 U.S. Sens. Mark Kirk, R-Ill., and Dick Durbin, D-Ill., along with
U.S. Reps. Dan Lipinski, D-Ill., and Robert Dold, R-Ill., announced
Friday a bipartisan effort to sponsor legislation to increase fines
for dumping sewage into the Great Lakes. A similar measure was
introduced in 2007, but lawmakers believe the bipartisan support
will help get the legislation signed into law."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 in a statement following a
news conference in Chicago. "Not only does Lake Michigan provide our
drinking water, it is a vital economic engine to the entire region."
The Great Lakes Water Protection Act would set a deadline to ban
sewage dumping in the lakes, increase fines for violators and help
fund wastewater treatment programs.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that more than
24 billion gallons of sewage are released into the lakes every year.
Sources of pollution to the lakes include stormwater, agricultural
runoff, and industrial and city waste discharges, according to the
EPA. The agency estimates at least 30 communities in the Lake
Michigan basin are violators. Waukegan Harbor in Lake County in
Illinois is listed as an area of concern.
Under the legislation, fines would increase from $37,500 a day to
$100,000 a day by 2031. Communities would have 20 years to upgrade
wastewater treatment systems, with assistance of money collected
from fines.
"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," Durbin said in a statement. "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."
The legislation may be part of the solution, but it isn't enough.
More funding is needed to update sewage treatment systems, an
environmentalist said.
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"The Great Lakes are 20 percent of the freshwater on the planet,
so it is critical that we invest in keeping them clean and safe,"
said Jack Darin, director of the Illinois Chapter of Sierra Club, a
nonprofit environmental organization. "On most days we do not have
any sewage going into Lake Michigan. We still have problems during
big storms when our sewage systems become overloaded. We do have raw
sewage flowing into Lake Michigan, and that really has to stop."
Joel Brammeier, president and chief executive officer of the
Alliance for the Great Lakes, echoes the same sentiment. Brammeier
said the legislation is good for protecting the future of drinking
water, but other problems need to be addressed right now.
"We have combined sewage going into the Great Lakes today. We
have invasive species threatening to enter. We have beaches closing
in the thousands every summer -- those are real problems that need
to be combated with enforcement and investment right now," Brammeier
said. "And waiting 20 years for that is waiting too long."
[Illinois
Statehouse News; By DIANE S.W. LEE]
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