CHICAGO— In a bi-partisan effort to protect the Great Lakes, U.S. Sens. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) and Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and U.S. Reps. Dan Lipinski (D-Western Springs) and Robert Dold (R-Kenilworth) teamed up Friday to announce support for legislation that would increase fines for sewage dumping into the lakes.
The Great Lakes Water Protection Act would increase fines to up to $100,000 a day per violation by 2031, giving communities 20 years to upgrade their sewage treatment infrastructure. Fines currently are capped at $37,500 a day. It also contains measures that would make it easier to assess fines at existing levels, starting a year after the bill’s passage.
Money collected from fines would flow to a Great Lakes Clean-Up Fund created by the legislation to generate financial resources for the Great Lakes states to improve wastewater treatment options, habitat protection and wastewater treatment systems.
“By joining forces on this important piece of legislation, we believe we can keep our Great Lakes—the crown jewel of the Midwest’s ecosystem—from becoming a toxic waste dump,” Kirk said during a news conference at the Shedd Aquarium on the Lake Michigan shoreline. “Not only does Lake Michigan provide our drinking water, it is a vital economic engine to the entire region.”
Durbin said the bi-partisan legislative efforts reflected the public’s desire to keep the Great Lakes clean.
“Three and a half years ago, when we learned that BP was planning to discharge increased pollutants into Lake Michigan, the people of Illinois stood up and forcefully rejected further pollution of our Great Lake. Today we’re here to take on another threat to the Great Lakes: municipal sewage. It’s the next chapter in our quest to aggressively protect our most precious of natural resources,” Durbin said. “I’m pleased to join forces in this effort with members of the Illinois delegation from both sides of the aisle. Bi-partisanship is not just a buzzword; it’s a great way to get important bills like this one signed into law.”
Lipinski, who joined Kirk to cosponsor a similar bi-partisan measure in the House in 2007, said he believed the groundwork had been set for passage of the measure.
“After working on this legislation over the past two Congresses, I believe we’ve assembled a strong, bipartisan core of support that will enable us to see it signed into law,” Lipinski said. “The Great Lakes are our region’s most precious natural resource, providing drinking water for 30 million people, unmatched recreational opportunities and a livelihood for many. Yet each year brings news of more beach closings, and swimming bans. We can’t allow the dumping of billions of gallons of raw sewage into the same waters that we use for drinking, swimming, boating and fishing. We need to deter polluters while investing in projects that improve water quality, and this bill accomplishes that.”
Dold, a freshman lawmaker who succeeded Kirk as the 10th Congressional District Representative on the North Shore, said he looked forward to cosponsoring the measure on behalf of his constituents.
“Our duty to future generations of Illinoisans is to protect the environment in which we live,” he said. “There is much we can do right here at home by protecting Lake Michigan and its ecosystem. I’m proud to join with Congressman Lipinski and Senators Kirk and Durbin to work in a bi-partisan manner to ensure our Great Lakes remain the crown jewel of the Midwest. The 10th District represents 26 miles of shoreline and I will work tirelessly to keep it clean for all to use and enjoy now and in the future.”
According to data from the Illinois Department of Public Health, Illinois beaches were closed or had contamination advisories 628 times in 2009, an increase of 17 percent from 2008.
A University of Chicago study concluded that swim bans at Chicago’s beaches due to high levels of harmful pathogens like E.coli cost the local economy about $2.4 million each year in lost revenue.
Research conducted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency showed 30 communities contain a total of 347 combined sewer outflow (CSO) outfalls that discharge into the Lake Michigan basin. A CSO is defined as the discharge of a combined sewer system at a point prior to the public treatment facility.
Chicago, which is not considered a CSO community, has taken steps to limit sewer overflow with projects like the Deep Tunnel. In addition, the Chicago area’s treated waste flows south via the Chicago River.
Other cities dump directly into the Great Lakes. Detroit traditionally has been one of the worst offenders, dumping an estimated 13 billion gallons of sewage into the Great Lakes annually, figures show.
Kirk, Durbin, Lipinski and Dold agreed that creating a Great Lakes Clean-Up Fund would provide funds for communities to upgrade their infrastructure to prevent further dumping, ensuring the environmental health of the Great Lakes for generations to come.
