PRE-FILED TESTIMONY OF ALAN

MAMMOSER

INTRODUCTION

My name is Alan Mammoser. I was employed at the Southeast Environmental

Task

Force

(“SETF”) for 2-1/2 years, most recently as the Executive

Director of the SETF.

Prior to

attaining this title in 2006, Ijoined the SETF

in

October, 2005

as a project manager

for the

Calumet Area Vision project. As Executive Director,

I led the organization’s work

in three

programs: pollution prevention,

open space planning, and environmental

education.

Prior to working

at the SETF, I worked for six years as

an associate planner at the

Northeastern Illinois Planning

Commission. During my time at

the Northeastern Illinois

Planning Commission I participated in various regional planning

projects including

the

Common

Ground Regional Framework Plan, and the East Will

County Council of Mayors.

In the

Common

Regional

Ground Regional Framework

Plan, I implemented a

participatory regional

planning process

to identify goals, strategies

and regional spatial framework

of centers and

corridors. For the East Will County Council

of Mayors, I advised five municipalities

adjacent

to

a proposed suburban airport to help them create a special

area-wide authority

for

intergovernmental land use planning.

Further, I performed regional

research

which resulted

in

BEFORE THE ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BORD

CLD

IN THE MATTER OF:

1)

AUG

042

WATER QUALITY STANDARDS AND

)

R08-09

F

ILLINo

EFFLUENT

LIMITATIONS FOR THE

)

(Rulemaking-Water)

ontrol

SOard

CHICAGO AREA WATERWAY

SYSTEM

)

AND THE LOWER DES PLAINES RIVER:

)

PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO

35111.

)

Adm. Code Parts 301, 302, 303, 304

)

1

---

the

reports

Employment Subcenter

Identification

Project,

Final

Summary

Report

(August, 2002)

and The Transit —

Land

Use Link:

A Density

Study in Suburbia

(June, 2002).

In

1999,

I

was

awarded the Nicolas

V. Trkla Scholarship

by the Urban Land

institute for

outstanding

academic

accomplishment

in the

field

of urban planning.

I also

received an

American Fellowship

in 2004

which

is a

presidential

initiative

for the Americas

by the

U.S. State

Department. As part

of the fellowship,

I worked

three

months

in the regional

planning agency

Emplasa

in São Paulo, Brazil.

Finally,

I

was

awarded a

journalism fellowship

in 2005

by the

German Marshall

Fund of the

United States for research

and

writing

about trans-Atlantic

environmental issues,

specifically

pertaining

to local food systems.

I

have

Bachelor of Arts

in History from

the University of

California

at

Los Angeles.

I

have

a

Masters

Degree

in Urban Planning

and Policy and

a Masters in History

from the

University of

Illinois

at Chicago.

SOUTHEAST

ENVIRONMENTAL

TASK FORCE

The SETF

represents

the Illinois Calumet

Region, which includes

the southeast

side

of

Chicago

and adjacent south

suburbs. We were

founded in 1989 as

an arm of Illinois

State

Representative

Clem Balanoffs

Office and were

incorporated

in 1994. We operate

as mostly

a

volunteer organization.

Our Board of

Director’s is completely

voluntary

and is comprised

of

public officials,

engineers, professors,

teachers, clergy

and bankers. Our

accomplishments

include:

stopping various landfill

expansions

and waste

facility proposals;

promoting restoration

of

degraded

wetlands; promoting

sustainable Brownfield

redevelopment;

and driving pollution

reduction

investments in industries

adjacent

to communities and

waterways.

We serve students,

educators, adults

and families

through our Environmental

Education

program. The goal of

the Environmental Education

program

is to create environmentally

aware

2

---

communities

in

southeast

Chicago;

communities

that

contribute

to the

area’s

redevelopment

and

respond

to

environmental

threats.

To

create

such

communities,

we work

to

foster

a love

for the

environment

among

residents.

We

educate

them

on

issues

that

affect

quality

of

life

in

their

neighborhoods

and

in

the

remarkable

natural

areas

of

the

Calumet

region.

Programs

that we

set

up

include:

environmental

education

workshops

on an

issue

in the

Calumet

Region;

presentations

of

the

history

and

environmental

issues

in

the Calumet

region,

presentations

on

how

a

particular

community

or

school

can

get

involved,

Toxics

Treasures

Tours

for

students

and

adult

groups;

and

evening

environmental

education

workshops

for

adults.

Our

mission

is

to

empower

residents

and

students

in the

southeast

side

and

the south

suburbs

of

Chicago

to

improve

their

local

environment;

promote

pollution

prevention

and

progressive

practices

in

the

Calumet

region

facilities;

and

promote

preservation,

restoration,

and

enhancement

of the

region’s

natural

areas,

and

sustainable

development

of the

region’s

industrial

lands.

Our

vision

is

that one

day

educated

and

empowered

residents

are

able

to

contribute

to

sustainable

growth

and

respond

to

all

environmental

threats;

all

businesses

are

utilizing

the

most

energy

efficient

processes,

generating the

least

possible

pollution

and

waste,

and

hiring

local

residents;

and

all open

spaces

and

vacant

lands

are

restored

to create

a

community

vitality,

industry,

-

making

the

Calumet

region

of

Greater

Chicago

a model

for

the

nation

and

the

world

to

emulate.

In

2005,

we

were

one

of

13

citizens,

cities,

or

groups

to

receive

Lt. Governor

Pat

Quinn’s

Environmental Hero

Award.

The

award

was

given

to

SETF

primarily

based

on our

work

to

win

the

20 year

landfill

moratorium

for

Chicago—effectively

preventing

two

multimillion

ton

landfill

expansions

in the

southeast

and

far

south

sides.

3

---

CALUMET AREA

The Calumet River connects

the southeast side

to

the

south and west suburbs of Chicago

via the Little

Calumet

and the

Calumet-Sag

Channel,

and to downtown Chicago via

Lake

Michigan. The Calumet River System includes

the

Calumet River,

Little Calumet River,

the

Grand Calumet River, and the Calumet-Sag Channel. Historically, the Calumet River System

is

known for industrial and shipping use. The region has experienced some of the heaviest

concentrations of industry in the Midwest. As a result, the area has lost thousands of acres

of

lakes and wetlands that were filled in

with

construction

waste, steel mile

slag,

municipal

garbage,

and hazardous waste.

Currently, the Calumet

Region

in the

City of

Chicago contains approximately 4,800

acres

of open lands,

including

700

acres

of Lake Calumet itself;

approximately 20 miles

of waterways

including

the Calumet, Little, and Grand Calumet Rivers; Wolf

Lake; and, various smaller

lakes

and

ponds.

The region also holds about 2,000 acres of

abandoned industrial lands which is

60%

of Chicago’s vacant industrial

property.

CALUMET AREA VISION PLAN

The Calumet Area Land Use Plan

was created by the City of Chicago Department of

Planning and Development and

Department of Enviromnent, three

non-government

organizations

- the Southeast Chicago Development Commission,

Openlands

Project, and

the

Calumet

Area Industrial

Commission - and focus group participants

including

our

founder,

Marian Byrnes. The plan

was created as an effort to increase

the environmental and economic

vitality of the

Calumet Area. The plan

was created by collecting all the existing maps and

information about the area.

The plan focuses on the creation of

public access through

small open

spaces to the

rivers.

4

---

In response

to the City’s

Calumet

Area

Land Use

Plan,

we gathered

partners

to form

the

Lake

Calumet

Vision

Committee

in

March,

2003 to

create a Lake

Calumet

Vision Document

detailing

the desired

uses for the

waters

and

shores

of the lake.

Member

organizations

to date

include:

Openlands

Project,

Sierra

Club-Illinois

Chapter,

Bird Conservation

Network,

Historic

Pullman

Foundation,

Vet’s

Park Improvement

Assn., Lake

Michigan

Federation,

Friends

of the

Parks,

Pullman

Civic

Organization,

Peace

Pipe

Prairie

Project

and Calumet

Ecological

Park

Assn.

Further, in

November

2003 a process

to

identify

possible

public

open spaces

in

the

corridor

began.

Sites

were

selected

based

on

the

following

factors:

no hindrances

to

industrial

traffic,

proximity

to neighborhoods,

consideration

for

public

safety,

historical

significance,

current

uses

by

the

community,

security

of

neighboring

properties.

On

May 23,

2007 our Board

members

adopted

the Calumet

Area

Vision

Plan. Prior

to

the creation

of the

Calumet

Area Vision

Plan,

I

created

a map

of the

area

that

encompasses

the

Calumet

River,

Cal-Sag

River

and

the Little

Calumet

River.

This

map

was used

to

create the

Calumet

Area

Vision Plan.

The plan

is

shown

through

a map

that

highlights

18 specific

points

called “Places

and

Connections”

which

unifies

the area

through

a

regional

system

of

greenways

and bike

trails. The

Map includes

a variety

of

open

spaces including

the

Big Marsh,

covering

hundreds

of acres

to

half-acre

market

gardens

on south Chicago

lots.

The Calumet

Area

Vision

Plan

envisions

the

Calumet

River

System

as

the

centerpiece

of

a

whole

system

of open

spaces,

greenways,

bike

paths, and

a slew

of

recreational

opportunities,

mainly

boating

and fishing.

We

want

to

give

people

access

to open

spaces

while

supporting

the birds,

animals,

fish, and

native

plant species

that

thrive

in the

Calumet

region.

Our ultimate

goal

is

to

create

neighborhoods

and

industrial

areas that

coexist

with

natural

areas.

5

---

Currently,

we are

focused

on the Burnham Greenway

— the

“gap”,

the

Western Shore

of

Lake

Calumet, and the

Calumet-Sag

Trial. First,

the Burnham

Greenway

stretches

from the

heart of south suburban

communities to

Southeast

Side

neighborhoods linking

people

to

Chicago’s

Lakefront Trail. Currently,

a 5-mile

gap interrupts its

course through Hegewisch

and

Burnham.

We are

working to

close the

gap

which requires two bridges

and

new

paths

along

right-of-ways.

Second, the Western

Shore of Lake

Calumet is

a natural lake that was

once considered

a

natural paradise

by

indigenous

peoples,

pioneers

and early residents

of Chicago.

Today

though

the

lake provides harbor facilities

for the Illinois

International

Port District much

of it

remains

open,

unused and surrounded

by

a razor wire

fence. We along

with various partners

in the

Lake

Calumet

Vision Committee

are working

to

have

the area

become

part of the Forest

Preserve

District

of Cook

County.

Finally, the Calumet-Sag

Trial

will unite

the

Calumet

area with the Illinois

&

Michigan

National Heritage

Corridor. The

trial

will follow the

Grand Calumet

and Little

Calurnet

Rivers through

the communities of

Burnham, Calumet

City, Riverdale and

Dolton,

and

then

continue along the

Cal-Sag Channel

to the

National Heritage

Corridor.

The multiuse trail

will

spur

community

and economic

development

through

recreation

and tourism.

l±icreasing green space

is known to improve

people’s perceptions

of their neighborhoods,

reduce

crime, and prompt

further voluntary community

greening

efforts. Since tourism

is

a

$22

billion

industry

in Illinois,

a strong case can

be

made for

preserving

the areas surrounding

the

Calumet

River System. The

area has the potential

to become

attractive to tourists,

boaters,

and

fishermen. Further,

investing in open

spaces and historic

structures along

the river could

also

6

---

boost industrial

redevelopment.

Business

are

more

likely

to locate

a

new facility

in a

community

that is economically,

socially,

and

culturally

vital.

The

Southeast

Environmental

Task

Force

(SETF)

will

implement

its Calumet

Area

Vision

project

during

2008-09.

The

project

builds

upon

our

twenty

years of

work in the

Lake

Calumet

region

by

strengthening

each of our

three current

programs:

pollution

prevention,

open

space

planning

and

environmental

education.

DISINFECTION

OF THE

CALUMET

AREA

RIVERS

I believe

that the

Illinois Environmental

Protection

Agency’s

proposed

regulation,

specifically

the heightened

standard

for disinfecting

the waters

in the

Calumet

River

System,

is

a

key component

to the

success of

the Calumet

Area

Vision

Plan and

the

environmental

and

economic

vitality

of

the Calumet

River

System.

Without disinfection

of

the

Calumet River

System,

the collective

impact

of

the other

efforts

to improve

the area

will

greatly

decrease.

7