FRIENDS
ORIGI
AL
xer,
OF THE FOREST PRESERVES
August 4, 2008
John Therriault, Assistant Clerk
Illinois Pollution Control Board
100 West Randolph Street, Suite 11-500
Chicago, Illinois 60601
RE: Rule Making R08-009
RECEIVED
CLERK'S
OFFICE
ALA
0 4 2008
P
STATE
ollution
OF
Control
ILLINOISBoard
Dear Illinois Pollution Control Board:
Friends of the Forest Preserves (FOTFP) supports the recommended water quality standard
improvements proposed by the Illinois EPA for the Chicago Area Waterways System (CAWS)
and Lower Des Plaines River (LDPR) in rulemaking R08-09. As the only non-profit
environmental organization whose sole mission is to preserve, protect, and restore the Forest
Preserves of Cook County for the benefit of people and nature, we have a strong interest in
ensuring high water quality in the streams and rivers that cross forest preserve lands.
The new standards will foster better aquatic habitat in and along the CAWS and LDPR. It is
essential that we protect the biodiversity of species that reside in our waterways. In Cook
County, forest preserve land is located along significant portions of the CAWS and nearly all of
the Des Plaines River. This publicly owned land provides the highest level of public access for
recreation in the river systems.
Furthermore, the Forest Preserves of Cook County are critical lands for protecting both aquatic
and terrestrial biodiversity and are home to more than 170 threatened and endangered species.
Establishing better habitat conditions would help native Illinois species to flourish in these
preserves.
Thousands of volunteers take an active role in enhancing and restoring aquatic and riverine
habitat along the banks of these waterways in the forest preserves. They have a vested interest in
ensuring strong water quality standards are adopted. More than 40 volunteer stewardship groups
dedicate effort and time to improving habitat in and along the rivers, contributing thousands of
volunteer work hours each year. For example, these groups conduct riverbank erosion control
activities that require them to enter the water.
Volunteer groups throughout the county include those who improve habitat along the Calumet
River system through the Calumet Stewardship Initiative and the Palos Restoration Project.
Friends of the Morton Grove Forest Preserve and the North Branch Restoration Project work at
sites along the North Branch of the Chicago River. The Des Plaines River Valley Restoration
Volunteers and Friends of the Chicago Portage are dedicated to improving habitat and water
quality along the Des Plaines River.
28 E. Jackson Blvd., Suite 1102, Chicago, IL 60604-2330
(312) 356-9990 f. (312) 356-9991 www.fotfp.org
Additionally, this ruling is critical to forest preserve users who utilize these waterways for
recreational purposes including boating, canoeing and fishing. The public deserves waterways
that they can enjoy, secure in the knowledge that they are much safer from bacteria in effluent
discharged by sewage treatment plants in the area.
Improvements to water quality standards for these waterways are long overdue. This rule is a
rare opportunity to set the standard higher for clean and safe waterways for the Chicago
Metropolitan region. And as stewards of these natural resources, we should not be seeking the
minimum in improvement, but the maximum. Therefore, we urge the Board to approve these
changes.
Benj. r n Cox
Executive Director
Friends of the Forest Preserves