Enhanced Transboundary Governance Capacity Needed to Achieve Policy Goals for Harmful Algal Blooms Irena F. Creed and Kathryn Bryk Friedman Contents 1 Introduction .................................................................................. 252 2 The Context .................................................................................. 253 3 Transboundary Governance Capacity: The Importance of Institutions .................... 254 4 History of the Binational Management Regime for Addressing HABs .................... 257 5 Institutional Effectiveness of the Binational Management Regime for Addressing HABs ........................................................................ 262 6 Conclusions .................................................................................. 263 References ....................................................................................... 264 Abstract The Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin is at risk from environmental contaminants, with the western basin of Lake Erie plagued by harmful algal blooms (HABs). Although science and technology are essential to inform policy, we contend that effective governance is required to achieve policy goals. We analyze the binational management framework for addressing HABs in the western basin using a transboundary governance capacity (TGC) lens and, specifically, the attribute of institutional capacity, to assess its effectiveness. Although the management framework has some level of legitimacy and, in the case of the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, resiliency, there are little compliance and functional intensity in place. This is remarkable, given the importance of effective governance to solving urgent Great Lakes water quality issues such as HABs. A comprehensive binational approach at the federal level is not likely; therefore, I. F. Creed (*) University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada e-mail: irena.creed@usask.ca K. B. Friedman University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, USA Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Washington, DC, USA e-mail: kbf@buffalo.edu Jill Crossman and Chris Weisener (eds.), Contaminants of the Great Lakes, Hdb Env Chem (2020) 101: 251–266, DOI 10.1007/698_2020_492, © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020, Published online: 2 July 2020 251