City Administrator Tony Graff told the Crest Hill City Council on Jan. 6 that the city’s compliance commitment agreement for the wastewater treatment plant has been accepted by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency.

The agreement, Graff said, identifies three areas where the plant must improve; two of the three are already complete and staff are preparing the third — a phosphorus discharge optimization plan — for submission to the IEPA to keep the plant in compliance.

The phosphorus plan is being prepared by the city’s consulting engineers working with Julius, the city’s interim public works director, Graff said. “So the agreement was accepted by the IEPA,” Graff said, and the city is working to finalize the phosphorus plan.

Why it matters: compliance agreements with the IEPA set timelines and required improvements for municipal treatment plants; failure to complete required actions can result in enforcement or fines. The council did not take formal action on the matter at the meeting.

Supporting details and context: Graff noted that two of the three required improvements are finished and that engineering staff and public works are coordinating on the remaining item. The mayor and council did not vote on any ordinance or funding allocation tied to the compliance plan during the meeting.

The city also reported ongoing work on related infrastructure projects including stormwater drainage repairs and replacement of water meters as part of a longer-term water replacement program; those projects were described separately by staff. The council asked for follow-up updates in future meetings.

Ending: City staff said they will submit the phosphorus optimization plan to the IEPA once finalized and keep the council updated on compliance milestones.