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1 | | AN ACT concerning local government.
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2 | | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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3 | | represented in the General Assembly:
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4 | | Section 5. The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District Act |
5 | | is amended by changing Sections 7h and 9.6c as follows: |
6 | | (70 ILCS 2605/7h)
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7 | | Sec. 7h. Stormwater management. |
8 | | (a) Stormwater management in Cook County shall be under the |
9 | | general
supervision of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation |
10 | | District of Greater
Chicago. The District has the authority to |
11 | | plan, manage, implement, and
finance activities relating to |
12 | | stormwater management in Cook County.
The authority of the |
13 | | District with respect to stormwater management extends
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14 | | throughout Cook County and is not limited to the area otherwise |
15 | | within the
territory and jurisdiction of the District under |
16 | | this Act.
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17 | | For the purposes of this Section, the term "stormwater |
18 | | management"
includes, without limitation, the management of |
19 | | floods and floodwaters.
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20 | | (b) The District may utilize the resources of cooperating |
21 | | local watershed
councils (including the stormwater management |
22 | | planning councils created under
Section 5-1062.1 of the |
23 | | Counties Code), councils of local governments, the
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1 | | Northeastern Illinois Planning Commission, and similar |
2 | | organizations and
agencies. The District may provide those |
3 | | organizations and agencies with
funding, on a contractual |
4 | | basis, for providing information to the District,
providing |
5 | | information to the public, or performing other activities |
6 | | related
to stormwater management.
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7 | | The District, in addition to other powers vested in it, may |
8 | | negotiate and enter into agreements with any county for the |
9 | | management of stormwater runoff in accordance with subsection |
10 | | (c) of Section 5-1062 of the Counties Code.
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11 | | The District may enter into intergovernmental agreements |
12 | | with Cook County or
other units of local government that are |
13 | | located in whole or in part outside
the District for the |
14 | | purpose of implementing the stormwater management plan
and |
15 | | providing stormwater management services in areas not included |
16 | | within the
territory of the District.
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17 | | (c) The District shall prepare and adopt by ordinance a |
18 | | countywide
stormwater management plan for Cook County. The |
19 | | countywide plan may
incorporate one or more separate watershed |
20 | | plans.
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21 | | Prior to adopting the countywide stormwater management |
22 | | plan, the District
shall hold at least one public hearing |
23 | | thereon and shall afford interested
persons an opportunity to |
24 | | be heard.
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25 | | (d) The District may prescribe by ordinance reasonable |
26 | | rules and regulations
for floodplain and stormwater management |
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1 | | and for governing the location, width,
course, and release rate |
2 | | of all stormwater runoff channels, streams, and
basins in Cook |
3 | | County, in accordance with the adopted stormwater management
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4 | | plan. These rules and regulations shall, at a minimum, meet the |
5 | | standards
for floodplain management established by the Office |
6 | | of Water Resources of the
Department of Natural Resources and |
7 | | the requirements of the Federal Emergency
Management Agency for |
8 | | participation in the National Flood Insurance Program.
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9 | | (e) The District may impose fees on areas outside the |
10 | | District but within
Cook County for performance of stormwater |
11 | | management services, including but not limited to, maintenance |
12 | | of streams and the development, design, planning, |
13 | | construction, operation and maintenance of stormwater |
14 | | facilities. The total amount of the fees collected from areas |
15 | | outside of the District but within Cook County shall not exceed |
16 | | the District's annual tax rate for stormwater management within |
17 | | the District multiplied by the aggregate equalized assessed |
18 | | valuation of areas outside of the District but within Cook |
19 | | County. The District may require the unit of local government |
20 | | in which the stormwater services are performed to collect the |
21 | | fee and remit the collected fee to the District. The District |
22 | | is authorized to pay a reasonable administrative fee to the |
23 | | unit of local government for the collection of these fees. All |
24 | | such fees collected
by the District shall be held in a separate |
25 | | fund and used for implementation of this Section.
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26 | | (f) Amounts realized from the tax levy for stormwater |
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1 | | management purposes
authorized in Section 12 may be used by the |
2 | | District for implementing this
Section and for the development, |
3 | | design, planning, construction, operation, and
maintenance of |
4 | | regional and local stormwater facilities provided for in the |
5 | | stormwater
management plan.
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6 | | The proceeds of any tax imposed under Section 12 for |
7 | | stormwater management
purposes and any revenues generated as a |
8 | | result of the ownership or operation
of facilities or land |
9 | | acquired with the proceeds of taxes imposed under Section
12 |
10 | | for stormwater management purposes shall be held in a separate |
11 | | fund and used
either for implementing this Section or to abate |
12 | | those taxes.
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13 | | (g) The District may plan, implement, finance, and operate |
14 | | regional and local
stormwater management projects in |
15 | | accordance with the adopted countywide
stormwater management |
16 | | plan.
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17 | | The District shall provide for public review and comment on |
18 | | proposed
stormwater management projects. The District shall |
19 | | conform to State and
federal requirements concerning public |
20 | | information, environmental assessments,
and environmental |
21 | | impacts for projects receiving State or federal funds.
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22 | | The District may issue bonds under Section 9.6a of this Act |
23 | | for the
purpose of funding stormwater management projects.
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24 | | The District shall not use Cook County Forest Preserve |
25 | | District land for
stormwater or flood control projects without |
26 | | the consent of the Forest
Preserve District. |
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1 | | The District may acquire, by purchase from a willing seller |
2 | | in a voluntary transaction, real property in furtherance of its |
3 | | regional and local stormwater management activities. Nothing |
4 | | in this Section shall affect the District's powers of |
5 | | condemnation or eminent domain as otherwise set forth in this |
6 | | Act.
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7 | | (h) Upon the creation and implementation of a county |
8 | | stormwater management
plan, the District may petition the |
9 | | circuit court to dissolve any or all
drainage districts created |
10 | | pursuant to the Illinois Drainage Code or
predecessor Acts that |
11 | | are located entirely within the District.
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12 | | However, any active drainage district implementing a plan |
13 | | that is consistent
with and at least as stringent as the county |
14 | | stormwater management plan may
petition the District for |
15 | | exception from dissolution. Upon filing of the
petition, the |
16 | | District shall set a date for hearing not less than 2 weeks, |
17 | | nor
more than 4 weeks, from the filing thereof, and the |
18 | | District shall give at
least one week's notice of the hearing |
19 | | in one or more newspapers of general
circulation within the |
20 | | drainage district, and in addition shall cause a copy
of the |
21 | | notice to be personally served upon each of the trustees of the |
22 | | drainage
district. At the hearing, the District shall hear the |
23 | | drainage district's
petition and allow the drainage district |
24 | | trustees and any interested parties
an opportunity to present |
25 | | oral and written evidence. The District shall render
its |
26 | | decision upon the petition for exception from dissolution based |
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1 | | upon the
best interests of the residents of the drainage |
2 | | district. In the event that
the exception is not allowed, the |
3 | | drainage district may file a petition with
the circuit court |
4 | | within 30 days of the decision. In that case, the notice
and |
5 | | hearing requirements for the court shall be the same as |
6 | | provided in this
subsection for the petition to the District. |
7 | | The court shall render its
decision of whether to dissolve the |
8 | | district based upon the best interests
of the residents of the |
9 | | drainage district.
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10 | | The dissolution of a drainage district shall not affect the |
11 | | obligation
of any bonds issued or contracts entered into by the |
12 | | drainage district nor
invalidate the levy, extension, or |
13 | | collection of any taxes or special
assessments upon the |
14 | | property in the former drainage district. All property
and |
15 | | obligations of the former drainage district shall be assumed |
16 | | and managed
by the District, and the debts of the former |
17 | | drainage district shall be
discharged as soon as practicable.
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18 | | If a drainage district lies only partly within the |
19 | | District, the District may
petition the circuit court to |
20 | | disconnect from the drainage district that
portion of the |
21 | | drainage district that lies within the District. The property
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22 | | of the drainage district within the disconnected area shall be |
23 | | assumed and
managed by the District. The District shall also |
24 | | assume a portion of the
drainage district's debt at the time of |
25 | | disconnection, based on the portion of
the value of the taxable |
26 | | property of the drainage district which is located
within the |
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1 | | area being disconnected.
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2 | | A drainage district that continues to exist within Cook |
3 | | County shall conform
its operations to the countywide |
4 | | stormwater management plan.
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5 | | (i) The District may assume responsibility for maintaining |
6 | | any stream
within Cook County.
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7 | | (j) The District may, after 10 days written notice to the |
8 | | owner or
occupant, enter upon any lands or waters within the |
9 | | county for the purpose
of inspecting stormwater facilities or |
10 | | causing the removal of any obstruction
to an affected |
11 | | watercourse. The District shall be responsible for any damages
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12 | | occasioned thereby.
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13 | | (k) The District shall report to the public annually on its |
14 | | activities and
expenditures under this Section and the adopted |
15 | | countywide stormwater
management plan.
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16 | | (l) The powers granted to the District under this Section |
17 | | are in addition
to the other powers granted under this Act. |
18 | | This Section does not limit the
powers of the District under |
19 | | any other provision of this Act or any other law.
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20 | | (m) This Section does not affect the power or duty of any |
21 | | unit of local
government to take actions relating to flooding |
22 | | or stormwater, so long as those
actions conform with this |
23 | | Section and the plans, rules, and ordinances adopted
by the |
24 | | District under this Section.
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25 | | A home rule unit located in whole or in part in Cook County
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26 | | (other than a municipality with a population over 1,000,000)
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1 | | may not
regulate stormwater management or planning in Cook |
2 | | County in a manner
inconsistent with this Section or the plans, |
3 | | rules, and ordinances adopted by
the District under this |
4 | | Section; provided, within a municipality with a
population over |
5 | | 1,000,000, the stormwater management planning program of Cook
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6 | | County shall be conducted by that municipality or,
to the |
7 | | extent provided in an intergovernmental agreement between the
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8 | | municipality and the District, by the District pursuant to this |
9 | | Section;
provided further that the power granted to such |
10 | | municipality shall not be
inconsistent with existing powers of |
11 | | the District.
Pursuant to paragraph (i) of Section 6 of
Article |
12 | | VII of the Illinois Constitution, this Section specifically |
13 | | denies and
limits the exercise of any power that is |
14 | | inconsistent with this Section by a
home rule unit that is a |
15 | | county with a population of 1,500,000 or more or is
located, in |
16 | | whole or in part, within such a county, other than a |
17 | | municipality
with a population over 1,000,000.
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18 | | (Source: P.A. 95-669, eff. 10-10-07.)
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19 | | (70 ILCS 2605/9.6c)
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20 | | Sec. 9.6c. Local Government Assistance Program; bonds.
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21 | | (a) The General Assembly finds that governmental units |
22 | | located within the
boundaries of the district require |
23 | | assistance in financing the cost of repair,
replacement, |
24 | | reconstruction, and rehabilitation of local sewer collection
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25 | | systems to reduce certain excessive sanitary sewer groundwater |
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1 | | inflows; that
such inflows ultimately result in increased need |
2 | | for treatment and storage
facilities of the district; and that |
3 | | the district, in the discretion of its
commissioners, |
4 | | advantageously may provide loan funds for such purposes.
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5 | | (b) For purposes of this Section, the following terms shall |
6 | | have the
meanings set forth, as follows:
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7 | | The following terms shall have the meanings given to |
8 | | them in the Local
Government Debt Reform Act: (A) |
9 | | "alternate bonds"; (B) "applicable law"; (C)
"bonds"; (D) |
10 | | "general obligation bonds"; (E) "governmental unit"; (F)
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11 | | "ordinance"; and (G) "revenue source".
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12 | | "Assistance bonds" means the bonds to be issued by the |
13 | | district to provide
funds for the program as authorized in |
14 | | subsection (f) of this Section.
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15 | | "Assistance program" means the program authorized in |
16 | | this Section by which
the district may make loans to local |
17 | | governmental units for any one or more of
the following |
18 | | undertaken
with respect to the repair, replacement, |
19 | | reconstruction, and rehabilitation of
local sewer |
20 | | collection systems: preliminary planning, engineering,
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21 | | architectural, legal, fiscal or economic investigations or |
22 | | studies, surveys,
designs, plans, working drawings, |
23 | | specifications, procedures or other necessary
actions, |
24 | | erection, building acquisition, alteration, remodeling, or |
25 | | improvement
of such collection systems, or the inspection |
26 | | or supervision of
any of the foregoing.
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1 | | "Loan" means a loan made by the district to a local |
2 | | governmental unit under
the assistance program.
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3 | | "Local governmental unit" means a governmental unit |
4 | | within the boundaries
of the district.
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5 | | "Reconstruction" shall include the construction of |
6 | | totally new lines or
systems if reasonably designed to |
7 | | replace obsolete lines or systems.
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8 | | (c) The commissioners may establish an assistance program.
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9 | | (d) The commissioners are authorized to do any one or more |
10 | | of the following
with respect to the assistance program:
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11 | | (1) Establish the assistance program as a use or |
12 | | appropriation within the
corporate fund of the district.
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13 | | (2) Accept grants, borrow funds, and appropriate |
14 | | lawfully available funds
for the purpose of funding the |
15 | | assistance program.
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16 | | (3) Make the loans as provided in subsection (e).
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17 | | (4) Enforce loans with all available remedies as any |
18 | | governmental
unit or private person might have with respect |
19 | | to such loans.
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20 | | (e) The district shall have the power to make loans and |
21 | | local governmental
units shall have the power to obtain loans |
22 | | from the district, but only if
authorized to borrow under such |
23 | | powers as may be granted to such local
governmental units under |
24 | | other applicable law. This Section does not grant
local |
25 | | governmental units separate borrowing power. If authorized to |
26 | | issue
bonds under such applicable law, however, the form of the |
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1 | | borrowing may be such
as the district and the local |
2 | | governmental unit may agree, including, without
limitation, a |
3 | | loan agreement made between the district and local governmental
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4 | | unit to evidence the bond. Any such loan agreement shall state |
5 | | the statutory
authority under applicable law for the bond it |
6 | | represents but otherwise need
not be in any specific form. The |
7 | | district shall have all rights and remedies
available to the |
8 | | holder of a bond otherwise issued in the form provided for
same |
9 | | under applicable law and also such rights and remedies as may |
10 | | be
additionally available under subsection (d)(4) of this |
11 | | Section.
The loans may be made upon such terms and at such |
12 | | rates, including expressly
below market rates, representing a |
13 | | subsidy of funds from the district to the
local governmental |
14 | | units, as the district may specify in the loan agreements.
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15 | | (f) The district may borrow money and issue its
assistance |
16 | | bonds under this Section 9.6c for the purpose of funding the
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17 | | assistance program, which bonds shall be alternate revenue |
18 | | bonds payable from any
lawfully available revenue source, |
19 | | including without limitation receipts
from the loans. |
20 | | Assistance
bonds shall not be subject to any referendum
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21 | | requirement and shall not be treated as indebtedness under any |
22 | | applicable
provision of law setting forth a limitation upon or |
23 | | requirement with respect to
the legal indebtedness of the |
24 | | district.
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25 | | (Source: P.A. 90-690, eff. 7-31-98.)
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26 | | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon |