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Washington, D.C. - Today Congresswoman Melissa Bean (IL-08) announced that the House will vote later this week on legislation that includes funding that she requested in H.R. 2643, The Department of Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Fiscal Year 2008 Appropriations Act. The bill, which the House will vote on later this week, includes $500,000 in federal funding that Bean requested to support the Village of Johnsburg Wastewater Treatment Facility.
The Village of Johnsburg is currently the largest municipality on the Illinois portion of the Fox River that lacks a sewer system. Not only is that posing a problem for more that 1,800 village residents, some of whom have been obliged to buy property across the street from their homes to serve as a sewer field, it is also a concern to those who live near or visit the Fox River farther downstream. Ensuring the safety and water quality of the Fox River will benefit Johnsburg and all communities along the waterway, providing public safety, economic and environmental advantages for the entire region.
Appropriated through the EPA’s STAG account, the funding will assist the Village of Johnsburg with the construction of a centralized wastewater treatment and collection system. This project involves the elimination of an estimated 300,000,000 gallons of raw or partially treated wastewater that is being discharged from failed or failing septic tanks into the Fox River each year. In addition to being one of the nation’s most popular recreational waterways, the Fox is the primary source of drinking water for some 200,000 people. Improving the quality of its water will also complement ongoing efforts to clean up and restore the ecosystem of the Illinois River, into which the Fox River flows.
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