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91_HB0084
LRB9100609MWgc
1 AN ACT to amend the Counties Code by adding Section
2 5-1062.2
3 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
4 represented in the General Assembly:
5 Section 5. The Counties Code is amended by adding Section
6 5-1062.2 as follows:
7 (55 ILCS 5/5-1062.2 new)
8 Sec. 5-1062.2. Urban stormwater management in
9 southwestern Illinois.
10 (a) The purpose of this Section is to prevent, mitigate,
11 and remedy the effects of urbanization on stormwater
12 management in the southwestern Illinois counties of Madison,
13 Monroe, and St. Clair.
14 The General Assembly finds that floods have occurred from
15 1993 through 1996 in these counties resulting in the
16 expenditure of millions of dollars of private, local, State,
17 and federal funds for disaster relief. Only a small portion
18 of those funds were expended to remediate the flooding
19 problems. Current stormwater management responsibilities are
20 limited by political boundaries and stormwater knows no
21 boundaries. Therefore, because effective stormwater
22 management is crucial to optimize economic development and
23 improve the quality of life in the area this Section is
24 enacted to:
25 (1) Enable the counties to regulate and enforce
26 management of urban stormwater runoff.
27 (2) Create the Southwestern Illinois Stormwater
28 Management Committee to administer funding and promote
29 cooperation in stormwater management in southwestern
30 Illinois.
31 (b) For the purposes of this Section:
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1 "Committee" means the Southwestern Illinois Stormwater
2 Management Committee.
3 "County" means Madison, Monroe, or St. Clair County.
4 "County Board" means the county board or county
5 commission of a respective county.
6 "Impervious area" means, without limitation, that area of
7 property that is covered by materials other than soil and
8 vegetation and that has no intended capacity to absorb
9 stormwater, such as parking lots, driveways, sidewalks,
10 patios, tennis courts, roofs, and other structures.
11 "Stormwater runoff" means (i) waters derived from rain,
12 melting snow, or other precipitation that exceed the capacity
13 of the soil and (ii) rainfall not absorbed or detained by
14 soil or lost by evaporation.
15 "Stormwater management" means any activity related to the
16 regulation of the flow of water from impervious areas. It
17 includes, but is not limited to, planning, education,
18 monitoring, inspection, and enforcement of ordinances.
19 "Stormwater management facility" means any facility,
20 improvement, development, project, property, or any interest
21 in any of these items that is constructed or acquired to
22 control, treat, or protect life or property from storm,
23 flood, or surplus waters. Stormwater management facility
24 includes, but is not limited to, the following:
25 (i) levees, spoil banks, revetments, and
26 bulkheads;
27 (ii) the removal of obstructions, including,
28 but not limited to, bars, logs, and debris from
29 water courses;
30 (iii) the acquisition of real or personal
31 property, rights, or interests to provide for the
32 free, natural flow, detention, or retention of flood
33 or stormwater;
34 (iv) storm sewers, retention ponds, dams,
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1 impounding basins, wetlands, and dikes;
2 (v) the construction, operation, and
3 maintenance of any other works or structures and the
4 improvement necessary for the control, treatment, or
5 protection of life or property from storm, flood, or
6 surplus waters;
7 (vi) the provision of related public
8 information and the condemnation of land and other
9 property rights and interests, the damage of land
10 and other property rights and interests for
11 stormwater management purposes related to these
12 items after just compensation has been made or paid
13 into court for the owner in the manner prescribed by
14 Article VII of the Code of Civil Procedure.
15 "Urban stormwater runoff" means stormwater runoff from
16 impervious areas and associated parks, lawns, recreational
17 areas, or other land uses commonly associated with urban
18 development.
19 (c) The county board may prescribe by ordinance
20 reasonable rules, regulations, and standards for stormwater
21 and floodplain management and for governing the location,
22 width, course, and release rate of stormwater runoff
23 channels, streams, lakes, and basins in the unincorporated
24 portions of the county for the purpose of mitigating the
25 effects of urban stormwater runoff.
26 (d) The counties may not enforce any rules or
27 regulations that would interfere with the ability of any
28 drainage district or farm to operate, maintain, and improve
29 its system for the purpose of production of an agricultural
30 commodity crop. Municipalities retain all authority for land
31 use control as provided by law and this Section does not
32 limit those powers. The counties may not require any unit of
33 government to expend funds for the purpose of stormwater
34 management.
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1 (e) The county board or commission is authorized to
2 participate in the installation of stormwater management
3 facilities.
4 (f) The Southwestern Illinois Stormwater Management
5 Committee is established by this Section to administer
6 funding and promote cooperation in stormwater management in
7 the southwestern Illinois counties of Madison, Monroe, and
8 St. Clair through intergovernmental agreements.
9 (g) The Southwestern Illinois Stormwater Management
10 Committee consists of 7 appointed members. Each county board
11 chairperson, with the advice and consent of the county board,
12 may appoint 2 members to the committee, and the Governor may
13 appoint 1 member to the committee. Vacancies on the committee
14 shall be filled in the same manner as the original
15 appointments. Members shall serve 3-year terms, except that
16 by lottery, the initial committee shall establish initial
17 terms providing that 2 members shall serve one year; 2
18 members shall serve 2 years; and 3 members shall serve 3
19 years to assure that only a portion of the committee is
20 replaced in a given year.
21 (1) The committee may select a chairperson and
22 various other officers needed to conduct business from
23 its members and may adopt, by majority vote, by-laws to
24 govern its functions. The committee members may not
25 receive compensation for their work.
26 (2) The committee may request, receive, and
27 distribute federal, State, and local grants for
28 stormwater management in the counties.
29 (3) The county boards may authorize county
30 employees to provide assistance to the committee.
31 (h) The provisions of this Section are severable under
32 Section 1.31 of the Statute on Statutes.
33 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
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1 becoming law.