Jan. 30. 2008
Tom I-H.
1936 N. Clark ifIn
Chicago IL 60614
John Therriault. Assistant Cien,
Illinois Pollution Control Roard
u0 West Randolph Street, Suite 11-500
Chicago, Illinois 60601
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RE: Rule Making R08-009
near Illinois Pollution Control Board
Please put me on record as a strong supporter of Rule Making R08-009.
the proposed water quality standard improvements recommended by the
Illinois EPA for the Chicaao Area Waterways
(CAWS) and Lower Des
Plaines
River as.
As a rower and kayaker and as one drawn to the Chicago River by both
sentiment and dedication, I have been encouraged over the last 40 years
as the waterway evolved from a toxic sewage ditch to a river on the
verge of miraculous rebirth. In the last 10 years I saw flora and fauna
emerge incredibly out of industrial effluence. At some point I began to
sense that the river's notoriously vile stench was abating. I came to
enjoy the presence of the Chicago River as much as I had espoused its
Potential.
All this happened in many small steps. Commitments were made,
standards raised, funds applied, and actions taken; though decades
passed with few visible signs of progress toward a seemingly illusory
vision of a clean river running through the city. Now, with that vision
beginning to seem a real possibility—if still a distant one—the next small
step up for consideration is R08-009, the proposal to raise the standards
yet again, to commence the next phase of the ongoing reclamation of the
Chicago River.
I expect the usual objectors will pose the usual fiscal presumptions—that
higher standards would cost too much, that the benefits wouldn't justify
the sacrifices. (Someone surely will contend that this one small step
Mould cost more than the sum of all
previous
small steps.) But those old
arguments
come undone against market imperatives in which riverside
property values have increased exponentially in expectation of river
rebirth: real money is being invested in this. When comprehensive
economics are put in perspective, Rule Making R08-009 proves to be as
good for business as for the environment.
So please press on with the next small step toward the rescue of the
Chicago River. Don't stop now lust because efforts are finally showing
progress. Please put Rule Making R08-009 into effect and raise the
standards—and bring back the river.
Tom Hall
1916 N. Clark # 10
Chicago
IL 60to-