BEFORE THE ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL
BOAR1~c~~ys
~~CE~VE~
OFFICE
IN THE MATTER OF:
)
AUG 25200k
ILL~NOtS
ADM.DISSOLVEDPROPOSEDCODEAMENDMENTS302.206OXYGEN
STANDARD
TO
35
ILL.
)))
(RulemakingR04-25
-
Water)
~
Board
NOTICE OF FILING
TO:
SEE ATTACHED SERVICE LIST.
PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that on Wednesday, August
25,
2004,
we filed the attached
Metropolitan Water Reclamation District’s Comments to Proposed Amendments To Dissolved
Oxygen Standard with the Clerk ofthe Pollution Control Board, a copy ofwhich is herewith served
upon you.
METROPOLITAN WATER RECLAMATION
DISTJUCT OF GREATER CHICAGO
BY:
4i~
Michael
C;~dY~i
G. Rosenberg,
Q0~
its~Attoi~iey
J~,
Mc
Michael G. Rosenberg/Ronald M. Hill
Metropolitan Water Reclamation
District ofGreater Chicago
100 East Erie Street
Chicago, IL 60611
(3 12)
751-6583
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
I, Judith A. Pappalardo, being duly sworn on oath, certif~rthat I caused a copy ofthe attached
Comments of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago to be sent via
first class U.S. Mail to the individuals identified on the attached service list, at their addresses as
shown, with proper postage prepaid, from 100 E. Erie Street, Chicago, Illinois, at or near the hour of
4:00 p.m., this 25th day ofAugust, 2004.
~
SUBSCRIBED and SWORN to before
me this 25th day of August, 2004.
TIOFFICIAL SEAL”
Rosalie Bottari
Nota~°ob~ic,State of II!ino!s
otary Public
MyCOn~I~S~OnExp.
04/10/2006
THIS FILING IS SUBMITTED ON RECYCLED PAPER
SERVICE LIST
Office ofthe Attorney General
Interested Party
188 W. Randolph, 20th Floor
Chicago, IL 60601
Gardner, Carton & Douglas
Interested Party
191 N. Wacker Drive, Suite 3700
Chicago, IL 60606-1698
Sonnenschein, Nath & Rosenthal
Interested Party
8000 Sears Tower
233 S. Wacker Drive
Chicago, IL 60606-6404
Illinois Environmental Regulatory Group
Interested Party
3150 Roland Avenue
Springfield, IL 62703
Thorn Creek Basin SanitaryDistrict
Interested Party
700 West End Avenue
Chicago Heights, IL 60411
Hedinger Law Office
Interested Party
2601 S. Fifth Street
Springfield, IL 62703
EPA
Respondent
1021 N. Grand Avenue East
P.O. Box 19276
Springfield, IL 62794-9276
Hodge, Dwyer, Zeman
Interested Party
3150 Roland Avenue
P.O. Box 5776
Springfield, IL 62705-5776
Ross & Hardies
Interested Party
150 N. Michigan Avenue, Suite 2500
Chicago, IL 60601-7567
Chemical Industry Council ofIllinois
Interested Party
2250 B. Devon Avenue, Suite 239
Des Plaines, IL 60018-4509
Illinois-American Water Company
Interested Party
300 N. Water Works Drive
P.O. Box 24040
Belleville, IL 62223-9040
Vermillion Coal Company
Interested Party
1979 Johns Drive
Glenview, IL 60025
Fred L. Hubbard, Attorney at Law
Interested Party
415 N. Gilbert Street
Danville, IL 61834-0012
Blackwell, Sanders, Peper, Martin LLP
Interested Party
2300 Main Street, Suite 1000
Kansas City, MO 64108
1
Illinois Pollution Control Board
Interested Party
100 W. Randolph Street, Suite 11-500
Chicago, IL 60601
Bloomington/Normal Water Reclamation District
Interested Party
P.O. Box 3307
Bloomington, IL 61702-3307
Fox Metro Water ReclamationDistrict
Interested Party
682 State Route 31
Oswego, IL 60543
Posegate & Denes, P.C.
Interested Party
111 N. Sixth Street
Springfield, IL 62705
Environmental Law & Policy Center
Interested Party
35 B. Wacker, Suite 1300
Chicago, IL 60601
Office of Lt. Governor Pat Quinn
Interested Party
Room 214 State House
Springfield, IL 62706
City of Geneva
Interested Party
22 South First Street
Geneva, IL 60134-2203
City ofJoliet
Department ofPublic Works and Utilities
Interested Party
921 E. Washington Street
Joliet, IL 60431
Downers Grove SanitaryDistrict
Interested Party
2710 Curtiss Street
Downers Grove, IL 60515
Illinois Department ofNatural Resources
Interested Party
One Natural Resources Way
Springfield, IL 62702-1271
Barnes & Thornburg
Interested Party
1 N. Wacker, Suite 4400
Chicago, IL 60606
Evanston Environment Board
Interested Party
223 GreyAvenue
Evanston, IL 60202
Ecological Monitoring and Assessment
Interested Party
3206 Maple LeafDrive
Glenview, IL 60025
2
RECEIVED
CLERK’S OFFICE
ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
AUG
252004
STATE OF ILLINOIS
Poll~tion Control Board
IN THE MATTER OF:
)
)
PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO
)
R04-25
DISSOLVED OXYGEN STANDARD 35 ILL.
)
(Rulemaking
-
Water)
ADM. CODE 3 02.206
)
)
METROPOLITAN WATER RECLAMATION DISTRICT OF
GREATER CHICAGO’s COMMENTS TO PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO DISSOLVED
OXYGEN STANDARD
The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District ofGreater Chicago (“District”), submits
the following comments in support of the proposed amendments to 35 Ill. Adm. Code Part
309.206.
1.
My name is Richard Lanyon. I am the Director of Research and Development
for the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago. I am submitting the
following statement on behalf ofthe District in Support of the subject proposed amendments
to the dissolved oxygen standards for General Use waters in Illinois.
2.
The District is a unit of local government created by the state legislature for the
purpose of collecting and disposing of sewerage, reducing pollution of the waterways and
preventing flooding. 70 ILCS
2605/1, et seq.
(“District Act”). The District’s service area is
most of Cook County. In its capacity as a water reclamation district, the District operates
seven treatment facilities in its service area, serves five million residents and treats an average
of 1.4 billion gallons of sewage daily. Each of the District’s seven wastewater treatment
plants operate pursuant to a NPDES permit issued by the Illinois Environmental Protection
Agency (“IEPA”).
3.
The existing General Use water quality standard for dissolved oxygen, which
was adopted by the Board in 1972, is too conservative for most freshwater systems in Illinois,
and should be amended, as proposed, to more realistically reflect current scientific knowledge
on this subject.
4.
The proposed dissolved oxygen standards are generally equivalent to, or more
conservative than the published United States Environmental Protection Agency (“USEPA”)
dissolved oxygen guidelines. In previous Board rulemakings, USEPA guidelines have always
been considered strong technical frameworks to follow.
5.
The proposed dissolved oxygen standards include seasonally appropriate values
that account for natural fluctuations in dissolved oxygen concentrations while remaining
protective ofaquatic life and life stages in Illinois waters.
6.
The District has been conducting fish monitoring in Chicago area waterways
for 30 years. The technical reports submitted by the Petitioners in support of the proposed
amendments adequately document that all indigenous fish species we have observed in local
waterways will be protected if the proposed standards are adopted.
7.
The current General Use dissolved oxygen standard is cumbersome to apply as
it sets a different limit for a part ofthe day that is not based on clock hours. The upper limit
dissolved oxygen standard of 6.0 mg/L must be equaled or exceeded for 16 hours of the
24-hour day and the lower limit of
5.0
mg/L must be equaled or exceeded at all times. The
part of the day to which the 16-hour period applies is not specified. Dissolved oxygen in
streams subject to production, respiration and diffusion phenomena varies with higher con-
2
centrations during daylight hours and lower concentrations during nighttime hours. The pro-
posal for one limit for an entire 24-hour period will make it easier for both the regulated
community and the regulators to determine and maintain compliance with the standard.
8. The proposed dissolved oxygen limits can be easily and practically met in streams
receiving the discharge of effluents from properly operated conventional municipal
wastewater treatment plants.
In summary, the proposed amendments are in accordance with USEPA guidance and
are protective of aquatic life in Illinois. Therefore, the District recommends that they be
approved by the Board.
Metropolitan Water Reclamation District
ofGreater Chicago,
By:
Richard Lanyon,
August2~?,2004
Metropolitan Water Reclamation
District ofGreater Chicago
100 East Erie
Chicago, Illinois 60611
312.751.5190
THI5 FILING IS SUBMITTED ON RECYCLED PAPER
ofR&D
3
