The Illinois Pollution Control Board recently issued its Environmental Register for February 2013. The Environmental Register features a letter from Board Chairman Thomas Holbrook, which summarizes the activity that the Board has conducted in several rulemaking dockets.
The Environmental Register also contains a rulemaking update, including a summary of the Board’s adoption of a first notice opinion and order proposing two designations of aquatic life use (“ALU”) for the Chicago Area Waterway System (“CAWS”) and Lower Des Plaines River (“LDPR”). ALUs are assigned to individual waterbody segments based upon the potential to support that use according to narrative and numerical criteria. Water quality criteria are developed, monitoring is conducted, and assessments are made to determine whether waterbodies attain those uses. Here is how the Board describes the two designations proposed in the rulemaking:
“Generally CAWS ALU A waters are capable of supporting communities of native fish that are tolerant and moderately tolerant and may include sport fish species such as channel catfish, largemouth bass, bluegill, northern pike, and black crappie, and non-game fish species such as the creek chubsucker, spottail shiner, and orangespotted sunfish. The Board proposed as CAWS ALU A waters: Upper North Shore Channel, Lower North Shore Channel, North Branch of the Chicago River, South Branch of the Chicago River, Calumet-Saganashkee (Cal-Sag) Channel, Calumet River, Little Calumet River, Grand Calumet River, Lake Calumet, and Lake Calumet Connecting Channel.
“CAWS and Brandon Pool ALU B waters are capable of supporting primarily tolerant fish species, which may include central mudminnow, golden shiner, bluntnose minnow, yellow bullhead and green sunfish. The Board proposed as ALU B waters the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal and Brandon Pool. The Board proposed that the Upper Dresden Island Pool be classified as General Use based on its ability to meet the Clean Water Act goals. However, the Board will visit the issue of appropriate water quality standards for UDIP in Subdocket D. The Board also proposed language to establish effluent limits, as the Board indicated it would in Subdocket B.”
Click here for more detailed information on these new rules. The Environmental Register also contains a summary of actions of the Board, a summary of new cases, and the Board’s calendar.
Stay tuned to the Illinois Environmental Law Blog for more news and developments. To subscribe to this blog and and sign up for my free newsletter, go to http://illinoisenvironmentallaw.com/subscribe/. To set up a free initial consultation to discuss your legal matter, please contact Chicago environmental attorney Dave Scriven-Young at (312) 239-9722 or dscriven-young@pecklaw.com.
