Mission

The Mississippi River Watershed is the second largest watershed in the world supporting an extensive variety of habitats including wetland, open-water, and floodplain, many of which are national wildlife refuges. Pollutants enter this system from agricultural, metropolitan and industrial areas and have a serious impact on all living creatures, and can negatively affect the use of water for drinking, household needs, recreation, fishing, transportation and commerce.

 

ELPC's Ettinger Discusses Water Quality in Iowa

July 12, 2008 - ELPC Senior Attorney Albert Ettinger joined other activists in discussing water quality issues related to recent flooding in Iowa. "To a very substantial degree, the people who were flooded in the Midwest and the shrimp fisherman at risk of losing their livelihoods in Louisiana are victims of the same thing," he said. Panelists called on Iowans to address issues related to development in flood plains, farming practices and wetlands. Read the full article in the Telegraph Herald.

 

US Supreme Court Rules on Exxon Valdez Case

June 25, 2008 - The Supreme Court issued a ruling significantly reducing the punitive damage award in the Exxon Shipping v. Baker case. The Court also held unanimously that the Clean Water Act cannot be used as a shield to protect polluters from punitive damage claims and other common law remedies in appropriate circumstances. ELPC had filed an amicus brief on behalf of 16 environmental groups, urging the Court to uphold the federal Clean Water Act's goals of restoring and maintaining the nation's waterways and prevent Exxon from using the Act as a "shield" to avoid full liability for its role in the spill.

 

Iowa Water Quality Standards and Permitting

ELPC has done considerable research regarding current Iowa water quality standards and NPDES permits and found the situation to be deplorable. In general, Iowa does not begin to implement the Clean Water Act properly and regularly issues permits that are not protective of Iowa recreation, aquatic life or downstream waters. Working with Iowa Environmental Council, Sierra Club and Hawkeye Flyfishing Council, we have begun to take action against the three biggest problems in the Iowa Department of Natural Resources program.

Antidegradation Standards

In Illinois, ELPC persuaded the Illinois Pollution Control Board to adopt antidegradation rules that are among the strongest in the nation. We are now engaged in a stakeholder process to attempt to get decent antidegradation standards for Indiana. In Kentucky, ELPC is counsel in a lawsuit in federal court against U.S. EPA for failing to establish legally sufficient antidegradation standards.

Working to Develop Strong Water Quality Standards for Nutrients

ELPC has worked at the federal, regional and state level to develop protective numeric nutrient standards applicable to the Mississippi River basin. Working with the Clean Water Network and NRDC, we have written and met with U.S. EPA headquarters regarding phosphorus controls that could be established immediately and urged U.S. EPA to work more aggressively to cause adoption of nitrogen standards to protect the Gulf of Mexico.

Evaluating State Non-Point Source Pollution Programs throughout the Midwest

ELPC has been working to monitor and evaluate state programs for controlling non-point source water pollution from agribusiness and other sources.  Federal law does not directly regulate non-point source pollution, but instead Section 319 of the Clean Water Act provides federal matching funds to encourage states to implement programs to address such pollution.  While every state in the Midwest participates in the Section 319 program, the details and effectiveness of such participation varies by state.  Therefore, ELPC is working to evaluate each state's effort at addressing non-point source pollution, with the goal of identifying and recommending the most effective strategies.

Preventing Environmentally Destructive Development

ELPC is continuing to challenge the proposal by the City of Marion, Illinois, to build a dam on Sugar Creek in order to make a new reservoir.  This project would destroy 6.2 miles of one of the last free flowing streams in Illinois, threaten two Illinois endangered species that live in Sugar Creek and inundate 1,172 acres of forests, farms and wetlands.  The project is also unnecessary, as existing water sources in the area could adequately satisfy Marion’s needs.

ELPC, the Sierra Club, and other organizations have been working to challenge an application for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”) to re-license the Dayton Dam on the Fox River in Illinois. The Dayton Dam is the first dam on the River, located just 5.6 miles from Fox River’s confluence with the Illinois River.  As such, the Dam serves as an ecological barrier to the passage of at least 10 species of fish into potentially valuable spawning and nursery habitat.  In addition, the operation of the Dam serves to degrade water quality and dewater a 900-foot long bypass reach. In a series of comments, ELPC has recommended that the Dam be removed or that any re-licensing of the Dam be conditioned on the installation of facilities that would allow for the passage of fish and American eels and on a guarantee of a minimum stream flow in the bypass reach.

We are also working to have unnecessary dams removed from the Fox River, the Du Page River and other Illinois waters. Further, by reviewing and commenting on draft Section 404 permits for stream channelization projects, we have prevented the destruction of natural stream corridors.

Illinois Water Quality Standards

The most recent Illinois Environmental Protection Agency report on Illinois waters disclosed that 46% of the stream miles and almost 70% of the lake acres in Illinois do not meet the "fishable and swimmable" goals of the Clean Water Act.  Many unpolluted waterways are threatened by urban sprawl, excessive use of fertilizer, sewage treatment plants, run off from roads and construction sites, or large hog operations.

For too many years, the Illinois EPA has failed to apply the requirements of the Clean Water Act, and federal officials have let them ignore it. Many Illinois permits are very weak and enforcement of the law is not strong enough to command polluters' respect or compliance.  Non-compliance is especially dangerous in Illinois because of the large numbers of polluting industries, including both manufacturing and farming operations including huge hog operations and farms that are heavily dependent on pesticides and herbicides.

ELPC continues to intervene in the Illinois Pollution Control Board's standard-setting proceedings on phosphorous and other polluting nutrients and toxins from sources such as sewage treatment plants, hog farms, fertilizers, and pesticides. We are also working to persuade the U.S. EPA and Illinois EPA to develop watershed plans and effective non-point pollution controls. Finally, we have been monitoring Illinois' program for controlling run off and storm water discharges from construction sites, livestock operations and other sources of polluted run off.