Friday, April 26, 2013

April Legislative Updates


Back in March we posted a list of water resources legislation in Illinois. Quite a bit has happened since then, so we've collected updates for the various measures. Please refer back to the March post for summaries of the bills.

  • The House adopted Amendment 1 on 8 April 2013, which:
    •  Changed the definition of public trust lands to mean the bed of Lake Michigan
    • Removed the deadline for DNR’s siting matrix process
    •  Removed provisions for DNR to identify prohibited and preferred development areas
    •  Removed the provision that allowed any leases to be granted before the siting matrix was completed
  • Sent to the Senate on 10 April 2013, when it went through its first reading
  • Assigned the Energy Committee on 16 April 2013 
  • This measure went through its first and second readings in the Senate
  • Was scheduled for Third Reading in 17 April 2013—we were unable to find any further updates 

HB 3086–Two-Year Moratorium/Ban  
  •  Rules Committee Deadline was extended to 30 April 2013 on March 28
  • Assigned to the Revenue and Finance Committee on 28 March 2013
  • Proceeded to the Finance Subcommittee on 10 April 2013
  • And is finally back in the Rules Committee on 19 April 2013, suggesting that it probably will not be brought to a vote this session    
  • This measure is still in the Rules Committee, where it was re-referred on 22 March 2013, following the addition of a surprise amendment.   

  •  This measure was also re-referred to the Rules Committee on 22 March 2013 

  • An additional floor amendment was filed on 15 April 2013, which changed some of the language of the bill
  • As of 25 April 2013, the amendment has been postponed  

Oops, we missed this one:
Synopsis
  •  Introduces an alternative appraisal process for determining rate and rating making practices of large utility providers when they buy water and sewer utilities 
  • Allows for three appraisals of the real value of the water and sewer services; the average of the appraisals will be used to determine rate making
  • Sets specific instructions on how appraisers and engineers will be chosen and how the public will be informed about changes in utility ownership

Status: This bill was introduced in the House 6 February 2013, passed the House on 19 April 2013, and is now in the Senate, where it has been assigned to the Energy Committee.    

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Water Jobs: Sustainable Development


As part of our Earth Week festivities, today we welcome Chris Dillion to the Water Jobs series. An advocate of sustainability, Chris has worked with Vermilion Development for five years, where he strives to make green building part of their multi-use real estate projects. Chris is a graduate from the University of Illinois and has kindly taken a moment out of his crazy schedule to share with us what LEED certification is and how he views sustainability.

Since you and Vermilion Development are interested in sustainable development, can we start off with a definition of what that means? And what is LEED certification, anyway?
On a practical basis, sustainable development involves incorporating green strategies into a project’s design, construction, operations and maintenance. There are a variety of certifications and tools available to measure sustainability.  When it comes to development, the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and its Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification program is widely accepted as a good measure of sustainability.

LEED is a voluntary, consensus-based, market­-driven program that provides third-party verification of green buildings.

The certification process is largely driven by the design team and other consultants engaged by the development team. I view my role as a steward and champion of the green building movement, ensuring that our impact on the environment is a consideration in all that we do.

With a degree in business and a career in real estate development, you aren’t the typical interviewee in our careers series. Tell us about what you do and how you have made sustainability a part of your career.
As an undergraduate at the University of Illinois, I had a strong desire to merge my background in Entrepreneurship (College of Business) with my interest in environmental sustainability. This initially led me to diversify my degree by becoming an Environmental Fellow at Illinois. Through this specialty, I became aware of the green building movement, which in many respects was still in its infancy.

Upon graduation, I started my career in retail development, working on projects throughout the United States. During that time I became a LEED Accredited Professional (LEED AP), which was an emerging professional credential for the green building industry through the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC).

Several years later my work evolved to include large-scale, mixed-use developments primarily in micro-urban cities throughout the Midwest. These projects were inherently sustainable and major economic development drivers for the municipalities in which they were located. As my work continued to evolve, sustainability became an increasingly important factor in my projects.

Your title is managing director. What does that mean for your responsibilities in both the day-to-day and big picture?
As a real estate developer, I help establish a vision for a prospective development (with joint venture partners, community stakeholders, tenants and others) and orchestrate the process, concept to completion. The activities associated with development are wide ranging and varied, including property acquisition, financing, public relations/community engagement, construction management, leasing, among many other responsibilities.

You have an elevator ride to describe Vermilion Development and its projects to win over a community member of a neighborhood in which you’re working: what do you say?
Vermilion Development works with universities, communities and other entities to effectuate transformative change. Vermilion has successfully elevated the economies of a growing number of communities with projects that blend creativity, thoughtful planning, and design. Our developments extend beyond the built environment, stimulating economic growth and enhancing community sustainability.

Of the projects you just described, which one are you most proud of, and why?
Harper Court is a two-phase, 1.1 million square foot mixed-use development located at 53rd Street and Lake Park Avenue in Chicago’s Hyde Park neighborhood. The project is a public-private partnership among the City of Chicago, the University of Chicago and Harper Court Partners, LLC (comprised of Vermilion Development and JFJ Development Company).

The first phase is nearing completion.  It includes a 150,000 square foot University of Chicago office tower that will serve as a prominent gateway to both campus and community. It also includes a Hyatt Place hotel (being developed by a third-party) and nearly 75,000 SF of retail space.  The project’s ground floor retail will have an emphasis on dining and entertainment.  The project’s first phase is valued at approximately $137 million.

Harper Court has been particularly rewarding for several reasons.  First, the community’s vision for the project was articulated in a series of workshops and visioning documents.  This provided a strong foundation for the project’s eventual plan.  Second, the community recognized the importance of sustainability.  The project has achieved a LEED for Neighborhood Development (LEED-ND) gold rating (for the entire project area) and anticipates additional certifications under the LEED for Core & Shell (LEED-CS) (for the office and retail components), LEED for New Construction (LEED-NC) (for the hotel component) and LEED for Commercial Interiors (LEED-CI) (for the University of Chicago and several retail interiors) designations. We anticipate that we will be the first to achieve all four ratings within one master development in the United States.

And since we’re the Illinois Water Resources Center, would you talk about what sustainable development means for water and water resources?
A sustainable development addresses water efficiency and storm water runoff. On a practical basis, we employ a variety of strategies that reduce potable water consumption, including water efficient landscaping and water efficient fixtures.  At a larger scale, we’re now looking at how green infrastructure can better handle storm water runoff, which is a significant issue in the Chicagoland area.

Where does the inspiration for your projects come from? 
For me, inspiration comes from the community surrounding the development – the people, businesses and organizations that contribute to a community’s identity. I go to great lengths to ensure that the things we do are complementary and additive to the community fabric that already exists.  I am also inspired when a community or university speaks with one voice on its vision and the role a thoughtful development can play in achieving shared objectives.

How do you get picked to design a building or project?
At times, it can be as simple as identifying an opportunity to create a development that addresses a community need that isn’t currently being served.  Alternatively, we are often directed to development opportunities through a client, generally a university or community, that has a need or wishes to fulfill a strategic objective.  For a number of Vermilion Development’s projects, we enter bidding competitions where we present our qualifications and expertise in an effort to secure the rights to develop a project.  Under that scenario, the vision or strategic priority for the university or community is often well articulated as part of the institution or community’s request.

Is it harder to build LEED certified developments? If so, why do you do it? 
To achieve high levels of certification it certainly requires added coordination and depending on the corresponding requirements, additional expense.  Low levels of certification are easily attained in urban areas, where infill development is inherently more sustainable than greenfield development.

In terms of why this is important to me, it’s simple really, environmental sustainability is something I value.  It’s part of who I am.

There are exciting things happening in the green building industry.  A building that uses energy and water while creating waste is still unsustainable, no matter how green it might be by today’s standards.  The Living Building Challenge is a new standard that is emerging that I am eager to participate in when a project opportunity emerges.

Do you have any education or certifications beyond your degree that have helped you?
I am a LEED Accredited Professional.  I originally received the designation in 2005. The LEED AP credential affirms an individual’s advanced knowledge of green building and the LEED rating system.

More recently, the Green Building Certification Institute implemented changes to the LEED AP program.  At that time, I elected to specialize my credential in Building Design and Construction, LEED AP BD+C.

The LEED AP BD+C credential is appropriate for individuals with expertise in the design and construction phases of green buildings serving the commercial, residential, education and healthcare sectors. The specialty denotes practical knowledge in the LEED for Core and Shell, LEED for New Construction and LEED for Schools rating systems.

How did your education prepare you for your job now? Any experiences or adventures you wish you’d had in high school or college?
My time at the University of Illinois provided me with an incredible amount of personal and professional growth, both inside and outside of the classroom.  At Illinois, I received a rigorous education through the College of Business.  My time as an Environmental Fellow provided me an outlet to focus my academics on the issues that were important to me.

Since my undergraduate days, I’ve supplemented my education with a program through the University of Cambridge, a global leader in sustainability education.  Through the Prince of Wales’s Business & The Environment Programme, I’ve had the opportunity to further enhance my knowledge and leadership on sustainability.

All told, I wouldn’t change a thing.

We always like to ask our guests if they have any advice to offer our fifth grade friends at Cesar E. Chavez should they also be interested in becoming sustainable developers. What do you wish you’d known when you were making school and career choices?  
It’s surprisingly simple: show up, set measurable goals, work hard and seek out opportunities for advancement.  These are the components that allow an individual to live their best life.

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Emerging Flame Retardant Contamination in Illinois Fish


Southern Illinois University professor Dr. Da Chen has studied flame retardant contamination all over the world. Thus, when he arrived in Carbondale this past August and confirmed that no such research had been done in Illinois rivers, he submitted a proposal to the Illinois Water Resources Center Annual Small Grants program to study levels of this contaminate in Illinois fish.

Brominated flame retardants (BFRs) are a group of chemicals added to everyday items like curtains, toasters, and car seats to reduce their flammability. They are also widely produced, and, Dr. Chen explains, most of them are not actually bound to the substances to which they’re added and so “a fraction may escape during production, use, disposal, and recycling [...] and enter the environment.” And, since some types of BFRs have shown environmental persistence, bioaccumulation, and toxic potential, BFRs have “attracted mounting environmental and human health concerns.”  

“We are living in a world surrounded by flame retardant-treated consumer products,” writes Dr. Chen, “but we know so little about the consequence of massive usage of these man-made chemicals. I am interested in understanding their sources, fate, transport, environmental behavior, wildlife and human exposure, and associated impacts.”

Dr. Chen aims to do just that by partnering with the Fish Contaminant Monitoring Program (FCMP) in Illinois, which has been collecting fish all over the state for decades. Having years of data available means that not only can the change in BFR levels over time be measured but potential sources of contamination can also be identified. Dr. Chen and his lab plan to start analyzing samples collected by the FCMP this spring. Dr. Chen says he expects to find BFRs in the fish, since flame retardants are considered a global contaminant, but anticipates that the levels of contamination will depend on locations within rivers.

Dr. Chen’s research findings will be posted to IWRC’s website in April of 2014.

   



  
 


    

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Water Jobs: A Visit to the Urbana Champaign Sanitary District


In the latest addition to our Water Jobs series, we’re joined by Rick Manner, the Executive Director at the Urbana Champaign Sanitary District, who shares his expertise on sanitation engineering and his interest in green solutions to environmental problems. Prior to his role in Urbana-Champaign, Rick spent most of his 24 years of wastewater management in Elgin, IL. A University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign graduate in chemical engineering (BS) and environmental engineering (MS), Rick is a lifelong Cubs fan, which he says means he “always expects the best, but know[s] that it is unlikely to happen.”  

Would you explain what the Executive Director at the Urbana Champaign Sanitary District does?
I provide the day-to-day administration of the district.  We employ 50 people to treat the sewage for Urbana, Champaign, the University of Illinois, Savoy, and Bondville.   

I report to the board of trustees, which provides the political oversight for the executive director and staff.  I recommend and write policy the board may adopt. 

I directly oversee four other directors who work with operations, maintenance, engineering, and administration.  I develop long-term planning for budget, facilities, and regulatory compliance.

How many treatment plants do you oversee, and do they treat different types of wastewater, say residential or industrial, or both?
We operate two treatment plants.  Both treat a mixture of all types of sewage from the community.  (Industrial sources are obliged to pretreat their flows so that they are compatible with the treatment operations.) 

Also, as a point of information, the district owns and maintains 25 pump stations, about 10% of the local sewers in neighborhoods just outside of Urbana and Champaign, and all of the interceptor sewers – the large diameter sewers that intercept smaller sewers on their way to our treatment plants.  I mention these because, from an asset management standpoint, they comprise a third asset that is just as important and valuable as the two treatment plants.

Where does the treated water from the Urbana-Champaign treatment plants go?
We discharge our treated water (effluent) to the creeks that our treatment plants are next to: the Saline Branch of the Salt Fork and the Copper Slough.  Ultimately these are feeders to the Vermillion River and the Kaskaskia River, respectively.

Does the amount of water released by the plant change from season to season?
The amount released is equal to the amount that is received on a given day.  What goes in comes out.  Since the amount received depends upon soil moisture and recent precipitation, our flows are strongly influenced by the amount of precipitation in any season.

What kind of training and experience did you need to be qualified for this type of position?
An executive director can have various qualifications.  Usually you bring some strength in one of the areas that you oversee.  This is especially true at a facility of this size (50 employees), or smaller.  With that, you pick up some of the workload in that sub-area [i.e. operations, maintenance, engineering, and administration].  If you lack that, you are typically more of a generalist with a background in administration.  Some executive directors come from experience in law, organized labor, or with one of the major industries in town.

Since your background is in engineering, would you explain how you became interested in engineering, and why environmental engineering?
I have always enjoyed and had some proficiency with math, chemistry, technical issues, problem solving, and environmental issues.  Obtaining a chemical engineering degree seemed like one of the tougher technical problems to solve at college, and the salary looked good, too.  It didn’t hurt that chemists and chemical engineers learn how to make things change color, burn, or explode.  So I started with chemical engineering. 

As I finished my BS degree, I did not have a job in hand, and I had really enjoyed the environmental engineering classes I had taken in my final three semesters of undergraduate school.  I asked an environmental engineering professor if I could work with him as a graduate student.  He had an opening, and so I began working on a master’s degree in environmental engineering.

I feel that working for the environment is giving back to society.  Working in this way appeals to me, because it is using my talents and interests in an area that I think is important for us to do better than we have been.  When I evaluated the various branches of environmental work, I found that wastewater treatment has the greatest direct impact on environmental health.

Monday, April 1, 2013

Walgreens Taking Back Unwanted Medication April 27


Urbana—Communities across central Illinois will have an opportunity to safely dispose of unwanted medications this month. Another National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day will take place on Saturday, April 27 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Residents can drop off their unused medications free of charge at Walgreens stores at 841 Bloomington Road in Champaign or at 302 E. University Avenue in Urbana.

Local police departments will anonymously collect both prescription and over-the-counter medications—including pet medications—at participating Walgreens stores in Champaign, Urbana, Mahomet, Rantoul, Danville, Monticello, Effingham, Taylorville, Pana, Mattoon, Charleston, Bourbonnais, and Kankakee. Sharps/syringes will not be accepted. The Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) will incinerate all medicines collected. To find the participating Walgreens locations near you, visit www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/drug_disposal/takeback

“Flushing medications down the toilet or throwing them in the trash threatens the safety and health of humans, pets, and the environment,” said Samantha Murphy, district loss prevention manager at Walgreens. “Walgreens is committed to helping people properly dispose of their unwanted medicine.”
Recent studies have found a wide-range of pharmaceutical chemicals in rivers, groundwater, and drinking water throughout the country. These chemicals can kill bacteria needed to break down waste in sewage plants and harm fish and other wildlife. Storing unneeded medicines in the home is also the cause of thousands of accidental poisonings in children and pets each year.   

“Awareness of the risks is growing, but finding a collection isn’t always easy,” said Laura Kammin, pollution prevention program specialist at Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant. “The DEA Take-Back event makes it simple to get rid of medications you no longer need.”

This is the sixth DEA-led pharmaceutical collection day held since 2010. In that time, more than 2 million pounds of medication have been collected by law enforcement agencies and community partners nationwide.

To learn more about the effects of improper pharmaceutical disposal and for information on how to store and dispose of medication safely when take-back programs are not available, visit unwantedmeds.org.

Contributed by our friends at the Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant