International Joint Commission; Boundary Waters Treaty of 1909; an Invitation To Comment on the 1996 Progress Report of the Air Quality Committee Under the Canada-United States Air Quality Agreement

DEPARTMENT OF STATE

[PN 2468]

International Joint Commission; Boundary Waters Treaty of 1909;

an Invitation To Comment on the 1996 Progress Report of the Air Quality

Committee Under the Canada-United States Air Quality Agreement

The International Joint Commission invites public comment on

progress by the United States and Canada in reducing transboundary air

pollution under the 1991 Agreement on Air Quality. The Commission will

provide a synthesis of the comments to the two governments and the

public as directed by the Agreement.

The Governments of the United States and Canada signed an Agreement

on Air Quality on March 13, 1991. The purpose of the Agreement was to

establish a practical and effective instrument to address shared

concerns on transboundary air pollution. The 1996 Progress Report

reviews acid rain control programs, monitoring, emission inventories,

visibility protection, scientific and technical cooperation, and

includes the first five-year review of the Agreement.

Under the terms of the Agreement, the Governments established a

bilateral Air Quality Committee. This Committee is responsible for

reviewing progress made in the implementation of the Agreement,

preparing and submitting periodic progress reports to the Governments,

referring each progress

[[Page 58729]]

report to the International Joint Commission, and releasing those

reports to the public. The 1996 Progress Report of the Committee is now

available and may be obtained from:

Acid Rain Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Mail Code:

6204J, 401 M Street, SW., Washington, DC 20460, Acid Rain Hotline:

(202) 233-9620

Environment Canada, Enquiry Centre, 351 St. Joseph Blvd., Hull, Quebec,

K1A 0H3, (819) 997-2800.

The Executive Summary is available on Environment Canada's World

Wide Web site: http//www.ec.gc.ca/pdb/doe.html

Under the Agreement, the Governments assigned the International

Joint Commission the responsibility of inviting comments on each

progress report of the Air Quality Committee. The International Joint

Commission invites comment on any aspect of the 1996 Progress Report.

Please send comments in writing by January 15, 1997 to either address

below, or contact us if you have any questions about the comment

process.

International Joint Commission, United States Section, 1250 23rd

Street, NW., Suite 100, Washington, DC 20440; Telephone: (202) 736-

9000; Fax: (202) 736-9015; Email: [email protected]

International Joint Commission, Canada Section, 100 Metcalfe Street,

18th Floor, Ottawa, ON K1P 5M1; Telephone: (613) 995-2984; Fax: (613)

993-5583; Email:[email protected]

Dated: November 6, 1996.

James Chandler,

Acting Secretary, United States Section.

[FR Doc. 96-29406 Filed 11-15-96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4710-14-M