Permit is model for other communities who want to minimize environmental impacts of growth

Plano, December 2, 2003: Environmental groups that work to protect water quality and river health in Illinois, today praised an agreement that had been reached with the City of Plano to dramatically reduce the impacts the expansion of their sewage treatment plant will have on water quality and aquatic life. The permit formalizing that agreement was issued in November.

“All parties have much to be proud of,” said Jean Flemma, Executive Director of Prairie Rivers Network. “This agreement and the final permit show that a cooperative approach to planning for growth can result in a win for the environment and for communities.”

Earlier this year, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency had proposed issuing a National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit for the City of Plano that would have allowed an increase in discharges from the city’s sewage treatment plant into Big Rock Creek from almost 1 million gallons per day to 2.5 million gallons per day. This expansion was proposed to facilitate new growth expected in the area.

The requirements proposed by the permit were typical of many sewage treatment plant permits and lacked sufficient environmental protections. At the same time, Big Rock Creek is not a typical creek; it is one of the healthiest streams in northeastern Illinois.

To address the concerns regarding the adequacy of the proposed permit, representatives from the City and conservation interests worked together to develop a plan for providing better protection by decreasing the pollution that would be discharged to the creek from the expanded sewage treatment plant.

“The primary goal of the Big Rock Creek Watershed Committee is to ensure that this unique, high quality watershed remains so during and after the massive population growth in our area. That can only be accomplished with the cooperation of the governments within the watershed. The City of Plano’s actions demonstrate that they share that goal as well,” said Wade Joyner, a member of the Committee.

Many improvements were made to the Plano NPDES permit that were not found in the original proposal. Specifically, the plant will now remove much of the phosphorus that is typically found in sewage; a portion of the treated wastewater will be used on the nearby golf course rather than discharged to the creek; the treated wastewater will be discharged to a holding pond, and perhaps in the future to a constructed wetland, rather than discharging it directly to the creek.

“The addition of phosphorus removal technology at the plant is a significant move by the City of Plano to minimize the impact of their sewage discharge to the high quality Big Rock Creek,” said Cindy Skrukrud, Clean Water Advocate for the Sierra Club.

The City will also conduct chemical sampling in Big Rock Creek upstream and downstream of the discharge for several parameters including phosphorus and nitrate (two important nutrients). Finally, the City has expressed an interest in continuing to work with local conservationists to explore more opportunities for applying treated water to land rather than discharging to the stream.

Mayor Bill Roberts stated, “The City of Plano is proud of the part we played in this process and very pleased with the final product. I can’t say enough about the cooperative and committed efforts of the Sierra Club, Prairie Rivers Network, the Big Rock Creek Watershed Committee, Cedardell Golf Club, Walter E Deuchler Associates, Inc and my entire staff, in particular Darrin Boyer Superintendent of the Waste Water Treatment Plant. All parties involved share a common concern for protecting the environment and our Big Rock Creek.”

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