Environmental Progress - Winter 1999

Waukegan Harbor Efforts Earn "Success Story" Award

Three '98 "Success Story" awards were presented -- two in U.S. and one in Canada

Shown with the SOLEC award are, from left, Greg Michaud, manager of the Illinois EPA Office of Community Relations; Associate Director Bernard Killian; Bob Schacht, Great Lakes coordinator for the Maywood regional office, and Jim Park, chief of the Illinois EPA Bureau of Water.

Eight years of steady, focused work to secure removal of a record accumulation of PCBs from their local harbor has earned an Illinois citizens advisory group one of only three "Success Story" awards given by the State of the Lakes Ecosystem Conference (SOLEC).

The Waukegan Harbor Citizens Advisory Group was formed by the Illinois EPA in 1990 to assume a leadership role in developing a remedial action plan for Waukegan Harbor. The harbor at one time had the largest known concentrations of PCBs and PCB-contaminated sediments. Dredging operations that began in 1991 ultimately removed and treated more than a million pounds of PCB-contaminated sediment. In the 1980s, the U.S. and Canada jointly identified 42 "Areas of Concern" on the Great Lakes; Waukegan Harbor was the only Illinois area so designated.

The advisory group marked a significant milestone in February 1997 when, after nearly two decades, signs warning residents not to eat fish from the harbor were removed.

The SOLEC award was presented to the CAG's current chair, Susie Schreiber, at a conference in Buffalo, N.Y., in late October.

"Resolving contamination problems is a crucial first step for redevelopment to occur," said Bill Child, manager of the Illinois EPA Bureau of Land. "At Waukegan Harbor, Superfund sites were not the only problem areas. By applying other remediation programs, the path was cleared to redevelop several sites in the Area of Concern."

In addition to lessening contamination in the harbor, the citizen group also worked with the Agency and the city of Waukegan to deal with open dumping of litter, garbage and tires, and more recently has been working to identify older commercial properties that are candidates for redevelopment.

The award says "The SOLEC 98 Steering Committee and the Canadian and the United States Consuls General extend their sincere congratulations to all those who have participated in the Waukegan Harbor environmental activities. Successful efforts such as yours serve to inspire and encourage others to assume responsibility and take an active role in the improvement of the Great Lakes ecosystem."

Mary S. Walker, harbor manager for the Waukegan Port District and a charter member of the advisory group commented "People have been working hard for eight years to improve the quality of Waukegan harbor. We are grateful to receive this award."

SOLEC commended the group for sustaining strong public participation and partnerships, fostering broad stakeholder involvement and demonstrating its effectiveness. The Internet home page developed by the group was one of the specific accomplishments cited by SOLEC.