News Releases - 2002

Illinois EPA Sets Hearing On Renewal Of Northwestern University's NPDES Permit

Springfield, Ill. -- Illinois EPA has set a public hearing for December 2, 2002, to accept written or oral comments on the reauthorization of a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit currently held by the university.

The hearing will open at 2 p.m. at the Peck Auditorium at the Technological Institute, 2145 Sheridan Road in Evanston. After receiving submissions from those present, the hearing will then recess and reconvene at 6:30 p.m., to accept additional written or oral comments.

The university operates a central utility plant at 2025 Campus Drive to provide chilled water for air conditioning buildings and facilities on its campus. Water used in the process is taken directly from Lake Michigan through a deep water intake for use only as non-contact cooling water. After use, the water is discharged to a 19 acre, man-made cooling pond created by the university for this purpose. The discharge water mixes with water already in the cooling lagoon and is cooled through natural processes, supplemented by mechanical aeration if needed.

The cooled water then returns to Lake Michigan through two outfalls. This discharge is covered by an NPDES permit issued to the university several years ago, and lagoon now requiring re-authorization. The only change to the existing permit is the identification of a second, existing outfall.

On Dec. 12, 2001, Northwestern University obtained a construction permit from the IEPA to fill approximately four acres of the cooling lagoon to create future building sites. The university subsequently altered its plans and rescinded the construction permit for the fill.

The Dec. 2 hearing will consider only the re-authorization of the existing NPDES permit, with the listing of the second outfall as the only alteration to the existing permit. It does not involve any proposal for filling any part of the lagoon. Should the university in future seek permission to fill part of the cooling lagoon, a new IEPA construction permit application may be required.

The hearing record on the Dec. 2 hearing is already open and written comments will be accepted until the hearing record closes on Jan. 2, 2003. Written comments must be postmarked by midnight of Jan. 2, 2003. They do not require notarization.