EPA Requires Revised Water Quality Standards For Rivers in Illinois

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has issued a notification to the State of Illinois that water quality standards for portions of the Chicago and Calumet Rivers must be revised. According to EPA, to attain the new water quality standards, the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRDGC) will likely be required to disinfect sewage discharged from its North Side and Calumet treatment plants. MWRDGC ceased disinfection at these facilities in the mid-1980s.

EPA has directed the Illinois Pollution Control Board to adopt new or revised water quality standards for the North and South Branches of the Chicago River, the North Shore Channel, the Cal-Sag Channel and the Little Calumet River. If the board does not act, the Clean Water Act authorizes U.S. EPA to take what the agency considers to be the necessary actions. Since 2007, U.S. EPA has recommended that Illinois upgrade water quality standards for the waterway system.

In 2009, U.S. EPA made a similar determination under its Clean Water Act authority for a 28-mile portion of the Mississippi River near St. Louis.

[read more about 2009 EPA action in Missouri]

Caltha LLP provides expert consulting services to public and private sector clients nationwide to address water quality standards, wastewater permitting and assessing potential impacts of chemicals in the aquatic environment.

Caltha LLP Aquatic Toxicology / WQ Standards Services Website

Draft Guidance On Applicability of Clean Water Act To Wetlands

On April 27, 2011, The US Corps of Engineers and US EPA issued “Draft Guidance on Identifying Waters Protected by the Clean Water Act”. The Draft Guidance interprets two key Supreme Court decisions on the applicability of the Clean Water Act to wetlands. The Draft Guidance addresses both wetlands and waterbodies and is limited to whether the federal Clean Water Act applies; it does not determine what state laws or regulations might apply.

A 2006 Supreme Court decision was anticipated to provide a clear test for when a wetland is subject to federal jurisdiction, however, the court split three ways, with no point of view supported by a majority of the justices. The prevailing view since 2006 has been that a wetland is subject to federal jurisdiction if it satisfies either of two tests: 1) the wetland must be immediately adjacent to a navigable body of water that has a relatively permanent flow; or 2) there is a “significant nexus” between the wetland and a body of water that was, is, or could be made navigable. The current Guidance is intended to be “consistent with Supreme Court decisions and existing agency regulations”.

Under the Draft Guidance, federal jurisdiction would apply to wetlands that:

• are adjacent to either traditional navigable waters or interstate waters;



• directly abut relatively permanent waters; or



• are adjacent to jurisdictional tributaries to traditional navigable waters or interstate waters if there is a “significant nexus”

The federal jurisdiction would apply to waterbodies that are:

• traditional navigable waterbodies;



• interstate waterbodies; or



• non-navigable tributaries to traditional navigable waters that are relatively permanent (contain water at least seasonally) tributaries to traditional navigable waters or interstate waters if there is a “significant nexus”

The applicability to the category of “other waters”, including some that are physically proximate to other jurisdictional waters and some that are not, will be based on fact specific circumstances

Following the 60-day public comment period, EPA and the Corps intend to finalize the Guidance and then initiate formal rulemaking.

Caltha LLP provides expert consulting services to public and private sector clients nationwide to address water quality standards, wastewater permitting and assessing potential impacts of chemicals in the aquatic environment.

Caltha LLP Aquatic Toxicology / WQ Standards Services Website