Sugar Creek within footprint of proposed lake. Note the widened stream channel due to lack of riparian corridor. - FWS photo

Sugar Creek upstream of proposed lake with intact riparian corridor. - FWS photo

Sugar Creek downstream of proposed lake with intact riparian corridor. - FWS photo

The long saga and controversy over a proposal to build a lake on Sugar Creek in Williamson and Johnson Counties, Illinois is over, maybe. 

On June 27, the Louisville District of the Corps of Engineers issued a letter denying the City of Marion the permit required to build the proposed water supply reservoir, closing the most recent chapter in the lake development proposal dating back to 1994. 

The idea of building a lake on Sugar Creek dates back to the mid-1980’s, however, in 1994 the proposal resurfaced with the City of Marion proposing to build a new approximately 1200 acre water supply reservoir.  Admittedly, the City had been directed to pursue new options for water supply by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency and had exhausted avenues to obtain water from Devil’s Kitchen Lake on Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge.

The proposal to dam Sugar Creek sparked immediate controversy within the environmental community.  The project would result in the loss of 6.2 miles of Sugar Creek, one of the last remaining free flowing streams in southern Illinois with good water quality.  At the time, the stream habitat supported good populations of the state endangered Indiana crayfish and possibly the last remaining population of the state threatened least brook lamprey in Illinois.  To add to the concern, the lake would flood approximately 400 acres of forest and 40 acres of wetland habitat.  Although not documented, the area was likely occupied by the federally endangered Indiana bat and the northern copperbelly watersnake, a species of concern previously proposed for federal protection.

Since 1994, the Corps of Engineers issued the Section 404 permit twice and was twice sued by non-governmental organizations.  The Courts remanded the permits, citing the Corps’ inadequate compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act.  The Corps consequently prepared an Environmental Impact Statement and two Addendums.  Throughout this time period, Fish and Wildlife Service staff from the Marion, Illinois Field Office, Rock Island Field Office and the Regional Office provided technical assistance to the Corps and the City of Marion to develop a suitable wetland mitigation plan, a lake shoreline development plan and stream discharge plan to protect fish and wildlife resources and water quality.  Additionally, formal consultation was completed for the endangered Indiana bat.  However, the Service has maintained a strong position that although we would not further pursue elevation of any permit decision, we objected to permit issuance based on the existence of less environmentally damaging alternatives to building the lake, including tapping into water at Rend Lake, a Corps’ reservoir located just north of Marion.  The persistence of the environmental community was rewarded with the Corps’ recent decision to deny the permit.  The City of Marion had some inkling about the decision as last October the City completed a water supply deal with Rend Lake. 

Whether this is truly a victory for the environmental community remains to be seen.  During the intervening years and court battles, the City had cleared much of the forested habitat and riparian corridor adjacent to Sugar Creek.  This has resulted in a high degree of channel instability and erosion that has highly degraded the stream.  It is uncertain whether Indiana crayfish or least brook lamprey continue to exist in the stream.  Additionally, the City owns much of the land in and around Sugar Creek which would have been flooded by the lake.  There is no indication at this point what the City intends to do with this land.  It can only be hoped that over the long term, the riparian corridor along Sugar Creek will be allowed to reestablish and perhaps the stream channel may begin to return to some semblance of its pre-disturbance condition.