News Releases - 1998

Public Input Sought For Watershed Assessment, Restoration Proposals

Springfield, Ill. -- As part of an intensified effort to restore and protect water quality, Illinois watersheds are being evaluated and draft watershed restoration priorities are being developed by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency and the Natural Resource Conservation Service.

The national Clean Water Action Plan, developed by U.S. EPA and the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, requires states to focus on watersheds with the most critical water quality problems and take a cooperative approach in developing and implementing effective strategies to solve those problems. To expedite the process, governmental agencies, the private sector and the public are being asked to provide input on a newly released draft unified watershed assessment. Final assessments and final watershed restoration priorities are to be completed by Oct. 1, 1998.

The national Clean Water Action Plan, announced last year on the 25^th anniversary of the federal Clean Water Act, calls for using existing cooperative efforts to achieve its goals instead of creating a new activity that would compete with existing processes. Major goals of the action plan are:

• increased protection from public health threats posed by water pollution;
  
  
• more effective control of polluted runoff; and
  
  
• promotion of water quality protection on a watershed basis.

The initial focus will be on:

• watersheds not meeting, or facing imminent threat of not meeting, clean water or other natural resource goals;
  
  
• watersheds meeting the goals but needing action to sustain water quality;
  
  
• watersheds with pristine/sensitive aquatic system conditions on either federal, state or tribal land;
  
  
• watersheds where sufficient information does not currently exist to permit accurate assessment.

Information from interested parties will be used to develop restoration strategies in1999 and to secure a share of new resources being requested through the President's fiscal year 1999 Clean Water and Watershed Restoration Budget Initiative.

Though nationwide responses may vary, states are being asked to develop priorities to define watersheds most in need of restoration; long term action schedules for response plans focusing on 1999-2000; secure the widest possible public and governmental involvement; and consider existing restoration priorities.

Establishing unified watershed assessments is expected to help focus efforts for water quality protection with greater efficiency and equity, highlight geographic areas where multiple problems exist, identify cross-watershed pollution issues and provide a basis for federal and local programs with common objectives to work together, as well as involving the public, local interest groups and non-traditional organizations in the overall process while making information more understandable by the public.

To obtain a copy of the draft Illinois Unified Watershed Assessment, contact Illinois EPA at 217-785-7209 or NRCS at 217-398-5273, or access the homepages of IEPA at www.epa.state.il.us or NRCS at www.il.nrcs.usda.gov.

Any comments are to be submitted by Sept. 1, 1998, and should be directed to Illinois EPA care of Gary Eicken at 217-782-3362.