DuPage River; Naperville is seeking input!

[jim bielecki]

After the news of the Fox River spill, I contacted my local government to express my concerns. First is my letter which is followed up by their response. This may be an opportunity for ISA to get involved in providing input!

 

Your Question:

 

I want to notify Naperville of all the people working hard to improve the quality of the DuPage River. I also want to notify the Naperville city council to do MORE TO PROTECT OUR NATURAL RESOURCES. Wednesday 2/24/10 225,000 gallons of raw sewage were released into the fox river by FRWRD in Elgin. Even though this is an accident, I could have been prevented. Now the damage is done and the damage isn't even measurable because all the waste is drawn downstream. I want to see Naperville do more to protect the DuPage River. There are several things you can be doing. I have been working hard on the Fox River and the DuPage River to clean them up and it pisses me off when I hear about a major sewage spill. Naperville can do more. Water treatment plants should be repaired and replaced! People who live along the river should NOT be allowed to fertilize. People should not be allowed to leave trash behind along the river walk. People who have leaking fluids should be prosecuted and they are not......this pisses me off .....naperville gave me a citation for parking on the damn sidewalk in front of my house but they don't prosecute people who leak fluids from their cars which get into our water ways. Also public works shouldn't be using so much salt. Homes along the river should not be allowed to clear cut foilage along the river which provides habitat for animals. MY POINT IS NAPREVILLE NEEDS TO DO MORE!

 

Our Response:

 

Dear Mr. Bielecki,

 

Thank you for your comments regarding the environmental improvements the City of Naperville needs to make. The points you made are correct, we need to do more.

 

I am pleased to inform you that your elected officials share your view and concerns. They directed the city staff to prepare an Environmental Sustainability Plan and then discuss it at a special city workshop. The plan should be available on-line in the next week or two. Interested individuals can review the plan and provide comments to the city. The plan and input will be shared with the City Council at the workshop on April 13, 2010.

 

Thank you for taking the time to provide us your comments.

[Mike G]

Give'm hell, Jim!

 

I hope those elves in the workshop do more than pound their hammers and saw wood. But you can stay on top of them to make sure.

[ronk]

Way to go Jim!If you come back in another life I bet it'll be as a guard dog.

[Jim Kast]

Thank god you didn't use the ISA's name during this tirade!

[Norm M]

Any possibility of concerned citizens, interested groups or non city government stakeholders sitting in on that workshop so they could have input on the report?

[Guest airbornemike]

Thank god you didn't use the ISA's name during this tirade!

Why so doesn't the board and ISA share the same concerns, or am I missing something?

[Jim J]

Don is right.

 

Of course we have the same concerns.

 

There are different approaches you can take when tackling problems.

[Jim J]

Pardon my pushiness, but click here to see what the ISA has been concerned about.

 

When going to the page, click on any year from 2001 through 2008.

 

http://illinoissmallmouthalliance.net/html/conservation/index.html

[jim bielecki]

I wouldn't use ISA in a letter like this. It had everything to do with me being a citizen of Naperville, and feeling the city should be doing more. I think I communicated that in a way to show this. If Naperville can do more and agree that more should be done; that's great. That's the whole point. I'm sure it wasn't the first time they have been notified of concerns similar to mine. You don't need to be so aggressive with your language as I was but I think towns need to hear more from people who are concerned.

[Mike G]

Jim B,

 

Here's the good news:

 

Dear Mr. Bielecki,

 

Thank you for your comments regarding the environmental improvements the City of Naperville needs to make. The points you made are correct, we need to do more.

 

I am pleased to inform you that your elected officials share your view and concerns. They directed the city staff to prepare an Environmental Sustainability Plan and then discuss it at a special city workshop. The plan should be available on-line in the next week or two. Interested individuals can review the plan and provide comments to the city. The plan and input will be shared with the City Council at the workshop on April 13, 2010.

 

Thank you for taking the time to provide us your comments.

 

Of all the municipalities that drain into the DuPage system, Naperville is going after the problem. Is anyone else? So it seems in line to support their effort and the efforts of any other communities. As Jim sugggests member residents of Naperville, especially, should register their opinion with the community leaders. Salt runoff, fertilizers, and poor shoreline landscaping are universal problems in the DuPage system. Now it is nice to see a town like Naperville (over 100,000 strong) take up the issue. It has a lot of paid manpower to go after the problems.

 

BTW these are universal problems. Out in the boonies this is the time of year the farmers are spraying their fields with liquid fertilizer and weed killers in preparation for spring planting. Atrazine is still a favorite. So I know our feeder creeks are putting more than just water into the lake. That is my challenge, I suppose. I just have to figure out where to send my letter.

[jim bielecki]

Here is the contact information via email.

 

"DRAFT Environmental Sustainability Plan (Coming Soon!)

The draft Environmental Sustainability Plan will be posted here for review and comment. Feedback and comments on the draft Environmental Sustainability Plan are encouraged. Comments submitted by Wednesday, March 31 at 5 p.m., will be included in information provided to the City Council for the April 13, 2010, City Council Workshop. Please send comments to environment@naperville.il.us.

 

The draft Environmental Sustainability Plan will be discussed at a City Council Workshop on April 13, 2010 at 5 p.m."

 

 

I think if ISA can cooperate with city programs and vice versa, it benefits the river even more. I’m just a messenger. ISA officers can decide what they want to do with this. However, for ISA members or anyone else that wants to contribute their thoughts, the website is available for input.

I think this is a good opportunity for ISA. And it seems government officials, and city members are motivated to make the changes necessary to improve our resources. (Better water quality means more fish!!!!)

 

 

"The working definition of “Environmental Sustainability”

There is some ambiguity in the use of the term “environmental sustainability.” The popular literature and governmental activities on a

international scale have taken an extremely broad view of the term, often including such issues as aboriginal peoples’ rights and social

welfare in the evaluation. This report and the committee, expressly limit themselves to those programs and activities that directly

impact, or seek to minimize our impact on, the physical environment. The report includes traditional programs focused on the three

core practices of reduce, reuse and recycle (i.e. recycling programs, alternative energy and waste reduction programs) and also takes a

broader view and includes those practices and programs intended to enhance the physical environment by facilitating community

decision making and activities (i.e. programs centered on permitting, code enforcement and traffic patterns).

The format and content of the report

This report is a listing of the City of Naperville’s current practices related to environmental sustainability."

 

Here is an example of the 2007 programs:

http://www.naperville.il.us/emplibrary/EnviInventory.pdf

 

It includes how storm water is managed, flooding, contaimination, etc.