Public Act 094-0675
 
SB1910 Enrolled LRB094 10044 AJO 40302 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
5-1062.2 as follows:
 
    (55 ILCS 5/5-1062.2 new)
    Sec. 5-1062.2. Stormwater management.
    (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 Madison, St. Clair,
Monroe, Kankakee, Grundy, LaSalle, DeKalb, Kendall, and Boone
and references to "county" in this Section apply only to those
counties. This Section does not apply to counties in the
Northeastern Illinois Planning Commission that are granted
authorities in Section 5-1062. 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.
        (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 or both of the
counties. 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 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. The Commission 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) In accordance with, and if recommended in, the adopted
stormwater management plan, the county board may adopt a
schedule of fees as may be necessary to mitigate the effects of
increased stormwater runoff resulting from new development
based on actual costs. The fees shall not exceed the cost of
satisfying the onsite stormwater retention or detention
requirements of the adopted stormwater management plan. 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 regional stormwater
retention or detention facilities, as identified in the county
plan. The county board shall provide for a credit or reduction
in fees for any onsite retention, detention, drainage district
assessments, or other similar stormwater facility that the
developer is required to construct consistent with the
stormwater management ordinance. 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.
    (i) For the purpose of implementing this Section and for
the development, design, planning, construction, operation,
and maintenance of stormwater facilities provided for in the
stormwater management plan, a county board that has established
a stormwater management planning committee pursuant to this
Section 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 or occupation and use taxes of
1/10 of one cent. 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.
    However, 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?
Or 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 to authorize use and occupation taxes of 1/10 of one
cent:
        Shall use and occupation taxes be raised for stormwater
    management purposes (for a period of not more than .....
    years) at a rate of 1/10 of one cent for taxable goods in
    ..... County?
    Votes shall be recorded as Yes or No.
    (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. For those
counties that adopt use and occupation taxes in accordance with
the provisions of this Section, the stormwater management
committee may offer tax rebates 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) 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.
    (l) 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.
    (m) 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.
    (n) 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.
    (o) 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.
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.