BEFORE THE ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
IN THE MATTER OF:
)
)
WATER QUALITY STANDARDS AND
)
EFFLUENT LIMITATIONS FOR THE
)
R08-9
CHICAGO AREA WATERWAY SYSTEM
)
(Rulemaking – Water)
AND THE LOWER DES PLAINES RIVER:
)
PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO 35 ILL.
)
Adm. Code Parts 301, 302, 303, and 304
)
NOTICE OF FILING
To:
John Therriault, Clerk
Illinois Pollution Control Board
James R. Thompson Center
100 West Randolph St., Suite 11-500
Chicago, IL 60601
Marie Tipsord, Hearing Officer
Illinois Pollution Control Board
James R. Thompson Center
100 West Randolph St, Suite 11-500
Chicago, Il 60601
Deborah J. Williams, Assistant Counsel
Stefanie N. Diers, Assistant Counsel
Illinois Environmental Protection Agency
1021 North Grand Avenue East
P.O. Box 19276
Springfield, IL 62794-9276
Persons included on the attached
SERVICE LIST
PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that I have today filed with the Office of the Clerk of the
Pollution Control Board
PRE-FILED TESTIMONY OF GERALD W. ADELMANN
on
behalf of Environmental Groups, Environmental Law and Policy Center, Natural Resources
Defense Council, Prairie Rivers Network, Sierra Club – Illinois Chapter, Friends of the Chicago
River, and Openlands, a copy of which is herewith served upon you.
Respectfully Submitted,
Albert Ettinger
Senior Staff Attorney
Environmental Law & Policy Center
35 E. Wacker Dr. Suite 1300
Chicago, Il 60601
DATED: August 4, 2008
(312) 795-3707
Electronic Filing - Received, Clerk's Office, August 4, 2008
BEFORE THE ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
IN THE MATTER OF:
)
)
WATER QUALITY STANDARDS AND
)
EFFLUENT LIMITATIONS FOR THE
)
R08-09
CHICAGO AREA WATERWAY SYSTEM
)
(Rulemaking – Water)
AND THE LOWER DES PLAINES RIVER:
)
PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO 35 ILL.
)
ADM. CODE PARTS 301, 302, 303, AND 304.
)
Testimony of Gerald W. Adelmann
Openlands
(August 4, 2008)
I.
Introduction
My name is Jerry Adelmann. I am Executive Director of Openlands, a 45-year old
conservation organization that preserves and enhances open space throughout the Northeastern
Illinois region. Openlands supports stronger water quality standards in the proposed rulemaking
for the Chicago Area Waterways System (CAWS) and Lower Des Plaines River (LDPR) to
protect the growing number of recreational users out on our waters, and improve aquatic habitat
to foster a greater diversity of fish and other wildlife in the area.
Our region has made significant economic and cultural investments in our river systems
to offer a better quality of life. Communities have spent billions of dollars on projects, working
hard to integrate commercial and recreational uses along these waters. The City of Chicago has
embraced the Chicago River, with its downtown river walk and plans for a series of parks and a
greenbelt trail system along the river’s edge. As Mayor Richard M. Daley wrote in the “2005
Chicago River Agenda,” “the Chicago River today is Chicago’s Second Shoreline, a natural and
cultural resource that plays many vital roles in the life of our city.” Openlands agreed with the
premise eight years ago that “[t]he Chicago River serves as a wildlife corridor, transportation
route, economic hub, recreation center and floodwater conveyance resource. It is an integral
Electronic Filing - Received, Clerk's Office, August 4, 2008
component of the region’s development.” “Waterways for our Future” (“2000 CAWS Study”),
Openlands, Friends of the Chicago River (FOTCR), Civic Foundation (May 2000), p. 1.
Neighboring communities also rely on their connection to the waterways as an economic
driver, installing and improving boat launches and enabling people to enjoy the river systems.
Openlands works closely with local governments, such as Blue Island, the Chicago Park District
and the Forest Preserve District of Cook County to increase the number of available non-
motorized boat launches so that more people can access the water. Adopting more stringent
water quality standards furthers this commitment to view the CAWS and LDPR as a valuable
social and environmental resource, and will help shape smart growth throughout the Greater
Chicagoland area for years to come.
II.
Encouraging Safe Recreational Use on the CAWS and LDPR
Openlands has a long history of encouraging our communities to recognize and enjoy the
rich network of waterways in our region. In 1997, Openlands partnered with the Illinois
Paddling Council and Northeastern Illinois Planning Commission (“NIPC”) to develop the
Northeastern Illinois Regional Water Trail Plan. The regional vision calls for safe and adequate
paddling access to 10 rivers in Northeastern Illinois, including the Chicago River, the Lower Des
Plaines River, and much of the Calumet River System. As the first plan of its kind in the
country, it identified 480 miles of water trails and 174 access points for paddling.
Openlands is committed to help water trails providers make this pastime safer for
everyone. We advise paddlers on how they can practice safe use of the waterways, such as
avoiding ingestion and sanitizing their hands after coming into contact with the river. Since
kayaking, sculling, canoeing and other activities can result in such contact, Openlands supports
disinfecting effluent from the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago’s
Electronic Filing - Received, Clerk's Office, August 4, 2008
Stickney, Calumet and North Side Wastewater Treatment Plants to reduce pathogens in the
waterways. We have advocated since the year 2000 for “adequate limits for bacterial
contamination to support all current and anticipated human usage of the Chicago River System.”
2000 CAWS Study, p. 46. This is especially important as we move closer towards the
fundamental goal under the Clean Water Act that all waters are ultimately “fishable and
swimmable.”
III.
More Protective Aquatic Life Use Designations Can Benefit Interrelated
Restoration Activities in the Region
Improving water quality and aquatic habitat along the CAWS and LDPR will benefit
ecology, tourism and recreation throughout the area. These waterways are hydrologically
connected to higher quality streams that organizations, such as Openlands, have worked for
decades to preserve and restore. Stronger designated uses and criteria to protect them can play
an integral part in maintaining, and ultimately improving our waterways throughout the region.
A.
Illinois and Michigan Canal=
The Illinois and Michigan Canal (“I & M Canal”), the spine of America’s first National
Heritage Corridor, runs parallel to the Chicago Sanitary Ship Canal (CSSC). In 1848, the I & M
Canal became the final link in the national plan to connect waterways from the east coast to the
Gulf of Mexico. It sparked Midwest commerce and secured Chicago’s future as a major city.
Efforts to create a park along the canal route began in the heart of the Great Depression, after it
closed in 1933. The Illinois Department of Natural Resources preserved a 60-mile section from
Joliet to LaSalle in 1974, designating it the Illinois and Michigan Canal State Trail.
In the late 1970s, I became involved in cultivating a combined historic, cultural and
natural corridor that embraced towns, industries and natural areas from LaSalle/Peru to Chicago.
Electronic Filing - Received, Clerk's Office, August 4, 2008
Ultimately, in 1984, President Ronald Reagan signed a bill to designate the 100-mile region as a
National Heritage Corridor. This nationally recognized area extends beyond the I & M Canal to
include the Calumet Sag Channel and part of the Chicago River, which are both part of this
rulemaking.
Natural areas within this heritage corridor are rich in wildlife and contain globally
threatened ecosystems. At least twenty varieties of waterfowl migrate through the region.
Recreational opportunities abound, including fishing and boating. The proposed rulemaking is
important to preserving this great legacy. By looking forward to what the waterways are now
capable of attaining, we can improve opportunities for people to experience the natural beauty,
diversity and tranquility of the region.
B.
Jackson Creek
Openlands is also involved in monitoring, restoring and watershed planning for Jackson
Creek, a high quality tributary to the LDPR, a mile and a half upstream from the I-55 bridge. As
Laura Barghusen will explain in her testimony, one of the reasons that Jackson Creek is
threatened is because it lacks a connection to a high quality downstream recruitment source for
fish and mussel species. Improving water quality and aquatic habitat in the LDPR can increase
the diversity of aquatic life in Jackson Creek, making it less vulnerable to the effects of drought
and urbanization.
IV.
Conclusion
The rulemaking is a critical step for the future of our waters and our region. The
proposed recreational and aquatic life uses are a reflection of both the dramatic improvements
and brighter potential for the river systems to eventually be classified as general use waterways.
Over the last 30 years, we have breathed new life into the CAWS and LDPR. Now that people
Electronic Filing - Received, Clerk's Office, August 4, 2008
are responding in unprecedented numbers, it is important to extend greater protections, especially
when disinfection occurs in virtually every other major metropolitan area. Improved aquatic life
use designations are also fundamental in creating habitat conditions for greater biodiversity.
Cleaner water and better aquatic habitat will ultimately help restore the health of our river
systems, while contributing to a larger vision of preserving our natural, cultural and historical
heritage along our waterways.
Submitted by: _______________________
Date: August 4, 2008
Gerald W. Adelmann
Executive Director
Openlands
25 E. Washington, Suite 1650
Chicago, Illinois 60602
5
Electronic Filing - Received, Clerk's Office, August 4, 2008
STATE OF ILLINOIS
)
)
COUNTY OF COOK
)
PROOF OF SERVICE
I, Albert Ettinger, on oath state that I have served the attached PRE-FILED
TESTIMONY
OF JERRY ADELMAN via u.s. Mail, first class postage prepaid, from 35 East
Wacker Drive, Illinois to All Counsel
of Record on the
a~.~
he)dee;rvice List, on thi.S 4
th
day of
August, 2008
.
~~
Albert
Senior
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Etti~
Attorney
Environmental
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&
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35 E. Wacker Drive, Suite 1300
Chicago, IL 60601
SUbSCed and SWj:dre me
This
Day of
, 2008
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. September 11,
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Electronic Filing - Received, Clerk's Office, August 4, 2008
SERVICE LIST R08-09
Marie Tipsord, Hearing Officer
Illinois Pollution Control Board
100 West Randolpl~ St
Suite 1 1-500
Chicago, IL 60601
Frederick Feldrnan
Ronald Hill
Louis
Kollias
Margaret Conway
Me.tropolitan
Water Reclamatiol~ District
100 East Erie St
Cllicago, IL 606 1 1
Ricl~ard Kissel
Roy Harsch
DrinlcerBiddle
19 1 N. Wacker Dr.
Suite
3700
Chicago, IL 60606-1 698
Claire Manning
~rown Hay
&
Stephens LLP
700 First Mercantile
Banlc Bldg
205
S. Fifth St
Springfield, IL
62705-2459
Deborah J. Williams
Stefanie N. Diers
Illinois EPA
1 02
1 Nortll Grand Avenue
Springfield, IL 62794-9276
Katherine Hodge
Monica
Rios
Hodge Dwyer Zeman
3 150 Roland Avenue
Springfield, IL 62705-5776
Charles
Wessell~oft
James EIarrington
Ross
&
Hardies
1 50 N. Michigan Ave
Clicago, IL 60601-7567
Dennis L.
Duffi eld
Director of Public
Worlcs
&
Utilities
City of
Joliet
92 1 E. Washington St
Joliet, IL 6043 1
Keith Harley
Elizabeth Scherzlcier
Clicago
Legal Clinic, Inc.
205 West Monroe Street
4"' Floor
Clicago, IL 60606
Frederick Keady
Verrnillion Coal Company
1979
Jolms Drive
Glenview, IL 60025
Fred L.
Hubbad
P.O. Box 12
16 West Madison
Danville, IL 6 1834
Georgia
Vlal~os
Naval Training Center
2601A Paul Jones St
Great
Lalces, IL 60088-2845
W.C. Blanton
Blackwell Sanders LLP
4801 Main St
Suite 1000
Kansas City, MO 641
12
Kay Anderson
American Bottoms
One
American Bottoms Road
Sauget,
IL 62201
Electronic Filing - Received, Clerk's Office, August 4, 2008
James L. Daugl~erty
Thorn Creelc Basin Sanitary District
700 West End Avenue
Clicago Heights, IL 604 1 1
Sharon Neal
Commonwealth Edison
125 South
ClarIc Street
Chicago, IL 60603
Tracy Elzemeyer
American Water Company
727
Craig Road
St. Louis, MO 63 141
Margaret
P. Howard
Hedinger Law Office
2601 South Fifth Street
Springfield, IL 62703
Irwin Polls
Ecological Monitoring and Assessment
3
206 Maple Leaf Drive
Glenview, IL 60025
James
Huff
Huff
&
Huff, Inc.
9 15 Harger Road, Suite 330
Oak Brook,
IL
60523
William Richardson
Chief Legal Counsel
Illinois Department of Natural Resources
One
IVatural Resource Way
Springfield,
IL 62702
Jeffrey C. Fort
Ariel J. Tesher
Sonnenschein Nath
&
Rosenthal LLP
7800 Sears Tower
233
S. Waclcer Drive
Chicago, LL 60606-6404
Dr.
Thomas J. M~uphy
2325 N. Clifton St
Chicago, IL 6061 4
B etl~ S tei~lllorn
2021 Timberbroolc
Springfield, IL 62702
Ann Alexander
Natural Resources Defense Council
101 N. Wacker Dr
Suite 609
Chicago, IL 60606
Cathy
Hudzik
City of Chicago
Mayor's
Office of Intergovernmental Affairs
121 North
LaSalle Street, Room 406
Chicago, IL 60602
Traci
Barldey
Prairie Rivers Networlcs
1902 Fox Drive, Suite 6
Champaign, IL 6 1820
Thomas V. Skinner
Thomas W. Dimond
Kevin Descharnais
Mayer Brown LLP
71 South Waclcer Drive
Chicago,
L
60606
Electronic Filing - Received, Clerk's Office, August 4, 2008
Robert VanGysegl~em
City of Geneva
1800 South St
Geneva, IL 60 134-2203
Jerry Paulsen
Cindy
Slcruluud
McHenry
County Defenders
132 Cass Street
Woodstoclc, IL 60098
Matthew Dunn
Office
of the Attorney General
Environmental Bureau North
69 West Washington Street
Suite 1800
Chicago, IL 60602
Albert Ettinger
Freeman Freeman
&
Salzman
40 1 N. Michigan Ave
Chicago,
IL 6061 1
Bernard Sawyer
Thomas Granto
Metropolitan Water Reclamation District
6001 W.
Pershing Rd
Cicero,
IL 60650-4 1 12
Lisa Frede
Chemical Industry Council of Illinois
2250 .E. Devon Ave
Suite 239
Des Plaines, IL 6001 8-4509
Fredric Andes
Erika P owers
Barnes
&
Thornburg
1 North Waclcer Dr
Suite 4400
Chicago, IL 60606
Jack Darin
Sierra Club
70 E.
Lake St
Suite 1500
Chicago, IL 6060 1-7447
Bob Carter
Bloomington
Norma1 Water Reclamation
PO Box 3307
Bloomington, IL 6 1702-3307
Tom
Muth
Fox Metro Water Reclamation District
682 State Route 3 1
Oswego, IL 60543
Kennetl~ W. Liss
Andrews Environmental Engineering
3300 Ginger Creek Drive
Springfield, IL 627 1 1
Albert Ettinger
Jessica Dexter
Environmental Law
&
Policy Center
35 E. Waclcer
Suite 1300
Chicago, IL 6060 1
Viclcy McKinley
Evanston Environmental Board
223 Grey Avenue
Evanston, IL 60202
Marc Miller
Jamie S.
Caston
Office
of Lt. Governor Pat Quinn
Room 41 4 State House
Springfield, IL 62706
Electronic Filing - Received, Clerk's Office, August 4, 2008
