1.0 INTRODUCTION 



The Poplar River Bilateral Monitoring Committee was authorized for an initial period of five years by 

 the Govemments of Canada and the United States under the Poplar River Cooperative Monitoring 

 Arrangement dated September 23, 1980. A copy of the Arrangement is attached to this report as 

 Annex 1 . On March 12, 1 987, the Arrangement was extended by the Govemments for four years to 

 March 1991 . In July 1992, the Arrangement was further extended retroactively from March 31 , 1 991 

 to March 31, 1996 following a request from the Committee in 1991. A more detailed account of the 

 historical background of the Arrangement is contained in the 1990 Annual Report of the Poplar River 

 Bilateral Monitoring Committee. 



The Committee oversees monitoring programs designed to evaluate the potential transboundary 

 impacts from SaskPower's (formeriy Saskatchewan Power Corporation) coal-fired themnal 

 generating station and ancillary operations near Coronach, Saskatchewan. Monitoring is conducted 

 in Canada and the United States at or near the International Boundary for quantity and quality of 

 surface and ground water and for air quality. Participants from both countries, including Federal, 

 State and Provincial agencies, are involved in monitoring. 



The Committee submits an annual report to Governments which summarizes the monitoring results, 

 evaluates apparent trends, and compares data to objectives or standards recommended by the 

 international Joint Commission to Govemments, or to relevant Federal, State or Provincial 

 standards. The Committee reports to Govemments on a calendar year basis. This report is the 

 twelfth in the series. The Committee is also responsible for drawing Government's attention to 

 definitive changes in monitoring parameters which may require immediate attention. 



A responsibility of the Committee is review of the adequacy of monitoring programs in both countries 

 and recommending changes in Technical Monitoring Schedules to Govemments. The Schedules 

 are updated annually to document changes in monitoring locations, sampling frequencies, 

 parameter lists, and analytical techniques. The Technical Monitoring Schedules listed in the annual 



