Construction areas between Faraday and Montgomery halls have caused some concerns about possible pollution going into the Kishwaukee River.

Jeff Daurer, NIU’s director of Capital Budget and Space Planning, said the construction has to do with the air conditioning.

“New chillers are being put in on the east side of campus to improve the air conditioning and make it more efficient,” Daurer said.

The initial construction began two weeks ago and it has attracted the attention of those watching the river, said David Zaber, visiting assistant biology professor.

Zaber said he noticed soil from the site entering the river nearby.

“Once the construction started, erosion got into the creek, causing pollution,” he said.

Zaber found this problem very upsetting.

“This is damaging the environment and there is no excuse for this at all,” he said.

One thing he noticed was silk fences put up to prevent soil from entering the creek were not actually preventing the polluting.

“They are not securely placed and will fail in the long run,” Zaber said.

Being concerned about this, Zaber notified the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency to see if there were any violations.

Maggie Carson, EPA representative of the Rockford region, said an inspector had already looked at the creek.

“The Illinois EPA responded to the issue on May 1 and are still reviewing it to see if any violations were made,” she said.

Daurer said he is aware of the concerns but doesn’t find the construction harmful to the environment.

“The mud that entered the water has been removed by the workers,” Daurer said.

Daurer added that the project is a “green” one.