Public Act 094-0867
 
SB0843 Enrolled LRB094 04471 MKM 34500 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 changing Section
5-1062.1 as follows:
 
    (55 ILCS 5/5-1062.1)  (from Ch. 34, par. 5-1062.1)
    Sec. 5-1062.1. Stormwater management planning councils in
Cook County.
    (a) Stormwater management in Cook County shall be conducted
as provided in Section 7h of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation
District Act. As used in this Section, "District" means the
Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago.
    The purpose of this Section is to create planning councils,
organized by watershed, to contribute to the stormwater
management process by advising the Metropolitan Water
Reclamation District of Greater Chicago and representing the
needs and interests of the members of the public and the local
governments included within their respective watersheds.
    (b) Stormwater management planning councils shall be
formed for each of the following established watersheds of the
Chicago Metropolitan Area: North Branch Chicago River, Lower
Des Plaines Tributaries, Cal-Sag Channel, Little Calumet
River, Poplar Creek, and Upper Salt Creek. In addition a
stormwater management planning council shall be established
for the combined sewer areas of Cook County. Additional
stormwater management planning councils may be formed by the
District for other watersheds within Cook County. Membership on
the watershed councils shall consist of the chief elected
official, or his or her designee, from each municipality and
township within the watershed and the Cook County Board
President, or his or her designee, if unincorporated area is
included in the watershed. A municipality or township shall be
a member of more than one watershed council if the corporate
boundaries of that municipality or township extend into more
than one watershed, or if the municipality or township is
served in part by separate sewers and combined sewers.
Subcommittees of the stormwater management planning councils
may be established to assist the stormwater management planning
councils in performing their duties. The councils may adopt
bylaws to govern the functioning of the stormwater management
councils and subcommittees.
    (c) The principal duties of the watershed planning councils
shall be to advise the District on the development and
implementation of the countywide stormwater management plan
with respect to matters relating to their respective watersheds
and to advise and represent the concerns of the units of local
government in the watershed area. The councils shall meet at
least quarterly and shall hold at least one public hearing
during the preparation of the plan.
    (d) The District shall give careful consideration to the
recommendations and concerns of the watershed planning
councils throughout the planning process and shall coordinate
the 6 watershed plans as developed and to coordinate the
planning process with the adjoining counties to ensure that
recommended stormwater projects will have no significant
adverse impact on the levels or flows of stormwater in the
inter-county watershed or on the capacity of existing and
planned stormwater retention facilities. The District shall
include cost benefit analysis in its deliberations and in
evaluating priorities for projects from watershed to
watershed. The District shall identify in an annual published
report steps taken by the District to accommodate the concerns
and recommendations of the watershed planning councils.
    (e) The stormwater management planning councils may
recommend rules and regulations to the District governing the
location, width, course, and release rates of all stormwater
runoff channels, streams, and basins in their respective
watersheds.
    (f) The Northwest Municipal Conference, the South Suburban
Mayors and Managers Association, the Southwest Conference of
Mayors, and the West Central Municipal Conference shall be
responsible for the coordination of the planning councils
created under this Section.
(Source: P.A. 93-1049, eff. 11-17-04.)
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.