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
)
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 the Environmental Law and Policy Center of the Midwest
(“ELPC”) and the Illinois Chapter of the Sierra Club today have electronically filed PREFILED
QUESTIONS OF G. ALLEN BURTON AND GREG SEEGERT, copies of which are 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: October 17
th
, 2008
(312) 795-3707
Electronic Filing - Received, Clerk's Office, October 17, 2008
BEFORE THE ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
IN THE MATTER OF:
WATER QUALITY STANDARDS AND
EFFLUENT LIMITATIONS FOR THE
CHICAGO AREA WATERWAYS SYSTEM
AND THE LOWER DES PLAINES RIVER:
PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO 35 Ill. Adm.
Code Parts 301, 302, 303 and 304
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
R08-09
(Rulemaking- Water)
PREFILED QUESTIONS OF
ENVIRONMENTAL LAW AND POLICY CENTER AND SIERRA CLUB TO
G. ALLEN BURTON
The Environmental Law and Policy Center of the Midwest and the Illinois Chapter of the
Sierra Club hereby file questions to G. Allen Burton:
1. What was the purpose of your sediment study?
2. How did you determine sampling locations for the sediment study?
3. Did you examine the sediment strata in your samples?
4. Did you perform any statistical analysis to compare historic data to this year’s samples?
5. Do you have any direct evidence that contaminated sediment is limiting the abundance of
any fish species in these waterways?
6. On page 4 of your prefiled testimony you state that “the removal of one stressor alone
will not be sufficient to restore a watershed to beneficial use attainment.” To your
knowledge, has fish diversity and abundance improved over the past thirty years or so?
7. On page 12 of your prefiled testimony, you state, “Toxic sediments abound in most
tributary mouth, tailwater, and pool depositional areas, which generally provide better
habitats for fish.” Are sedimentation rates the same within all types of habitat?
8. Are you aware of any waterways that support healthy aquatic life despite the presence of
contaminated sediments?
9. What is the basis for the statement on page 9 of your prefiled testimony that nutrient
enrichment is a significant stressor?
10. On pages 14 and 15 of Attachment 1 to your prefiled testimony, you quote a line from a
petition asking USEPA to set standards for nitrogen and phosphorus that reads “Toxic
algal blooms in Illinois have closed lakes due to swimming and fishing and burdened
water suppliers with increased treatment costs. These blooms have killed livestock, pets,
and tragically, a teenager in Wisconsin in 2002.” Are you suggesting that you expect
toxic cyanobacterial blooms to occur on these segments of the Lower Des Plaines River?
11. Does nitrogen or phosphorus pollution cause increased algae or nuisance weeds in the
Upper Dresden Pool or the CAWS?
Electronic Filing - Received, Clerk's Office, October 17, 2008
12. Does nitrogen or phosphorus affect dissolved oxygen levels in the CAWS or the Upper
Dresden Pool?
13. Do you believe that ammonia levels are still high in the Upper Dresden Pool?
14. What field observations support your assertion on page 12 of your prefiled testimony that
rapid mortality occurs in shallow-water habitats?
15. On page 14 of Attachment 1 to your prefiled testimony, you state that “Prior studies have
shown that turbidity has and continues to be a stressor in both the CSSC and the UDP.”
What are these prior studies?
16. Do you have any documentation showing that turbidity is worse in the CSSC and the
UDP than in other large Illinois rivers?
17. What kinds of effects can temperature have on the toxicity of contaminants in the water
column or sediment?
18. Besides studying the effect of temperature on the toxicity of chemicals to fish, have you
studied any other effects of temperature on fish?
19. Do you believe that emerging contaminants are affecting aquatic life in the CAWS or
Upper Dresden Pool? If so, how? Which contaminants? Where are they having an
effect?
20. Are you aware of studies regarding emerging contaminants in the CAWS or Upper
Dresden Pool?
21. On page 17 of your Attachment 1 to your prefiled testimony, you state that “The most
reliable indicator of in situ conditions are the indigenous communities present in the
waterway.” Did you study any of the indigenous communities in these waterways?
22. Have you ever conducted a Use Attainability Analysis before?
23. Have you studied the effect of entrainment of aquatic life by Midwest Generation plants
on the aquatic life in the Lower Des Plaines or the CAWS?
24. Do you know how much of the barge traffic in the Upper Dresden Pool or the CAWS is
for supply of Midwest Generation plants?
25. Have you studied the relationship between temperature and dissolved oxygen levels in
the Upper Dresden Pool?
26. How does increased temperature caused by the operation of Midwest Generation plants
affect dissolved oxygen levels in the CAWS and the Upper Dresden Pool?
Electronic Filing - Received, Clerk's Office, October 17, 2008
BEFORE THE ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
IN THE MATTER OF:
WATER QUALITY STANDARDS AND
EFFLUENT LIMITATIONS FOR THE
CHICAGO AREA WATERWAYS SYSTEM
AND THE LOWER DES PLAINES RIVER:
PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO 35 Ill. Adm.
Code Parts 301, 302, 303 and 304
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
R08-09
(Rulemaking- Water)
PREFILED QUESTIONS OF
ENVIRONMENTAL LAW AND POLICY CENTER AND SIERRA CLUB TO
GREG SEEGERT
The Environmental Law and Policy Center of the Midwest and the Illinois Chapter of the
Sierra Club hereby file questions to Greg Seegert:
1. Does your analysis of each UAA factor apply uniformly to the entire CAWS/Lower Des
Plaines system?
2. Which factors are applicable to which water segments?
3. Have you seen effects of nitrogen or phosphorus pollution in any part of the Chicago
Area Waterways System (“CAWS”) or Lower Des Plaines (“LDP”)?
4. What water bodies have you studied that are comparable to the various segments of the
CAWS and LDP?
5. On page 3 of your prefiled testimony, you state that changes in flow can adversely affect
nest-building fish. Have nest-building fish been found in EA stream surveys?
6. How does aquatic vegetation in the Upper Dresden Pool compare to aquatic vegetation in
the Illinois River?
7. What are the potential causes of fish abnormalities?
8. Have you seen any evidence of fish kills in the CAWS or LDP from barge propeller
strikes?
9. Do you believe that all impounded waters have poor fisheries?
10. If not, what causes an impounded water to have a better fishery than other impounded
water bodies?
11. Are you aware of any waterways with barge traffic that are able to support a healthy
fishery?
12. How effective is the EA fish sampling gear at collecting fish (such as walleye) that may
be present in deeper water?
13. On page 21 of your prefiled testimony, you state that 1.7% of fish collected were
intolerant or moderately intolerant, and that this does not reflect a balanced indigenous
population. What percentage of intolerant or moderately intolerant fish would you expect
to see in a General Use waterway?
Electronic Filing - Received, Clerk's Office, October 17, 2008
14. What Illinois water bodies would you suggest that we consider in attempting to determine
the fish species that should be present in a general use waterway?
15. Have you looked at the fishery in the Des Plaines below the I-55 bridge?
16. If you have investigated the fishery below the I-55 bridge, is it better or worse than the
fishery above the bridge?
17. Is the Fox River similar in depth and flow to the LDP?
18. Did you design your stream survey to be able to determine whether or not the system is
influenced by thermal inputs from the Midwest Generation plants?
19. Did you determine whether the chemical quality of the LDP has improved sine 1994?
20. Did you look at how the operation of the Midwest Generation plants changed over time?
21. What is the significance of an average of QHEI scores?
22. What is the expected margin of error for QHEI scores?
23. Have you determined what the MBI QHEI scores would be if the changes you suggest
were made?
24. Have you calculated QHEI scores from Hickory Creek, Jackson Creek, Prairie Creek or
any other tributary to the LDP?
25. Have you calculated QHEI scores for the Kankakee River or the Du Page River?
26. Why do you believe that the 25 white suckers EA collected in the Brandon Pool in 1993-
94 drifted from the Upper Des Plaines River?
27. Why is it that darters and redhorse are sometimes found in the Upper Dresden Pool?
28. Please describe the fish population in samples taken from areas in the LDP identified as
having good habitat.
29. Should the Upper Dresden Pool be given a classification equivalent to the Ohio Modified
Warmwater Habitat classification?
30. How would you classify the Sanitary and Ship Canal using the Ohio system?
31. Have you ever seen a water body that was adversely affected by heat discharges?
32. Have you considered the effect of entrainment by Midwest Generation plants on the
fishery of the CAWS or the LDP?
Electronic Filing - Received, Clerk's Office, October 17, 2008
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
I, Albert F. Ettinger, the undersigned, hereby certify that I have served the attached
prefiled questions of the Environmental Law and Policy Center and the Illinois Chapter of the
Sierra Club to G. ALLEN BURTON
AND GREG SEEGERT upon:
Mr. John T. Therriault
Assistant Clerk of the Board
Illinois Pollution Control Board
100 West Randolph Street
Suite l1-500
Chicago, Illinois 60601
via electronic filing on October 17
th
, 2008; and upon the attached service list by depositing said
documents in the United States Mail, postage prepaid, in Chicago, Illinois on October 17
th
, 2008.
Respectfully Submitted,
Albert Ettinger
Senior Staff Attorney
Environmental Law & Policy Center
35 E. Wacker Dr., Suite 1300
Chicago, IL 60601
aettinger@elpc.org
Electronic Filing - Received, Clerk's Office, October 17, 2008
Lyman C. Welch
Manager, Water Quality Programs
Alliance for the Great Lakes
17 N. State Street
Suite 1390
Chicago, IL 60602
Kay Anderson
American Bottoms RWTF
One American Bottoms Road
Sauget, IL 62201
Tracy Elzemeyer, General Counsel
American Water Company Central Region
727 Craig Road
St. Louis, MO 63141
Kenneth W. Liss
Andrews Environmental Engineering
3300 Ginger Creek Drive
Springfield, IL 62711
Frederic P. Andes and Erika K. Powers
Barnes & Thornburg LLP
One North Wacker Drive, Suite 4400
Chicago, IL 60606
Bob Carter
Bloomington Normal Water Reclamation
District
P.O. Box 3307
Bloomington, IL 61702-3307
Beth Steinhorn
2021 Timberbrook
Springfield, IL 62702
Claire Manning
Brown, Hay & Stephens LLP
700 First Mercantile Building
205 South Fifth St., P.O. Box 2459
Springfield, IL 62705-2459
Lisa Frede
Chemical Industry Council of Illinois
2250 E. Devon Avenue
Suite 239
Des Plaines, IL 60018-4509
Keith I. Harley and Elizabeth Schenkier
Chicago Legal Clinic, Inc.
205 West Monroe, 4th Floor
Chicago, IL 60606
Cathy Hudzik
City of Chicago, Mayor’s Office of
Intergovernmental Affairs
121 North LaSalle Street
City Hall – Room 406
Chicago, IL 60602
Robert VanGyseghem
City of Geneva
1800 South Street
Geneva, IL 60134-2203
Dennis L. Duffield
Director of Public Works & Utilities
City of Joliet, Department of Public Works
& Utilities
921 E. Washington Street
Joliet, IL 60431
Electronic Filing - Received, Clerk's Office, October 17, 2008
Dr. Thomas J. Murphy
2325 N. Clifton Street
Chicago, IL 60614
Roy M. Harsch
Drinker, Biddle, Gardner, Carton
191 N. Wacker Drive, Suite 3700
Chicago, IL 60606-1698
Irwin Polls
Ecological Monitoring and Assessment
3206 Maple Leaf Drive
Glenview, IL 60025
Tom Muth
Fox Metro Water Reclamation District
682 State Route 31
Oswego, IL 60543
Katherine D. Hodge, Monica T. Rios,
N. LaDonna Driver, Alec M. Davis and
Matthew C. Read
Hodge Dwyer Zeman
3150 Roland Avenue
P.O. Box 5776
Springfield, IL 62705-5776
James Huff, Vice-President
Huff & Huff, Inc.
915 Harger Road, Suite 330
Oak Brook, IL 60523
Kristy A.N. Bulleit and Brent Fewell
Hunton & Williams LLC
1900 K. Street, NW
Washington, DC 20006
W.C. Blanton
Blackwell Sanders LLP
4801 Main Street
Suite 1000
Kansas City, MO 64112
Deborah J. Williams and Stefanie N. Diers
Assistant Counsel, Division of
Legal Counsel
Illinois Environmental Protection Agency
1021 North Grand Avenue East
P.O. Box 19276
Springfield, IL 62794-9276
Marie Tipsord, Hearing Officer
John Therriault, Assistant Clerk
Illinois Pollution Control Board
100 West Randoph, Suite 11-500
Chicago, IL 60601-7447
Kevin G. Desharnais, Thomas W. Dimond,
Jennifer A. Simon and Thomas V. Skinner
Mayer, Brown LLP
71 South Wacker Drive
Chicago, IL 60606-4637
Jerry Paulsen and Cindy Skrukrud
McHenry County Defenders
132 Cass Street
Woodstock, IL 60098
Ronald M. Hill, Frederick M. Feldman,
Esq., Louis Kollias and Margaret T. Conway
Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of
Greater Chicago
100 East Erie Street, Room 301
Chicago, IL 60611
Electronic Filing - Received, Clerk's Office, October 17, 2008
Bernard Sawyer and Thomas Granto
Metropolitan Water Reclamation District
6001 West Pershing Road
Cicero, IL 60650-4112
Ann Alexander, Senior Attorney
Natural resources Defense Council
101 North Wacker Drive, Suite 609
Chicago, IL 60606
Mark Schultz
Regional Environmental Coordinator
Navy Facilities and Engineering Command
201 Decatur Avenue
Building 1A
Great Lakes, IL
60088-2801
Marc Miller, Senior Policy Advisor
Jamie S. Caston, Policy Advisor
Office of Lt. Governor Pat Quinn
Room 414 State House
Springfield, IL 62706
Matthew J. Dunn, Chief
Office of the Attorney General
Environmental Bureau North
69 West Washington, Suite 1800
Chicago, IL 60602
Susan Hedman and Andrew
Armstrong, Environmental Counsel
Environmental Bureau North
Office of the Illinois Attorney General
69 West Washington, Suite 1800
Chicago, IL 60602
Stacy Myers-Glen
Openlands
25 East Washington, Suite 1650
Chicago, IL 60602
Traci Barkley
Prairie Rivers Networks
1902 Fox Drive
Suite 6
Champaign, IL 61820
Charles W. Wesselhoft and
James T. Harrington
Ross & Hardies
150 North Michigan Avenue
Suite 2500
Chicago, IL 60601-7567
Jack Darin
Sierra Club, Illinois Chapter
70 E. Lake Street, Suite 1500
Chicago, IL 60601-7447
James L. Daugherty, District Manager
Thorn Creek Basin Sanitary District
700 West End Avenue
Chicago Heights, IL 60411
Frederick D. Keady, P.E., President
Vermillion Coal Company
1979 Johns Drive
Glenview, IL 60025
Vicky McKinley
Evanston Environmental Board
223 Grey Avenue
Evanston, IL 60202
Electronic Filing - Received, Clerk's Office, October 17, 2008
