water quality trading – point source for non-point source sediments: piasa creek watershed project...
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Water Quality Trading – Point Source for Non-point Source Sediments:Piasa Creek Watershed Project
Illinois-American Water Company & Great River’s Land Trust
Legend of the Piasa Bird
Location of Alton IL
Great River Road Scenic Highway
“Old” Alton Water Treatment Facility
“Wet” Alton Water Treatment Facility
“New” Alton Water Treatment Facility
The Challenge
Old facility
– Site specific exemption
– Non-standard NPDES permit
– Direct discharge allowed
– Exempt from TSS and total iron effluent standards
New facility
– “Old” regulatory relief does not apply
– Must apply for/justify new relief
The Regulators
IL Pollution Control Board (IPCB)
– Writes environmental law
– Arbitrates contested issues
IL EPA
– Administers/enforces environmental law
– Writes/issues NPDES permit
– Cannot write a permit that IL law does not allow for
The Stakeholders
Owner, Illinois-American Water Company
Regulators, IEPA, IPCB
Local Interest Groups (economic, aesthetic)
Environmental groups (local, state, national)
Customers
The Study (SSIS)
Site Specific Impact Study
ENSR environmental engineers
Consider all regulatory tests (BPJ,BPT, BCT)
Compare residual management control technologies
Two Alternatives
– Lagoons, dewatering, landfilling
– Direct discharge
The comparisonLagoon & Landfill
– $7.4 million capital costs, $0.42 million annual O&M
– Avg 4 trucks/day on Scenic Route 3
– 8,800 yd3/yr of landfill space
– Local Opposition
Direct Discharge
–No water quality impacts
–No landfill depletion
–No aesthetic impacts on area
–No cost
–No brainer (?)
The Impacts
SSIS findings:
– TSS impact insignificant
– 91% of solids originate from river
– Metals nil (note reliance on PAS)
– No harm to aquatic life
– No unnatural buildup
– Mussel survey no problems
IEPA – nope!
The Solution
Partnership with Great Rivers Land Trust (GRLT)
– Piasa Creek Watershed Plan
– Sustainable reduction in overall sediment loading to the Mississippi River
– IL-AWC contribution of $4.15 million over 10-year period
– Minimum 2:1 reduction (6600 ton/year)
Regulatory Approval
– IEPA, IPCB
– Adjusted Standard AS 99-6 written into IL law
– Terms of AS 99-6 and contract w/GRLT written into special conditions of NPDES permit
Great Rivers Land Trust
Local Non-Profit Organization
Primary Mission:
– Preservation of scenic and ecologically valuable land along the Alton Lake Heritage Corridor, 20,000 acres
– Land preservation efforts accomplished through easements and land acquisitions
– Goal: 5,000 to 10,000 acres protected in next 10 years
Piasa Creek Watershed Plan
Primary Objective:
– “To enhance and restore the natural non-point source pollutant mitigation functions of the watershed”
Piasa Creek Watershed
Watershed Major Problem Areas
Planning and Regulation
Sewage
Stormwater Runoff and Erosion
– Uncontrolled urbanization
– Sediment
– Road salts, fertilizers, pesticides
– Septic tank effluent
– Other pollutants
Meeting the Objective
Land acquisition and conservation easements
Grassed waterways
Filter strips
Storm water detention basins
Terraces
Grade control structures
Stream bank stabilization
Educational programs (communities, schools, landowners)
Project Timeline
Year 1 (2001): Update 1995 plan, identify potential sediment reduction sites, contact landowners.
Years 2-5: Install sediment control structures.
Year 6: IEPA review.
Years 6-10: Installation of sediment control structures continues. Achieve 2:1 suspended solids reduction.
Project Metrics
Goal 6600 tons/year sediment reduction
Use accepted sediment control practices
Sediment savings estimated in partnership with SWCD
Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation
Resource inventory worksheets for each project
Projected year-end 2003: 2613 tons/year
Streambank Erosion
Streambank Stabilization
Storm water basins
Erosion control
Boy Scout Lake
The Benefits
Avoid capital and O&M $ for lagooning, landfilling
Rate impact on customer reduced
No sludge hauling trucks along the Great River Road
Save landfill space
Reduced net sediment load to the river
Precedent/model for other creative beneficial partnerships
