The 2005 Spring session of the Illinois General Assembly produced some modest but important gains in environmental policy, clear defeats of all anti-environment proposals, and wins and losses in the battles over the budget. Thanks to the grassroots lobbying work of Sierra Club members and others across the state, the professional lobbying under the Capitol dome by the Illinois Environmental Council and its affiliates, and the dedication of the legislators in both chambers and parties who made clean air, clean water, and conservation among their priorities in a very busy session. All our work absolutely made a difference, and our state is better off for it.
Among the important improvements made to Illinois law that await Governor Blagojevich’s expected signature are these pollution control measures:
-A ban on two flame-retardant chemicals that are linked to cancer, reproductive damage, and other major health problems. These chemicals do not break down quickly in the environment, and can be found in the dust virtually everywhere – on our furniture, on the floor, in the air. Rep. Elaine Nekritz, who is quickly establishing herself as one of state government’s most effective environmental advocates, did an impressive job neutralizing strong opposition from big chemical polluters. She had to compromise her original proposal to study instead of ban a third chemical of concern, but that study will be underway soon.
-New authority for Illinois EPA to force immediate action to stop toxic waste dumping at contaminated sites, and new requirements for the Agency to notify residents when groundwater may be threatened by toxic waste. Credit Lt. Governor Pat Quinn for drawing attention to these weaknesses in existing law, and IEPA Director Renee Cipriano, Sen. John Cullerton, and Rep. Tom Holbrook to capitalizing on the political moment to close a longstanding loophole in the law.
-The Governor’s proposal to crack down on illegal dumps may have been born of a political clash, but the end result is another needed upgrade in Illinois EPA’s ability to immediately close down unpermitted dumping operations.
-New authority for counties in the Metro East area and the exurban counties beyond Chicago’s current suburbs to adopt the kind of local stormwater management programs that have proven successful in northeastern Illinois at reducing pollution and protecting wetlands.
The clearest trend of the session was the sound defeat of all anti-environment measures. Dirtbikers folded their campaign to open up state parks to ATVs early. There was little support for refunding pollution fees to water polluters. The Governor’s office wisely pulled the plug on a proposal to relax controls on large livestock facilities. And after “The Wetland Destruction Act” passed the Senate while opponents weren’t looking, SB 761 wasn’t even called for a vote in the House Energy and Environment Committee in the face of a storm of opposition from local governments and conservationists.
As the ink dries on the new state budget, the most striking fact is that the key land acquisition funds used by the IDNR to protect natural areas and open space were among the ONLY dedicated funds in state government spared the axe. This is a huge victory for all of us in the Partners for Parks and Wildlife coalition, and a continuing benefit of the tremendous show of support for these programs in 2004 and again this Spring. On the downside, it remains to be seen how broad raids on many funds used by the Illinois EPA will affect their ability to protect out air and water. The help for the CTA, thanks to Rep. Julie Hamos, definitely averts increases in air pollution that service cuts and more fare hikes would produce. More transit funds in St. Clair County will help, while cuts to most downstate transit districts will hurt.
Certainly there were disappointments, including the failure to move a positive wetland protection bill. State Rep. Karen May’s dogged pursuit of a consensus proposal to protect kids from the toxic mercury in car parts fell short this year. But by and large, Illinois environmentalists who were a part of this year’s legislative process can be proud that their effort made a difference for the better.
June 03, 2005
Anne Kawaters, 1936-2005
It is with great sadness that we report the passing of a great environmentalist and friend Anne Kawaters. After about 40 days of fighting ovarian cancer Anne succumbed to the disease in the St. James Hospice Unit quietly and with no perceptible pain on Monday night, May 23rd.
Anne was born in Paradise, PA (near Lancaster) on January 16, 1936. After moving from the East in 1968, Anne resided with her husband Alan in Chicago Heights, Illinois. She and Alan have two children Cassandra (Cassie) and David. They also have two grandchildren Colleen and Ryan.
Anne trained her son David and daughter Cassie early in sound conservation practices. David Kawaters remembers the races his Mother organized to get the most pine seedlings planted to control erosion on scouting outings in New Jersey.
After moving to Illinois in 1968, Anne was involved in Girl Scout of America activities as both a mother, leader, and camp director. In the late 1960’s there were numerous outings to the Girl Scouts of America camp near Elkhart, Indiana. The family humorously remembers the time when Anne was in charge of the GSA cookie distribution for all of Cook County. Answering a sharp rap at the door Anne saw their entire street filled with four highway trucks waiting to unload the cookies. Apparently on the shipping documents the ordered by and ship to address had been reversed. Anne quickly got the trucks rolling again to the warehouse location where they were meant to be delivered. The re-routing brought relief of the family who thought that they might have to unload and store that many cookies.
In 1979 and 1980 Anne organized and led family canoe camping sojourns through Quetico Park in Ontario, Canada. David Kawaters remembers picking up and carrying trash back in the canoes from campsites where users had not practiced good wilderness etiquette. About this time Anne participated and urged her family to join her in canoe races throughout Illinois and Wisconsin. The Fox River Race and Des Plaines Marathon are two races that the family remembers clearly.
Anne’s love for the outdoors and passion for conservation led her to join the Sierra Club in 1978. She was one of the early organizers of the Sauk-Calumet Group of the Sierra Club, which serves Sierra Club members in Chicago’s south suburbs. Today, the Sauk-Calumet Group has nearly 1900 members and is one of 15 groups comprising the IL Chapter of the National Sierra Club. The Sauk-Calumet Group has met continuously since 1979. Anne was elected Chair in 1987. She served in that role from 1987-2005.
Anne was a natural leader, and had a wonderful ability to facilitate meetings and bring people together. Although the Sauk-Calumet board meetings ran long, Anne allowed all members to state their viewpoints fully. She also worked hard after meetings to get those with differing viewpoints to agree on a consensus point of view after heated debate. This led to long tenures for persons on the executive board and the forming of lifelong friendships of the board members. Anne was also skilled at getting people to volunteer for tasks both large and small. And last but not least was Anne’s legendary ability to raise funds through Sierra Club Calendar sales that supported Sierra Club’s conservation work in the south suburbs and Illinois.
As one of the founding members and longtime leader of the Sauk-Calumet Group of the Sierra Club, Anne was involved and often a key leader in conservation and environmental protection efforts in the south suburbs over the last quarter century. Among them are:
-The successful campaign to establish the Old Plank Road Trail as a hiking and biking path from Park Forest to Joliet. Just a vision when Anne and her friends began to work for it decades ago, today it provides recreation opportunities for residents of the entire region, and restored habitat for wildlife.
-The establishment of the Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie at the former Joliet Arsenal, and the ongoing volunteer work to restore native habitat there for future generations to enjoy.
-The protection of Cook County Forest Preserve properties, including Bartel Grasslands, from commercial use proposals
-Successful opposition to garbage and tire incinerator proposals that would have brought major sources of toxic mercury and dioxin pollution to the south suburbs.
-The protection of new natural areas and open spaces by local park districs and the Forest Preserve Districts of Cook and Will Counties
-Opposition to the third regional Chicago area airport proposed at various times for the Lake Calumet region, Gary, and Peotone
-Successful effort to protect the waters of Thorn Creek from a proposed “peaker” type electric generating plant that was to be located in Chicago Heights.
Through her work conservation work Anne leaves a legacy of a cleaner and greener south suburban region, to the benefit of current and future generations.
In addition to her Sierra Club leadership, Anne was a long time member of Thorn Creek Audubon and a habitat restoration volunteer in the Bartel Grasslands. She also participated in the Chicago Heights Advisory Panel, which made regular plant visits to local chemical manufacturers to examine their safety procedures.
While Anne devoted substantial energy and hours to conservation efforts, she also had other passions, interests and contributions to her community.
She was a great advocate of the arts. Recently she gave her own presentation to the Flossmoor Art Associates about Auguste Rodin and Camille Caudette. Both Anne and her husband Alan enjoyed the annual season performances of the Lyric opera. She also presented programs on archeology at Governors State University about of the archeology in the Yucatan region in Mexico. Anne’s interest in archeology stemmed from her studies and degree in geology from Governors State University.
Anne and her husband Alan were also competitive tennis players. They followed the sport avidly and traveled to see the Wimbledon Tournament.
Anne was also very involved in the Unitarian Universalist Church in Park Forest, where she served as the Pledge Drive Coordinator as well as being a soprano in the church choir.
A memorial service will be held at 1 p.m. Sunday, June 12, at Unitarian Universalist Community Church, 70 Sycamore Drive, Park Forest.
There is an obituary for Anne in today's Chicago Tribune at
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/obituaries/chi-0506030288jun03,1,209177.story?coll=chi-newsobituaries-hed
Anne was born in Paradise, PA (near Lancaster) on January 16, 1936. After moving from the East in 1968, Anne resided with her husband Alan in Chicago Heights, Illinois. She and Alan have two children Cassandra (Cassie) and David. They also have two grandchildren Colleen and Ryan.
Anne trained her son David and daughter Cassie early in sound conservation practices. David Kawaters remembers the races his Mother organized to get the most pine seedlings planted to control erosion on scouting outings in New Jersey.
After moving to Illinois in 1968, Anne was involved in Girl Scout of America activities as both a mother, leader, and camp director. In the late 1960’s there were numerous outings to the Girl Scouts of America camp near Elkhart, Indiana. The family humorously remembers the time when Anne was in charge of the GSA cookie distribution for all of Cook County. Answering a sharp rap at the door Anne saw their entire street filled with four highway trucks waiting to unload the cookies. Apparently on the shipping documents the ordered by and ship to address had been reversed. Anne quickly got the trucks rolling again to the warehouse location where they were meant to be delivered. The re-routing brought relief of the family who thought that they might have to unload and store that many cookies.
In 1979 and 1980 Anne organized and led family canoe camping sojourns through Quetico Park in Ontario, Canada. David Kawaters remembers picking up and carrying trash back in the canoes from campsites where users had not practiced good wilderness etiquette. About this time Anne participated and urged her family to join her in canoe races throughout Illinois and Wisconsin. The Fox River Race and Des Plaines Marathon are two races that the family remembers clearly.
Anne’s love for the outdoors and passion for conservation led her to join the Sierra Club in 1978. She was one of the early organizers of the Sauk-Calumet Group of the Sierra Club, which serves Sierra Club members in Chicago’s south suburbs. Today, the Sauk-Calumet Group has nearly 1900 members and is one of 15 groups comprising the IL Chapter of the National Sierra Club. The Sauk-Calumet Group has met continuously since 1979. Anne was elected Chair in 1987. She served in that role from 1987-2005.
Anne was a natural leader, and had a wonderful ability to facilitate meetings and bring people together. Although the Sauk-Calumet board meetings ran long, Anne allowed all members to state their viewpoints fully. She also worked hard after meetings to get those with differing viewpoints to agree on a consensus point of view after heated debate. This led to long tenures for persons on the executive board and the forming of lifelong friendships of the board members. Anne was also skilled at getting people to volunteer for tasks both large and small. And last but not least was Anne’s legendary ability to raise funds through Sierra Club Calendar sales that supported Sierra Club’s conservation work in the south suburbs and Illinois.
As one of the founding members and longtime leader of the Sauk-Calumet Group of the Sierra Club, Anne was involved and often a key leader in conservation and environmental protection efforts in the south suburbs over the last quarter century. Among them are:
-The successful campaign to establish the Old Plank Road Trail as a hiking and biking path from Park Forest to Joliet. Just a vision when Anne and her friends began to work for it decades ago, today it provides recreation opportunities for residents of the entire region, and restored habitat for wildlife.
-The establishment of the Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie at the former Joliet Arsenal, and the ongoing volunteer work to restore native habitat there for future generations to enjoy.
-The protection of Cook County Forest Preserve properties, including Bartel Grasslands, from commercial use proposals
-Successful opposition to garbage and tire incinerator proposals that would have brought major sources of toxic mercury and dioxin pollution to the south suburbs.
-The protection of new natural areas and open spaces by local park districs and the Forest Preserve Districts of Cook and Will Counties
-Opposition to the third regional Chicago area airport proposed at various times for the Lake Calumet region, Gary, and Peotone
-Successful effort to protect the waters of Thorn Creek from a proposed “peaker” type electric generating plant that was to be located in Chicago Heights.
Through her work conservation work Anne leaves a legacy of a cleaner and greener south suburban region, to the benefit of current and future generations.
In addition to her Sierra Club leadership, Anne was a long time member of Thorn Creek Audubon and a habitat restoration volunteer in the Bartel Grasslands. She also participated in the Chicago Heights Advisory Panel, which made regular plant visits to local chemical manufacturers to examine their safety procedures.
While Anne devoted substantial energy and hours to conservation efforts, she also had other passions, interests and contributions to her community.
She was a great advocate of the arts. Recently she gave her own presentation to the Flossmoor Art Associates about Auguste Rodin and Camille Caudette. Both Anne and her husband Alan enjoyed the annual season performances of the Lyric opera. She also presented programs on archeology at Governors State University about of the archeology in the Yucatan region in Mexico. Anne’s interest in archeology stemmed from her studies and degree in geology from Governors State University.
Anne and her husband Alan were also competitive tennis players. They followed the sport avidly and traveled to see the Wimbledon Tournament.
Anne was also very involved in the Unitarian Universalist Church in Park Forest, where she served as the Pledge Drive Coordinator as well as being a soprano in the church choir.
A memorial service will be held at 1 p.m. Sunday, June 12, at Unitarian Universalist Community Church, 70 Sycamore Drive, Park Forest.
There is an obituary for Anne in today's Chicago Tribune at
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/obituaries/chi-0506030288jun03,1,209177.story?coll=chi-newsobituaries-hed
May 22, 2005
The Case for Clean Fish - Takin' It To the Streets
When the State's annual warning about contaminated fish came out in 2005, 13 lakes and rivers around the state were listed as "hotspots" where kids and women who might want to have children in the future should avoid eating the fish. The problem is mercury contamination, which comes from coal-burning power plants. Mercury is present in coal, and when it is burned to make electricity, it vaporizes and goes up the smokestack into the clouds.
What goes up must come down, and for several years the Illinois Department of Public Health has warned women and children to limit the large fish they eat from ALL Illinois waters due to mercury pollution. The "hotspots" registered even higher levels of fish contamination. Mercury poisoning affects 1 out of 6 American kids, causing brain and other nervous system damage.
One of the 13 "hotspots" is Lake in the Hills, at the center of a fast-growing suburb of the same name in southeastern McHenry County. With no significant industry for miles around, Lake in the Hills is the last place you would expect to find fish that could hurt your kids' brains. It's a powerful example of the cost of coal plant pollution.
This Saturday, Sierra Club volunteers went door to door in the neighborhoods around Lake in the Hills with some information about the state's advisory, to try to protect kids by informing their parents about the risks of eating fish from the lake. Volunteers also distributed a postcard that residents could send to Governor Blagojevich, thanking him for challenging a federal proposal to weaken limits on mercury pollution, and urging him to do better by requiring strict pollution controls on Illinois coal-fired power plants.
Residents were not surprised, in general, to learn of the mercury contamination, and most welcomed the chance to be a part of the solution to the problem. Volunteers met fishermen worried about the safety of their catch, moms who wanted to know what was safe for their kids, and local officials who are looking out for the lake.
If the people of Lake in the Hills have their way, Illinois will soon act to require pollution controls for mercury on our coal plants.
For more information on the State's mercury pollution warning:
http://www.idph.state.il.us/envhealth/fishadv/specialmercury.htm
What goes up must come down, and for several years the Illinois Department of Public Health has warned women and children to limit the large fish they eat from ALL Illinois waters due to mercury pollution. The "hotspots" registered even higher levels of fish contamination. Mercury poisoning affects 1 out of 6 American kids, causing brain and other nervous system damage.
One of the 13 "hotspots" is Lake in the Hills, at the center of a fast-growing suburb of the same name in southeastern McHenry County. With no significant industry for miles around, Lake in the Hills is the last place you would expect to find fish that could hurt your kids' brains. It's a powerful example of the cost of coal plant pollution.
This Saturday, Sierra Club volunteers went door to door in the neighborhoods around Lake in the Hills with some information about the state's advisory, to try to protect kids by informing their parents about the risks of eating fish from the lake. Volunteers also distributed a postcard that residents could send to Governor Blagojevich, thanking him for challenging a federal proposal to weaken limits on mercury pollution, and urging him to do better by requiring strict pollution controls on Illinois coal-fired power plants.
Residents were not surprised, in general, to learn of the mercury contamination, and most welcomed the chance to be a part of the solution to the problem. Volunteers met fishermen worried about the safety of their catch, moms who wanted to know what was safe for their kids, and local officials who are looking out for the lake.
If the people of Lake in the Hills have their way, Illinois will soon act to require pollution controls for mercury on our coal plants.
For more information on the State's mercury pollution warning:
http://www.idph.state.il.us/envhealth/fishadv/specialmercury.htm
May 12, 2005
Illinois EPA Director Renee Cipriano To Leave, Doug Scott Next IEPA Director
Governor Blagojevich announced today what has been rumored for some time, that Director Renee Cipriano will be leaving the Illinois EPA. The Governor also announced that Cipriano's replacement will be Doug Scott, former State Representative and Mayor of Rockford.
Illinois' air and water are cleaner thanks to the work Renee Cipriano has done during her years of public service to the people of Illinois. She has served at least three Governors, as IEPA Director, General Counsel, and Environmental Advisor to George Ryan. She was one of, if not the only agency head from the Ryan administration kept on by Blagojevich. During her tenure at Illinois EPA, Illinois has definitely upgraded safeguards against pollution in our rivers, lakes, and drinking water. Before her time at the helm the Agency was constantly battling clean water advocates in attempts to weaken standards at the behest of industry. We have also made steady progress toward healthy air quality.
Environmentalists often disagree with Illinois EPA, but Renee has always been honest and fair in dealing with citizens and environmental advocates. We wish her the best in the future.
Doug Scott has the experience and skills to be a very successful protector of our land, air, and water. We worked with Scott while he was in the legislature to strengthen environmental laws, and while he was Mayor of Rockford to promote the cleanup of toxic waste sites that threaten public health and impede economic development. His close relationship with the Governor and good relationships with many legislators will be assets for the Agency as well.
We look forward to working with Doug Scott to clean up pollution from coal-fired power plants, enforce the Clean Water Act, and protect Illinois' environment for our families and our future.
Illinois' air and water are cleaner thanks to the work Renee Cipriano has done during her years of public service to the people of Illinois. She has served at least three Governors, as IEPA Director, General Counsel, and Environmental Advisor to George Ryan. She was one of, if not the only agency head from the Ryan administration kept on by Blagojevich. During her tenure at Illinois EPA, Illinois has definitely upgraded safeguards against pollution in our rivers, lakes, and drinking water. Before her time at the helm the Agency was constantly battling clean water advocates in attempts to weaken standards at the behest of industry. We have also made steady progress toward healthy air quality.
Environmentalists often disagree with Illinois EPA, but Renee has always been honest and fair in dealing with citizens and environmental advocates. We wish her the best in the future.
Doug Scott has the experience and skills to be a very successful protector of our land, air, and water. We worked with Scott while he was in the legislature to strengthen environmental laws, and while he was Mayor of Rockford to promote the cleanup of toxic waste sites that threaten public health and impede economic development. His close relationship with the Governor and good relationships with many legislators will be assets for the Agency as well.
We look forward to working with Doug Scott to clean up pollution from coal-fired power plants, enforce the Clean Water Act, and protect Illinois' environment for our families and our future.
May 11, 2005
Wetland Destruction Act Dies In House
Senate Bill 761, which has been dubbed in Springfield the "Wetland Destruction Act", died today after votes for it on the House Energy and Environment Committee evaporated in the face of strong opposition from environmental groups, local governments, the Blagojevich Administration, and Attorney General Lisa Madigan. State Representative Karen May worked tirelessly for wetlands as usual. SB 761 sponsor and Committee Chairman said the bill had been assigned to a subcommittee "for a future hearing...maybe" - Springfield-speak for the legislative recycling bin.
SB 761 faced long odds on the House floor in the face of this opposition, but its failure to even clear the House Energy and Environment Committee today was a surprising development. The Committee is ordinarily deferential to industry lobbyists, and many of the heaviest hitters in Springfield were leaning on members to advance the bill. However, by the end of the day, it was clear that no amount of clout could carry such a strongly anti-environment, anti-local government bill to the finish line.
The defeat of SB 761 is clearly a big victory for citizens across the state who made their voices heard in Springfield. However, it does not provide real protection for wetlands abandoned by the federal government in much of the state. For that, we'll need to craft a new proposal. But with the threat of SB 761 extinguished, we can move on to building consensus for a bill that provides real protection while respecting local authority.
SB 761 faced long odds on the House floor in the face of this opposition, but its failure to even clear the House Energy and Environment Committee today was a surprising development. The Committee is ordinarily deferential to industry lobbyists, and many of the heaviest hitters in Springfield were leaning on members to advance the bill. However, by the end of the day, it was clear that no amount of clout could carry such a strongly anti-environment, anti-local government bill to the finish line.
The defeat of SB 761 is clearly a big victory for citizens across the state who made their voices heard in Springfield. However, it does not provide real protection for wetlands abandoned by the federal government in much of the state. For that, we'll need to craft a new proposal. But with the threat of SB 761 extinguished, we can move on to building consensus for a bill that provides real protection while respecting local authority.
May 04, 2005
House Committee Postpones Consideration of Wetland Destruction Act
The House Energy and Environment Committee today put off consideration of the "Wetland Destruction Act", as Senate Bill 761 has been dubbed, until next Wednesday, May 11th.
The vote was shaping up to be very close today with intense lobbying by realtors and developers for the bill and local governments and conservationists against it. More to come.
The vote was shaping up to be very close today with intense lobbying by realtors and developers for the bill and local governments and conservationists against it. More to come.
May 02, 2005
Springfield Lobbyists Attack Local Authority To Save Lives, Homes, and Businesses From Floods
Anyone who has seen first-hand the damage done by flooding (for instance, if you live along rivers like the Des Plaines, Fox, Rock, Mississippi, etc.) knows that lives, livelihoods, and even whole towns can be washed away.
In recent years our major river systems have lost their best defense against floods – wetlands. Studies of the disastrous floods of 1993 showed that protecting just 3% of the Upper Mississippi River watershed as wetland could have absorbed 100% of that flood. In light of the severe threat posed by flooding, and the importance of wetlands in guarding against this threat, many local governments in Illinois have enacted or proposed common-sense protections for our remaining wetland areas. In northeast Illinois, Cook, Lake, DuPage, Kane, and McHenry counties have all adopted programs to protect homes and businesses from flooding by protecting their remaining wetland areas from destruction. Now counties in the metro East and the ring of counties around the collars are showing interest in similar programs.
Wetlands act as nature’s sponges, soaking up rainwater that would otherwise gush into river systems and create flood events - a single acre of wetland can store over a million gallons of rainwater. They also happen to filter pollution out of our drinking water, and provide a home for many species of wildlife. Unfortunately, 90% of Illinois’ original wetlands are gone. One can see why local governments don’t want to lose what we have left of these multi-tasking ecosystems.
Now, however, powerful developer lobbyists in Springfield are trying to take away the ability of local governments to protect themselves against flooding by protecting wetlands. Developers are backing Senate Bill 761, which actually prohibits any local government from acting to protect its citizens, homes, and businesses from devastating flooding by protecting wetland areas.
Senate Bill 761 would replace the locally funded, coordinated effort of local governments with a statewide program run by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency. Dozens of local professionals would be replaced by a handful of bureaucrats in Springfield without the knowledge or funding to do the same job. In the past, when legislators have proposed giving wetland protection authority to Illinois EPA, the Agency registered its opposition, citing insufficient staff to carry out the program.
SB 761 also has a giant loophole big enough to drive a bulldozer through. Any wetland smaller than a half acre would be totally exempt from the bill. Lake County estimates that eliminates protection for over half of their remaining wetlands. For every half-acre wetland that gets filled in under SB 761, where will the 500,000 gallons of rainwater that it is now soaking up end up?
A few overworked bureaucrats in Springfield replacing strong, locally funded flood control programs will worsen the state’s budget crisis, but does it make us safer? If you own a home or business near a floodplain, it should make you nervous, but apparently it makes Illinois’ development lobby hungry. Without local watchdogs protecting communities from flooding, they’re betting they can squeeze a few more lots into a subdivision, avoid flood control requirements, and increase their short-term bottom line, and leave someone else to deal with the water.
Conservationists prefer a wetland protection program that respects the will of local governments to protect their citizens, and to fund these programs locally. Legislation previously approved by the Illinois House would maintain local wetland protection programs, while empowering the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) to protect wetlands elsewhere. After all, the IDNR houses the state’s experts in flood control and wildlife habitat.
Senate Bill 761 rejects this idea of partnering with local governments to protect us all. If your goal is to build maximum density on wetlands that used to hold back floodwater, then laying off those who protect us from floods makes sense. For the rest of us, a program that welcomes local efforts to protect wetlands while utilizing IDNR’s expertise seems the best approach.
SB 761 will be heard at 3pm Wednesday in the Illinois House Energy and Environment Committee.
In recent years our major river systems have lost their best defense against floods – wetlands. Studies of the disastrous floods of 1993 showed that protecting just 3% of the Upper Mississippi River watershed as wetland could have absorbed 100% of that flood. In light of the severe threat posed by flooding, and the importance of wetlands in guarding against this threat, many local governments in Illinois have enacted or proposed common-sense protections for our remaining wetland areas. In northeast Illinois, Cook, Lake, DuPage, Kane, and McHenry counties have all adopted programs to protect homes and businesses from flooding by protecting their remaining wetland areas from destruction. Now counties in the metro East and the ring of counties around the collars are showing interest in similar programs.
Wetlands act as nature’s sponges, soaking up rainwater that would otherwise gush into river systems and create flood events - a single acre of wetland can store over a million gallons of rainwater. They also happen to filter pollution out of our drinking water, and provide a home for many species of wildlife. Unfortunately, 90% of Illinois’ original wetlands are gone. One can see why local governments don’t want to lose what we have left of these multi-tasking ecosystems.
Now, however, powerful developer lobbyists in Springfield are trying to take away the ability of local governments to protect themselves against flooding by protecting wetlands. Developers are backing Senate Bill 761, which actually prohibits any local government from acting to protect its citizens, homes, and businesses from devastating flooding by protecting wetland areas.
Senate Bill 761 would replace the locally funded, coordinated effort of local governments with a statewide program run by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency. Dozens of local professionals would be replaced by a handful of bureaucrats in Springfield without the knowledge or funding to do the same job. In the past, when legislators have proposed giving wetland protection authority to Illinois EPA, the Agency registered its opposition, citing insufficient staff to carry out the program.
SB 761 also has a giant loophole big enough to drive a bulldozer through. Any wetland smaller than a half acre would be totally exempt from the bill. Lake County estimates that eliminates protection for over half of their remaining wetlands. For every half-acre wetland that gets filled in under SB 761, where will the 500,000 gallons of rainwater that it is now soaking up end up?
A few overworked bureaucrats in Springfield replacing strong, locally funded flood control programs will worsen the state’s budget crisis, but does it make us safer? If you own a home or business near a floodplain, it should make you nervous, but apparently it makes Illinois’ development lobby hungry. Without local watchdogs protecting communities from flooding, they’re betting they can squeeze a few more lots into a subdivision, avoid flood control requirements, and increase their short-term bottom line, and leave someone else to deal with the water.
Conservationists prefer a wetland protection program that respects the will of local governments to protect their citizens, and to fund these programs locally. Legislation previously approved by the Illinois House would maintain local wetland protection programs, while empowering the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) to protect wetlands elsewhere. After all, the IDNR houses the state’s experts in flood control and wildlife habitat.
Senate Bill 761 rejects this idea of partnering with local governments to protect us all. If your goal is to build maximum density on wetlands that used to hold back floodwater, then laying off those who protect us from floods makes sense. For the rest of us, a program that welcomes local efforts to protect wetlands while utilizing IDNR’s expertise seems the best approach.
SB 761 will be heard at 3pm Wednesday in the Illinois House Energy and Environment Committee.
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