North Shore Water Reclamation District Adopts Resolution

The Board of Trustees of the North Shore Water Reclamation District approved a resolution supporting enforcement of environmental regulations related to the Foxconn Development. The resolution expresses the District’s concerns about possible detrimental impacts to the NSWRD’s Gurnee Water Reclamation Facility, the district’s largest plant, located adjacent to the Des Plaines River.

The State of Wisconsin waived environmental regulations, enabling Foxconn to build on a flood plain, a condition that could result in problematic flooding of the River, adversely affecting the environment while jeopardizing public health and safety in the district. The NSWRD now joins a growing list of agencies and municipalities that have expressed similar concerns. Copies of the resolution will be distributed to Foxconn executives as well as to local and state officials in both Illinois and Wisconsin.

“By waiving environmental regulations for the Foxconn project and allowing destruction of many acres of wetlands at the headwaters of the Des Plaines River, Wisconsin officials are ignoring potential flood damage to the District’s major treatment plant,” stated Daniel Pierce, President of the NSWRD Board of Trustees. “This could jeopardize the health and safety of thousands of Illinois residents whose sewage is treated at our largest treatment facility.”

The Resolution was adopted to alert Foxconn and government officials that they need to be aware and pro-active in order to avoid environmental issues. It is the hope of the NSWRD Board that their new Wisconsin neighbor will ensure residents of Lake County, Illinois that every effort is being made to preserve the integrity and resiliency of all natural resources in order to avoid any and all likely problems.

The North Shore Water Reclamation District is a municipal body dedicated to the beneficial reuse of our water resources while protecting Lake Michigan, local waterways, and the environment through sustainable and fiscally responsible wastewater reclamation practices at our facilities. The NSWRD owns and operates more than 100 miles of intercepting sewer lines and 10 pumping stations which collect and convey wastewater from local sewer systems to Water Reclamation Facilities in Gurnee, Waukegan, and Highland Park, Illinois. Additional NSWRD facilities include the NSWRD Biosolids Recycling Facility in Zion, the Administration Building and Laboratory in Gurnee, and the Maintenance Building in Waukegan. The NSWRD is governed by an elected Board of Trustees vested with full powers to tax and enact all necessary rules within District boundaries that are the Wisconsin border on the north, Lake-Cook Road on the south, Lake Michigan on the east, and the I-94 toll road on the west.

For more information about the NSWRD please visit http://www.northshorewrd.org/ .