Citizens overwhelmingly support legislation, which allows counties and municipalities in northeastern Illinois and the Metro East/St. Louis region to plan together to protect water quality and prevent flooding
(Springfield, Ill.) … A resounding call from voters and
advocates such as the Metropolitan Planning Council (MPC) and Campaign for Sensible
Growth
encouraged
Gov.
Rod R.
Blagojevich on Tuesday, Aug. 23, to sign long-awaited legislation allowing
counties to set up stormwater management committees. The legislation (SB1910)
was sponsored by Ill. Sen. William R. Haine (D-Alton) and Ill. Rep. Thomas
Holbrook (D-Belleville).
“We’ve weathered 13
years of disastrous and costly flooding
in
Illinois, and Gov. Blagojevich is to be
commended for signing this legislation,” said Ill. Sen. Haine. “In doing so, he
is joining hands with the many citizens who are anxious to address stormwater
runoff that is destroying their communities.”
Tuesday’s
gubernatorial sign-off
gives affected counties the green light to work cooperatively with
municipalities to develop long-term, regional plans for water preservation and
flood prevention. The legislation officially ends more than a dozen years of
failed attempts to extend authority to counties to create stormwater management
committees. At the urging of organizations such as MPC and the Campaign for
Sensible Growth – and as a result of doggedly persistent leadership from the
Metro East/St. Louis region, which has been devastated repeatedly by Mississippi
River flooding – environmentalists, sensible growth advocates, local leaders and
other stakeholders from both sides of the aisle and up and downstate forged a
remarkable alliance to advance this bill.
“Tuesday was a good day,”
said Michael Fruth, coordinator of the Metro East Regional Stormwater Management
District. “I’m delighted that meaningful legislation has been passed after so
long, and the governor and state legislators deserve thanks for approving this
bill.”
The act grants authority
to create stormwater management
committees to members of the Southwestern Illinois Metropolitan and Regional
Planning Commission – Madison, Monroe, and St. Clair counties – as well
as the fast-urbanizing counties on the edge of
the
Chicago region: Boone, DeKalb,
Grundy,
Kankakee,
Kendall
and
LaSalle.
The bill will “allow
management and mitigation of the effects of urbanization on stormwater
management” through three main initiatives:
- “Consolidating the existing stormwater management
framework into a unified, countywide structure.
- Setting minimum standards for floodplain and
stormwater management.
- 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.”
Similar enabling legislation has allowed the six northeastern Illinois
counties – Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, and Will – to set up stormwater
management committees for over a decade; however, until now, the rest of the
state did not have that right. Stormwater management is the only planning
structure in Illinois requiring the actions of counties and municipalities to be
consistent with their locally adopted regional plans. Local governments have
been in favor of this regional approach to stormwater management because it
gives them a seat at the table in developing and implementing the plans, and
because water issues cross political boundaries.
Ever since the Mississippi River’s torrential flooding
in 1992, there has been a need for regional cooperation for stormwater
management in Illinois, particularly in the Metro East area and, more recently,
in fast-growing counties in northern Illinois that were omitted from prior
legislation. In fact, a survey undertaken by MPC and Openlands Project, under
the auspices of the Campaign for Sensible Growth, found that northern Illinois
communities beyond the six counties were far less likely to have basic water
protection ordinances in place than within the six-county area of northeastern
Illinois. Based on this survey, in the December 2004 publication Changing Course
, the three organizations
recommended that the state allow counties to create stormwater management
councils.
“This summer we weathered a
drought, but next year can just as easily bring flooding,” said Scott Goldstein,
MPC vice president of policy and planning. “This legislation represents a huge
step forward by enabling local and county officials to work together to make
sound land use decisions that sustain our water
resources.”
Supporters of the legislation include Metro Counties
Council,
Illinois
Environmental Council, Illinois
Association of County Board Members and Commissioners, Metro
East Stormwater Management District, MPC, Openlands Project, and the
Campaign for Sensible Growth. In addition, agreements were reached with
the Illinois Farm Bureau, Illinois Municipal League, Illinois Realtors,
Homebuilders Association of Illinois, and the Drainage District Association.
The Campaign for Sensible
Growth is an action-oriented coalition of government, civic, and business
leaders in northeastern Illinois' six counties (Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake,
McHenry, and Will) working to promote economic development while preserving open
space, minimizing the need for costly new infrastructure and improving the
livability of our communities.
Founded in 1934, the Metropolitan Planning Council (MPC) is a nonprofit,
nonpartisan group of business and civic leaders committed to serving the public
interest through the promotion and implementation of sensible planning and
development policies necessary for an economically
competitive
Chicago region.
MPC researches and develops policy recommendations and conducts outreach
and advocacy in partnership with public officials and community leaders to
enhance equity of opportunity and quality of life throughout
metropolitan
Chicago.