NSSD Trustee Dan Pierce Earns National Honor for Contributions to Clean Water

North Shore Sanitary District (NSSD) Trustee Dan Pierce has been honored with the prestigious Public Service Award from the National Association of Cleanwater Agencies (NACWA).

The Public Service Award from NACWA recognizes public officials at the local, state, and federal level who have “exhibited a particular and continuing awareness of the challenges faced by NACWA Member Agencies.”  The Association represents nearly 200 wastewater treatment operators across the country.

Trustee Pierce received the award at NACWA’s recent Winter Conference from President Julius Ciaccia, who said, “Dan’s record of public service and environmental protection spans 50 years.  He was the first chairman of the Illinois House of Representatives Environment Committee and played a major role in shaping Illinois’ Environmental Protection Act.  He also served as Mayor of Highland Park for 13 years, and led the City’s successful efforts to protect their local environment.  For his outstanding record and half century of service to our environment, I am proud to present Daniel Pierce with NSCWA’s Public Service Award.” 

Trustee Pierce was elected to the NSSD Board in 2004, and re-elected in 2008 and 2012.  He currently serves as Vice President, and was President for five years, from 2006-2008 & 2009-2012.  He has taken on many duties for the District, and has been especially effective as a liaison to other public agencies and officials, including the Illinois General Assembly.  His shepherded through the legislature three updates to the District’s operating statute, first enacted in 1911, and the results have made the District better able to respond to potential threats to Lake Michigan.

“I am grateful for the recognition of my work on behalf of our environment throughout my career from NACWA,” Trustee Pierce said.  “Much of the credit should go to my fellow Trustees and staff at the NSSD, as well as many people I have had the privilege to work with over the last 50 years who shared the same goal of leaving a better, cleaner world to our children and grandchildren.”

As a member of the General Assembly from 1965 to 1985, Trustee Pierce was an early advocate of recycling, introducing legislation requiring a deposit on beverage containers sold in Illinois.  He also sponsored a ban on harmful pesticides, including DDT, two years before the federal government enacted a prohibition.

Trustee Pierce served as Mayor of Highland Park, 1987-1995 & 1999- 2003, and guided the City through several clean water projects, including a major upgrade of the water treatment plant.

He served in the Air Force during the Korean War.  He and his wife of 33 years, Rhoda, who is also active in her community & serves as the Executive Director of the Illinois Arts Council, have 5 sons and 6 grandchildren.

The NSSD serves 17 Lake County communities including: Winthrop Harbor; Zion; Beach Park; Waukegan; Gurnee; Park City; Grayslake; North Chicago; Green Oaks; Lake Bluff; Lake Forest; Highwood; Bannockburn; Deerfield; Highland Park; Fort Sheridan; and the Great Lakes Naval Training Center.  The District collects & conveys wastewater from local sewer systems in these communities to its treatment plants in Waukegan, Highland Park & Gurnee, which have been recognized for excellence by the National Association of Cleanwater Agencies.

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