Attorney General Lisa Madigan's office has issued a settlement proposal to the University and the Champaign-Urbana Sanitary District, who were responsible for the ammonia spill released from the Abbott Power Plant into the local sewer system that resulted in a massive fish kill in July 2002.

According to attorney Scott Mulford of the attorney general's office, the state is seeking payment of the civil penalty and the fish kill penalty, as well as the implementation of interim projects to speed restoration of the Saline Branch of the Vermillion River and the Salt Fork River.

The University, sanitary district and attorney general's office will negotiate the agreement outside of court and details of the settlement proposal could not be released.

The spill occurred on July 11, 2002, when the Abbott Power Plant attempted to clean its boilers and released toxic amounts of ammonia into the sewer system. The wastewater passed into the Saline Branch and Salt Fork River, where according to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, more than 100,000 fish were killed.

The attorney general's office filed a claim for $50,000 against the University and the sanitary district in September 2002. The department, however, had already established figures showing higher overall cost of the fish alone.

Alarmed by the discrepancy, Prairie Rivers Network, a statewide river conservation organization based in Champaign, sent Madigan a letter stating that "the state's claim ignored the damage that had been done to the Salt Fork's other resources that are obviously much more difficult to quantify."

In the letter, Prairie Rivers also proposed several strategies for the restoration of the Salt Fork that would "encourage recovery in the future if another accident spill were to occur."

"We care about the restoration of the resource and I am sure that all the parties involved share that," said Jean Flemma, executive director of the Prairie Rivers Network. "But the public needs to have an opportunity to provide input."

According to Mulford, Prairie River Network's suggestions were factored into the settlement proposal issued by the attorney general's office.

University spokeswoman Robin Kaler said University lawyers are reviewing the proposal and will disclose results in a couple of weeks.

"The University will encourage the public to provide input," Kaler said.