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Springfield—Illinois EPA Interim Director John Kim today announced the award of nearly $5 million in Green Infrastructure Grants designed to reduce the amount of pollution running into Illinois waterways from stormwater sources.
Applicants applied for grant awards in three categories: Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) Rehabilitation; Stormwater Retention and Infiltration; and Green Infrastructure Small Projects. The list is attached.
“These projects will help improve the quality of the Chicago River by preventing nearly 2 million gallons of storm water, and the pollutants that storm water carries with it, from entering the river each year,” Governor Quinn said. “Recently, we announced that two new facilities will be built to disinfect discharges into the river, and today we are building on our commitment to return the Chicago River to recreational use.”
Green Infrastructure Grants are another one of the Agency’s tools to control stormwater pollution in Illinois,” said Director Kim. “Well over half of the impairments to Illinois waterways are due to nonpoint source and stormwater pollution and it comes from many different sources.”
Nonpoint source pollution occurs when runoff from rain and snowmelt carries pollutants into waterways such as rivers, streams, lakes, wetlands, and even groundwater. When rain hits the ground and flows across streets, parking lots, yards, construction sites, farm fields and golf courses, it picks up litter, oil, grease, metals, rubber, dirt, fertilizers, pesticides, animal waste, and other things left behind by people, automobiles and animals depositing them into lakes, rivers, wetlands, coastal waters and underground sources of drinking water.
Green infrastructure” means any storm water management practice with the goal of preserving or restoring natural hydrology. Green infrastructure includes methods of using soil and vegetation to promote soil percolation, evapotranspiration and filtration, and involves the preservation and restoration of natural landscape features, such as forests, floodplains, headwaters, and wetlands.
The $5 million in grants will result jobs for installation of green structures by construction workers and the trades, as well as to create work for professional engineers and public works staff designing Best Management Practices and developing and submitting permits, and construction oversight.
The successful applicants, their projects and the amounts of the awards are:
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Recipient
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Award Amount
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Project
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Description
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Village of Franklin Park
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$985,000
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Village of Franklin Park Police Station
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Cistern, permeable parking and pavement, bio-swale and wetland will reduce overflow and pollutants into the Des Plaines River.
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City of Aurora
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$1,451,667
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Green Infrastructure Combined Sewer Overflow Program
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112 rain gardens and two permeable pavement areas at 28 road intersections will reduce overflow into combined sewer system.
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Village of LaGrange
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$489,000
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Parking Lot 13 Green Infrastructure Retrofit
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Retrofit commuter parking lot to permeable pavement will reduce runoff into combined sewer system.
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Friends of Goethe School, Logan Square neighborhood, Chicago
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$750,000
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21st Century Sustainable Schoolyard
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Retrofit schoolyard for stormwater treatment; rain gardens, permeable pavement and play areas and cisterns will address stormwater and pollutants in the North Branch of the Chicago River.
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Urban Juncture, Inc., Chicago
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$404,656
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Bronzeville Cookin’ Demonstration Roof and Parking Facility
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Green roof, rooftop cistern and permeable parking at redeveloped warehouse, will address stormwater and pollutants in the Chicago River.
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Fox-Atkins Development LLC, University of Illinois campus, Champaign
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$51,342
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I Hotel and Conference Center Green Roof System
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Green roof will reduce stormwater runoff and pollutants to the Embarras River.
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Preservation of Affordable Housing, Ward 20, Chicago
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$75,000
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Woodlawn Center North Apartments
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Implementing neighborhood best management practices (rain barrels, rain gardens, permeable pavement and planters) will add water quality into the development design.
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Village of Schaumburg
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$75,000
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Terada Park Green Infrastructure Improvements
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Retrofit pond to stormwater retention facility will improve water quality throughout the watershed.
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Village of Glenview
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$7,114
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Waukegan Road Urban Rain Garden
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Large rain garden at major road intersection will address stormwater and pollutants in the North Branch of the Chicago River.
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City of Chicago
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$75,000
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Permeable Pavement and Structural Soil Demonstration at the Chicago Center for Green Technology
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Demonstrate four to six different permeable pavements will address stormwater and pollutants in the North Branch Chicago River.
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