Environmental Committee

Village of Schaumburg-Environmental Committee Minutes Meeting of March 5, 2026 Page 1 of 4 CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order at 7:01 pm by Donna Panico-Atkins. ROLL CALL Members Present: Chairperson Donna Panico-Atkins, Ryszard Puskarz, Elizabeth Wimmer, Robert Wachsmuth, Donna Johnson, and Pratik Patel (arrived at 7:06pm) Member(s) Absent: Sandeep Alavandi and Mahesh Prajapati A quorum was present. Also Present: Monica Richart – Sustainability Planner Taylor Storm – Recording Secretary Nick Navarroli – Engineering and Public Works Ryan Rivard – Engineering and Public Works Dan Bounds – Baxter & Woodman Consulting Engineers APPROVAL OF MINUTES – February 5, 2026 Mr. Puskarz made a motion to approve the minutes as presented, seconded by Ms. Wimmer. Mr. Patel was absent for the vote. All Ayes. Three members were absent. MOTION CARRIED NEW BUSINESS 1. Annual Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) Community Meeting Mr. Rivard stated that EPW maintains a program on water, sanitary, and storm water quality. This presentation will be on storm water. He introduced the presenter as Dan Bounds, Associate Vice President of Infrastructure for Baxter & Woodman. Mr. Bounds began the presentation by sharing that the Village has a program to reduce the number of pollutants in stormwater discharges. He stated that the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency requires municipalities to have a program to implement “best management practices” to reduce the number of pollutants in the storm drain system and out into the environment. Once the pollutants are in the storm drain system, they run into creeks and other local waterways. The goal of the program is to eliminate or minimize the number of pollutants in the water. This system is known as the MS4 Program - Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System. The main goals of the program are to educate people on storm water pollutant prevention, educate on water quality, conduct inspections on new development construction oversight, and train local staff on how to report findings and stay compliant with the state. Mr. Bounds stated that the most common pollutants found in storm drain systems are uncontrolled construction sites, earth moving, over-fertilization of lawns, human bacteria, and oils. Pertaining to the Village, local impaired waters include Poplar Creek, Salt Creek, and the DuPage River. The Illinois EPA has testing programs where water samples are tested for Village of Schaumburg-Environmental Committee Minutes Meeting of March 5, 2026 Page 2 of 4 different pollutants. These samples are compared to water quality standards, which determine if a body of water is considered impaired. High levels of nutrients, including phosphorus, bacteria, and sodium chloride. Mr. Patel asked about the interval of sampling. Mr. Bounds stated that sampling on an individual water body does not occur very often at a state level, likely once every 10 years. Local watershed groups test waters more often, NWRD monitors water quality. Ms. Johnson asked what to do when someone witnesses waste dumping into waterways. Both EPW representatives, Mr. Navarroli and Mr. Rivard, stated that the witness should contact the police non-emergency line or the Engineering and Public Works Department to report the issue, and members of the team will investigate. Mr. Bounds stated that the local water quality program has six areas. The first is public education, and the second public involvement. These work in tandem. Third is illicit discharge detection and elimination, to look for evidence of illegal dumping. Fourth is construction site storm water runoff control, and fifth is post-construction storm water management. Finally, sixth is pollution prevention for municipal operations, which is training EPW crews on how to maintain and review storm water runoff. Water quality goals are established within each of these six steps to meet the Village’s water quality ordinances and standards. All of this data is available on the Village’s website. Mr. Wachsmuth asked if these groups monitor runoff when new developments are built. Mr. Bounds said yes, they continue to monitor and work with the construction groups to follow local ordinances. The local storm water contact is the Engineering and Public Works department. Mr. Bounds stated that a new requirement for storm water monitoring is to inspect a construction site before construction begins to ensure controls are in place. Village-owned facilities will now be inspected quarterly. Chairperson Panico-Atkins asked how changes to the federal regulations will impact state and local regulations. Mr. Bounds stated that any changes that have happened at the federal level regarding environmental regulations have not altered how Illinois functions about monitoring. He stated that more environmental regulations have been implemented in Illinois. Mr. Patel asked if there are systems in place to monitor usage of pesticides, herbicides, and insecticides. Mr. Bounds stated no. Instead, the measures in place monitor chemical levels and oxygen quality, the same of standard water monitoring. Ms. Richart asked who monitors underground storage tanks for new developments. Mr. Bounds stated the fire stations usually monitor gas stations, due to the amount of fuel on-site. Ms. Wimmer asked what it means for waterways to be impaired, and how did these three bodies get on the list. Mr. Bounds stated that water bodies are added to the list after samples are collected and tested if they do not meet water quality standards. It is very difficult to get waterways off the list once they are on one. Village of Schaumburg-Environmental Committee Minutes Meeting of March 5, 2026 Page 3 of 4 UNFINISHED BUSINESS 2. 2026 Environmental Fair- Planning Chairperson Panico-Atkins stated that at the last meeting, the committee decided on a theme for the environmental fair, “Rooting for Native Plants”. Ms. Richart stated the committee needs to find speakers and what activity will take place. Ms. Wimmer shared that there is a conference called “Wild Things”, with presentations on native plants and prairies. She suggested gathering ideas for speaker by visiting their website. She also shared that she liked the idea of previous Al Larson Landscape Award winners presenting. Ms. Richart suggested a skill-sharing or more discussion-based format. Ms. Wimmer expressed that it is helpful to hear from common people over experts, to see that projects can be successful for people without formal training. Ms. Johnson shared that she has a contact from the University of Illinois with the Master Gardener program, who could send students to set up a table or speak on different topics. Mr. Puskarz reiterated that someone from the Village should present on what is or isn’t allowed based on Village ordinances. Ms. Richart offered to present on the Village’s native landscape guidelines. Mr. Puskarz suggested having a longer speaker session, then opening it up for discussion. The committee discussed natural ways to get rid of pests on plants and vegetable gardens. Squirrels were discussed at length. Ms. Johnson suggested planting seeds in paper egg cartons as the outdoor activity for the fair. She stated that it is inexpensive and easy to do with kids. Chairperson Panico-Atkins suggested for the indoor table at the fair, having a table with books about native plants on display. Ms. Richart asked the committee if they wanted to bring back the buzzer board to the fair. The committee agreed, stating that it is a fun activity for kids. Ms. Richart asked how long the speaker sessions should be. Mr. Puskarz suggested 15-20 minutes per session, to leave time for discussion. Ms. Richart shared that she will ask the library if the speakers can be positioned on the first floor instead of the second. Ms. Richart shared that the ideas thus far for the fair include: she will speak on Village regulations regarding native plantings, hosting the Master Gardeners to speak, the buzzer board, the table indoors with books, the egg carton craft outside, and the raffle. Ms. Johnson asked what prizes the committee is looking for for the raffle. Ms. Richart mentioned packets of seeds or gardening supplies. Chairperson Panico-Atkins suggested having saplings from NWRD again instead of a raffle. The committee agreed. Before the next meeting, the committee needs to find speakers for the fair, collect paper-based egg cartons, and create questions for the buzzer board. Upcoming events for the Environmental Committee include: Shredding Event – Saturday, April 11th, 9am-12pm. Recycling Event – Saturday, April 25th, 9am-1pm. Environmental Fair – Sunday, May 31st, 1-3pm.