For almost 45 years, Prairie Rivers Network has been working to foster a healthy environment, healthy people, and healthy communities. We have accomplished a lot in those years thanks to the continued support of our members and dedicated, passionate conservationists throughout Illinois.

Making a Difference for Illinois Rivers in 2011:

1. “Traditions” mega-dairy denied permit to fill in stream to make manure storage pond.
2. Industry coal mine is being held accountable for over 300 Clean Water Act violations.
   

   

   Click image to download 2011 accomplishments.

3. Wasteful spending on unnecessary expansion of harmful Upper Mississippi River navigation structures blocked.
4. 30 million gallons of polluted water no longer destined for Coffeen Lake; new coal ash pond at Coffeen Power Station will use state-of-the-art pollution controls.
5. Deer Run and Sugar Camp coal mines required to reduce water pollution & demonstrate new pollution control measures that will set the bar higher for other mines.
6. Voters make a difference! After hearing from our members:
   • Reps. Dold and Biggert changed votes to support EPA efforts to protect air & water from mercury pollution; and
   • Rep. Johnson voted to support EPA’s role protecting clean water.
7. South Sangamon Water Commission’s new drinking water plant will reduce pollution to the Sangamon River and protect onsite wetlands.
8. New habitat conservation plan for Vermilion River will improve riverside habitat.
9. New rules will finally protect users of the Chicago River from bacteria and viruses in sewage.
10. Growing support for restoring the natural divide between the Great Lakes and Mississippi River basins to prevent the transfer of invasive Asian carp and other harmful plants and animals.
11. Village of Sycamore Sewage Treatment Plant will reduce nutrient pollution to Kishwaukee River.

It is a pleasure to share with you the 2010 Annual Report of Prairie Rivers Network. The year has been a good one for us, in terms of our accomplishments, growing membership, expanding programs, and financial health. We remain well-positioned, as 2011 unfolds, to pursue the ambitious goals set forth in our strategic plan. I am proud to be a part of this network, proud to work hand-in-hand with talented staff, dedicated board members, and enthusiastic members to promote clean water, healthy rivers, and vibrant communities throughout Illinois.

– Glynnis Collins, Executive Director

Click image to Download the 2010 accomplishments pdf

Preventing Water Pollution  

Challenge: Toxic ash is produced when coal is burned. Current regulations allow this toxic material to pollute streams and groundwater.

• Exposed Illinois EPA’s failure to protect clean water from the hazards of coal ash disposal.
• Helped national environmental powerhouses focus U.S. EPA on the extent of the coal ash problem in Illinois.
• Rallied citizens to support tougher regulations on coal ash pollution through petitions, letters, and testimony at EPA hearings.
• Developed water quality monitoring program for coal field communities to find and fix coal pollution.

Strengthening River Activism

Prairie Rivers Network gives people opportunities to experience nature and to then take steps on behalf of healthy rivers and clean water. Our goal is to turn citizens into active river advocates.

• Online petitions ensure that citizen voices are heard.
• Monthly electronic newsletters keep 1,000+ people informed about the latest issues.
• Frequent Facebook posts give 500+ friends the inside scoop as it happens. 
• Government agencies know that our members are active and involved and therefore listen to what we have to say.
• Media coverage of our work ensures that rivers remain relevant and visible.

Protecting River Health and River Habitat

Challenge: Our rivers are under assault. Dredging natural channels and clearcutting riverbank vegetation has profoundly damaged our rivers and the wildlife that depends on them. Choking the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers with dams to support barge traffic has destroyed America’s greatest freshwater fishery.

Mississippi River

• We have a long-term vision of a truly sustainable and healthy Mississippi River, one where navigation interests do not dominate.
• This year we began helping citizen activists and municipalities along the Mississippi River develop a conservation action plans to restore wildlife habitat.

Vermilion River

• We led development of conservation action plans for protecting threatened fish and wildlife habitat throughout the Vermilion River basin.

Engaging Citizens in Protecting Clean Water 

By providing information, sound science, and hands-on assistance, Prairie Rivers Network helps individuals and community groups become effective river conservation leaders.

Homeowners Reduce Flooding and Stormwater Pollution

• Led efforts by more than 50 residents in three neighborhoods to demonstrate ability of rain gardens and rain barrels to capture and treat polluted runoff.

Workshops Train Conservationists

• Trained more than 250 people from municipalities, government agencies, and water protection groups, plus interested citizens to join and lead local efforts to reduce water pollution and restore rivers and lakes.

Traveling Science Center and River Discovery Days

• 1700 school children, many of their parents and other adults learned the importance of protecting and preserving rivers.

Stopping Invasive Species 

Challenge: Invasive Asian carp threaten our waterways and native wildlife populations.

Dramatic images of Asian carp leaping out of the water and injuring boaters, the intentional poisoning of thousands of fish in Chicago waterways to stop their spread to the Great Lakes – these events have captured the attention of the public, the press, and officials.

This crisis presents us with a unique opportunity to re-engineer the Chicago canals that allow destructive invasive species like the zebra mussel to move between the Great Lakes and Mississippi River basins.

We are working with state and national partners to demand that the half-measures that constitute current policy be replaced by a permanent solution to the problem: restoring the divide between the basins.

We Have Made Great Progress in the Past 12-18 Months

• The idea of separating the basins, until recently viewed as a political non-starter, has gained traction: Chicago’s Mayor Daley recently made headlines talking about it.
• The Obama Administration signaled its commitment by creating a new position on the White House staff to coordinate the federal response to the threat. 
• More then 150 scientists have signed on to our position statement supporting the need to restore the basin divide.

Enforcing Clean Water Laws

Our scientific and legal expertise and persistent watchdogging has resulted in stronger water pollution controls.

Factory Farms

• We found pollution near factory farms and brought in state inspectors to make sure problems were fixed.
• We are working with organizations across the state to win stricter rules on factory farm pollution.

Chronic Polluters

• If polluters don’t follow the law, we take action.
• We joined in a case with the Attorney General against a dirty coal mine, challenging weak permits.
• Our efforts have resulted in state action on several other chronically polluting facilities.

Sewage Treatment Plants

• We strengthened pollution controls in many communities by challenging EPA permits.
• Our Antidegradation Guidebook helps treatment plants understand the law and describes innovative methods for controlling pollution.

  Download Prairie Rivers Network’s 2010 Accomplishments (pdf) here.

Raising Awareness of River Health Issues and Fostering River Stewardship

In 2009, Prairie Rivers Network:

• Trained over 100 people from 60 organizations to be effective advocates for clean water and healthy rivers.
• Successfully collaborated with partner organizations to convince Governor Quinn and Illinois Legislators to pass the Green Infrastructure bill (S.B. 1489) and to increase funding for upgrading wastewater treatment and drinking water facilities to $160 million in 2010.
• Partnered with Illinois Public Media, U of I College of Media, the Department of Natural Resources, and others, to engage youth in the outdoors and to document their experiences in the media.
• Educated 250 people in NE Illinois, Bloomington and Champaign-Urbana areas on proper disposal of unused medications to keep these products out of rivers and streams where they harm fish and enter drinking water supplies.
• Trained partners in the Mississippi River Collaborative on how to monitor pollution from factory farms– attendees came from as far away as Oregon and New York State.
• Worked with partners to hold the 4th Annual Boneyard Creek Community Day in Champaign and Urbana; 150 people participated in cleaning up this urbanized local stream.

Protecting Clean Water

In 2009, Prairie Rivers Network:

• Strengthened water pollution permits for 12 facilities requiring them to reduce pollution entering our rivers and streams.
• Negotiated design improvements for a large sewage treatment plant that will significantly reduce pollution released by the facility.
• Appealed water pollution permits for two coal mines that would pollute drinking water and harm river life.
• Pushed IEPA to provide better oversight of the dozens of coals waste disposal ponds across Illinois similar to one that collapsed in Tennessee in December 2008; worked with State Senator Michael Frerichs.
• Fought a variance for Springfield’s City Water Light & Power that will allow them to dump more than 10x the legal limit of boron into the Sangamon and Illinois Rivers.
• Fought proposal for a new dam and reservoir in Springfield, IL. There are less environmentally-damaging and less expensive ways to meet the city’s water needs.
• Collaborated with Carle Clinic Association in Urbana and Fox Fresh in Aurora to develop permanent drop boxes for unwanted medications. This alternative to flushing reduces pollution caused by medications, which typically are not removed by sewage treatment plants.
• Launched initiative aimed at reducing pollution from factory farms by pressing for better oversight and more transparency from state agencies, empowering local citizens to act in their communities, and by monitoring streams near several Clinton County facilities for pollution problems.

Protecting Healthy Stream Flow and River Habitat

In 2009, Prairie Rivers Network:

• Partnered with Department of Natural Resources and local stakeholders to plan for habitat restoration in the Vermilion River Conservation Opportunity Area as part of the Illinois Wildlife Action Plan.
• Convinced Corps of Engineers to consider water quality and habitat benefits when prioritizing restoration projects along the Mississippi.
• Watchdogged enormous hydrokinetic power project proposed for the Mississippi River involving 180,000 turbines in the river between St. Louis and Louisiana to ensure that this untested technology does not harm precious resources.
• With a broad coalition of partner organizations and local municipalities, defeated an irresponsible bill promoting tax subsidies for floodplain development; we expect to see the bill again in 2010 and will fight to keep development out of the floodplain.
• Contributed to discussion of regional water supply planning for the Mahomet aquifer in Central Illinois in several public forums.
• Helped improve and strengthen agriculture conservation practices promoted by the Illinois Natural Resources Conservation Service.

Clean Water

Reduced pollution from sewage treatment plants – We negotiated lower pollution levels from five treatment plants, with negotiations underway for several more. Because of our positive track record, polluters often seek our input before applying for permits to discuss alternatives to higher pollution levels.

Held agencies and coal companies accountable – PRN has seen a rapid increase in new coal mining permits proposing to use longwall mining techniques which can be particularly damaging to rivers and wetlands. Despite limited public review due to a fragmented regulatory framework, we have been able to improve permit requirements for four mines, and are poised to appeal two more permits if clean water and habitat issues are not addressed.

Habitat and Natural Stream Flows

Protected headwater streams from ill-conceived drainage projects – Please see article on page 5 about our support of landowners in a successful challenge to the Upper Salt Fork Drainage District’s vague plans for “maintenance” of the Salt Fork of the Vermilion River.

River Awareness and Stewardship

Helped local groups protect rivers and riverside habitat – With funding from EPA, we created and distributed a survey, the first of its kind, to over 11,000 individuals and groups working to protect Illinois waterways. Our analysis of the survey results, plus discussion at a follow-up workshop will be the starting point for a new two-year effort to provide training and support to address identified needs.

Trained Piasa Palisades Stormwater Team – As a result of training from PRN and Sierra Club, the Sierra Club Piasa Palisades group (Madison County) has formed an active construction site monitoring team and is reporting illegal pollution to government staff.

Organizational Capacity

Planned and improved PRN outreach materials – With a very generous donation of design services from Royse Wagner, Inc., we have been able to develop a beautiful new Web site and outreach materials. These will help us better tell our stories and reach new potential partners and members.

Prairie Rivers Network’s efforts are focused in three program areas: Clean Water, Habitat Protection, and River Stewardship and Awareness. Here are some of the highlights of our work in 2007:

Clean Water

Cleaning up Our Disinfection Exemption Program – We contributed to an overhaul of the Disinfection Exemption Program for wastewater treatment plants at the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) resulting in IEPA reviewing 20 years of exemptions and deciding to apply a more stringent and judicious process for new exemption requests.

Marathon Oil, Robinson Refinery – We prevented two proposed permits that would have authorized excessive loading of pollutants to already impaired streams. We also negotiated an improved NPDES permit and are working for the rehabilitation of two streams badly damaged from Marathon’s historical wastestream.

New Lenox Waste Water Treatment Facility – After four years of challenging IEPA’s approval of a wastewater treatment facility’s expansion request that would negatively impact Hickory Creek in Will County, we received a favorable ruling from the Illinois Pollution Control Board that will likely improve the implementation of anti-degradation policies that are intended to protect streams throughout Illinois.

Use Attainability Analysis – We worked in collaboration with other Illinois environmental organizations to ensure that IEPA proposes upgraded use designations and improved water quality standards for the Chicago-area waterways.

Habitat Protection

Mississippi River Habitat Restoration – We began a new effort to work with local citizen groups along the Mississippi River to build support for projects that will restore the river’s wetlands, side channels, and wildlife corridors.

Healthy Land – Healthy Water – We worked to bring together landowners, farmers, watershed groups, and experts in a joint effort to increase the quality and amount of land that provides habitat for wildlife, protects stream corridors, and helps improve water quality.

Mississippi River Clean Water Collaborative – We continued our work with eleven other groups along the Mississippi River to improve water quality throughout the river system and the Gulf of Mexico.

Keeping on Cleaning Up – We helped organize river clean-ups and habitat restoration days along the Salt Fork River, the La Moine River, and Boneyard Creek. The Boneyard Creek Community Day event received the 2007 Governor’s Hometown Award.

River Stewardship and Awareness

Don’t Rush to Flush! – By partnering with other not-for-profits, and state and federal agencies, we began an education campaign on the dangers of improperly disposed medications, which can end up in our rivers and streams, harming fish and wildlife.

Mississippi River Education – To build awareness about the multitude of issues the Mississippi River faces, we collaborated with other environmental groups, educational institutions and teachers to create an education program for high school students who live along the Mississippi River.

Cleaning and Conserving Rain Water – We taught citizens throughout the state who are interested in reducing stormwater runoff around their homes or businesses the benefits of rain gardens and how to design and install one on their property.

Illinois Stormwater Patrol – We trained citizens to monitor stormwater runoff at construction sites and elsewhere, and to be on the lookout for pollution in their local streams.