Champaign, July 11, 2003: Marking the one year anniversary of an ammonia nitrogen spill in the Salt Fork River that killed more than 105,000 fish and impacted countless other aquatic and riparian species, Prairie Rivers Network and the Salt Fork Rivers Partners urged the State agencies responsible to resolve the case and allow restoration efforts to begin as quickly as possible.

“It has been a year since the spill, and we are very concerned that measures to mitigate the impacts have not yet been identified,” said Jean Flemma, Executive Director of Prairie Rivers Network. “We urge the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Natural Resources to make their recommendations for a settlement to the Attorney General’s office as soon as possible, so that the long overdue recovery efforts on the Salt Fork can get underway.”

Salt Fork River Partners agreed. “A comprehensive restoration and remediation package that encompasses strategies for habitat improvements needs to be agreed to as quickly as possible to repair the damage caused by the spill. Not only will habitat restoration help speed the recovery of the resource in this situation, it will help encourage recovery in the future if another spill or other adverse discharge to the river were to occur, regardless of the source,” said Dennis Wandell, President of the Salt Fork River Partners.

On September 23, 2002, the State filed a claim for $50,000 to recover damages for the fish that had been killed by the ammonia spill, despite the fact that the Department of Natural Resources had already established figures showing higher overall costs for more than 30 species of fish impacted by the spill. These included gamefish such as the smallmouth and largemouth bass, various sunfish, and catfish, and other species important to the health of the stream such as the river redhorse, emerald shiner, madtom, bluebreast and greenside darters. The Stateâs claim also did not take into account the damages to the Salt Forkâs other resources that are obviously much more difficult to quantify, like insects, crayfish, and diminished ecological health. Since that time, settlement discussions have continued but no agreement has been reached.

In a letter to the Attorney General in March, Prairie Rivers urged the office to ensure that the settlement include habitat improvements, the purchase of long-term conservation easements along streams to provide protection in the case of future spills, and, importantly, a requirement that all revenues from fines be invested in restoration activities.

Also of significant importance, Prairie Rivers has repeatedly stressed that opportunity for public involvement in the settlement process must be provided before any final settlement is approved. “We feel this is the only way to ensure that a comprehensive restoration package is adopted, and that the interests of the citizens that care about the Salt Fork are addressed”, Flemma said.