EPA: Upgraded Water Quality Standards Needed for Portions of Chicago Area Waterway System (IL)
For Immediate Release No.
11-OPA045
Chicago (May 12, 2011) -- The U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency today notified the State of Illinois that water
quality standards for portions of the Chicago and Calumet Rivers
must be upgraded to protect the health and safety of people who
recreate in these waterways. The changes are necessary because an
increasing number of people are coming into direct contact with the
water through kayaking, canoeing, boating, jet and water skiing and
other forms of recreation.
To attain the new water quality standards, the
Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago will
likely be required to disinfect sewage discharged into the waterway
system from its North Side and Calumet treatment plants. MWRDGC
ceased disinfection at these facilities in the
mid-1980s.
“The Clean Water Act requires water
quality standards that protect people who use the river,”
said U.S. EPA Regional Administrator Susan Hedman. “A decade
of investments in walkways, boat ramps and parks has provided
people with access to the water – and now we need to make
sure that the water is safe.”
Today’s action directs the Illinois Pollution Control Board
to promptly adopt new or revised water quality standards for the
North and South Branches of the Chicago River, the North Shore
Channel, the Cal-Sag Channel and the Little Calumet River. If the
board does not act, the Clean Water Act authorizes U.S. EPA to do
so. Since 2007, U.S. EPA has repeatedly recommended that Illinois
upgrade water quality standards for the waterway
system.
"The Chicago and Calumet Rivers are incredibly
valuable resources to area residents and visitors, and clean water
is vital to people's health and the local economy," said
acting Assistant Administrator Nancy
Stoner. "Restoring and protecting urban waterways is a priority for
EPA because it revitalizes communities, boosts local businesses,
and creates jobs and a healthier environment for
people."
In 2009, U.S. EPA made a similar determination
under its Clean Water Act authority for a 28-mile portion of the
Mississippi River near St. Louis.
For information on the determination and to view
a map showing the affected segments of the Chicago Area Waterway
System, go to www.epa.gov/region5/chicagoriver/
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