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** DRAFT - For Review Purposes Only - March 8, 2011 **

Envisioning a Chicago Area Waterway System for the 21st Century

Draft Criteria for Developing and Evaluating Separation Options

Introduction

The document presents draft criteria for developing and evaluating separation options and reflects feedback received at the February 16, 2011 Project Advisory Committee meeting. It contains the project purpose, overarching goals and draft criteria. Comments and additional feedback from the Advisory Committee and Resource Group are welcome before March 25, 2011. (Instructions for providing comments are contained in the cover e-mail.)

Project Purpose

Develop and evaluate options for separating the Mississippi River watershed from the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence watershed to prevent the transfer of aquatic invasive species via the Chicago Area Waterway System (CAWS) while improving transportation, water quality and flood management, and thereby protecting both watersheds.

Project Goals

Goal #1:           Prevent the movement of aquatic invasive species between the Great Lakes and Mississippi River watersheds via the Chicago Area Waterway System.

Goal #2:           Improve the ecological health of the Chicago Area Waterway System.

Goal #3:           Improve stormwater management within the Chicago Area Waterway System.

Goal #4:           Improve transportation within, to, and from the Chicago Area Waterway System.

Draft Criteria

Goal #1:          Prevent the movement of aquatic invasive species between the Great Lakes and Mississippi River watersheds via the Chicago Area Waterway System

[Geographic Scope: Chicago waterway drainage area in Northeast Illinois and Northwest Indiana]

Criteria for Goal #1:

• Impacts on the movement of aquatic invasive species between the basins in the CAWS
• Impacts on the ability to respond, control or eradicate invasions within the CAWS
• Achieving Goals 2-4 will not interfere with achieving Goal #1

 Goal #2:          Improve the ecological health of the Chicago Area Waterway System

[Geographic Scope: Chicago waterway drainage area in Northeast Illinois and Northwest Indiana]

Criteria for Goal #2:

• Impacts on compliance with Clean Water Act standards.
  o   Dissolved oxygen
  o   Water temperature
  o   Nitrite-nitrate nitrogen
  o   Total phosphorus
  o   Total mercury
  o   Fecal coliform/E. coli
  o   Other
• Impacts on biotic factors.
  o   Number and diversity of species (species richness); fish and all biota (benthic, amphibians, etc.)
  o   Number of water quality tolerant species (plants and animals)
  o   Number of water quality intolerant species (plants and animals)
  o   Other
• Impacts on legacy materials (sediment chemistry).
  o   Metals
  o   Total PCBs
  o   Total PAHs
  o   Other
• Synergy with existing and planned water quality improvements.

Goal #3:          Improve stormwater management within the Chicago Area Waterway System

[Geographic Scope: Chicago waterway drainage area in Northeast Illinois and Northwest Indiana]

Criteria for Goal #3:

• Impacts on flooding events.
  o   Basement flooding
  o   Localized flooding
  o   Large scale flooding
• Synergy with existing and planned regional land use and stormwater management plans (TARP, other).

Goal #4:          Improve transportation within, to, and from the Chicago Area Waterway System.

[Geographic Scope: Transportation network of Northeast Illinois and Northwest Indiana]

Criteria for Goal #4:

• Impacts on navigation.
  o   Freight
  o   Recreational boating
  o   Commercial (tour boats, existing users)
  o   Emergency vessels
  o   Other
• Impact on transportation efficiency.
  o   Cost
  o   Road, rail and waterway congestion
  o   Safety
  o   Air quality (emissions)
  o   Reliability
  o   Timeliness
  o   Other
• Synergy with existing and planned regional transportation plans (e.g., CREATE).

Other General Criteria

The project will consider several other general criteria as options for separation are developed and evaluated. These criteria will include feasibility; cost-effectiveness; sustainability and climate readiness; and timeliness. The project team recognizes that these concepts, while needing further definition, will be important to developing credible options for separation.