Level I Water Quality Plan Amendment Actions - The Village of Frankfort requested the construction and operation of a new 0.195 MGD wastewater treatment facility and the transfer of 7,113 acres into the Frankfort FPA. The Consumers Illinois Water Company and Village of University Park jointly requested the transfer of 7,505 acres into the University Park FPA. Areas requested by the Village of Frankfort, the Village of University Park and the Consumers Illinois Water Company overlap by 3,819 acres. Overlap areas include Sections 1, 12, 14, 15, and parts of Sections 11, 13 and 24 in Green Garden Township, Will County. At the March 30, 1999 quarterly meeting, the Commission approved the staff recommendation that three Commissioners be asked to work with the applicants and other affected governmental entities to identify immediate short-term wastewater needs and to lay the foundation for intergovernmental boundary and service agreements. (Washington)

Level II Water Quality Plan Amendment Actions Village of Minooka - The Committee partially supported a resubmitted request from the Village of Minooka to transfer 1,040.68 acres from non-FPA area into the Minooka FPA. Village of Braidwood - The Water Resources Committee concurred, and the Executive Committee voiced support for a request from Village of Braidwood to transfer 11 acres of land from a non-FPA area into the Braidwood for a recreational area. Fox River Water Reclamation District - The Water Resources Committee concurred, and the Executive Committee voiced support for a request from Fox River Water Reclamation District for a Phase I expansion of the West treatment facility from 1.5 MGD to 5.0 MGD to serve the South Elgin area. (Washington)

• March 24, 1999, Financing Mechanisms
• April 21, 1999, Mechanisms for Action Plan Implementation
• May 19, 1999, Review of final report; development of Congress presentation
• June 16, 1999, Review of Congress presentation.
• June 23, 1999, Subarea Congress, 6:00 - 8:30, Elgin Community College Conference Center

A final draft of the subarea report will be made available to all Steering Committee members on May 1, 1999. Multiple copies of the report will be distributed to each member for review and discussion with your elected officials, plan commissioners, etc. Copies of the draft report, in its current format, were distributed at the February meeting. (Washington)

Lake George Clean Lakes Program Phase 2 - NIPC continued to serve as technical coordinator to the Village of Richton Park for an Illinois Clean Lakes Program Phase 2 project at Lake George. Staff provided input to the shoreline stabilization "request for proposals" process and led the pre-proposal meeting and site visit on March 2. Staff also coordinated and led a walk-through of the streambank stabilization sites on March 2 and comments were provided to the Village and contractor. Finally, staff has provided input and coordination regarding erosion and sediment control for new development upstream of Lake George and regarding fishery management issues. (Dreher)

Maple Lake Phase 1 Clean Lakes Program (Forest Preserve District of Cook County) - A Phase 1 Diagnostic/Feasibility Illinois Clean Lakes Program study is currently underway to assess Maple Lake (Forest Preserve District of Cook County), leading to the development of a plan to protect the lake's recreational uses and long-term ecological health. (Dreher)

Chicago Botanic Gardens Lagoons Phase 1 Clean Lakes Program - A Phase 1 Diagnostic! Feasibility Illinois Clean Lakes Program study is currently assessing the Chicago Botanic Garden Lagoons (Cook Co.). The study will lead to the development of a plan to improve the lagoon's water quality and aquatic plant habitat and provide for long-term ecological protection. (Dreher)

Indian Lake Phase 2 Clean Lakes Program (Brookfield Zoo) - Commission staff has been retained by the Brookfield Zoo as Technical Advisor for implementation of lake restoration and protection measures at Indian Lake on the zoo grounds. A shoreline vegetation and stabilization plan was developed and released for bid in February. Installation of the plantings will occur in April/May. (Dreher)

1999 National Lakes Conference - Staff continued program planning for the 12th Annual National Conference on Enhancing the State's Lake Management Programs to be held on April 21-23, 1999 in Chicago. The Commission cosponsors this conference with the U.S. EPA each year for leaders of the states' lake management programs and statewide lake associations. The theme of the 1999 conference is "Nutrient Management Strategies to Protect Lakes and Reservoirs." The conference program was completed and distributed to prospective attendees during February. (Dreher)

Research continued on a staff paper on land use-related tax policy. Revisions were made to the paper on infill and redevelopment based on advisory committee comments. Revisions were made to the policy paper on brownfields based on comments by Tier II advisors.

The President of the Commission made a presentation on the growth strategy to a policy forum conducted by the Metropolitan Planning Council. Staff made presentations to the DuPage County Regional Planning Commission, the Barrington Area Council of Governments, the McHenry County Municipal Association, the CATS Policy and Work Program committees, the Aurora Chamber of Commerce, and the Commission's regional planning conference. (Ford, Dieber, Paige)

Chicago Wilderness - Commission staff continues to work with the 88-member consortium of agencies who have combined their skills and resources to collectively work to protect and restore natural resources in northeastern Illinois. Currently, NIPC staff is leading the effort to develop a biodiversity recovery plan for the northeastern Illinois area. The Plan was previewed at the Commission's 1999 regional conference. Staff is also completing a biodiversity impact assessment of the NIPC regional growth forecasts. President Schumann and staff participated in the Annual Congress at the Field Museum on March 27, 1999 and a NIPC display was included in the poster session. (Paige)

Graphics and Printing - Work related to the regional conference has been a major task this quarter, including design of the cover for the Digital Map of Region CD-ROM distributed to conference attendees, which is currently being produced. (Ralston)

Administrative Services - Approximately 8 grants, contracts, and subcontracts have been reviewed, negotiated and/or executed during the quarter. A staff information meeting was held on the new personnel handbook. Letters to suppliers of equipment and services to NIPC were mailed in February requesting information on Year 2000 compliance and how critical dates are being handled. Preliminary work was begun on FY 2000 budgeting and preparation of UWP requests. Adjustments to the current year s budget were submitted for Commissioner approval. (Ralston)

UWP (Transportation) Development & Monitoring - During the third quarter, staff developed and received Executive Committee endorsement of a recommended FY 2000 transportation-funded work program. The Commission's FY 2000 request was for $l,890,000, $1,600,000 has since been approved in the following items. This represents a 17.22% increase over our FY 1999 funding level. (Washington)

DuPage County Hydrologic Assistance - As part of a continuing effort with the DuPage County Department of Environmental Concerns (DEC) NIPC is providing hydrologic modeling assistance to the County. NIPC is currently developing hydrologic models for a number of watersheds around the county as well as preparing tools and information for use in implementing the countywide stormwater ordinance. (Dreher)

Advanced Identification Study of Kane County Aquatic Resources - NIPC was recently awarded a grant from the USEPA to assist Kane County in preparing an ADID study for Kane County similar in scope to those prepared for Lake and McHenry Counties. (Dreher)

Technical Assistance - Staff, with funding from DCCA and local government contributions, continued to provide advice to local governments on a variety of stormwater management and water resource issues. The Commission also is coordinating efforts for a multi-objective Phase 2 planning study of the Des Plaines River in Cook and Lake counties. This coordination recently led to the identification of goals and objectives, the preliminary establishment of project steering and advisory committees, and the drafting of Congressional authorization language for the Corps of Engineers to initiate a Phase 2 study. (Dreher)

Watershed Planning Assistance - This project allows the Commission to provide limited planning assistance to local watershed management initiatives. Over fifteen such watershed initiatives have been identified in the region. Assistance ranges from informal advice, to serving on an advisory committee, to participating as a partnership member. Significant efforts are currently being directed to the Blackberry Creek, Butterfield Creek, upper DuPage River, Fox River, and Chicago River watersheds. (Dreher)

Blackberry Creek Watershed Management Plan - With funding through the Illinois EPA, staff has been assisting the Blackberry Creek Watershed Committee in the development of a watershed management plan. Flowing through Kane and Kendall counties before discharging to the Fox River, Blackberry Creek is impacted by both flooding and water quality problems caused by a variety of agricultural and suburban impacts. A draft plan was completed and distributed for public review. Staff is currently assisting the Committee in completing the plan and addressing comments from IEPA. (Dreher)

Floodplain and Wetland Mapping Needs Assessment for South Cook County - NIPC was recently awarded a contract from the South Suburban Mayors and Managers Association (SSMMA) to work with an advisory committee to assess the adequacy of current floodplain and wetland maps. (Dreher)

Flint Creek Watershed Restoration Phase II - The Commission, with funding through IEPA, is assisting communities in the Flint Creek watershed with continued Implementation of the Flint Creek Watershed Management Plan. Under Phase II, two streambank stabilization and restoration projects and one detention basin retrofit will be completed. Design plans are nearly completed. Construction and planting are scheduled for late spring. (Dreher)

Year 2000 Urban Water Resources Management Conference - The commission is under contract with the U.S. EPA to coordinate a national conference, "Tools for Urban Water Resource Management and Protection." The conference will be held in Chicago on February 7-10, 2000. A call for papers has been distributed and current efforts are focused on completing the program and agenda. (Dreher)