2007 Illinois Annual Air Quality Report
The 2007 Illinois
Annual Air Quality Report presents a summary of air quality
data collected throughout the State of Illinois during the calendar
year - 2007. Monitoring was conducted at over 80 different site
locations collecting data from more than 200 instruments.
Green Youth Awards
The IEPA is now accepting applications for the 2009 Green
Youth Awards. Get complete
program information and download
the application packet today.
Mercury Vehicle Switches: Under a new state
law, beginning Sept. 1, 2008, all mercury-containing
switches from scrap or “end of life” vehicles
must be removed for recycling by vehicle recycling facilities.
Details on the law are contained in the new Compliance
Advisory for Mercury Vehicle Switch Removal. The IL EPA has
also developed a guidance
manual to assist with locating and recycling switches.
2008 TRI reports may be submitted by using CDX
Internet reporting through USEPA or hardcopy, diskette, or CD.
Pharmaceuticals: The sampling
results and report on
a pilot
project to test public water supplies for pharmaceuticals
are now available. A news
release is also available.
Web
Site Survey: Please help us improve our website
by taking this online web survey. This 2-5 minute anonymous
survey will be used to improve the user experience of our web
and help us better connect with general public and its needs.
Vehicle Emission Testing: See
the latest information on Illinois' Vehicle Emissions Testing Program
including License Plate Renewal-Based Enforcement. Beginning in
January 2008, vehicles must pass an emissions test or otherwise
comply with the Illinois Vehicle Emissions Inspection Law before
the vehicle's registration (license plates) can be renewed. Previously,
the program was enforced through the suspension of drivers' licenses
and vehicle registration (license plates).
DecaBDE: Illinois EPA has completed a new " Report
on Alternatives to the Flame Retardant DecaBDE: Evaluation of
Toxicity, Availability, Affordability, and Fire Safety Issues."
Right to Know: Information and related resources
on implementation of the "right to know" law enacted
in 2005 that provides for expanded notification of citizens potentially
impacted by contamination is now available on our Right
to Know page.
Radiation
and Groundwater - Recently, Illinois EPA has been
made aware of tritium leaking into groundwater from spills
at several nuclear power generating plants in the state – at
Byron, Dresden and Braidwood. In an effort to keep citizens
well informed, the Agency will be posting links for fact sheets,
news releases and other Illinois EPA documents as well as provide
links to other sites regarding tritium.
Newsletter: You can now subscribe
to our quarterly email newsletter, the Citizens'
Bulletin. |
A former Buick dealership in East St. Louis that was abandoned around 40 years ago is one of the orphan leaking underground storage tank sites that will be remediated by IEPA with funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (federal stimulus). After the tanks are removed, the site will be used for a farmer’s market.
A new overview description of Illinois EPA compliance
assurance and enforcement of National Pollutant Discharge Elimination (NPDES)
permits that regulate discharges
into waters of the state is now available online along with
a flow
chart and map
of Division of Water Pollution Control regional field offices.
A June 30 Update
fact sheet and related documents on recent sampling activities related to the Crestwood
public water supply are now available online, along with a previous
fact sheet and June
5 Update.
Illinois EPA Director
Doug Scott (center) looks over plans for work on a water storage tank of
the Groveland Township Water District with (left) System Operation Manager
Richard Tatlock and (right) District Chairman Bill Compton. Groveland
received one of the first loans for water infrastructure improvements
under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (federal “stimulus” program).
The 2009 Governor’s Environmental
Corps interns began their orientation on June 1 before being assigned to work with
IEPA staff mentors for the summer. Posing on the steps of the Statehouse in
Springfield are: 1st row, (from the bottom steps) left to right: Colin Clark,
Anthony Finigan, Amber Cheung, Amy Elhoffer, Megan Olson, Erica Scheet 2nd row,
left to right: Whitney Elders, Phil Brandyberry, Teresa McDonnell, Katie Moore,
Anna Kozlov, Ashley Ingram 3rd row, left to right: Tom Kahila, Bethany Tipps, Liz
Blissett, Brian Hagene, Kathleen Burke, Amanda Lundeen, Corey Entinghe 4th row,
left to right: Amanda Hodges, Seth Kryder, Kyle Garrett, Mitch Isaacson, Jennifer
Large, Nicole Kraus 5th row, left to right: Arman Butt, Rachel Feser, Jakob Nalley,
Nathan Townsend, Sam Strom, Deb Geary Back Row: Bayoan Ware.
The 2009 IEPA Pollution
Prevention interns completed training in Springfield the week of May
18 prior to being assigned to facilities around the state to identify
pollution reduction and energy saving options. Front row (left to right):
Jinting Liu, Matt Luedke, Amanda Metz, Ben Reinhart, Martin Kociolek,
Amanda Rhear. Back row (left to right): Brian Rodely, IEPA Director Doug
Scott, Stefan Ciobanu, Alex Singleton, George Ioannou, Nick Barczewski,
Cory Hurst-Thomas, Sarah Anderson, IEPA Associate Director Elmo Dowd,
Richard Reese. Not pictured are the following students who are already
in the field: Jon Langenfeld, Jeff Rohrich, Britt Mork, Sue Tinnish.
Zaina Zayyad (left) from
Aqsa School, Bridgeview, described her State
Science Exposition project, “Emission Reduction through the
Engineering of Catalytic Converters” (awarded First Place in the
Senior Division for the Environmental Excellence Award) to Illinois
EPA environmental educators Kristi Morris-Richards and Steve Kolsto
in Champaign on May 9.
Tim Kelly (left) of Illinois
EPA’s Bureau of Water provides some entertaining education for
students at the 2009
Earth Stewardship Day at the Illinois State Fairgrounds. Kelly
sang his original song:
“Macro Invertebrates: Don’t Breathe a Word of It” while
accompanying himself on the guitar.
Can
You Tell What Color the Air Is Today? The Illinois EPA
and the Partners for Clean Air Coalition are announcing
the Illinois EnviroFlash system. EnviroFlash is an e-mail
alert system that delivers air quality information straight to
your inbox.
Tayler McGillis, 14, of Toluca, was
presented with a proclamation by Governor Pat Quinn (right) during
the 2009 Governor's Green Youth Awards Ceremony on April 22, Earth
Day. Governor Quinn was joined by Illinois EPA Director Doug Scott
(left) in recognizing Tayler, who is a four-time winner of the
Green Youth Award (2006-2009). His projects have included collecting
and recycling nearly 23,000 pounds of aluminum, raising $18,000
for local charities including Habitat for Humanity, a local animal
shelter, buying 700 energy-efficient light bulbs for local residents,
1,000 new books for local schoolchildren, and 500 toilet-tank bladders
that save water. In addition he has helped turn an abandoned coal
mine into a wildlife preserve, designed and built a project to
stop erosion at a lake and built a "bluebird trail." In addition,
Tayler and a team of volunteers have walked and cleaned up more
than 400 miles of local highways.
Student finalists in the 2009
Illinois EPA Poster, Poetry and Prose Contest were joined
by family and friends for an awards
ceremony in Springfield on Saturday, April 4 and later posed
with IEPA Director Doug Scott at the Illinois Statehouse.
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, better
known as the “stimulus” legislation signed into law
by President Obama, is expected to provide a substantial increase
in the Clean Water and Drinking Water low-interest revolving loan
programs administered by Illinois EPA. The programs provide financing
to communities for such projects as wastewater treatment plant
upgrades and expansions, new sewer lines, drinking water treatment
plant modifications and expansions, and new or replacement water
distribution systems. Illinois EPA has been gearing up to get these
funds into the pipeline to start projects as soon as possible to
benefit both the economy and environment. For more information
and pre-application information, please see our American
Recovery and Reinvestment Act information page.
|