BEFORE THE ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOAR~LERK’~
OF?~CE
OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS
MAY
12 ~OO3
NORTH SHORE SANITARY DISTRICT,
)
STATE OF ILLINOIS
Pollution
Control
Board
Petitioner,
)
)
PCB No. 03-146
v.
)
(Permit Appeal)
)
ILLINOIS ENVIRONMENTAL
)
PROTECTION AGENCY,
)
)
Respondent.
)
NOTICE
To:
Dorothy Gunn, Clerk
Fred C. Prillaman
Illinois Pollution Control Board
Mohan, Alewelt, Prillaman & Adami
James R. Thompson Center
1
North Old Capital Plaza, Suite
325
100 West Randolph Street
Springfield, Illinois
62701-1323
Suite 11-500
Chicago, Illinois
60601
Bradley P. Halloran
Hearing Officer
James R. Thompson Center
100
West Randolph Street, Suite 11-500
Chicago, Illinois
60601
PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that I have today filed with the Office ofthe Clerk of
the Illinois Pollution Control Board an original (1) and nine
(9)
copies ofa
MOTION
FOR
LEAVE FROM HEARING OFFICER
TO
FILE
A
SUPPLEMENT TO THE
ADMINISTRATIVE
RECORD and the
SUPPLEMENT TO
THE
ADMINISTRATIVE
RECORD ofthe Respondent, ILLINOIS ENVIRONMENTAL
PROTECTION AGENCY, a copy ofwhich is herewith served upon the Hearing Officer
and the attorney for the Petitioner, NORTH SHORE SANITARY DISTRICT.
Respectfully submitted by,
RobbH. Layman
Dated: May 9, 2003
Special Assistant AttorneyGeneral
Illinois Environmental Protection Agency
1021
North Grand Avenue East
P.O. Box
19276
Springfield, Illinois 62794-9276
/
BEFORE THE ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOA1~E~&1k~S
CD~
OF THE
STATE OF ILLINOIS
NORTH SHORE SANITARY DISTRICT,
)
STh~~
~
IIutL0n
o
Petitioner,
)
)
PCBNo.03-146
v.
)
(Permit Appeal)
)
ILLINOIS ENVIRONMENTAL
)
PROTECTION AGENCY,
)
)
Respondent.’
)
MOTION FOR LEAVE FROM HEARING OFFICER
TO FILE A SUPPLEMENT TO THE
ADMINISTRATIVE
RECORD
NOW COMES the Respondent, the ILLINOIS ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY (“Illinois EPA”), and moves forleave from the Hearing Officer to Supplement the
Administrative Record in this
cause.
In support ofthis Motion, the Illinois EPA states as
follows:
1.
The Illinois EPA filed the Administrative Record in this cause on April
11, 2003.
The
Administrative Record was compiled by the undersigned attorney, together with the assistance of
two other Illinois EPA employees from the Division ofAir Pollution Control’s (“DAPC”)
Permits Section, Mr. Jason Schnepp and Mr. Christopher Romaine, who were directly involved
in the permit application that is subject to this appeal.
2.
A hearing in the above-captioned appeal is scheduled for Thursday, May
15,
2003.
3.
In preparation ofsaid hearing, the undersigned attorney met with both ofthe
aforementioned Permits Section employees to discuss relevant points ofthe subject appeal. As
part ofthose discussions, it was revealed to the undersigned attorney that six (6) background or
informational documents, namely news clippings relating to both the Petitioner, NORTH
SHORE
SANITARY DISTRICT (“NSSD”) and mercury emissions affecting Lake Michigan,
may have influenced the DAPC’s Permits Section in making its permitting decisionto request
additional information.
4.
These documents were not included in the preparation ofthe Administrative Record in
this cause.
This
circumstance appears to havebeen due to the nature-ofthe documents, which
consist ofhistorical or background informationthat,
in all but one instance, came into the Illinois
EPA’s possession prior to the receipt ofNSSD’s formal permit application.
5.
The filing ofthe Illinois
EPA’s Supplement to the Administrative Record will not result
in any hardship orprejudice to the Petitioner orany other person as neither the nature ofthe
documents nor the Illinois EPA’s reliance upon the same are controversial or out ofthe ordinary.
WHEREFORE,
the Illinois EPA respectfullyrequests that the Hearing Officergrant
leave forthe filing ofa Supplement to the Administrative Record in this cause or, in the
alternative, order such relief as maybe deemed appropriate.
Respectfully submitted by,
ILLINOIS ENVIRONMENTAL
PROTECTION AGENCY
Robb H. Layman
Special Assistant Attorney General
Date: May 9, 2003 Illinois Environmental Protection Agency
Division ofLegal Counsel
1021 North Grand Avenue East
P.O. Box 19276
Springfield, IL 62794-9276
(217) 524-9137
This Filing Submitted on Recycled Paper
/
STATE OF ILLINOIS
COUNTY OF SANGAMON
AFFIDAVIT
I, Christopher Romaine, being first duly sworn, depose and state that the following
statements set forth in this instrument aretrue and correct, except as to matters therein stated to
on information and belief and, as to suchmatters, the undersigned certifies that he believes the
same to be true:
1.
I am employed by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (“Illinois EPA”) as a
professional engineer.
I am the Manager ofone ofthe analysis units in the Division ofAir
Pollution Control’s Permit Section whose offices are located at 1021
North Grand Avenue East,
Springfield,
Illinois.
I havebeen employed with the illinois EPA since
1976.
2.
As part ofmy job responsibilities, I assisted in the preparation ofa letter, entitled
“Request forAdditional Information,” that the Illinois EPA sent to NSSD as it relatedto
a
construction permit application, Permit Application No. 01040045.
By virtue ofmy involvement
in said matter, I am familiar with the general issues presented in the pending permit appeal.
3.
I have read the attached Motion for Leave to
File a Supplement to the Administrative
Record and,
further, find that the facts set forth in said Motion are true and correct to the best of
my knowledge and belief.
Further affiant sayeth not.
Subscribed and Swo1~t~
To Before Me this
7’’
Day ofMay 2003
*
OFFICIAL
SEAL
1:
BRENDA BOEHNER
NOTARY
PUBLIC,
STATE
OF
ILLINOIS
-
~.:MY
~
REC~
lED
BEFORE THE ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROLBQ~~5 ()F~
OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS
MAY
1
2
2003
NORTH SHORE SANITARY DISTRICT,
~
STATE OF
ILLINOIS
Pollution Control
Board
Petitioner,
)
-
)
PCB No. 03-146
V.
)
(Permit Appeal)
)
ILLINOIS ENVIRONMENTAL
)
PROTECTION AGENCY,
)
)
Respondent.
)
-
SUPPLEMENT TO
THE
ADMINISTRATIVE RECORD
NOW COMES the Respondent, the ILLINOIS ENVIRONMENTAL
PROTECTION AGENCY (“Illinois EPA”), and by and through its
attorneys and
pursuant to the procedural requirements ofthe Illinois Pollution Control Board (“Board”)
set forth in 35 Ill.
Adm. Code 105.2 12(a), files a Supplement to the Administrative
Record in this cause.
1.
This matter originates from
a requested revision to an air construction permit that
the Petitioner, NORTH SHORE SANITARY DISTRICT (“NSDS”), submitted to the
Illinois EPA on February
12,2003.
2.
Following a preliminaryreview of the permit application, the illinois EPA issued
a Request for Additional Information to NSSD on March 3, 2003.
NSSD subsequently
filed a Petition forPermit Review (hereinafter “Petition”) with the Board on March 7,
2003.
The Illinois EPA received notice ofthe Petition on March 10, 2003.
3.
The Illinois EPA filed the Administrative Record in this cause on April
11, 2003.
4.
For reasons set forth in the accompanyingMotion for Leave to File a Supplement
to the Administrative Record that was directed to the Hearing Officerin this cause, the
Illinois EPA herewith is filing ten copies (i.e., a signed original and nine (9) duplicate
copies) ofthe
Supplement to the Administrative Record.
One copy is being served, by
both facsimile and first class mail, upon the Petitioner and one copy is being served, by
both facsimile and first class mail, with the assigned Hearing Officer.
5.
The supplemental materials to the Administrative Record consist ofnon-
privileged documents, as were made only recently known and available to the
undersigned attorney through other Illinois EPA personnel, that were relied upon by the
Illinois EPA in making its permit decision to request additional information.
A general
description and referenced page numbers ofthose documents is set forth below and
reflects a continuation ofthe earlier Administrative Record filed by the Illinois EPA:
Document reference
Page
J.
News or informational clipping, dated February 13, 2003,
124
concerning NSSD’s plans for the Waukegan sludge
processing plant.
K.
News clipping from the Chicago Tribune, dated October
125-126
23, 2002, relating to NSSD’s plans to build the sludge processing
-
plant.
L.
News clipping from the Chicago Tribune, dated October
127-128
15,
2002, relating to NSSD’s purchasing ofequipment to
reduce mercury emissions at the sludge processing plant.
M.
Letterto the Editor from Director Cipriano, Illinois
EPA,
129-130
published in the Chicago Tribune on August 19,2002,
relatingto
concerns about NSSD’s proposed sludge-
processing plant.
N.
Facsimile cover page, dated August 2,2002, and attached
13 1-133
Congressional Record document, undated, concerning proposed
federal legislation to reduce mercury emissions in the
Great Lakes area.
Document reference
Page
0.
News clipping from the News Sun, undated, that was contained
134-135
within an email, dated July
15,
2002, from Tammy Mitchell
to
ChristopherRomaine et al., concerning NSSD’s proposed
sludge processing plant.
-
-
Respectfully submitted by,
ILLINOIS ENVIRONMENTAL
PROTECTION AGENCY,
Robb H. Layman
Special Assistant Attorney General
May 9, 2003
-
Illinois Environmental Protection Agency
1021 North Grand Avenue East
P.O. Box
19276
Springfield, Illinois 62794-9276
(217)524-9137
This filing is submitted on recycled paper.
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
I hereby certify that on the
9th
day ofMay, 2003, I did send, by First Class Mail
with postage thereon fullypaid
and deposited into the possession ofthe United
States
Postal Service, one (1) original and nine (9) copies ofthe following instrument entitled
MOTION FOR LEAVE FROM
HEARING
OFFICER TO FILE A SUPPLEMENT
TO THE ADMINISTRATIVE RECORD and the SUPPLEMENT TO THE
ADMINISTRATIVE RECORD ofthe Respondent, ILLINIOS ENVIRONMENTAL
PROTECTION AGENCY, to:
Dorothy Gunn, Clerk
Illinois Pollution Control Board
James R. Thompson Center
100
West Randolph Street, Suite 11-500
Chicago, Illinois
60601
-
and a true and correct copy ofthe same foregoing instrument, by First Class
Mail with
postage thereon fully paid and deposited into the possession ofthe United States Postal
Service, to:
Fred C. Prillaman
BradleyP. Halloran
Mohan, Alewelt, Prillaman & Adami
Hearing Officer
1
North Old Capital Plaza, Suite 325
James R. Thompson Center
Springfield, Illinois
62701-1323
-
100 West Randolph Street,
Suite 11-500
Chicago, Illinois
60601
In addition, true and correct copies ofthe samewere sent on this same date, by facsimile,
to both the attorney forthe Petitioner and the Hearing Officer.
-
Robb H. Layman
-
Special Assistant Attorney General
This filing is submitted on recycledpaper.
Exhibit
J
~LB.
14. ~UUi
q:~Lrt
February
13, 2003
Contact:
Francis
X.
Lyons, Attorney at
Law,
Gardner,
Carton & Douglas.
312/
569-1444
-
NORTH SHORE
SANITARY
DISTRICT
TELLS COURT CONSTRUCTION
OF
ENVIRONMENTALLY
CLEAN
PROCESSING PLANT MUST BEGIN,
PRO~EC1’
WILL
HAVE
ZERO
To BELOW QUANTIFIABLE
MERCU~Y
EMISSIONS
State
AIr
Pernn~
Requires Bc//dingt~
Begin
Technology
Used Th,vughout Europe
and £15;
Landfills
WI/ISoon
Mc
LongerBe Required
WAUKEGAN
-The
North Shore
Sanitary
District
will begin
constructir~g
its
environmentally dean sludge treatment plant In Waukegan, the
district’s
lawyers told a Lake
County judge today.
At the same
time
the District says it has
responded
to
concerns
of state,
local and federal officials and environmental groups and engineered
a solution to reduce
mercury emissions to
range
from zero to below quantifiable
levels,
The Disbict’s lawyers say construction
Will commence
over the
objection
of city officials,
because It
Is
scheduled
to begin under the
Illinois
EPA air permit.
The EPA permit
mandates
construction begins within a
year
of Issuance,
-
~From
the very
beginning, the North Shore Sanitary District has
worked to
do the right
thing forthe
people of this region and the environment.
Constructing
this processing plant is
the right
thing to do,”
said Disbict
lawyer Francis
X.
Lyons, former regional admInistrator ofthe
U.S.
E.P.A,
Region
V under President
Clinton.
“The District
commends
the leadership and
contribu~crt
of
the
many
local, state
and federal offidais
and environmental organizations.
In
response to their comments, the project
will include
controls that
will reduce
the
mercury
emissions
to below quantifiable levels.
Not only is that a big improvement over the
project’s
original scope, It is a vast improvement over the
Dlsblct’s
present day deposit ofmore than 30
pounds
of mercury into its
landfills.
Nearby lakefront power plants are emitting nearly 1200
pounds of mercury
compounds
into the environment
annually.”
Lyons pointed out
that besides treating the wastewater of nearly 350,000 citizens, the
district’s job is to
protect
the
water
and
the rest of the
environment
It also has a responsibility
to
perform
these jobs In
a
fiscally responsible manner.
In the
meantime the
following facts
have added up to create a problem
that the region
and the district can
no
longer avoid.
According to
district
General Manager Brian
)ensen~
-
The Sanitary District treats nearly 20
trillion
gallons of wastewater from 350,000
residents every year.
Development in the North
Shore
area
continues
unabated and
demand
on the system
will grow exponentially.
a
Every workday
12
semi-trucks carry wet sludge to nearby
landfills.
The district currently
mixes the sludge with fly-ash in order to
produce a stable
disposable
product, however
the supply of fly-ash to the district will soon be
terminated.
•
While
municipal bodies use landfills across the
Country, they
are
no longer cutting edge
environmental technology.
The
District will no longer have landfill
space In
seven years,
with little hope of getting a new landfill..
•
Waste contains many
potential toxins.
Though
sanitary disbicts
across
the country wotl
very hard to contain
risks, we know from
local and national
experience that
landfills
sometimes
leak
or
worse.
-
C 0012 4
m
:5-
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Tribune
Lawsuit on table
in sludge
impasse
Page
1 of2
45°F
October 23, 2002
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Lawsuit on
table
in
sludge
impasse
Sanitary district may build
plant, ignore Waukegan
By Marcia Sagendorph
Special to the Tribune
PublishedOctober 23, 2002
North Shore Sanitary District officials plan to meet Wednesday to discuss
whether to sue Waukegan after the
City Council unanimously rejected
the
agency’s proposal to build a sludge-burning plant on
the Lake Michigan
shore.
E-mail
~
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The sanitary district’s directors also will discusswhether to immediately begin construction
city’s vote, district general
manager Brian Jensen
said Tuesday.
“There is no basis for denying any
o
attorney Mark Furlane told aldemier
Judiciary Committee voted Monday
the plant. “Now we will see you
in
cc
‘That’s fine,” Aid. Larry TenPas saic
here.”
Later Monday, the full City Council~
zoning request that the sanitary dist
build the $26 million
plant. The ager
--
spent $10 million
on start-up costs
E
received shipment of all the parts, ~
storage.
For months,
the city and
the sanitar’
sparred over the plant, where sewa~
dried and melted
into a glasslike re~
be ground
up
and used to make cer
-
The sanitary district has said the
pia
alternative to burying sludge in
a landfill. The city has argued that the plantwould
hurt its la~
redevelopment effort, and that it would pose an environmental
hazard because it would rele
The sanitary district treats sewage for about 350,000 people who live near the
lakefront in
L
The plantwould turn
187,000 tons of sludge generated daily into 7.5 tons of a glasslike
resh
23,000-square-foot building would be built on an
unused parking lot at the agency’s Wauke~
Treatment Plant.
-
“Environmentally, this is the best treatment available for sludge,” Jensen said. ‘We are envi
Our main concern
is the environment.”
Yet environmentalists have been among the staunchest opponents of the plant, saying it wc
mercury into the air and further pollute the lake.
Jensen said the sanitary districtspent $400,000 in the last year to find ways
to
reduce
merc
He said they discovered
a cyclone furnace that would reduce the emissions to a barely perc
rnr~i
~)
I:~~~t9
1!iG~
Subecrib
Chicago Tribune
Lawsuit on table in sludge impasse
Disaster at
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“It would be
between
zero to
1.8 pounds per year,” Jensen said.
The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency issued a permit for the plant in March that wot
emissions of up to 92 pounds of mercury per year.
The city sued the district in
Lake County Circuit Court in December to stop it from building ft
‘We
fully intend to build this facility in Waukegan,” Jensen said. “It
is our belief that a local
a
shouldn’t
tell
a regional authority what to do.”
Waukegan Aid. Sam Cunningham
said
he was frustrated with the “arrogance” that the distri
toward the city.
“You’re not going to come to our city and tell
us what to do,’
Cunningham said.
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Tribune
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Agency cites way to lower mercury
Page
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~Th1HME
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2002
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Agency
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mercury
Sanitary district tries to win OK for waste plant
By Susan Kuczka
Tribune staff reporter
Published
October
10, 2002
E-mail
cI~b
Printer
Hoping to silence
its
critics, the North Shore Sanitary District is spending
~
Search
$375,000 on equipment
it says will drastically reduce mercury emissions from
a waste-treatment plant it wants to
build on Waukegan’s Lake
Michigan shore.
With
the equipment, the $26 million plant would release
no more than
1.7 pounds of mercur
said James Swarthout, president of the district.
But critics say that still would be
too
U.S. Rep.
Mark Kirk (R-IIL) and
loca
environmentalists said Wednesday~
continue to oppose
the plant, which
would be
the first new source of mercury
pollution in Lake Michigan
in at least a decade.
‘We ought to develop a solution that involves putting
no
new mercury into
Lake Michigan,”
1
recently asked the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to revoke the sanitary district’s pe
the plant.
The plant proposal has
drawn criticism on more than one front.
The
City of Waukegan
sued to block construction. City officials said
the plant would hurt effc
redevelop the
downtown and lakefront. A Lake
Countyjudge ruled
that the district must get
approval for the plant. The district has appealed that ruling to the Illinois Appellate Court.
Environmentalists oppose the plant because of the mercury it would
release. Lake Michigan
federal fish consumption advisory because of mercury contamination.
Mercury is a
naturally
potent neurotoxin that can become concentrated
in fish.
“The lake
is already telling us theres too much mercury in it,” said Cameron Davis, executiv
Lake Michigan
Federation, an environmental group
lobbying lawmakers to block the plant.
The sanitary district treats sewage for an estimated 350,000 customers who live near the
lal
County. The new plantwould allow the district to
bum its sludge rather than bury
it
in a land
would replace
the district’s landfill operation near Zion.
District officials said the amount of mercury the plantwould release
is small compared with•
released
by coal-fired plants, such as the one Midwest Generation operates in Waukegan,
sanitary district’s waste-treatment facility.
The Midwest Generation plant, which produces electricity, discharges
at least 300 pounds
C
annually into the atmosphere, said Doug McFarlan, company spokesman.
There are no restrictions on
the amount of mercury the Midwest Generation plant and
other:
release.
The federal government is expected to issue mercury guidelines for those plants b~
McFarlan
said.
000127
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Agency cites way to
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/
Swarthout said
it is unfair forcritics to single out the sanitary district’s plans.
‘We collect about 33 pounds of mercury a year, but with this
new system, we’ll
be
able to g~
1.7 pounds of it,” Swarthout said.
‘The big issue for us has been with the mercury, and
I
thir
issue.”
_________________
The plant would use a drying and melting process to convert sludge into a ceramic or glassl
that could be used in road
construction. The
process would release
some mercury into the
where it could eventually make its way into Lake Michigan.
The Illinois EPA approved the project in March
and issued
a permit to the district that would
A final accounting: The
up
to
92 pounds of mercury per year.
Rediscovered
score
The district has spent $10 million in start-up costs.
Pianist’s last le~acv
Swarthout said the district plans
to
hire a New Jersey firm, Croll-Reynolds Clean Air Technc
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reduce mercury emissions from
its
new plant.
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James Reynolds, owner of Cr011-Reynolds,
said
the district plans to purchase two stainless:
that use carbon
to capture mercury that has been vaporized in the melter.
“Think of it like a piece of charcoal that has nooks and crannies
and passageways that can•
mercury as it goes through the carbon bed,” Reynolds
said.
He
said his firm has applied the
other industries that want to eliminate mercury emissions.
The absorbent carbon beds would have to be replaced every three to
five
years. Swarthout
is willing to
do so, if it helps make the plant a
reality.
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Chicago Tribune
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Working to protect the state’s waters
Page
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VOICE
OF THE PEOPLE (LETTER)
Working
to
protect the
state’s
waters
Special sections
Renee Cipriano,
Director
-
Illinois Environmental
Protection Agency
News
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Published August
12, 2002
Local
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Springfield
—
The Illinois Environmental Protection
P
Search
archives
Agency applauds the Tribune’s concern for reducing
the levels of mercury in our environment. The Illinois
EPA
has taken
a leadership role in that effort through
a variety of ongoing
programs and initiatives.
I
do wish
to
note, however, that whatever good intentions were the basis of the
Aug. 2 editorial “Incinerate this plan” were tarnished by some misconceptions
about mercury and Lake Michigan,
and the North Shore Sanitary District’s
proposed sludge-processing plant.
The fish advisory issued in March by the Illinois
Department of Public Health was
not issued because “the lake Lake
Michigan
is already saturated with
mercury,”
as stated
in the editorial.
The advisory applies to
all waters of the state and was
issued because of the general concern over methylmercury accumulation in
How tc
predator fish;
Low to moderate levels of mercury have been found
in sampled
fish
in Lake
Michigan.
Indeed, the primary contaminant of concern for Lake Michigan
predator
fish
is,
instead, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB5).
Also noteworthy is the fact that all
of the open-water areas of Lake Michigan
are
fully supporting public water-supply and aquatic-life use,
a further indication that
the lake is not “saturated” by mercury.
-
Regarding the North Shore Sanitary District, the editorial asserts that “there is no
state orfederal limit on mercury emissions forthis kind of incinerator.”
In fact, this
facility falls under the federal National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air
Pollutants
(NESHAP). Under NESHAP,
the
mercury emissions standard applying
to the facility would be approximately 7 pounds per day or 2,555 pounds per year.
The permit issued by the Illinois
EPA restricts mercury emissions to no more
than
92 pounds annually,
however, and the district has indicated
it anticipates actual
emissions to be significantly lower.
The Illinois EPA needs
no impetus to focus
its
attention
on Lake Michigan
and
mercury reduction
and elimination. The Illinois
EPA has been working
aggressively with medical facilities
and through our Household Hazardous Waste
Collection
Program
to reduce and safely dispose of mercury-containing items.
In
the
past year,
we held several mercury thermometer exchanges around
the state
and supported legislation that would have prohibited
the sale
and distribution of
mercury thermometers in Illinois.
In
addition, Illinois EPA has recently received funding
from the Great Lakes
000129
August
19,
2002
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httn://www.chjca2otrjbune.comJnews/opjnjon/letters/chi-O2OS1201
22aug12.story?coll=chi°... 8/19(2002
chicago Tribune
I
Working
to protect the state’s waters
-
Page 2 of 2
Protection
Fund that will
be
used for additional mercury collections, including
at
schools
and retirement communities, as well as expanded
scientific analysis of
the sources of mercury in the air
and water.
The amount of mercury from power plants and other industrial
sources has been
continually monitored
by the Illinois EPA.
Under state legislation passed last year
and President
Bush’s
ClearSkies Initiative,
it is the agency’s objective
to address
~~iscovered
score
a multipollutant strategy at the state level to reduce toxic air pollutants, including
pIani~I~g~cy
mercury.
Tribune investigation:
.
.
,
Unhealthy
hospitals
We
agree wholeheartedly with the editorial’s conclusion that
Lake Michigan is
precious.”
Rest assured, the Illinois
EPA
has worked and continues to work
~Decialreport: Wacker
aggressively with citizens,
industry
and other agencies to
protect Lake Michigan
Drive reconstruction
for generations
to come.
2001
Illinois School
Report
Card: Grade
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000130
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PUG
92
2002
15:10
FR
TO
912177922465
P.01
GOVERNOR
GEORGE
H.
RYAN
~c,
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Date:
02-.
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WASHINGTON,
DC
OFFICE
444
NORTh CAPITOL ST., ROOM 400 -WASHINGTON, DC 20001
PHONE (202) 624 .7760
-
FAX(s) (202) 724
.0689/-624.7749
Pages:
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02 2092
15:11
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Record article 2of
41L
Full Displav-5,284
bytesH~ip1
11
-
STOP
MERCURY
EMISSIONS
—
(House ofRepresentatives
-
July 18, 2002)
-
Page:
H49203
GPO’s P~F
TheSPEAKER pro tempore. Under aprevious order ofthe House, the
gentleman
from Illinois (Mr.
Kirk)
is recognized for
5
minutes.
-
Mr. KIRK. Mr. Speaker, the Great Lakes
are
under
attack
from
many environmental threats,
such as
invasive
species,
PCB contamination,
and
other aquaticpollutants. In thenextweek, alongwith the
gentleman from
Michigan
(Mr.
Upton),
the
gentleman from
Michigan (Mr.
Stup~zk),
and
the gentleman
fromWisconsin (Mr.
Kind),
I willbe introducingthe Great
Lakes Mercury
Reduction Act,which will
prohibit the issuance ofnew
permits under
the
Clean
AirAct that
will
result
in
the deposition of
any
additionalmercury
into the
Great Lakes.
Our legislation seeks to
halt
new
mercury
pollution sources
that
would deposit further amountsof
mercury
into the Great
Lakes. Currently, the technology does not exist to
stop mercury
emissionsfrom
already-permitted sources. Therefore, we
should not allow construction ofnew mercurypollution
sources.
Our legislation will not affect existing sources already permitted under the Clean AirAct, but rather,
willhalt addition ofnew sources ofmercury that will further degrade the Great Lakes with mercury
pollution. Airborne mercuryis
the dominant source ofmercury in the Great Lakes; and according to the
LakeMichigan Federation, \1/70\ ofa teaspoon ofmer-cury can contaminate a
25-acre
lake. Mercury
quicklybioaccumulates, contaminating the food chain and making the fish
ofthe
lakes inedible by
humans.
The Federal
Government
must
address
mercury pollution, because sufficient reduction
Lirriits were
not
set in
the
Clean Air
Act
Amendments
in 1990. The
act only contained large
general national
emission
numbers, and control studies monitoring
the
growing
problems
with mercury
pollution.
While the Clean
AirAct required extensive studies
ofthe potential
dangers
of
mercury, it deferred much ofthework
on
limiting mercury emissions to the States,
In 1997, the United States and Canada, as part ofthe Great Lakes Binational
Toxics
Strategy, met to
address strategies
for
eliminating
toxic
substances in the
Great Lakes.
Thesetalks resulted in each nation
agreeing
to
address a number
oftoxic emissions, includingmercury. According to
this agreement, the
United
States will seek to reduce airborne emissionsof
mercury
by50 percent,
and
Canadaby 90 percent
by the
year
2006.
President Bush and
the Congressboth
made
the eliminationof
mercury
pollutionan
environmental
Cr:
1-”,.’
Q
u’-,~uiu
~UG 02
2002
15:11
FR
TO 912177822465
P.03
hUp://tho~n2s.1oc.gov/cgi-biniqucryfD?r1O7:2:JtCmp/~r1
O7R6ISm
priority ofthis Congress. In his
Clear Skies Initiative, President Bush seeks to cut mercury emissions up
to 69
percent and create the first-ever
national cap for mercury emissions.
Mercury
emissions willbe cut
from
current emissions from 48
tons to a
cap
of26 tons in 2010,
and
15 tons in 2018. Likewise,
two
similar
proposals in
Congress will seek to cap mercury
emissions
for the
first
timeeverfor
air
quality
improvements.
Inmy district,
Lake
Michigan
is the
source ofourdrinking
water,
and
the lake
provides recreationin
the
summertime, and
once provided fish for eating. Wenowknow that
Lake Michigan fish are harmful
because ofthe
toxins
theycontain. According to the EPA,each yearover3,000 pounds of
mercury
pollution are
dumped into
Lake Michigan, and
86
percent ofthat
comes from
direct atmospheric
deposition. Recently, the North Shore Sanitary District obtained
apermit from
the illinois Environmental
Protection Agency to build a sludge sewage incinerator on the shores ofLake Michigan in Waukegari,
illinois. Ifconstruction commences, the mercuryemitted
from
this
sludge incineratorwill be
the first
new source of
mercury
pollution in the
Great Lakes in over a decade.
My top environmental goal in this Congress is to protect
Lake Michigan and
the
Great Lakes. Earlier
this year,
I chaired the NuclearFuel Safety Caucus, which sought the saferemoval ofnuclear
waste
from
key environmental ecosystems in the Great Lakes burdened with nuclear waste on our shores. The
approval of the nuclear waste resolution in this Congress will make our 10th district nuclear free upon
completion ofthe National Nuclear Waste Repository. But now, Congress must focus
its
attention on
mercury pollution in the Great Lakes,
Airborne
mercury pollution is an issue which the
Federal Government has ignoredin years past.
Furthermercurypollution ofthe Great
Lakes will irreparably
damage
our fragile ecosystem.
I urgeMembers to support
our bipartisan
legislation. Wejoined in
this effort
to
end
mercurypollution
in the
Great Lakesjust this
week, but passage of
our
bill
will
go
a long way to fulfilling our
international
commitments
to our Canadian allies
and fulfill the promise ofPresident Bush’s Clear Skies Initiative on
mercury. But most importantly,
Mr. Speaker, it willprotect the mothers
and children
oftheMidwestwho
are most atrisk formercury
pollution.
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33
**
TOTAL
PAGE.03
**
m
:3-
0~
-1-
0
-_
Chris Romaine
-
FYI:
NSSD Minergy Plant
I
Politics
/
News Article
From:
Tammy
Mitchell
To:
-
Carson,
Maggie;
DRAGOVICH, Ted;
Frost,
Brad;
Romaine, Chris;
Schollenberger,
Mark
Date:
7/15/2002 10:51
AM
Subject:
FYI:
NSSD
Minergy Plant
/
Politics
/
News Arlicle
Zion,
NSSD hit potential
roadblock to
minergy plant
By
AJ.
Goldsmith
SPECIAL TO THE NEWS
SUN
ZION
Mayor
Lane
Harrison admits
the
federal government
has
him
confused and -somewhat
angry.
Several weeks ago, President Bush significantly
relaxed
emission standards for power plants
throughout the
U.S.
-
Companies such as Midwest Generation
in Waukegan
no
longer have the imperative to install
additional
expensive clean-air scrubbers,
according to Harrison.
So, while electric
utilities are getting
a free
pollution
controls pass,
U.S. Rep.
Mark
Kirk, R-
Highland
Park,
has raised the hackles of Harrison
and- members of the
North Shore Sanitary
District
by threatening to Introduce legislation that will prohibit the NSSD from
building
its
minergy plant along
Lake Michigan.
-
“It
is
an election year,”
said
Harrison,
alluding to
Kirk’s threat this week to introduce legislation
aimed at ending the addition
of new sources of mercury into Lake Michigan.
“I understand that the proposed plant meets
all the current air standard criteria of both the
Illinois and federal Environmental
Protection Agencies,” the
mayor said.
According to Harrison,
NSSD sludge
is
now put into a
landfill that was recently acquired
by the
city
of Zion,
which hopes to use the property for industry, parks and recreation.
But the 411-acre
acquisition
is contingent upon the
NSSD getting approval for its minergy
plant
planned for Waukegan’s lakefront.
lvi
inergy takes more than 90
percent of the mercury out of sludge, the
mayor said, adding that
less than one-half of one percent is
released
into the atmosphere. It turns the sludge into a
glass
byproduct.
-
~
‘:~
-4
file://C:\Documents2oand2OSettings\EPA2
1 48\Local2oSettings\Temp\GW)
00090.H...
7/19/2002
Page 2 of2
The
NSSD’s
EPA permit allows upward of 92 pounds of mercury per year to be released
into
the atmosphere,
although the district’s three advanced waste-water treatment plants only
collect 33
pounds of mercury per year.
The district
expects
to
install special filters to remove all
but 7.6 pounds
of mercury from the
minergy process annually, while claiming that the form
of mercury that
will be emitted from
the Waukegan plant will
remain
in the atmosphere for about a year and
not get
into Lake
Michigan.
-
NSSD consultants estimate that by the time
it actually comes out of the air it
will be
somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean.
‘The
small amount
in the air is
much less of a
health factor than putting
it into the ground
and
having it seep
into ground water,”
Harrison pointed out.
NSSD officials
claim the minergy process
is the future of sludge disposal, eliminating
landfill
operations, saving huge amounts of land, protecting the environment and creating a usable
by-product.
-
After the November election,
Congressman
Kirk will
no
longer represent the area north of
Waukegan that includes Zion.
Harrison expects to take up the matter of the minergy plant
with U.S.
Rep.
Philip Crane, R-
Wauconda, who will
represent Zion after November and
U.S.
Sen. Peter Fitzgerald,
R-Ill.
07/13/02
-
~
r)r
U
I
s-.’
