IDNR ITA Kankakee Project Public Notice
PUBLIC NOTICE
Pursuant to Title 17, Chapter 1, Section 1080 of the Illinois Administrative Code, notice is hereby given that ExxonMobil Pipeline Company (EMPCo), 22777 Springwoods Village Parkway, Spring, Texas 77389, has submitted a Conservation Plan to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources to apply for authorization for the taking of four state-listed threatened freshwater mussel species, incidental to the S-232 Mustang Lockport to Patoka Pipeline Armoring Project. The four species include:
- Monkeyface (Quadrula metanevra)
- Purple Wartyback (Cyclonaias tuberculata)
- Spike (Elliptio dilatata)
- Sheepnose (Plethobasus cyphyus)
The S-232 Mustang Lockport to Patoka Pipeline is an 18-inch crude oil pipeline that crosses the Kankakee River in Custer Park, Will County, Illinois (see attached map). Project site coordinates are 41.243983, -88.124546. Access for the north bank of the project will occur at the entrance to Rivals Lookout Park, where construction equipment will then access the existing pipeline ROW. Staging and access for the south bank of the project site will occur at the intersection of the pipeline ROW and Illinois Highway 113 (IL-113) and will utilize the existing cleared ROW.
During a routine assessment of the pipeline crossing, EMPCo identified streambed scour conditions that have reduced the depth of cover over the existing pipeline. To protect against future scour, EMPCo has elected to install 175 cubic yards of grout-filled articulated mat armoring along two segments of the pipeline that exhibit inadequate depth of cover. The two proposed armoring segments comprise approximately 262 linear feet of the overall 500-foot OHWM width and the articulated matting will be placed across 34 feet of the existing 50-foot pipeline ROW in these locations. The anticipated length of time for completion of the pipeline armoring is approximately four weeks and is anticipated to begin in the fourth quarter (early fall) of 2021.
Take of monkeyface, purple wartyback, and spike mussels may result during the project as a result of this work. Each species is protected under the Illinois Endangered Species Protection Act (520 ILCS 10) and is known to occur within the vicinity of the project. To minimize and mitigate for the take of these mussels, the existing mussels will be removed from the project area and relocated to an approved relocation site within the river. A copy of the project Conservation Plan is available for inspection by the public at Fossil Ridge Public Library in Braidwood, Illinois.
The Conservation Plan is also available on the Illinois Department of Natural Resources Incidental Take Authorization website, accessed at http://www.dnr.illinois.gov/conservation/NaturalHeritage/Pages/Incidental-Take-Authorizations.aspx
(ITA #2103470S-232)
Comments pertaining to the conservation plan should be sent to: Illinois Department of Natural Resources, Office of Resource Conservation, Incidental Take Authorization Coordinator, One Natural Resources Way, Springfield, IL 62702
OR may be emailed to DNR.ITACoordinator@illinois.gov.
Comments will be accepted through October 15th. This date is 30 days after the final day that the public notice appears in the local newspaper.
