IL COVID-19 wastewater surveillance
It is a clone of this request.
| Submitted | May 6, 2022 |
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Communications
From: Betsy Ladyzhets
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the Illinois Freedom of Information Act., I hereby request the following records:
1) Any applications and/or related documents submitted by the Illinois Department of Public Health to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Wastewater Surveillance System (NWSS) for funding to conduct COVID-19 surveillance in Illinois wastewater/sewersheds.
2) For all sewersheds/wastewater treatment plants that are conducting COVID-19 surveillance in the state, all documentation that describes the endpoint of that information, e.g. a database, and all documentation about the layout of the database’s tables and fields, and that provides the definitions of any field names, codes, and abbreviations used in the database.
The Documenting COVID-19 project, housed at MuckRock, is a nonprofit organization working on behalf of news organizations, academics and other public bodies to provide clear, timely information for public dissemination. We have recently published our findings in The New York Times, The Washington Post and other publications.
This information is in the public interest as COVID-19 remains a threat to public health. If access to the records I am requesting will take longer than the required amount of time, please contact me with information about when I might expect copies or the ability to inspect the requested records.
If you have any questions about this request, you can reach me at 860-805-4995.
The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.
In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.
Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 5 business days, as the statute requires.
Sincerely,
Betsy Ladyzhets
From: Department of Public Health
Dear Betsy Ladyzhets,
This email is in response to your recent Freedom of Information Act request for records pertaining to:
1. Any applications and/or related documents submitted by the Illinois Department of Public Health to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Wastewater Surveillance System (NWSS) for funding to conduct COVID-19 surveillance in Illinois wastewater/sewersheds.
2. For all sewersheds/wastewater treatment plants that are conducting COVID-19 surveillance in the state, all documentation that describes the endpoint of that information, e.g. a database, and all documentation about the layout of the database's tables and fields, and that provides the definitions of any field names, codes, and abbreviations used in the database.
For item one, records responsive to your request are attached. Please note, since a time-frame was not stated, the Department gave the most records responsive to your request. Staff also advised that "the attached documents are the workplans for BP3 and BP4 for the Wastewater Projects. In BP3, the WW part starts at Strategy 43, and in BP4, the WW part starts on Strategy 33."
For item two, staff advised that the "end point information" is to submit wastewater surveillance data to CDC NWSS. The "guidance to implement wastewater-based disease surveillance" that IWSS follows is contained on the CDC "Wastewater Surveillance Data Reporting and Analytics" webpage, here: https://www.cdc.gov/healthywater/surveillance/wastewater-surveillance/data-reporting-analytics.html. This page also includes a section called "NWSS Reporting Data Dictionary," which contain downloadable files that detail which data fields jurisdictions are required to collect and report.
Sincerely,
Nicole Rhim
Attorney
Illinois Department of Public Health
State of Illinois - CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: The information contained in this communication is confidential, may be attorney-client privileged or attorney work product, may constitute inside information or internal deliberative staff communication, and is intended only for the use of the addressee. Unauthorized use, disclosure or copying of this communication or any part thereof is strictly prohibited and may be unlawful. If you have received this communication in error, please notify the sender immediately by return e-mail and destroy this communication and all copies thereof, including all attachments. Receipt by an unintended recipient does not waive attorney-client privilege, attorney work product privilege, or any other exemption from disclosure.
From: Betsy Ladyzhets
Hi Nicole,
Thank you for your help with this request! I really appreciate it.
Best,
Betsy Ladyzhets
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