Great Lakes Areas of Concern

Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Action Plan IV

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announces an updated action plan for federal agencies and their partners under the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative to restore and protect the Great Lakes over the next five years.
2025 Great Lakes Areas of Concern Conference in Toledo, Ohio

Save the date! The Great Lakes AOC Conference will be held September 16-18, 2025, in Toledo, Ohio.

More information to come.

The U.S.-Canada Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement (Annex 1 of the 2012 Protocol) defines AOCs as "geographic areas designated by the Parties where significant impairment of beneficial uses has occurred as a result of human activities at the local level." An AOC is a location that has experienced environmental degradation. EPA and other federal and state agencies are working to restore the 25 remaining U.S. AOCs in the Great Lakes basin.