Severn Sound Remedial Action Plan

The first stage of the RAP, that of describing Environmental Conditions and Problem Definition (Severn Sound RAP, 1988) was submitted to the International Joint Commission (IJC) in February, 1989. In June, 1991 the IJC informed the Canadian Government that the Severn Sound RAP has met the requirements of Stage 1 RAP under the terms of Annex 2 of the GLWQA (1987).

Download the SSRAP Stage 1 Report.

The second stage, that of providing the detailed remedial action plan following consultation on the remedial options, listing remedial actions, schedules, effectiveness, responsibilities, estimated costs, delisting objectives and a monitoring plan (Severn Sound RAP, 1993) was released in April 1993. Following detailed review of the document by the federal and provincial governments, the document was submitted to the IJC on June 15,1999. In September 2001, the IJC informed the Canadian Government that the Severn Sound RAP has met the requirements of Stage 2 under the terms of Annex 2 of the GLWQA (1987).

The following remedial actions have been implemented to improve water quality and restore wildlife habitat in the Severn Sound Area of Concern: 

• Improve sewage plant efficiency 
• Upgrade private sewage systems
• Reduce stormwater supply
• Reduce agricultural sources of pollution
• Reduce erosion
• Reduce impact of marine activities
• Protect and improve fish and wildlife populations and habitat
• Prevent contamination

Download the SSRAP Stage 2 Report.

The third stage, that of providing details of the status of restoration and delisting objectives for Severn Sound and that the use impairments identified in Annex 2 of the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement (1987) have been restored, is the subject of the SSRAP Stage 3 Report. The Stage 3 Report was the final step to removing Severn Sound from the list of Great Lakes AOC’s, once it was reviewed and accepted by the International Joint Commission and the Federal and Ontario Provincial Governments.

Download the SSRAP Stage 3 Report (5.9 mbs) for:

• the strategy implemented to restore beneficial uses and meet locally defined goals in an Area of Concern (AOC). 
• the evidence that beneficial uses of the area have been restored 
• a discussion of the rationale to delist the AOC despite some uses remaining “impaired.” (Canada Ontario Agreement, COA 1995).
• the conclusions of the RAP Team, the Public Advisory Committee, the local municipalities, the public at large, the Agencies’ • Technical Review Team, and the federal and provincial governments.
• the rationale to remove the designation of “Area of Concern” from Severn Sound
• Incorporate RAP concerns into official plans