FALL MEETING DETAILS:
Some of the topics featured during the Fall 1996 IGA-AIPG Conference include hydrogeology and the internet, in-situ remediation with air sparging, GIS use in hydrogeology, area groundwater quality, the status of the Illinois Professional Geologist Registration Act, a RBCA update, and a detailed 3-D mapping of Illinois geology. With a two-day format a wide variety of topics are going to be covered, so there will be something to pique everyone's interest.
Registration for the Fall 1996 IGA meeting begins at 8:30 AM on October 9th. The program continues from 9:20 AM through 3:30 PM on Wednesday with the social hour and banquet with the featured speaker from 5:30 to approximately 8:00 PM. On Thursday there will be a continental breakfast until 9:10, with the program continuing from 9:10 AM through 3:40 PM. Meeting fees for pre-registration are $85 for non-IGA members, $75 for members, and $40 for students. The $85 fee for non-members will include your membership fee if you fill out and send in the membership form found on page 10. Registration at the door (considered late registration) is $85. Pre-registration by Tuesday October 1, 1996 is strongly recommended. The IGA has reserved a block of rooms at the Starved Rock Lodge through September 16th, so call (800) 868-7675 and make your reservation while you can. Rooms at the rustic Starved Rock Lodge range from $62 to $69 per night. For information on registration for the IGA Fall 1996 Conference call Steve Wilson, IGA President, at (217) 333-0956 or another IGA board member.
SPRING 1996 MEETING HIGHLIGHTS
The IGA Spring Meeting was held at Fermi Lab in Batavia, Illinois on March 21, 1996. It was an excellent conference, featuring a keynote presentation on Crisis Management and Survival Techniques of a Consulting Groundwater Engineer by Tom Prickett, and topics ranging from bioremediation to changes in the Illinois LUST program. The meeting was highlighted by the presentation of the 1996 Groundwater Science Awards.
1996 STUDENT GRANT AWARDS
This year the IGA received two IGA Student Research Grant Applications, both of which were granted an award. Kurt Kraske of Northern Illinois University was awarded $50 for his fieldwork expenses. His masters thesis title is Movement and Evolution of Nitrogen Compounds in the Prairie Aquigroup and Alexandrian - Maquoketa Aquifer in Campton Township, Kane County, Illinois. The results of his work are being presented at the Fall 1996 IGA Conference.
The second IGA Student Research award was to Yanzhong Liang of the University of Illinois at Chicago, who was awarded $200 for laboratory supplies. Yanzhong is working toward his Ph.D. in Environmental Chemistry, and his dissertation is entitled Speciation and Complexation of Lead (Pb) in Contaminated Surfaces and Ground Waters.
TACO PROMULGATION PROPOSED
The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) has proposed that the Illinois Pollution Control Board (IPCB) promulgate the Tiered Approach to Corrective Action Objectives (TACO) into law. The proposed regulatory citation is 35 Illinois Administrative Code (IAC) Part 742. TACO guidance is a three tiered risk-based approach that protects human health and the environment by allowing owners of contaminated sites and their consultant to decide how to use site-specific information to develop more cost-effective remedial action. The guidance can be used by any owner whose site falls under the auspices the IEPA, including leaking underground storage tank (LUST) owners and operators. The IPCB will review and promulgate the TACO guidance into law in 1997. Until this time, the IEPA will use the draft TACO submitted to the IPCB. For more information call the IEPA at (217) 782-6760.
ILLINOIS PG PROGRAM STATUS REPORT
The process to implement the Illinois Professional Geologist (PG) program formally went into effect in July 1996 with the appointment of the Board of Licensing for Professional Geologists. The Board had its first meeting on August 22nd, and will be drafting rules, including required curriculum and academic standards for the Illinois Professional Geologist registration program. It is anticipated that the rules will be finalized and approved by the end of 1996, at which time the rules will be given to the Joint Committee of Administrative Rules for final approval. Upon final approval, the rules will be published in the Illinois Register and PG applications will be printed and distributed.
The PG application fee proposed by the Department of Professional Registration is $250, and the proposed bi-annual renewal fee is $150. These fee levels are intended to make the Illinois PG program's funding self sufficient. The grandfather application period extends to June 30, 1997, and it is not known if the grandfather application period will be extended if PG applications are not available in a timely fashion. Comments on the PG application and renewal fees should be given at the Board's next meeting, which will be open to the public and is scheduled for October 2nd, 1996. The open meeting will be held at:
The Illinois Leaking Underground Storage Tank (LUST) program, which was taken over by the United States EPA in August 1, 1995 due to technical deficiencies, reverted to state control on April 1, 1996. Reversion to state control was made possible by the passage of SB 721 by the Illinois General Assembly in December 1995 which satisfied United States EPA concerns by making the Illinois LUST program at least as stringent as federal requirements and by providing funding for the program. On May 7, 1996 SB 721 was declared unconstitutional since LUST regulatory and funding provisions were passed along with unrelated bills. In reaction to SB 721 being struck down, SB 1390 (which was based on SB 721, and contained only LUST-related legislation) was signed into law on May 22, 1996. A supplemental appropriation bill for the moneys collected from the impact fee was signed into law on May 28, 1996. Proposed LUST rules for Part 732 and 742 of the IAC will be submitted to the IPCB on September 15, 1996 for review and subsequent promulgation.
WATER WELL CODE REVISION
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) staff have been working with the Illinois Association of Groundwater Professionals to propose needed amendments to the Water Well Construction Code and the Water Well Pump Installation Code. The association represents water well drillers and pump installers in Illinois. The amendments are being proposed in part due to the results of the private well study funded by the Center for Disease Control, which the Department conducted in 1994. The study showed that 72% of bored wells constructed using the buried slab method had colliform contamination and 44% of all wells surveyed had colliform contamination. In order to address the problem of high contamination rates, the Department is proposing to change the grouting requirements for drilled wells as well as the construction requirements for buried slab and bored wells. The reporting requirements are being modified to notify local health departments and the Department of the type of pumps that are being installed and a sampling tap will be required to that the well can be sampled prior to the water entering the plumbing system. The Department is presently preparing to publish the proposed rules for public comment through the Illinois Register.
GROUNDWATER PROTECTION ACTIVITIES
The Northeastern Illinois Groundwater Protection Committee and several co-sponsors, including the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH), presented a groundwater protection field day on May 17, 1996. The one-day event was hosted by the Agricultural and Horticultural Sciences Department of Joliet Junior College. The purpose of the field day was to introduce participants to hands-on displays of groundwater protection methods. Groundwater protection topics included hydrology and water management with emphasis on surface and groundwater relationships, chemical spill response, recycling and household hazardous waste disposal, sealing abandoned wells, well maintenance and wellhead protection, water testing, geology and groundwater resource of northeastern Illinois, and community well head protection.
On May 28, 1996, the IDPH staff participated in the Environmental Health and Groundwater Exposition 1996 at the McHenry County College. The Expo was co-sponsored by the McHenry County Health Department and the Northern Regional Groundwater Protection Planning committee. The purpose of the Expo was to emphasize environmental issues related to groundwater and to provide education on the importance of protecting groundwater. Along with various exhibitors, there were concurrent presentations on groundwater needs assessment, pollution prevention for small business, groundwater mapping, testing drinking water, water treatment devices for the home, and a groundwater protection self-assessment program for rural properties.
VISIT THE IGA WEB SITE
The IGA has recently set up (but is still revising)
the first version of the Illinois Groundwater Association Web Page. This
web page will feature information on upcoming meetings, including agenda
and location maps, and items of interest for IGA members. IGA will also
be adding links to other web pages and databases that might be useful to
IGA members. If you have suggestions for the IGA Web Page or information
on useful links to other web sites please contact one the IGA officers,
preferably via e-mail. The IGA Web Page address is http://www.iga.uiuc.edu.
September 20, 1996. Bioremediation: Applications and Considerations for Midwestern Sites, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois. Contact Keith Knoke at (847) 267-8010.
September 24 to 29, 1996. AEG Annual Meeting, East Brunswick, New Jersey. Call David Muscalo (201) 383-2500 for more information.
September 25, 1996. Basics on Pumps and Tanks, Rockford Holiday Inn, Rockford, Illinois. Contact Sue Bohenstengle at (708) 386-1566 for more information.
September 27, 1996. Advanced Session Pumps & Tanks (Applications and Sizing Exercises), Springfield Ramada Inn South Plaza, Springfield, Illinois. Contact Sue Bohenstengle at (708) 386-1566 for more information.
September 29 - October 1, 1996. The 41st Annual Midwest Groundwater Conference, at Mariott's Griffin Gate Resort, Lexington, Kentucky. Contact Jim Dinger via e-mail (preferred) at: dinger@kgs.mm.uky.edu, or by phone (606) 257-5500.
October 7, 1996. Seventh Annual Pollution Prevention Conference, Lisle/Naperville Radison Hotel, Naperville, Illinois. Contact Annette McCarthy (217) 782-8700 for more information.
October 7-12, 1996. AIPG National Meeting, Great Southern Hotel, Columbus, Ohio. Contact Curtis J. Coe (614) 421-7500 for more information.
October 11-12, 1996. Illinois Science Teachers Association 1996 Annual Convention, Merchandise Mart ExpoCenter, Chicago, Illinois. Contact Diana Dummit at (217) 244--0173 for more information.
October 15, 1996. Irrigation Wells and More, Elgin Holiday Inn, Elgin, Illinois. Contact Sue Bohenstengle at (708) 386-1566 for more information.
October 17, 1996 (date subject to change). Irrigation Wells and More, Mt. Vernon, Illinois. Contact Sue Bohenstengle at (708) 386-1566 for more information.
October 22, 1996. 1996 Biennial Meeting and Conference of the Illinois Section, American Water Resource Association, Jumers Chateau, Bloomington, Illinois. For more information call Mary Limp (217) 333-0536.
October 23, 1996. Illinois Water Law: Challenges and Opportunities, Jumers Chateau, Bloomington, Illinois. For more information, contact the University of Illinois Water Resource Center (217) 333-0536.
October 28-31, 1996. GSA Annual Meeting and Exposition, Denver, Colorado. For more information call (303) 447-2020 or (800) 472-1988.
December 8-11, 1996. NGWA Convention and Exposition, Las Vegas Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada. Contact the NGWA at (800) 551-7379 for more information.
March 9-11, 1997 Illinois Association of Groundwater Professionals 1997 Annual Meeting and Exposition, Crown Plaza, Springfield, Illinois. Contact Sue Bohenstengle at (708) 386-1566 for more information.
May 1-2, 1997. North-Central Section, GSA Section Meeting for 1997. Call Bruce Brown (608) 263-3201 for more information.
Please forward comments, suggestions, or items to be included in future Newsletters to Erik at the address found on the last page of the Newsletter.
CANDIDATE FOR CHAIR OF IGA, 1997
MR. DAVID LARSON currently serves as the Vice-Chair of the Illinois Groundwater Association. He is an Associate Hydrogeologist with the Illinois State Geological Survey (ISGS). He earned a BA degree in Geology from the State University of New York, College at Fredonia and a MS degree in Geology from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He has 22 years of experience in groundwater resource investigations, management, and planning, particularly with regards to glacial-drift aquifers. Among other things, his work at the ISGS includes an aquifer assessment of the Piatt and DeWitt, evaluating the potential for supplemental supply for Danville from groundwater, and a study of the glacial-drift aquifers in west McLean-east Tazewell Counties. Prior to joining the ISGS, he worked with the Nebraska Geological Survey and the North Dakota State Water Commission. He has authored or co-authored 17 technical publications on groundwater as well as written numerous resource management appraisals as part of North Dakota's groundwater appropriation process.
DR. STEVEN P. ESLING is currently serving on the Illinois Groundwater Association Board of Directors. He is an Associate Professor of Geology at Southern Illinois University. Dr. Esling received his M.S. in Mathematics in 1982 and his Ph.D. in Geology in 1984, both from the University of Iowa. He blends his background in mathematics and geology with his interests in hydrogeology and Quaternary stratigraphy. His efforts have led to studies quantifying erosion rates in strip mine spoils, assessing the impact of agricultural drainage wells on shallow bedrock aquifers, determining the effects of underground refuse disposal on regional groundwater flow systems, and investigating the migration of contaminant plumes through shallow aquifers. Dr. Esling works closely with his students on a variety of hydrogeologic and Quaternary stratigraphic problems in southern Illinois. Developing analytic models to describe the groundwater flow systems that develop in response to mining activities, monitoring the hydrologic budget of coal refuse sites, and characterizing the material properties of surfical deposits, including hydraulic conductivity, are research projects now underway. Esling is also active in developing innovative, interactive, simulations of physical systems including a quasi-three-dimensional radial finite-difference groundwater flow model.
MR. DAN KELLEHER is currently serving as the Illinois Groundwater Association Secretary-Treasurer. He is a hydrogeologist at RUST Environment & Infrastructure in Oak Brook, Illinois. He earned a BA degree in Geology from Monmouth College and a MS degree from Northern Illinois University. Dan has over five years of experience in groundwater monitoring system design and has extensive experience in the geotechnical investigation and hydrogeologic analysis of glacigenic deposits, particularly identifying and characterizing matrix-supported diamictons. Prior to joining RUST, he worked in the Environmental Assessment and Studies Section at the Illinois State Geological Survey.
MS. MOLLY ARP will be serving the second of her two-year term as an Illinois Groundwater Association Director in 1997 and will therefore not be on the 1997 ballot.
MR. JERRY DALSIN is employed by the Illinois Department of Public Health, Division of Environmental Health, Environmental Engineering Section and has been with the IDPH since 1988. His duties include groundwater training, publications, revising the Illinois Water Well Construction and Pump Installation Codes in accordance to up-to-date technologies, water well and pump installation contractor licensing, and non-community water systems. From 1966-1979, he served as hydrologist, United States Department of the Interior, Geological Survey, Hydrologic Publications Section. He authored 13 hydrologic publications during his 12-year tenure with the United States Geological Survey. He was also a self-employed consultant from 1979 to 1987 and has been a member of IGA since 1988.
DR. KRISHNA REDDY is an Assistant Professor of civil engineering at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). Dr. Reddy specializes in subsurface remediation, waste containment systems, and groundwater and contaminant transport modeling. He has published over 50 research papers on these topics. He is supervising a number of research projects; one of them deals with in-situ air sparging for the remediation of VOC-contaminated groundwater. Prior to joining UIC, Dr. Reddy worked as a project engineer/project manager with Patrick Engineering, Inc. and Harza Environmental Services, Inc. for over three years and completed numerous projects. These projects included groundwater and contaminant transport modeling for the purpose of assessing the impact of landfills and mine spoil piles on the groundwater quality.
MR. TODD LANNERT graduated from the University of Illinois in 1994 with a degree in Ecology, Ethology, and Evolution. He worked for one year as a landfill inspector for a county health department in Illinois. Todd is presently a first year graduate student working on his Master's degree in Hydrogeology at Southern Illinois University. His thesis research focuses on the hydrogeologic conditions around a coal combustion residue site in southern Illinois.
MR. JOHN SIEVING is a graduate student at Illinois State University in Normal, Illinois. John is pursuing his MS in Geohydrology with a thesis on groundwater contamination potential of surficial materials in the Peoria area. Funding for field investigation and geologic mapping of the Peoria West 7.5-minute Quadrangle is provided by the United State Geological Survey, EDMAP program. The quadrangle geologic mapping is coordinated with the Illinois State Geological Survey. John is also a teaching assistant in Principles of Geology.
Instructions: Place an "x" in the box opposite the candidate of your choice. If you prefer to vote for a candidate not listed, write the name and business affiliation of your choice in the space provided and mark with an "x". Write-in candidates must be members of the IGA. Mail the completed ballot to Steve Wilson at the address provided on the last page of this newsletter.
Wednesday, October 9
8:30 - 9:20 AM Registration, with coffee and
pastries
9:20 - 9:30 Welcome
9:30 - 9:50 Groundwater Remediation Using
In-Situ Air Sparging: Laboratory Investigation of System Variables
Jeff Adams, University of Illinois at Chicago,
Chicago, IL
9:50 - 10:10 Characterization of Glacial Deposits
of the Neutrino Fixed Target Beam Line
Paul Kesich, Fermi Lab, Batavia, IL
10:10 - 10:30 Estimating Evapotranspiration
in a Groundwater Fed Wetland: Traditional and Geochemical Approaches
R. Brandon Lott, United States Geological
Survey, Madison, WI
10:30 - 10:50 BREAK
10:50 - 11:10 Hydrogeologic Criteria for a
Low-Level Radioactive Waste Site in Illinois: Update on the LLWR Task Group's
Proposal
Dr. Colin Booth, Northern Illinois University,
DeKalb, IL
11:10 - 11:50 Surface Barriers to Limit Water
Infiltration into Underlying Waste or Contaminated Soil
David Daniel, University of Illinois, Urbana,
IL
11:50 - 1:30 LUNCH
1:30 - 1:50 Sowing the Seeds: Public Awareness
of the Role Geology Plays in Watershed Ecosystem Development
Myrna Killey and Daniel Barnstable, Illinois
State Geological Survey, Urbana, Illinois
1:50 - 2:10 Determination of Capture Zones
and Recharge Areas of Pumping Wells in Laterally Homogeneous, Stratified
Materials: Generic Multi-Dimensional Model Simulations
Shannon Fulton-Bowers, Lewis, Yockey, and
Brown, Bloomington, IL
2:10 - 2:30 GIS Applications in Hydrogeology
Ray deCastro, GIS Solutions, Springfield,
IL
2:30 - 2:50 BREAK
2:50 - 3:30 IGA Business Meeting and Open
Podium
3:30 - 5:30 Informal Hike to Starved Rock
and a Tour of Buffalo Rock and Matthiessen State Parks
Guidebooks will be available
5:30 - 6:30 Social Hour
6:30 Banquet, with Featured Speaker Dr. Nicholas
P. Schneider
The Banquet Featured Speaker is Dr. Nicholas P. Schneider, Executive Director of the Nature of Illinois Foundation, who will be presenting Opinion for Sale: Professional Ethics and the Hired Gun
Thursday, October 10
8:30 - 9:10 Continental Breakfast
9:10 - 9:30 Ground-Water Protection for Illinois
Nature Preserves: Identifing and Evaluating Vulnerability to Contamination
Randall A. Locke II, Illinois State Water
Survey, Champaign, Illinois
9:30 - 9:50 Geologist Registration in Illinois:
Status and Outlook
Allen Oertel, Crawford, Murphy, and Tilley,
Springfield, IL
9:50 - 10:10 Methods for Characterizing the
Hydrogeology of an Underground Mine for Disposal of Coal Combustion Residues
Dr. Steven Esling, Southern Illinois University,
Carbondale, IL
10:10 - 10:30 BREAK
10:30 - 11:10 RBCA: Design/Development/Impact
Gerald Phillips, Region 5 Environmental Protection
Agency, Chicago, IL
11:10 - 11:50 Detailed Geologic Mapping of
Illinois in 3 Dimensions - Implications for Aquifer Characterization and
Groundwater Protection
Dr. William Shilts, Illinois State Geological
Survey, Urbana, IL
11:50 - 1:30 LUNCH
1:30 - 2:10 The Illinois Groundwater Consortium
- Research on the Effects of Agricultural Chemicals and the Floods of 1993
and 1995
Dr. Victoria Molfese, Southern Illinois University,
Carbondale, IL
2:10 - 2:30 An Educational and Cost-Effective
Program for the Assessment of Nitrate and Colliform Bacteria in Rural Domestic
Wells in Illinois
Joseph R. Karny, Illinois State Water Survey,
Champaign, IL
2:30 - 2:50 The Effects of Septic Systems
on Groundwater Quality in the Prairie Aquigroup and Alexandria-Maquoketa
Aquifer, Campton Township, Kane County, Illinois
Kurt Kraske, Northern Illinois University,
DeKalb, IL
2:50 - 3:10 BREAK
3:10 - 3:40 AIPG Business Meeting
3:40 ADJOURN