In the fall of 2023, the Army Corps of Engineers and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) recommended the removal of dams on the Fox River in Kane County. Their preliminary report, in the works for over a decade, indicated that dam removal would improve water quality, restore wildlife habitat, decrease flood risk, and increase safety.[1] Undoubtedly, removing dams on the Fox River, most of which were first built in the 1830s to power mills, will create noticeable changes, including an impact to the tangible history of these river towns.
Section 106
Any project in the United States that uses federal funding or needs a federal permit is required to undergo a “Section 106” review. Section 106 is the section of the National Historic Preservation Act that requires the mitigation of harm to any historic resources that are within the “Area of Potential Effect” (APE).[2] Mitigation for these federally-impacted projects can include methods such as not proceeding with the project, moving a historic structure to a new location, or saving parts of a historic structure for display in a museum—among others. Historic resources are anything that is locally or nationally registered as historic landmarks or could potentially be a listed national landmark (see here for a basic guide to criteria used to determine if a structure is historic). The “Area of Potential Effect” is the area identified with the potential to be affected by the project.
Historic Information Incomplete
Like most people in Kane County, we first learned of the Army Corps and IDNR recommendations for dam removal in the fall of 2023. Knowing that a Section 106 review would be required, we contacted the Illinois State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) which typically conducts the review to see what, if anything, had been submitted for their review. As we reported in May of 2024, we learned that the review had been conducted in 2015, had only considered the dams as the APE, and had determined there would be no harm to historic resources. Based on research we knew about the area’s history, we believed SHPO had based this Section 106 review on incomplete information.
Concerned, we reached out to the Army Corps of Engineers to request a re-evaluation of this Section 106 review. Research from the St. Charles History Museum indicated that the St. Charles Dam retained some of its original material and design from the 1830s, which could mean the dam was historic. Furthermore, we expressed our puzzlement over the APE as including the dams only, since removing the dams would surely affect how buildings built on the river’s shores above, below, and at the dams engaged with the river; after dam removal, many of these resources would probably be some distance from the new shoreline. At their request, we sent them a summary of the research from the St. Charles History Museum on its dam and a list of historic resources in St. Charles, Geneva, and Batavia we believed should be included in the APE.
Consulting Party
Early in June of 2024, we received the following email from Ashley Dialide, District Archeologist for the Army Corps of Engineers Chicago Division:
“After meeting with SHPO and our Office of Counsel, we have decided to move forward with a programmatic Environmental Assessment for feasibility that will allow us to revisit Section 106 compliance on a project-by-project basis during the design phase of the project. I appreciate the information that you provided, and we will be reaching out to you again during our design phase as a Section 106 consulting party.”
We were delighted to learn that the Army Corps would submit a new Section 106 for review when a city decides to remove its dam. Adding us as a “consulting party” would allow us to “share [our] views, receive and review pertinent information, offer ideas, and consider possible solutions together” with the Army Corps.[3] We view our role as a consulting party as being a conduit for information from and to the Army Corps and local groups such as local Historic Preservation Commissions.
Impact of Dam Removal
The cities on the Fox River are expected to decide whether to have their dams removed or not by the Spring of 2025. Ideally, we would like to make sure the cities have information about a proposed APE, what historic resources are in that APE, and what some possible mitigation solutions could be considered BEFORE they decide. Understanding this information should be considered as one of the factors in the decision on dam removal.
If you are interested in assisting with this work, please contact our Community Engagement Director, Al Watts, at community@ppfv.org.
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[1] U.S. Army Corps of Engineers: Chicago District, “Fox River Connectivity and Habitat Study,” National Environmental Policy Act Public Meetings, September 18-20, 2023, pdf.
[2] See the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended, at https://www.gsa.gov/real-estate/historic-preservation/historic-preservation-policy-tools/legislation-policy-and-reports/section-106-of-the-national-historic-preservation-act.
[3] “Section 106 Participants: Roles and Responsibilities,” Environmental Review Toolkit, Federal Highway Administration, accessed February 11, 2024, https://www.environment.fhwa.dot.gov/env_topics/section_106_tutorial/chapter2_3.aspx.