DEGRAND

&

JVOLFE,

PC.

tfrisbiedegrandwoIfe.com

SE

17

2008

September 16, 2008

F

ILLINOIS

Ontrol

8

oard

John

Themault,

Assistant

Clerk

I

Illinois

Pollution

Control Board

‘

100

West Randolph

Street,

Suite

11-500

Chicago,

Illinois

60601

RE: Rule

Making

R08-009

Dear

Mr. Therriault:

On behalf of my two

teenage daughters,

who

spend approximately

twenty hours

on the

Chicago

River

every

week rowing

with the Lincoln Park

Juniors, I am

writing to express my

support

for the recommended

water quality

standard

improvements

proposed by the Illinois

EPA

for the

Chicago Area

Waterways

(CAWS)

and Lower Des

Plaines River

as

rule making R08-

009.

Due to the

amount

of time the children

spend

on the river

every

week from August

through

November,

and again

from

February

through June, this issue

could not

be

more important

to

their health and safety.

These

recommendations

have

been made after years

of study

and should be

followed.

As a

parent of rowers,

I think

it is

critical that:

•

The

Metropolitan

Water Reclamation

District disinfect

sewage treatment

plant effluent

to

kill bacteria

and protect

public health and

•

Temperature

and dissolved oxygen

standards

be implemented

to protect fish and

help

them

flourish.

Over the years,

the

entire CAWS

system has changed

dramatically.

The water, once

full

of raw sewage and

industrial

filth,

has vastly improved

through

the

leadership of agencies

like

the Metropolitan

Water Reclamation

District

and

its Tunnel and Reservoir

Plan. Public access

has increased considerably

as

local governments incorporated

these

rivers into their master

planning.

The

City of Chicago, the

Chicago

Park

District,

and suburbs

like Blue Island and

Skokie

have poured

millions into river

access for paddling,

fishing, and crew.

And so much work

has been done to improve

habitat

and

control pollution that

in the Chicago

River

system,

species

of fish

have climbed from

under 1 0 to

nearly 70, including game

fish

favorites

like

large-mouth

bass

and

bluegill and

yellow perch

20

South

Clark

Street

Suite 2620

Chicago, Illinois

60603

T 312-236-9200

F 312-236-9201

degrandwolfe.com

---

DEGRAND

&

WOLFE,

P.C.

John

Therriault

September

16, 2008

Page

2 of

2

Because

a review

like

this

only

comes

along

every

20 years,

right

now

we

have

a once-

in-a-generation

opportunity

to

continue

our momentum

by supporting

the Illinois

EPA

recommendations

so we

can make

the

next quantum

leap forward

in

water

quality.

There

is

no

magic

bullet

and or

all-in-one

measure

that

can

eliminate

water

pollution

but

we

know

that if

we

want

the

Chicago

River

to

continue

to

improve

and serve

our

communities

as

a recreational,

natural

and

economic

resource,

disinfection

and

the

rest of

the Illinois

EPA’s

recommendations

are essential.

I believe

that

as

a society

it is our

moral

obligation

to ensure

that

we

work

to

achieve

the

highest

potential

for shared

resources,

including

and

especially

water.

And

as

stewards

of

these

natural

resources,

we

should

not

be seeking

the minimum

in improvement,

but the

maximum.

Very

truly yours,

Teresa

F.

Frisbie

TFF!kmd