In a recent blog post, NRDC's Ann Alexander said U.S. EPA has taken a kid-glove approach to Chicago's CSO problem that contrasts with its actions in similar settlements with cities like St. Louis, Indianapolis and Kansas City.

Will the first line of defense hold?
Rather than impose tough cleanup terms on MWRD, Alexander wrote, EPA "has traded away its strong legal case in exchange for a promise from the District to simply carry on with its grindingly slow work to address the sewer overflows -- without even requiring a showing that the work is going to solve the problem."

MWRD officials acknowledge the work plan allows contractors flexibility in when and where to mine rock. But they maintain construction is moving at the proper pace based on timelines agreed to by the district and the Army Corps of Engineers, which is responsible for designing and building the reservoirs.

Since 2008, when full-scale mining began at McCook, the district has removed about 7.6 million cubic yards of overburden at the reservoir site, states a Dec. 1, 2011, status report on the TARP project.

On a recent visit to the McCook reservoir site, there was little evidence of a major excavation under way, although the size and scale of the reservoir were evident from the deep-terraced pit. From the rim of the pit, a lone bulldozer chugged along 10 or more stories below the surface. And at the opposite end of the reservoir site, a large hole had been punched through a sidewall where the outfall lines were to be constructed.

Responding to criticisms that construction was happening too slowly, St. Pierre said the schedule "is based on aggressive mining rates."

Time will tell if the solution is aggressive enough.

Reprinted from Climatewire with permission from Environment & Energy Publishing, LLC. www.eenews.net, 202-628-6500

12 Comments

1. 1. the Gaul 04:07 PM 4/4/12

   of course . . . you can't print any article today without some parrot crying "where's the evidence?" or "where's the link?" Useless people . . .

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2. 2. Xopher425 04:18 PM 4/4/12

   Need evidence? Look out the window. Those of us paying attention here in Chicago, after going through one of the mildest winters and the warmest March on record, don't need that much evidence. And I think that three major storms, that have over-loaded our sewers and resulted in beaches being closed due to feces and bacteria in the water, is evidence enough.
   
   But what may be more important, whether you have your head in the sand in regards to climate change, is the increase in population, increase in the number of homes and businesses, and, therefore, the increase in waste produced (not to mention the increased drain on limited resources.)
   
   Sadly, too many people are confusing politics (like the four states that mandated NOT teaching climate change in school) with actual science (massive die-off of species in numbers unseen since the dinosaurs went extinct, increased power and duration of storms, extreme seasonal temperatures, record droughts, and massive melting off glaciers and icecaps.) It's enough that I'm beginning to think that maybe humanity should die off, taking the planet with us. Maybe it'll teach the Earth next time about allowing the evolution of such a self centered, destructive species . . . . .

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3. 3. payitfwd in reply to Xopher425 05:41 PM 4/4/12

   pokerplyer pretty much ALWAYS comments on climate change articles to try and debunk them. It's probably best to simply ignore the deniers rather than make a counter-argument because that is just fruitless.
   
   As a resident of Cook County, I am disgusted at just how much air and water pollution still exists in this area. These things need to be addressed immediately. They need to quickly finish this TARP project and stop dumping sewage into our local waterways!

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4. 4. Xopher425 05:57 PM 4/4/12

   Weather is also the state of the atmosphere, not just individual events.
   
   But pokerplyer has one good point: we really have no guarantee that the intensity and frequency of storms will increase. It could, for all we know, completely stop raining, causing drought and another Great Chicago Fire.
   
   Can we really take that chance with something so fragile?

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5. 5. geojellyroll 07:37 PM 4/4/12

   Next year when there is no 'great rain storm'...it won't make Scientific American.
   
   Reminds me of climatologists predicting by 2010 kids in the UK would never experience snow.
   
   Science should not be about agenda.

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6. 6. jtdwyer 08:19 PM 4/4/12

   So THATs where all this crap in the lower Mississippi River comes from!

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7. 7. OBagle 09:13 PM 4/4/12

   Why bother getting upset at Climate Change Deniers? There can never be good without evil, light without darkness or beauty without ugliness. Let them deny - they were born to this exact mission. Without the deniers, no advancement or discovery is possible. N. Korea, Syria, China, are proof of that. When the likes of Albert Einstein were packing their bags for Switzerland early on during the Nazi regime, the vast majority of their fellow Jews "denied" that any ill-will was forthcoming, and that needless paranoia-mongering would only result in the self-fulfilling dissolution of Jewish societies. The stock markets go up and down constantly, meaning that someone abandons a stock in panic, while someone else grabs it a few seconds later, certain in the belief that an opportunity to make a killing was never so obvious. One of them is right today, and maybe is wrong tomorrow. Fortunes are made and lost every day.
   
   Arguing with the deniers is as foolish as trying to replace the weed-ridden forests with putting greens. The only thing you can do is to just take cover for yourself or head into the wilderness as the Book of Revelations advises.

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8. 8. Xopher425 09:40 PM 4/4/12

   All valid points, but it's so much FUN. And it's a never-ending source of wonder/amazement/frustration of how some people's brains function . . . . or not. I have a customer/friend who is, otherwise, a very intelligent woman. It is just astonishing how adamant she is that global climate change is not occurring.
   
   Another reason: they continue to spread their ignorance and getting other ignorant people to do things such as the recent change in state law to not teach climate change. As frustrated as I get, that scares me even more.
   
   Besides, it helps me keep my brain active and engaged.
   
   And I really like to argue.

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9. 9. payitfwd in reply to Xopher425 04:39 AM 4/5/12

   "they continue to spread their ignorance and getting other ignorant people to do things such as the recent change in state law to not teach climate change. As frustrated as I get, that scares me even more."
   
   Scary is right. If it were up to some people, we would probably do away with all of the scientific "nonsense" taught in schools and use school for praying, discussing the theory of intelligent design and advocating abstinence. It's bad enough to be ignorant from laziness but a deliberate, self-imposed ignorance is truly terrifying. I don't understand those people.

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10. 10. brublr 06:16 PM 4/9/12

    Commercial projects here in Chicago must be reviewed by the Landscaping Examiners along with the Zoning, Architectural, Fire, Electrical, Plumbing, HVAC and so on. The City will require our clients to install trees 25' apart on sidewalks which are more than 9' wide and otherwise lacking them and the North American Climate trees which have been acceptable for the 60 years past are no longer so as the City will now accept only trees which heretofore grew only in the Southern States. Similarly, the City is an early adopter of Green Roofs as may be seen atop City Hall on Google Earth. 40% of the vegetables in World War II were grown in Victory Gardens, 20% of the average city is in vacant lots, Urban Farming in Chicago is a burgeoning topic among Planners and Architects and climate change reality is the norm among all of us.
    

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11. 11. jamesnorris211 12:42 PM 9/25/12

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12. 12. dkrycek 01:48 PM 11/20/12

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