On January 7, 2010, the Illinois Pollution Control Board accepted the parties' settlement in People v. Village of Rockton, PCB No. 09-104.  The case concerned the Village of Rockton's River Street lift station located along the Rock River, which is part of the operations of the Village’s waste water treatment plant ("WWTP").  The WWTP is located at 718 West Union Street in Rockton, Winnebago County, Illinois. The State alleged that the Village caused, threatened, or allowed the discharge of untreated sewage into the Rock River, thereby causing, threatening, or allowing water pollution; failing to provide a reliable alarm system at the lift station; and allowing a sanitary sewer overflow. As part of the settlement, the Village does not affirmatively admit the alleged violations, but it has agreed to pay a civil penalty of $10,000. Stay tuned to the Illinois Environmental Law Blog for more news and developments.

U.S. EPA announced that it settled an enforcement action against Claire Manufacturing Co. for alleged hazardous waste violations.  The company manufactures aerosol packaged chemical products at its facility located at 500 Vista Ave. in Addison, Illinois. EPA alleged multiple violations of the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, including failing to "obtain a hazardous waste storage permit, update its emergency plan, train personnel, label containers, get assessments/certifications, maintain records and meet inspection requirements for its tank systems." Claire Manufacturing will pay a $44,200 penalty to settle the action. Stay tuned to the Illinois Environmental Law Blog for more news and developments.

According to a story in the Chicago Tribune, Asian carp DNA has been found along the Chicago River: "The DNA -- but no live fish -- was found in three different spots along the Chicago River near the Wilmette pumping station north of Chicago, said Major Gen. John Peabody with the [U.S. Army Corps of Engineers'] Great Lakes and Ohio River division. The sample was taken in October, and the Corps received the results Thursday." This finding has renewed "fears that the fish have breached an electrical barrier meant to keep them from reaching the Great Lakes and destroying its multi-billion-dollar fishing industry."  Environmental groups claim that this finding supports their call for the closing of canal locks that lead into Lake Michigan.  However, the Obama administration does not support closing the locks.  In fact, "Solicitor General Elena Kagan told the Supreme Court environmental DNA, or 'eDNA,' testing was experimental science.  Discovery of genetic material from carp doesn't necessarily mean the fish were there, she said." Stay tuned to the Illinois Environmental Law Blog for more news and developments.

According to a recent article in the Southtown Star, Canadian National Railway will pay $25,000 to settle a lawsuit filed by the State of Illinois and Winnebago County over a train derailment in Rockford, Illinois in June 2009. During the derailment, 18 rail cars, all containing ethanol, left the tracks resulting in an explosion.  At the height of the fire, 14 rail cars were ablaze.  At least one person died because of this incident. According to the article, "Canadian National will pay nearly $18,000 to the state's oil spill response fund. More than $7,500 will go to the hazardous waste fund to repay the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency for testing and monitoring."  Canadian National has also agreed to "test wells in the area one more time to make sure drinking water is safe." Stay tuned to the Illinois Environmental Law Blog for more news and developments.

On January 5, 2010, U.S. EPA published in the Federal Register a Final Rule entitled "National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants: Area Source Standards for Prepared Feeds Manufacturing." The rule applies to manufacturers of prepared animal feed (except dog and cat feed) that is an area source and uses a material containing chromium or a material containing manganese. The Final Rule requires certain equipment standards and management practices.  There are also requirements that are specific to certain areas of the plant or processes at all new and existing sources.  The Final Rule also contains certain notification, recordkeeping, and reporting requirements. Stay tuned to the Illinois Environmental Law Blog for more news and developments.

On December 30, 2009, U.S. EPA published in the Federal Register a Final Rule entitled "National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants for Area Sources: Chemical Preparations Industry." "Chemical preparations" include fluxes, water treatment chemicals, rust preventatives and plating chemicals, concrete additives, gelatin, and drilling fluids.  Generally, the Final Rule applies to "area source facilities that manufacture chemical preparations containing metal compounds of chromium, lead, manganese, or nickel, except for manufacturers of indelible ink, India ink, writing ink, and stamp pad ink." The Final Rule for existing sources requires "process vent streams from chemical manufacturing processes with equipment that uses, contains or contacts target HAP to either be routed to a control device with a 95 percent PM reduction efficiency or to meet an outlet concentration of 0.03 gr/dscf, with or without control."  Existing sources must comply by December 30, 2010. For new sources, the Final Rule requires "these process vent streams to either be routed to a control device with a 98 percent PM reduction efficiency or the process vent stream must meet an outlet concentration of 0.03 gr/dscf, with or without control." The Final Rule also has certain monitoring, initial and continuous management practice, notification, recordkeeping, and reporting requirements. Stay tuned to the Illinois Environmental Law Blog for more news and developments.

Illinois Governor Pat Quinn recently awarded 22 individuals and groups with 2009 Environmental Hero Awards.  The annual award "is given in recognition of a strong commitment to the health and protection of the environment in Illinois."  Recipients included: "Walter Bush IV is the Education and Employment Manager for the Bronzeville Green project in Chicago, which employs formerly homeless adults in community gardens and environmentally friendly landscaping projects.  Bush works tirelessly to help these individuals build green job skills to achieve self-sufficiency. "Ray Coleman, principal of St. Monica Academy in Chicago, brought together his students, faculty and community to make environmentally sustainable upgrades to the school grounds, including installing a permeable play lot, creating a greenhouse and planting native flowers and trees. "Garry Griffith is the director of dining at Augustana College and has spearheaded the school’s Farm-to-Fork initiative, where students work on local farms to produce crops used in the college’s dining system.  Also through Griffith’s efforts, over 80,000 pounds of food waste is composted annually into local farmland, and the school’s used cooking oil is converted into biodiesel to power farm equipment. "Jack Harrier of Danville is the Head Custodian at Danville School District 118.  He has saved the district nearly one million dollars by making sure lights and electronics are powered down at night, and by installing energy efficient retrofits to buildings, all while involving Danville students in his conservation efforts. "Debbie Hillman is a co-founder of the Evanston Food Policy Council and lobbied aggressively for the passage of the Food, Farms, and Jobs Act of 2007.  She is also a coordinator on the Illinois Local and Organic Food and Farm Task Force.  Hillman was a professional gardener for 32 years. "Michael Howard is the founder and executive director of Eden’s Place Nature Center, which offers youth on Chicago’s South Side a place to learn about native gardening and local farming.  The classes also incorporate science, writing and art into conservation lessons. "Madiem Kawa is the founder and leader of the Washington Park Conservancy.  Through the Conservancy, she coordinates Washington Park GreenKids and Teen Ecological Adventure, two hands-on educational programs that inspire and train youth to be stewards of woodland, wetland, and prairie habitats. "John Kidd founded Fishin’ Buddies!, a non-profit organization that teaches over 1,000 Chicago students each year about wildlife conservation, prairie restoration and plant identification, while reinforcing reading and writing skills. "Chris Koos, Mayor of Normal, has led the Uptown neighborhood in creating a pedestrian-friendly community that has attracted Fortune 500 companies and over $200 million in private investment.  Uptown is the first neighborhood in the country to require LEED certification for new buildings. "Ben Magers and Kirstin Blackford of Paxton were the only youth that attended the 2009 Department of Natural Resources Conservation Congress.  They were elected as two of eight students to serve on the Pheasants Forever Youth Leadership Council, which helps young people become the next generation of conservation leaders. "Mother McAuley (Chicago) and Thornridge High School (Dolton) students are partnering to teach residents of Pinchon, Haiti how to make renewable biodiesel.  They are also building a biodiesel processor to ship to the remote town and creating reassembly instructions in French. "Julie Nold teaches Spanish at Loyola Academy in Wilmette and is the faculty supervisor for the ecology club SAVE (Students Against Violating the Earth).  She organizes club members and other students to pick up recyclables from the community every week and takes students on tours of the Elk Grove Village recycling center to see where their recyclables go. "Orland Park’s Green Team is a group of youth and adults that visit area businesses to provide suggestions on how each can make their operations more energy efficient, water efficient, and cost-effective.  The team is supervised by Nancy Flores and gives businesses a special decal they can display in recognition of their involvement. "L.H. Bert Princen (1930-2008) was director of the USDA Research Center in Peoria and conducted the National Audobon Christmas Bird Counts in Illinois since 1962.  After his success, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources asked Princen to coordinate spring bird counts in Peoria starting in 1972.  Princen was an acclaimed scientist, outdoor enthusiast, bird expert, musician and educator, and was known to many as "the Bird Man of Peoria." "Debbie Raboin is a teacher at O’Fallon Township High School.  She partnered with state agencies and the Illinois Innovation Talent Pilot Program to have her students design a house for a local sustainable development that is eco-friendly, cost effective, appealing and marketable. "Dinah Ramirez opened and directs Healthy Southeast Chicago, a group that works with the Chicago Department of Environment and other partner organizations toward progressive, holistic, and environmentally sustainable solutions to health disparities in the Latino community. "Polly Rerko Dixon is a parent at Wild Rose Elementary school in St. Charles who started a vehicle anti-idling initiative.  She has worked with administrators and other parents to develop their own environmental initiatives, which have greatly improved air quality around schools. "Gary Swick teaches science at Dundee-Crown High School in Carpentersville.  Over his 32 years of teaching, he has worked with his students to develop their own environmental science curriculum, which they also provide to other schools and legislators.  His students have been responsible for numerous local initiatives, including open space referendums, erosion control ordinances and groundwater surveys. "Tamara Tyszko of Plainfield started Lakewood Falls Elementary School’s first recycling program.  During the kick-off recycling campaign, she encouraged students with no recycling services at home to bring their recyclables to school.  Through her efforts, Tyszko earned the reputation for getting students excited about conserving the planet and making recycling “cool.” "Bill Volk is the Managing Director ...