The Chicago Tribune and many other news outlets covered our recent lawsuit against the Chicago Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (MWRD) to stop the routine dumping of raw sewage and under-treated wastewater into the Chicago River and Lake Michigan. During heavy rains (anything more than 2/3 of an inch), the pipes that would normally send a combination of wastewater and stormwater to Chicago sewage treatment plants cannot cope with the sheer amount of water and sewage and instead overflow, releasing that bacteria-laden water directly into nearby waters. The regular discharge of water from these treatment plants contains too much phosphorus which causes excessive growth of algae, blocking sunlight and using up oxygen that fish and other aquatic animals need to survive. The release of raw sewage and excessive phosphorous are both in violation of the federal Clean Water Act. The MWRD has actually been under investigation by federal regulators for nearly a decade, but no action has been taken.

A draft agreement on April 21 calls for more specific deadlines to finish the Deep Tunnel project, a labyrinth of large tunnels and reservoirs underground that serve as a holding area for excess water. The MWRD would also pay $670,000 in fines and spend $325,000 on “green infrastructure” that allows rainwater to better absorb into the ground rather than running off into sewers. This pales in comparison to the city of Cleveland, OH, which recently agreed to spend $42 million on green infrastructure and pay fines of $1.2 million.

The lawsuit was brought by Prairie Rivers Network, the Sierra Club, and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). Read the Chicago Tribune article here.

See these additional resources about reducing stormwater pollution:

Prairie Rivers Network’s Stormwater Management Guidebook, a guide to green infrastructure with examples throughout Illinois.

Rooftops to Rivers and Re-Envisioning the Chicago River (published by the Natural Resources Defense Council).  The first is a guide to green strategies for controlling stormwater and combined sewer overflows, and the second includes the benefits of green infrastructure specifically for the Chicago region, with a summary of how everything relates to invasive species such as the Asian Carp.

The lawsuit was also covered in these news outlets:

Huffington Post

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

The Pantagraph (Bloomington-Normal)

Park Forest ENews (Chicago area)

Mother Nature Network

Northwest Indiana Times

Serial Spillers: Groups Sue to Stop Chicago Water Regulators from Polluting the Chicago River

MWRD’s illegal sewage discharges mucking waterways from Chicago to Gulf of Mexico

CHICAGO (May 3, 2011) – A coalition of conservation groups have sued to stop the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (MWRD) from dumping raw sewage mixed with stormwater, as well as algae-fueling pollution, into the Chicago River system. Effluent from MWRD’s sewage treatment plants and combined sewer overflow pipes regularly violate Clean Water Act standards in the River, impacting downstream waters from Chicago all the way to the Gulf of Mexico according to the suit.

“Keeping raw sewage out of our waters is the District’s core responsibility,” said Ann Alexander, Senior Attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council. “Yet the problem continues unabated, even after three decades and billions of taxpayer dollars. Chicagoland shouldn’t have to wait any longer for the District to do its job right.”

NRDC, Sierra Club and Prairie Rivers Network filed a federal lawsuit today in the Northern District of Illinois over the regional water treater’s pollution problem. The suit points to discharges of pollution from treatment plants that regularly violate federal standards requiring that discharges not cause or contribute to low levels of oxygen, which fish need to breathe; and unnatural sludge or growth of algae, which harms other forms of life in the water.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  April 27, 2011

Implications for Illinois waterways not yet known

Yesterday the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the US Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) released draft guidance to provide clarification about which water bodies are subject to regulation under the Clean Water Act. The two agencies worked together to develop the new guidance on the regulatory program they both have a hand in implementing. The Act’s goal is to “restore and maintain the chemical, physical and biological integrity of the Nation’s waters” by limiting how much pollution can be dumped into waterways.

The EPA has estimated that 1.6 million Illinois residents get their drinking water from waterways whose regulatory status was unclear. “This guidance is a welcome development. In Illinois, over half of our small streams and 150,000 acres of wetlands have been at risk for uncontrolled pollution and filling because of unclear rules. We’re not sure yet how the new guidance will change these numbers, but it looks to be a step in the right direction” said Glynnis Collins, Executive Director of Prairie Rivers Network, Illinois’ statewide river conservation organization. “We hope that the new guidance will lead to better protection of our drinking water and of the other essential services like flood protection and filtering pollution that our rivers, lakes, and wetlands provide Illinoisans.”

Since 1972 EPA and the Corps have enforced the Clean Water Act on “waters of the United States” until Supreme Court decisions in 2001 and 2006 created widespread uncertainty on the part of regulators and the regulated community about when water pollution must be authorized by a Clean Water Act permit.

The issue’s profile has risen in Washington DC during recent budget battles.  The House budget bill would have prevented federal agencies from taking the action announced yesterday, but the Senate refused to agree.

The draft guidance is on notice for a 60-day public comment period. It can be viewed here.  

According to Collins, “People should let their lawmakers know that they support protections for clean water – that we don’t want industry to have a pass to pollute what belongs to all of us, and is a vital foundation of our well being.”

Collins adds, “We shouldn’t forget Springfield either. States have broader authority than the federal government, and Illinois could drastically improve the health and safety of our waters by adopting rules and standards that are tougher than federal requirements; those rules could apply to all waters of the state too.”

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View Prairie River Notes – Spring 2011 Newsletter with the following articles.

• Innovative Paths to Cleaner Water: Prairie Rivers Network Uses Clean Water Law to Help Communities Reduce Pollution
• Greetings from Glynnis
• An Open Letter to Prairie Rivers Network Staff and Members: From Member Carol Wock
• Prairie Rivers Network Supports Bill to Make Factory Farms Pay for Their Permit to Pollute
• Heartland Coalfield Alliance Unites Groups Working to Move Beyond Coal
• Prairie Rivers Network to Sue Chicago Polluter
• Grassroots Groups Fight Coal Pollution
• 2010 Annual Report

The New York Times is reporting on our recent notice of intent to sue the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago for violations of the Clean Water Act. Read the full NYT article here.

Illegal sewage discharges mucking waterways from Chicago to Gulf of Mexico

For immediate release: March 1, 2011

CHICAGO (March 1, 2011) – Water pollution illegally dumped from the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District’s (MWRD’s) three sewage treatment plants and combined sewer overflow pipes has created a plume of harmful impacts stretching from Chicago all the way to the Gulf of Mexico according to notice of a suit delivered to MWRD today. Wastewater discharged by MWRD exceeds federal water pollution limits and violates state-issued permits. The problem is so severe that it wipes out oxygen in the water after big rains, and causes harmful, stinking mats of algae to form downstream of the MWRD plants.

“MWRD has flat-out admitted in its own reports that pollution from its sewer overflows harms the Chicago area waters it is supposed to be protecting,” said Ann Alexander, Senior Attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council. “They have spent three decades and billions of dollars on a Tunnel and Reservoir Project that was supposed to fix the overflow problem – and all the flooding, discharges to Lake Michigan, odors, and ‘floatables’ that come with it. We’re not willing to wait decades more for the District to comply with the law and clean up our waters.”

NRDC, Sierra Club and Prairie Rivers Network have given MWRD a legally-required 60-day notice of their intent to sue over the regional water regulator’s admitted pollution problem (notice, attachments). The notice points to discharges of pollution from treatment plants that regularly violate federal standards requiring that discharges not cause or contribute to unnatural sludge or growth of algae, which harms other forms of life in the water. Those standards further require that the water contain sufficient dissolved oxygen for fish to breathe.

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