The Initiative is a set of uniform water quality standards for the Great Lakes required under the Clean Water Act. The Initiative targets 29 of the most hazardous toxics in the Great Lakes, such as PCBs, dioxin, and mercury. In July 1995, seven industrial and municipal dischargers sued to try to kill the Great Lakes Initiative. The National Wildlife Federation also filed suit to attempt to strengthen the Great Lakes Initiative and to prevent the dischargers from killing the package. For example, Initiative opponents failed in their effort to weaken restrictions on dumping mercury into the Great Lakes.
Mercury causes severe health effects on people, fish and wildlife.
The court required the EPA to do additional work to ensure that economic and ecological factors were properly weighed. Toxic pollutants targeted by the Initiative persist in the environment for years and even decades. Children, including those yet to be born, are among those most susceptible to the health effects caused by the toxics covered by the Initiative. Documented child and adult health problems resulting from exposure include cancer, kidney and liver poisoning, respiratory problems, nerve damage and nervous system deficits, reproductive illnesses, and developmental disorders.