The lengthy delay on Lagoon construction stems from confusion between Northwestern administrators and state environmental agencies on the permits necessary for construction, officials said Wednesday.
The state organizations told administrators last week to halt construction plans too fill in one-fifth of the Lagoon until two additional permits are obtained. But NU officials have questioned the need for one of the permits and are debating whether they need to apply for it before beginning construction.
The Illinois Department of Natural Resources has requested that university officials apply for a joint permit between the DNR and the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency. Under a section of a 1961 state law that authorized the Lakefill’s creation, any additional changes to the site must be approved by the department.
But no one at the IEPA told administrators that the permit was necessary, said Alan Cubbage, vice president for university relations. Cubbage also said administrators did not know about the section of the 1961 law giving the department jurisdiction over future Lakefill construction.
“(We knew) the fact that the law was in existence,” Cubbage said. “That particular section of the law, I don’t think we were aware of.”
Cameron Davis, executive director of the federation, said the shoreline and bottom of Lake Michigan belong to the state of Illinois and cannot be sold to a private organization such as NU.
“Anytime you step into the water and your foot is wet, what you’re stepping on belongs to the citizens of Illinois,” he said.
The federation successfully sued in 1990 to stop Loyola University of Chicago from buying part of Lake Michigan to fill. But Davis said Loyola’s situation could not be compared to the Lagoon project because NU already has filled in land.
“The only reason (Northwestern’s) Lakefill happened is because nobody was looking,” Davis said. “The sale of lake bottom never should have happened. Because the state sold public lands to a private entity, the state has a special obligation to take a hard look at any plans regarding the Lakefill.”
Joan Muraro, a spokeswoman for the IEPA, said it is not the responsibility of her organization to inform NU about permits that they don’t oversee.
“That would be like asking your dentist what you should take for appendicitis,” Muraro said. “That wasn’t what they were asking about when they called.”
The Army Corps of Engineers also asked administrators to apply for an additional permit after the organization received new information about the project. The Corps must approve all changes to the bottom of Lake Michigan, but they had told administrators the Lagoon construction would not fall under their jurisdiction.
But when the DNR sent them photographs of the Lagoon being filled in the 1960s, Corps officials realized the Lagoon was originally part of Lake Michigan and not a dug-in structure.
Administrators maintain that the Lagoon bottom is not a part of the lake, and have not yet decided whether they need to apply for the permit, Cubbage said.
DNR officials notified the Corps after they found out about the project from a Chicago Sun-Times reporter calling for comment as well as from Lake Michigan Federation officials, department spokesman Tim Schweizer said.
James Wolinski, director of Evanston community development, said the city would revoke the permit issued two weeks ago for transportation routes and metal sheeting if the agencies denied either of the permits.
“Our permit was contingent on the fact they had all necessary federal and state permits,” Wolinski said. “Based on the information they have at this time, they could not do the Lagoon.”
