RECEIVED

CLERK'S OFFICE

MAR 2 h 2008

PSTATE

ollution

OF

Control

ILLINOISBoard

'ity of Chicago

tichard M. Daley, Mayor

)epartment of Environment

)uzanne Malec-McKenna

ommissioner

twenty-fifth Floor

1

0 North LaSalle Street

'hicago, Illinois 60602-7575

312) 744-7606 (Voice;

312) 744-6451 (FA N)

312) 744-3586 (TTY)

ttp://www.cityorchicago.org

Re: Comment on Rule Making R2008-009

Dear Ms. Tipsord,

The City of Chicago offers the following comments in support of the Illinois

EPA's proposal for new water quality standards for the Chicago Area Waterways.

The City of Chicago is working hard to protect and develop the Chicago Area

Waterways as a world class river system. The new standards proposed by Illinois

EPA will further our progress in reclaiming the river system as a great natural and

recreational resource for Chicago residents and visitors.

March 17, 2008

Marie E. Tipsord, Hearing Officer

Illinois Pollution Control Board

100 West Randolph Street, Suite 11-500

Chicago, IL 60601

Working with other stakeholders, we have already made great improvements to

water quality, wildlife habitat and recreational access to the waterway.

MWRDGC's Tunnel and Reservoir Project has had a tremendous positive impact

on water quality. As a complement to this system, the City of Chicago is

aggressively implementing green infrastructure for stormwater management.

This approach helps the waterways by effectively adding capacity to the sewer

system. These improvements in water quality have allowed the City of Chicago

to respond to increasing public demand for recreational access to the waterways.

We have built over 14 miles of riverfront trails, 5 public canoe launches, and

fishing stations at 2 parks. We have also completed bank restoration work at

parks, schools and other public property along the river.

We are committed to continued improvement of the river system for water

quality, wildlife habitat and recreation. Working with the Chicago Park District,

we will continue to improve public access and restore wildlife habitat on public

land along the river, and encourage the private sector to do the same. We will

continue working toward our goal of a continuous trail system along the Chicago

River. This year, the Chicago Department of Transportation will begin

construction of a new Riverwalk that will create a continuous river-level

promenade along the Main- Branch.

We commend the Illinois EPA, MWRDGC and the other stakeholders who

participated in the Use Attainability Analysis for their work to improve

our

waterways.

Commissioner