No Consensus, but Lots of Collaboration - Part of a Process to Complete a Chicago Area Waterways Separation Report

A study report was recently completed for the Great Lakes Commission and the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative (GLC/CI) to develop and evaluate three alternatives for the physical separation of the Mississippi River basin from the Great Lakes basin at the Chicago Area Waterways System (CAWS) to prevent the transfer of aquatic invasive species (AIS) between the two basins.  As can be imagined, if a physical barrier (a dam) were to be placed into a waterway that is currently used as a conveyance of municipal wastewater plant discharge; stormwater and flood management; and as a navigation corridor for recreational and commercial boats, as well as waterborne commerce including the barge industry, the impacts can be quite substantial and would directly effect the special interests of a multitude of stakeholders and public entities.

 Early on, the GLC/CI recognized the need to bring as many of the interested and effected parties to the table to allow for input and critique of the study as it moved forward.  An Advisory Committee (AC) composed of a diverse group of stakeholders were invited, including tour and taxi boat operators, barge and shipping industry representatives, environmental and commerce groups, city and municipal representatives, and regional special interest groups.  A Resource Group (RG) composed of governmental and quasigovernmental entities representatives including US Environmental Protection Agency, US Army Corps of Engineers, US Coast Guard, US Fish and Wildlife Service and US Geological Survey were also invited for their input and review. Four meetings were convened during the study to provide guidance and input at critical points and to enhance transparency during the study process.  At the beginning of each AC meeting It was pointed out that consensus was not expected, but critical review and comment was.