Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (MWRD) Board Meeting
December 2, 2021

Board Action:

• Of the 40 agenda items, six were pulled for discussion:  Among them was a request to advertise for contract farming at the Hanover Park plant.  The purpose of the farming is to allow for continued disposal of MWRD created biosolids on the land.  By planting corn, the nutrients from the biosolids are absorbed, thereby allowing for continued disposal. Cost of contract to the MWRD is estimated at $628.4 thousand. Commissioner Spyropoulos requested a deferral and asked for a report to include the history of the property, how the growing process came about, and what other options including planting tree samplings can be grown.  Commissioners’ Garcia and Morita respectively asked for a status report of the biosolid project and a list of other options for this land including cost.  (Agenda Item #11 21-1114)
• Another land use issue was the request to advertise for bids on a 5-year lease on 3.78+ acres of vacant district property in Forest View.  Initial rental bid set at $155,000.  This is the 2nd time this request has been on the agenda; and after initially deferring at this meeting, Commissioner McGowan lifted the deferral.  The property would be paved over for truck parking because, according to staff, it is not suitable for recreation due to its location.  Commissioner Davis said that the Land Use Policies need to be looked at and applied to this type of property.  Commissioner Garcia, Chair of the Land Use Committee, noted that 80% of MWRD land is already in conservancy and that the adjacent canal was created for business. He said that the committee and staff are working on a draft of two polities on Land Use and expects there will be a Study Session in January 2022.   (Agenda Item #14  21-1135)
• After receiving a report of the significant violations of pretreatment standards or other requirements by industrial users, Commissioner Spyropoulos asked if there is a public list of non-compliant businesses and was told that the staff would provide a list.  She noted that in 2019 there were 61 on the list and in 2020, 66.  The 2021 data should be available by mid-year 2022.  The EPA has said that the MWRD needs to be tougher on industrial users who are non-compliant.  (Agenda Item #36  21-1106)

Stormwater Management

• The Board approved an intergovernmental agreement with and to make payment to the city of Prospect Heights to acquire flood-prone property in an amount not to exceed $376,000.  (Agenda Item #40 21-1142)

New Business

• Commissioner Davis noted that the last Inspector General’s report noted significant cost overruns.  Davis said that the board regularly receives change orders with more than 5% cost overruns and 20% delays. He said he will be monitoring future requests.
• The Board approved a motion to authorize Juneteenth as a District Holiday.
  
• The Board also authorized the extension of the sunset provision of the Affirmative Action Ordinance to be moved from December 31, 2021 to June 30, 2022 to accommodate the yet to be received new Disparity Study.

Board Requests

• Commissioner DuBuclet requested a list of Media vendors used by the District to advertise.  
• Commissioner Spyropoulos requested staff provide a memo on the District’s process and violators for the last five years and also include what other agencies are doing in this regard.  

After Meeting Public Hearing on the 2022 Budget

• Commissioner Davis said that the Budget is a statement of values and asked that a dashboard on budget progress towards climate change goals be created and an Environmental Justice Office be created within the agency.   He also asked that the Space to Grow Project be expanded to include the suburbs of which there are 120+ in Cook County.  His third request for future budgets is the hiring of an attorney reporting directly to the board.
• There was only one public Speaker, Mr. Michael Archie.  He said that the board, based on its current trajectory, cannot reach its goal of energy neutrality by 2023.  He said the technology is out there to meet it by 2030-35, but the District has to embrace the technology.

Observer:  Diane Edmundson

Metropolitan Water Reclamation District  
Public Hearing on 2021 Tentative Budget
December 2, 2020

7 Commissioners present, with Comm. Garcia absent. 

There were 3 comments.  
Both Ryan Wilson of the Metropolitan Planning Council and John Legg of the Nature Conservancy separately urged that the MWRD appoint one person to head-up and be the point person for the MWRD’s Stormwater Trading Pilot that was adopted earlier this year.  While the failure of any developer to take advantage of this program may be due to COVID, both entities feel that having one dedicated person to head this pilot is crucial for its success.  Both also pointed to the Washington, D.C. project as an example of all that needs to be done to successfully launch the program.  The duties of this point person would include conveying consistent messaging to municipalities and developers and identifying barriers to getting the program launched, including any legislative barriers.  

• The Executive Director and Dr. Katherine O’Connor, the head of Stormwater Management, believe that they have sufficient people to implement the program and were reluctant to place a single person as a point person, though they were still willing to talk about this.  Comm. Morita suggested that even if a single person would not be working on this full-time, maybe a single person could be identified for communications with municipalities and developers.

Chelsey Grassfield of the Friends of the Chicago River urged that the MWRD reassess its real estate holdings of 6,000 some acres for use as stormwater management, as opposed to being looked upon as development opportunities.  Comm. Morita said that the MWRD has begun a land-use audit to look at best use for the land:  lease-out vs. leaving vacant for stormwater management.  Ms. Grassfield also stated that Friends had observed some instances at meeting where the attorneys representing the MWRD stated things that appeared to be inconsistent with MWRD policy.  The Commissioners and Executive Director wanted more details, which Ms. Grassfield said she would provide.

Observer:  Priscilla Mims                                         Length of meeting:  1 hour, 10 minutes