Public Act 098-0335
 
HB1522 EnrolledLRB098 08290 OMW 38392 b

    AN ACT concerning local government.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 5. The Counties Code is amended by adding Section
5-1062.3 as follows:
 
    (55 ILCS 5/5-1062.3 new)
    Sec. 5-1062.3. Stormwater management; DuPage and Peoria
Counties.
    (a) The purpose of this Section is to allow management and
mitigation of the effects of urbanization on stormwater
drainage in the metropolitan counties of DuPage and Peoria, and
references to "county" in this Section apply only to those
counties. This Section does not apply to a municipality that
only partially lies within one of these counties and, on the
effective date of this amendatory Act of the 98th General
Assembly, is served by an existing Section in the Counties Code
regarding stormwater management. The purpose of this Section
shall be achieved by:
        (1) consolidating the existing stormwater management
    framework into a united, countywide structure;
        (2) setting minimum standards for floodplain and
    stormwater management; and
        (3) preparing a countywide plan for the management of
    stormwater runoff, including the management of natural and
    man-made drainageways. The countywide plan may incorporate
    watershed plans.
    (b) A stormwater management planning committee may be
established by county board resolution, with its membership
consisting of equal numbers of county board and municipal
representatives from each county board district, and such other
members as may be determined by the county and municipal
members. If the county has more than 6 county board districts,
however, the county board may by ordinance divide the county
into not less than 6 areas of approximately equal population,
to be used instead of county board districts for the purpose of
determining representation on the stormwater management
planning committee.
    The county board members shall be appointed by the chairman
of the county board. Municipal members from each county board
district or other represented area shall be appointed by a
majority vote of the mayors of those municipalities that have
the greatest percentage of their respective populations
residing in that county board district or other represented
area. All municipal and county board representatives shall be
entitled to a vote; the other members shall be nonvoting
members, unless authorized to vote by the unanimous consent of
the municipal and county board representatives. A municipality
that is located in more than one county may choose, at the time
of formation of the stormwater management planning committee
and based on watershed boundaries, to participate in the
stormwater management planning program of either county.
Subcommittees of the stormwater management planning committee
may be established to serve a portion of the county or a
particular drainage basin that has similar stormwater
management needs. The stormwater management planning committee
shall adopt bylaws, by a majority vote of the county and
municipal members, to govern the functions of the committee and
its subcommittees. Officers of the committee shall include a
chair and vice chair, one of whom shall be a county
representative and one a municipal representative.
    The principal duties of the committee shall be to develop a
stormwater management plan for presentation to and approval by
the county board, and to direct the plan's implementation and
revision. The committee may retain engineering, legal, and
financial advisors and inspection personnel. The committee
shall meet at least quarterly and shall hold at least one
public meeting during the preparation of the plan and prior to
its submittal to the county board. The committee may make
grants to units of local government that have adopted an
ordinance requiring actions consistent with the stormwater
management plan and to landowners for the purposes of
stormwater management, including special projects; use of the
grant money must be consistent with the stormwater management
plan.
    The committee shall not have or exercise any power of
eminent domain.
    (c) In the preparation of a stormwater management plan, a
county stormwater management planning committee shall
coordinate the planning process with each adjoining county to
ensure that recommended stormwater projects will have no
significant impact on the levels or flows of stormwaters in
inter-county watersheds or on the capacity of existing and
planned stormwater retention facilities. An adopted stormwater
management plan shall identify steps taken by the county to
coordinate the development of plan recommendations with
adjoining counties.
    (d) The stormwater management committee may not enforce any
rules or regulations that would interfere with (i) any power
granted by the Illinois Drainage Code (70 ILCS 605/) to
operate, construct, maintain, or improve drainage systems or
(ii) the ability to operate, maintain, or improve the drainage
systems used on or by land or a facility used for production
agriculture purposes, as defined in the Use Tax Act (35 ILCS
105/), except newly constructed buildings and newly installed
impervious paved surfaces. Disputes regarding an exception
shall be determined by a mutually agreed upon arbitrator paid
by the disputing party or parties.
    (e) Before the stormwater management planning committee
recommends to the county board a stormwater management plan for
the county or a portion thereof, it shall submit the plan to
the Office of Water Resources of the Department of Natural
Resources for review and recommendations. The Office, in
reviewing the plan, shall consider such factors as impacts on
the levels or flows in rivers and streams and the cumulative
effects of stormwater discharges on flood levels. The Office of
Water Resources shall determine whether the plan or ordinances
enacted to implement the plan complies with the requirements of
subsection (f). Within a period not to exceed 60 days, the
review comments and recommendations shall be submitted to the
stormwater management planning committee for consideration.
Any amendments to the plan shall be submitted to the Office for
review.
    (f) Prior to recommending the plan to the county board, the
stormwater management planning committee shall hold at least
one public hearing thereon and shall afford interested persons
an opportunity to be heard. The hearing shall be held in the
county seat. Notice of the hearing shall be published at least
once and no less than 15 days in advance of the hearing in a
newspaper of general circulation published in the county. The
notice shall state the time and place of the hearing and the
place where copies of the proposed plan will be accessible for
examination by interested parties. If an affected municipality
having a stormwater management plan adopted by ordinance wishes
to protest the proposed county plan provisions, it shall appear
at the hearing and submit in writing specific proposals to the
stormwater management planning committee. After consideration
of the matters raised at the hearing, the committee may amend
or approve the plan and recommend it to the county board for
adoption.
    The county board may enact the proposed plan by ordinance.
If the proposals for modification of the plan made by an
affected municipality having a stormwater management plan are
not included in the proposed county plan, and the municipality
affected by the plan opposes adoption of the county plan by
resolution of its corporate authorities, approval of the county
plan shall require an affirmative vote of at least two-thirds
of the county board members present and voting. If the county
board wishes to amend the county plan, it shall submit in
writing specific proposals to the stormwater management
planning committee. If the proposals are not approved by the
committee, or are opposed by resolution of the corporate
authorities of an affected municipality having a municipal
stormwater management plan, amendment of the plan shall require
an affirmative vote of at least two-thirds of the county board
members present and voting.
    (g) The county board may prescribe by ordinance reasonable
rules and regulations for floodplain management and for
governing the location, width, course, and release rate of all
stormwater runoff channels, streams, and basins in the county,
in accordance with the adopted stormwater management plan.
Land, facilities, and drainage district facilities used for
production agriculture as defined in subsection (d) shall not
be subjected to regulation by the county board or stormwater
management committee under this Section for floodplain
management and for governing location, width, course,
maintenance, and release rate of stormwater runoff channels,
streams and basins, or water discharged from a drainage
district. These rules and regulations shall, at a minimum, meet
the standards for floodplain management established by the
Office of Water Resources and the requirements of the Federal
Emergency Management Agency for participation in the National
Flood Insurance Program. With respect to DuPage County only,
the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning may not impose
more stringent regulations regarding water quality on entities
discharging in accordance with a valid National Pollution
Discharge Elimination System permit issued under the
Environmental Protection Act.
    (h) For the purpose of implementing this Section and for
the development, design, planning, construction, operation,
and maintenance of stormwater facilities provided for in the
adopted stormwater management plan, a county board that has
established a stormwater management planning committee
pursuant to this Section or has participated in a stormwater
management planning process may adopt a schedule of fees
applicable to all real property within the county which
benefits from the county's stormwater management facilities
and activities, and as may be necessary to mitigate the effects
of increased stormwater runoff resulting from development. The
total amount of the fees assessed must be specifically and
uniquely attributable to the actual costs of the county in the
preparation, administration, and implementation of the adopted
stormwater management plan, construction and maintenance of
stormwater facilities, and other activities related to the
management of the runoff from the property. The individual fees
must be specifically and uniquely attributable to the portion
of the actual cost to the county of managing the runoff from
the property. The fees shall be used to finance activities
undertaken by the county or its included municipalities to
mitigate the effects of urban stormwater runoff by providing
and maintaining stormwater collection, retention, detention,
and particulate treatment facilities, and improving water
bodies impacted by stormwater runoff, as identified in the
county plan. In establishing, maintaining, or replacing such
facilities, the county shall not duplicate facilities operated
by other governmental bodies within its corporate boundaries.
The schedule of fees established by the county board shall
include a procedure for a full or partial fee waiver for
property owners who have taken actions or put in place
facilities that reduce or eliminate the cost to the county of
providing stormwater management services to their property.
The county board may also offer tax or fee rebates or incentive
payments to property owners who construct, maintain, and use
approved green infrastructure stormwater management devices or
any other methods that reduce or eliminate the cost to the
county of providing stormwater management services to the
property, including but not limited to facilities that reduce
the volume, temperature, velocity, and pollutant load of the
stormwater managed by the county, such as systems that
infiltrate, evapotranspirate, or harvest stormwater for reuse,
known as "green infrastructure". In exercising this authority,
the county shall provide notice to the municipalities within
their jurisdictions of any fees proposed under this Section and
seek the input of each municipality with respect to the
calculation of the fees. The county shall also give property
owners at least 2 years' notice of the fee, during which time
the county shall provide education on green infrastructure
practices and an opportunity to take action to reduce or
eliminate the fee. All these fees collected by the county shall
be held in a separate fund, and shall be expended only in the
watershed within which they were collected. The county may
enter into intergovernmental agreements with other government
bodies for the joint administration of stormwater management
and the collection of the fees authorized in this Section.
    A fee schedule authorized by this subsection must have the
same limit as the authorized stormwater tax. In Peoria County
only, the fee schedule shall not be adopted unless (i) a
referendum has been passed approving a stormwater tax as
provided in subsection (i) of this Section; or (ii) the
question of the adoption of a fee schedule with the same limit
as the authorized stormwater tax has been approved in a
referendum by a majority of those voting on the question.
    (i) In the alternative to a fee imposed under subsection
(h), the county board may cause an annual tax of not to exceed
0.20% of the value, as equalized or assessed by the Department
of Revenue, of all taxable property in the county to be levied
upon all the taxable property in the county. The property tax
shall be in addition to all other taxes authorized by law to be
levied and collected in the county and shall be in addition to
the maximum tax rate authorized by law for general county
purposes. The 0.20% limitation provided in this Section may be
increased or decreased by referendum in accordance with the
provisions of Sections 18-120, 18-125, and 18-130 of the
Property Tax Code (35 ILCS 200/).
    Any revenues generated as a result of ownership or
operation of facilities or land acquired with the tax funds
collected pursuant to this subsection shall be held in a
separate fund and be used either to abate such property tax or
for implementing this Section.
    If at least part of the county has been declared by a
presidential proclamation after July 1, 1986 and before
December 31, 1987, to be a disaster area as a result of
flooding, the tax authorized by this subsection does not
require approval by referendum. However, in Peoria County, the
tax authorized by this subsection shall not be levied until the
question of its adoption, either for a specified period or
indefinitely, has been submitted to the electors thereof and
approved by a majority of those voting on the question. This
question may be submitted at any election held in the county
after the adoption of a resolution by the county board
providing for the submission of the question to the electors of
the county. The county board shall certify the resolution and
proposition to the proper election officials, who shall submit
the proposition at an election in accordance with the general
election law. If a majority of the votes cast on the question
is in favor of the levy of the tax, it may thereafter be levied
in the county for the specified period or indefinitely, as
provided in the proposition. The question shall be put in
substantially the following form:
        Shall an annual tax be levied for stormwater management
    purposes (for a period of not more than ..... years) at a
    rate not exceeding .....% of the equalized assessed value
    of the taxable property of ..... County?
    Votes shall be recorded as Yes or No.
    The following question may be submitted at any election
held in the county after the adoption of a resolution by the
county board providing for the submission of the question to
the electors of the county to authorize adoption of a schedule
of fees applicable to all real property within the county:
        Shall the county board be authorized to adopt a
    schedule of fees, at a rate not exceeding that of the
    stormwater management tax, applicable to all real property
    for preparation, administration, and implementation of an
    adopted stormwater management plan, construction and
    maintenance of related facilities, and management of the
    runoff from the property?
    Votes shall be recorded as Yes or No.
    If these questions have been approved by a majority of
those voting prior to the effective date of this amendatory Act
of the 98th General Assembly, this subsection does not apply.
    (j) For those counties that adopt a property tax in
accordance with the provisions in this Section, the stormwater
management committee shall offer property tax abatements or
incentive payments to property owners who construct, maintain,
and use approved stormwater management devices. The stormwater
management committee is authorized to offer credits to the
property tax, if applicable, based on authorized practices
consistent with the stormwater management plan and approved by
the committee. Expenses of staff of a stormwater management
committee that are expended on regulatory project review may be
no more than 20% of the annual budget of the committee,
including funds raised under subsections (h) and (i).
    (k) Upon the creation and implementation of a county
stormwater management plan, the county may petition the circuit
court to dissolve any or all drainage districts created
pursuant to the Illinois Drainage Code or predecessor Acts
which are located entirely within the area of the county
covered by the plan.
    However, any active drainage district implementing a plan
that is consistent with and at least as stringent as the county
stormwater management plan may petition the stormwater
management planning committee for exception from dissolution.
Upon filing of the petition, the committee shall set a date for
hearing not less than 2 weeks, nor more than 4 weeks, from the
filing thereof, and the committee shall give at least one
week's notice of the hearing in one or more newspapers of
general circulation within the district, and in addition shall
cause a copy of the notice to be personally served upon each of
the trustees of the district. At the hearing, the committee
shall hear the district's petition and allow the district
trustees and any interested parties an opportunity to present
oral and written evidence. The committee shall render its
decision upon the petition for exception from dissolution based
upon the best interests of the residents of the district. In
the event that the exception is not allowed, the district may
file a petition within 30 days of the decision with the circuit
court. In that case, the notice and hearing requirements for
the court shall be the same as herein provided for the
committee. The court shall likewise render its decision of
whether to dissolve the district based upon the best interests
of residents of the district.
    The dissolution of any drainage district shall not affect
the obligation of any bonds issued or contracts entered into by
the district nor invalidate the levy, extension or collection
of any taxes or special assessments upon the property in the
former drainage district. All property and obligations of the
former drainage district shall be assumed and managed by the
county, and the debts of the former drainage district shall be
discharged as soon as practicable.
    If a drainage district lies only partly within a county
that adopts a county stormwater management plan, the county may
petition the circuit court to disconnect from the drainage
district that portion of the district that lies within that
county. The property of the drainage district within the
disconnected area shall be assumed and managed by the county.
The county shall also assume a portion of the drainage
district's debt at the time of disconnection, based on the
portion of the value of the taxable property of the drainage
district which is located within the area being disconnected.
    The operations of any drainage district that continues to
exist in a county that has adopted a stormwater management plan
in accordance with this Section shall be in accordance with the
adopted plan.
    (l) Any county that has adopted a county stormwater
management plan under this Section may, after 10 days written
notice receiving consent of the owner or occupant, enter upon
any lands or waters within the county for the purpose of
inspecting stormwater facilities or causing the removal of any
obstruction to an affected watercourse. If consent is denied or
cannot be reasonably obtained, the county ordinance shall
provide a process or procedure for an administrative warrant to
be obtained. The county shall be responsible for any damages
occasioned thereby.
    (m) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (a) of this
Section, upon petition of the municipality, and based on a
finding of the stormwater management planning committee, the
county shall not enforce rules and regulations adopted by the
county in any municipality located wholly or partly within the
county that has a municipal stormwater management ordinance
that is consistent with and at least as stringent as the county
plan and ordinance, and is being enforced by the municipal
authorities. On issues that the county ordinance is more
stringent as deemed by the committee, the county shall only
enforce rules and regulations adopted by the county on the more
stringent issues and accept municipal permits. The county shall
have no more than 60 days to review permits or the permits
shall be deemed approved.
    (n) A county may issue general obligation bonds for
implementing any stormwater plan adopted under this Section in
the manner prescribed in Section 5-1012; except that the
referendum requirement of Section 5-1012 does not apply to
bonds issued pursuant to this Section on which the principal
and interest are to be paid entirely out of funds generated by
the taxes and fees authorized by this Section.
    (o) A county that has adopted a fee schedule pursuant to
this Section may not thereafter issue any bond extensions
related to implementing a stormwater management plan.
    (p) The powers authorized by this Section may be
implemented by the county board for a portion of the county
subject to similar stormwater management needs.
    (q) The powers and taxes authorized by this Section are in
addition to the powers and taxes authorized by Division 5-15;
in exercising its powers under this Section, a county shall not
be subject to the restrictions and requirements of that
Division.
    (r) Stormwater management projects and actions related to
stormwater management in a county that has adopted a fee
schedule or tax pursuant to this Section prior to the effective
date of this amendatory Act of the 98th General Assembly are
not altered by this amendatory Act of the 98th General
Assembly.
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.