented. This 1994 agreement lists and defines 50 commitments specific to the restoration, protection, and conservation of the Great Lakes. Related Programs - Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement

Canadian Environmental Protection Act CEPA
A 1988 federal act designed to protect the people and environment of Canada from the effects of toxic substances.

Carcinogen
A substance that is known or suspected to cause cancer.

Causal (Candidate Critical) Pollutants
A term used to classify substances that are likely to harm Lake Superior and its biota, but that have not been designated as critical pollutants. This term has been eliminated from the Lake Superior Lakewide Management Plan.

Center for Lake Superior Environmental Studies CLSES
The original name for the Lake Superior Research Institute. Related Programs - University of Wisconsin-Superior

Center for Water and the Environment CWE
One of three centers within the University of Minnesota's Natural Resources Research Institute. CWE provides basic environmental information essential to safe and sustainable natural resource development. Related Programs - Natural Resources Research Institute

Chlordane
A critical pollutant that was used as a pesticide until banned by the U.S. in 1983 (except for use in controlling underground termites). Chlordane bioaccumulates in the food chain. Concentrations are highest in fat and liver tissue of predatory species. It has been detected in lake trout and other wildlife. Related Programs - Binational Program

Chlorinated Organic Compounds
Organic chemicals that contain chlorine, including many pesticides and industrial chemicals such as PCBs, DDT, chlorinated dioxins and furans, dieldrin, and hexachlorobenzene. Also called organochlorines, chlorinated organics.

Chlorination
The addition of chlorine to water for disinfection. Used in drinking water purification and sewage treatment prior to discharge.

Chlorine
A common, naturally-occurring element. One form of chlorine is a highly poisonous gas that is typically used for water disinfection, sewage treatment and the manufacture of bleach and other chemicals.

Chronic Test
A comparative study in which organisms, that are subjected to different treatments, are observed for a long period or a substantial portion of their life span.

Chronic Toxicity
A harmful and delayed response (such as death, unusual growth, reduced reproduction, disorientation ) to a chemical that causes adverse effects over a long period of time, relative to an organisms natural life span. In standard laboratory tests an effect observed in 96 hours or more is considered a chronic effect. See also toxicity test.

Clean Air Act CAA
Federal law originally passed in 1970 for the purpose of protecting and enhancing the quality of the nation's air resources. See also the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 7401-7671).

Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 - 1990 CAAA
Federal legislation passed in 1990 that amended the Clean Air Act, which resulted in major changes further limiting the generation of air pollution in the United States. Significant sections of the 1990 CAAA include:

• Title I - National Ambient Air Quality Standards
• Title II - Mobile Sources (e.g. automobiles)
• Title III - Air Toxics
• Title IV - Acid Rain
• Title V - Permit Program
• Title VI - Ozone-depleting Chemicals

Clean Water Act CWA
A federal law that identifies national requirements to protect the nation's waters. Originally known as the Federal Water Pollution Control Act. The act is divided into six Subchapters (33 U.S.C. 1251-1387):

• Subchapter I-Research and Related Programs
• Subchapter II-Grants for Construction of Treatment Works
• Subchapter III-Standards and Enforcement
• Subchapter IV-Permits and Licenses
• Subchapter V-General Provisions
• Subchapter VI-State Water Pollution Control Revolving Fund

Clean Water Act Reauthorization CWAR
The name for a federal legislative process to amend the Clean Water Act. It is anticipated that the CWA will be reauthorized in the mid- to late-1990s.

Coastal Waters
In the Great Lakes Basin, coastal waters are defined in the Coastal Zone Management Act as the waters within the territorial jurisdiction of the United States consisting of the Great Lakes, their connecting waters, harbors, roadsteads, and estuary-type areas such as bays, shallows, and marshes. Related Programs - Coastal Zone Management Act

Coastal Zone Act Reauthorization Amendments of 1990 CZARA
Federal legislation, the Coastal Zone Management Act was reauthorized by Congress in 1990, resulting in states being asked to combat the problems of coastal water quality, specifically nonpoint source pollution. CZARA also encourages states to tackle issues such as wetland loss, cumulative and secondary impacts of growth, increased threats to life and property from coastal hazards, and dwindling opportunities for public access to the shoreline. Related Programs - National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Environmental Protection Agency

Coastal Zone Management Act CZMA
A federal law enacted in 1972 to deal with increasing stresses on the nation's coastal areas, including the Great Lakes. Administered by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the CZMA provides money, technical help, and policy guidance to states for balancing conservation and development of coastal resources. Under CZMA, states voluntarily develop their own Coastal Zone Management programs. Related Programs - National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Code of Federal Regulations CFR
Federal regulations on how to implement federal law.

Combined Sewer Overflow
Occurs when heavy rainfall or thaw conditions overload a sewer system designed to carry both waste and stormwater. The result is the discharge of untreated sewage into receiving waters. Also refers to the outfall structures themselves.

Comparative Risk Analysis
A procedure for ranking environmental problems by their seriousness (relative risk) for the purpose of assigning them program priorities. Typically, teams of experts put together a list of problems, sort the problems by types of risk, then rank them by measuring them against standards, such as the severity of effects, the likelihood of the problem occurring among those exposed, the number of people exposed and the like. Relative risk is then used to set priorities. See also risk assessment, risk management, ecological risk assessment.

Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act CERCLA, Superfund
A federal law, better known as Superfund, enacted in 1980 to give the EPA authority and money to take corrective measures and clean up hazardous waste sites. The 1986 Superfund Amendment Reauthorization Act outlined preferred cleanup methods, including permanent on-site treatment.

Comprehensive Local Water Management Plan
See County Water Plan

Confined Disposal Facility CDF
A facility providing a contained disposal area for contaminated sediments removed during dredging operations. Related Programs - County Water Plan

Cost-Benefits Analysis
The determination of how much it will cost to achieve a benefit from, say, pollution control; and the comparison of this amount to the cost of obtaining a higher or lower level of the benefit, or the cost of using some other alternative method.

Council of Great Lakes Governors CGLG
An organization comprised of the governors of the eight Great Lakes States who declared their shared intention to manage and protect the water resources of the Great Lakes Basin through the Great Lakes Charter and the Great Lakes Toxic Substances Control Agreement.

Council of Great Lakes Industries CGLI
An organization that represents businesses with significant investments, facilities, products, and/or services in the Great Lakes Basin, including manufacturing, utilities, telecommunications, transportation, financial, and trade. CGLI provides a focal point for offering industry's views and resources. It strengthens regional efforts to integrate social, economic, and environmental issues as a way to build a more vital Great Lakes Basin.

Council of Great Lakes Research Managers
A binational advisory group to the International Joint Commission to evaluate the status of Great Lakes research.

County Water Plan
Also called Comprehensive Water Management Plans. These plans are developed by Minnesota counties to identify water resource problems and provide sound planning to prevent future problems. A bill was passed by the Minnesota State Legislature in 1985 encouraging counties to develop and implement County Water Plans. Related Programs - Board of Water and Soil Resources, Clean Water Act

Criteria
See water quality criteria.

Criteria Pollutants
A group of air and water pollutants regulated by the EPA under the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act on the basis of criteria that includes information on health and environmental effects. Criteria pollutants include particulates, some metals, organic compounds and other substances attributable to discharges.

Critical Pollutant
Chemicals that persist at levels that are causing or could cause impairment of beneficial uses lakewide. Other critical pollutants will be added to the list, but the Lake Superior Lakewide Management Program will first focus on the same nine critical pollutants identified in the zero discharge demonstration program (TCDD, OCS, HCB, Chlordane, DDT, Dieldrin, Toxaphene, PCBs, and Mercury). See also Great Lakes Critical Pollutants. Related Programs - Lakewide Management Program, Binational Program, Zero Discharge Demonstration Program.