Champaign, [July 25, 2002]: Prairie Rivers Network, the statewide river conservation organization based in Champaign, took the first steps toward filing a lawsuit today in response to the fish kill caused by Urbana-Champaign Sanitary District’s (UCSD) Northeast Sewage Treatment Plant and the University of Illinois.

Prairie Rivers Network filed a 60-day notice letter, notifying the UCSD of their intent to file suit in federal district court for violations of the Clean Water Act. The 60-day notice is required by the Clean Water Act for citizen suits. A similar letter will be filed next week with the University of Illinois. “We want to make sure fish kills do not occur again,” said Robert Moore, Executive Director of Prairie Rivers, “and to ensure that the Sanitary District and the U of I restore the Saline and the Salt Fork.”

Last week the UCSD released a large amount of toxic ammonia which killed over 80,000 fish on the Salt Fork River, the largest fish kill in recent memory. Fish were killed as far downstream as Homer, more than 15 miles downstream. According to the UCSD, the source of the ammonia was the University of Illinois’ Abbott power plant.

“Prairie Rivers raised serious questions about the sewage treatment plant’s ammonia treatment two years ago,” stated Moore. “This spill raises those questions again.”

Prairie Rivers Network is waiting for additional information on the impacts to the river from the ammonia such as the downstream impact on dissolved oxygen levels, the river’s fish populations, as well as other important populations of aquatic life like crayfish, amphibians and mussels.

“Right now, we know the river has been devastated, but we don’t know the full extent,” said Moore. “We need to find out the impacts and then figure out how to solve the problem.”