HB2459 Engrossed LRB099 07203 AWJ 27297 b
1		AN ACT concerning local government.
2		Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3		represented in the General Assembly:
4		Section 5. The Counties Code is amended by changing Section
5		5-1062.3 as follows:
6		(55 ILCS 5/5-1062.3)
7		Sec. 5-1062.3. Stormwater management; DuPage and Peoria
8		Counties.
9		(a) The purpose of this Section is to allow management and
10		mitigation of the effects of urbanization on stormwater
11		drainage in the metropolitan counties of DuPage and Peoria, and
12		references to "county" in this Section apply only to those
13		counties. This Section does not apply to a municipality that
14		only partially lies within one of these counties and, on the
15		effective date of this amendatory Act of the 98th General
16		Assembly, is served by an existing Section in the Counties Code
17		regarding stormwater management. The purpose of this Section
18		shall be achieved by:
19		(1) consolidating the existing stormwater management
20		framework into a united, countywide structure;
21		(2) setting minimum standards for floodplain and
22		stormwater management; and
23		(3) preparing a countywide plan for the management of

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1		stormwater runoff, including the management of natural and
2		man-made drainageways. The countywide plan may incorporate
3		watershed plans.
4		(b) A stormwater management planning committee may be
5		established by county board resolution, with its membership
6		consisting of equal numbers of county board and municipal
7		representatives from each county board district, and such other
8		members as may be determined by the county and municipal
9		members. If the county has more than 6 county board districts,
10		however, the county board may by ordinance divide the county
11		into not less than 6 areas of approximately equal population,
12		to be used instead of county board districts for the purpose of
13		determining representation on the stormwater management
14		planning committee.
15		The county board members shall be appointed by the chairman
16		of the county board. Municipal members from each county board
17		district or other represented area shall be appointed by a
18		majority vote of the mayors of those municipalities that have
19		the greatest percentage of their respective populations
20		residing in that county board district or other represented
21		area. All municipal and county board representatives shall be
22		entitled to a vote; the other members shall be nonvoting
23		members, unless authorized to vote by the unanimous consent of
24		the municipal and county board representatives. A municipality
25		that is located in more than one county may choose, at the time
26		of formation of the stormwater management planning committee

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1		and based on watershed boundaries, to participate in the
2		stormwater management planning program of either county.
3		Subcommittees of the stormwater management planning committee
4		may be established to serve a portion of the county or a
5		particular drainage basin that has similar stormwater
6		management needs. The stormwater management planning committee
7		shall adopt bylaws, by a majority vote of the county and
8		municipal members, to govern the functions of the committee and
9		its subcommittees. Officers of the committee shall include a
10		chair and vice chair, one of whom shall be a county
11		representative and one a municipal representative.
12		The principal duties of the committee shall be to develop a
13		stormwater management plan for presentation to and approval by
14		the county board, and to direct the plan's implementation and
15		revision. The committee may retain engineering, legal, and
16		financial advisors and inspection personnel. The committee
17		shall meet at least quarterly and shall hold at least one
18		public meeting during the preparation of the plan and prior to
19		its submittal to the county board. The committee may make
20		grants to units of local government that have adopted an
21		ordinance requiring actions consistent with the stormwater
22		management plan and to landowners for the purposes of
23		stormwater management, including special projects; use of the
24		grant money must be consistent with the stormwater management
25		plan.
26		The committee shall not have or exercise any power of

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1		eminent domain.
2		(c) In the preparation of a stormwater management plan, a
3		county stormwater management planning committee shall
4		coordinate the planning process with each adjoining county to
5		ensure that recommended stormwater projects will have no
6		significant impact on the levels or flows of stormwaters in
7		inter-county watersheds or on the capacity of existing and
8		planned stormwater retention facilities. An adopted stormwater
9		management plan shall identify steps taken by the county to
10		coordinate the development of plan recommendations with
11		adjoining counties.
12		(d) The stormwater management committee may not enforce any
13		rules or regulations that would interfere with (i) any power
14		granted by the Illinois Drainage Code (70 ILCS 605/) to
15		operate, construct, maintain, or improve drainage systems or
16		(ii) the ability to operate, maintain, or improve the drainage
17		systems used on or by land or a facility used for production
18		agriculture purposes, as defined in the Use Tax Act (35 ILCS
19		105/), except newly constructed buildings and newly installed
20		impervious paved surfaces. Disputes regarding an exception
21		shall be determined by a mutually agreed upon arbitrator paid
22		by the disputing party or parties.
23		(e) Before the stormwater management planning committee
24		recommends to the county board a stormwater management plan for
25		the county or a portion thereof, it shall submit the plan to
26		the Office of Water Resources of the Department of Natural

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1		Resources for review and recommendations. The Office, in
2		reviewing the plan, shall consider such factors as impacts on
3		the levels or flows in rivers and streams and the cumulative
4		effects of stormwater discharges on flood levels. The Office of
5		Water Resources shall determine whether the plan or ordinances
6		enacted to implement the plan complies with the requirements of
7		subsection (f). Within a period not to exceed 60 days, the
8		review comments and recommendations shall be submitted to the
9		stormwater management planning committee for consideration.
10		Any amendments to the plan shall be submitted to the Office for
11		review.
12		(f) Prior to recommending the plan to the county board, the
13		stormwater management planning committee shall hold at least
14		one public hearing thereon and shall afford interested persons
15		an opportunity to be heard. The hearing shall be held in the
16		county seat. Notice of the hearing shall be published at least
17		once and no less than 15 days in advance of the hearing in a
18		newspaper of general circulation published in the county. The
19		notice shall state the time and place of the hearing and the
20		place where copies of the proposed plan will be accessible for
21		examination by interested parties. If an affected municipality
22		having a stormwater management plan adopted by ordinance wishes
23		to protest the proposed county plan provisions, it shall appear
24		at the hearing and submit in writing specific proposals to the
25		stormwater management planning committee. After consideration
26		of the matters raised at the hearing, the committee may amend

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1		or approve the plan and recommend it to the county board for
2		adoption.
3		The county board may enact the proposed plan by ordinance.
4		If the proposals for modification of the plan made by an
5		affected municipality having a stormwater management plan are
6		not included in the proposed county plan, and the municipality
7		affected by the plan opposes adoption of the county plan by
8		resolution of its corporate authorities, approval of the county
9		plan shall require an affirmative vote of at least two-thirds
10		of the county board members present and voting. If the county
11		board wishes to amend the county plan, it shall submit in
12		writing specific proposals to the stormwater management
13		planning committee. If the proposals are not approved by the
14		committee, or are opposed by resolution of the corporate
15		authorities of an affected municipality having a municipal
16		stormwater management plan, amendment of the plan shall require
17		an affirmative vote of at least two-thirds of the county board
18		members present and voting.
19		(g) The county board may prescribe by ordinance reasonable
20		rules and regulations for floodplain management and for
21		governing the location, width, course, and release rate of all
22		stormwater runoff channels, streams, and basins in the county,
23		in accordance with the adopted stormwater management plan.
24		Land, facilities, and drainage district facilities used for
25		production agriculture as defined in subsection (d) shall not
26		be subjected to regulation by the county board or stormwater

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1		management committee under this Section for floodplain
2		management and for governing location, width, course,
3		maintenance, and release rate of stormwater runoff channels,
4		streams and basins, or water discharged from a drainage
5		district. These rules and regulations shall, at a minimum, meet
6		the standards for floodplain management established by the
7		Office of Water Resources and the requirements of the Federal
8		Emergency Management Agency for participation in the National
9		Flood Insurance Program. With respect to DuPage County only,
10		the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning may not impose
11		more stringent regulations regarding water quality on entities
12		discharging in accordance with a valid National Pollution
13		Discharge Elimination System permit issued under the
14		Environmental Protection Act.
15		(h) For the purpose of implementing this Section and for
16		the development, design, planning, construction, operation,
17		and maintenance of stormwater facilities provided for in the
18		adopted stormwater management plan, a county board that has
19		established a stormwater management planning committee
20		pursuant to this Section or has participated in a stormwater
21		management planning process may adopt a schedule of fees
22		applicable to all real property within the county which
23		benefits from the county's stormwater management facilities
24		and activities, and as may be necessary to mitigate the effects
25		of increased stormwater runoff resulting from development. The
26		total amount of the fees assessed must be specifically and

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1		uniquely attributable to the actual costs of the county in the
2		preparation, administration, and implementation of the adopted
3		stormwater management plan, construction and maintenance of
4		stormwater facilities, and other activities related to the
5		management of the runoff from the property. The individual fees
6		must be specifically and uniquely attributable to the portion
7		of the actual cost to the county of managing the runoff from
8		the property. The fees shall be used to finance activities
9		undertaken by the county or its included municipalities to
10		mitigate the effects of urban stormwater runoff by providing
11		and maintaining stormwater collection, retention, detention,
12		and particulate treatment facilities, and improving water
13		bodies impacted by stormwater runoff, as identified in the
14		county plan. In establishing, maintaining, or replacing such
15		facilities, the county shall not duplicate facilities operated
16		by other governmental bodies within its corporate boundaries.
17		The schedule of fees established by the county board shall
18		include a procedure for a full or partial fee waiver for
19		property owners who have taken actions or put in place
20		facilities that reduce or eliminate the cost to the county of
21		providing stormwater management services to their property.
22		The county board may also offer tax or fee rebates or incentive
23		payments to property owners who construct, maintain, and use
24		approved green infrastructure stormwater management devices or
25		any other methods that reduce or eliminate the cost to the
26		county of providing stormwater management services to the

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1		property, including but not limited to facilities that reduce
2		the volume, temperature, velocity, and pollutant load of the
3		stormwater managed by the county, such as systems that
4		infiltrate, evapotranspirate, or harvest stormwater for reuse,
5		known as "green infrastructure". In exercising this authority,
6		the county shall provide notice to the municipalities within
7		its jurisdiction of any fees proposed under this Section and
8		seek the input of each municipality with respect to the
9		calculation of the fees. The county shall also give property
10		owners at least 2 years' notice of the fee, during which time
11		the county shall provide education on green infrastructure
12		practices and an opportunity to take action to reduce or
13		eliminate the fee. All these fees collected by the county shall
14		be held in a separate fund, and shall be expended only in the
15		watershed within which they were collected. The county may
16		enter into intergovernmental agreements with other government
17		bodies for the joint administration of stormwater management
18		and the collection of the fees authorized in this Section.
19		A fee schedule authorized by this subsection must have the
20		same limit as the authorized stormwater tax. The In Peoria
21		County only, the fee schedule shall not be adopted unless (i)
22		in Peoria County, a referendum has been passed approving a
23		stormwater tax as provided in subsection (i) of this Section;
24		or (ii) in Peoria County or DuPage County, the question of the
25		adoption of a fee schedule with the same limit as the
26		authorized stormwater tax has been approved in a referendum by

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1		a majority of those voting on the question.
2		(i) In the alternative to a fee imposed under subsection
3		(h), the county board may cause an annual tax of not to exceed
4		0.20% of the value, as equalized or assessed by the Department
5		of Revenue, of all taxable property in the county to be levied
6		upon all the taxable property in the county. The property tax
7		shall be in addition to all other taxes authorized by law to be
8		levied and collected in the county and shall be in addition to
9		the maximum tax rate authorized by law for general county
10		purposes. The 0.20% limitation provided in this Section may be
11		increased or decreased by referendum in accordance with the
12		provisions of Sections 18-120, 18-125, and 18-130 of the
13		Property Tax Code (35 ILCS 200/).
14		Any revenues generated as a result of ownership or
15		operation of facilities or land acquired with the tax funds
16		collected pursuant to this subsection shall be held in a
17		separate fund and be used either to abate such property tax or
18		for implementing this Section.
19		If at least part of the county has been declared by a
20		presidential proclamation after July 1, 1986 and before
21		December 31, 1987, to be a disaster area as a result of
22		flooding, the tax authorized by this subsection does not
23		require approval by referendum. However, in Peoria County, the
24		tax authorized by this subsection shall not be levied until the
25		question of its adoption, either for a specified period or
26		indefinitely, has been submitted to the electors thereof and

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1		approved by a majority of those voting on the question. This
2		question may be submitted at any election held in the county
3		after the adoption of a resolution by the county board
4		providing for the submission of the question to the electors of
5		the county. The county board shall certify the resolution and
6		proposition to the proper election officials, who shall submit
7		the proposition at an election in accordance with the general
8		election law. If a majority of the votes cast on the question
9		is in favor of the levy of the tax, it may thereafter be levied
10		in the county for the specified period or indefinitely, as
11		provided in the proposition. The question shall be put in
12		substantially the following form:
13		Shall an annual tax be levied for stormwater management
14		purposes (for a period of not more than ..... years) at a
15		rate not exceeding .....% of the equalized assessed value
16		of the taxable property of ..... County?
17		Votes shall be recorded as Yes or No.
18		The following question may be submitted at any election
19		held in the county after the adoption of a resolution by the
20		county board providing for the submission of the question to
21		the electors of the county to authorize adoption of a schedule
22		of fees applicable to all real property within the county:
23		Shall the county board be authorized to adopt a
24		schedule of fees, at a rate not exceeding that of the
25		stormwater management tax, applicable to all real property
26		for preparation, administration, and implementation of an

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1		adopted stormwater management plan, construction and
2		maintenance of related facilities, and management of the
3		runoff from the property?
4		Votes shall be recorded as Yes or No.
5		If these questions have been approved by a majority of
6		those voting prior to the effective date of this amendatory Act
7		of the 98th General Assembly, this subsection does not apply.
8		(j) For those counties that adopt a property tax in
9		accordance with the provisions in this Section, the stormwater
10		management committee shall offer property tax abatements or
11		incentive payments to property owners who construct, maintain,
12		and use approved stormwater management devices. The stormwater
13		management committee is authorized to offer credits to the
14		property tax, if applicable, based on authorized practices
15		consistent with the stormwater management plan and approved by
16		the committee. Expenses of staff of a stormwater management
17		committee that are expended on regulatory project review may be
18		no more than 20% of the annual budget of the committee,
19		including funds raised under subsections (h) and (i).
20		(k) Upon the creation and implementation of a county
21		stormwater management plan, the county may petition the circuit
22		court to dissolve any or all drainage districts created
23		pursuant to the Illinois Drainage Code or predecessor Acts
24		which are located entirely within the area of the county
25		covered by the plan.
26		However, any active drainage district implementing a plan

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1		that is consistent with and at least as stringent as the county
2		stormwater management plan may petition the stormwater
3		management planning committee for exception from dissolution.
4		Upon filing of the petition, the committee shall set a date for
5		hearing not less than 2 weeks, nor more than 4 weeks, from the
6		filing thereof, and the committee shall give at least one
7		week's notice of the hearing in one or more newspapers of
8		general circulation within the district, and in addition shall
9		cause a copy of the notice to be personally served upon each of
10		the trustees of the district. At the hearing, the committee
11		shall hear the district's petition and allow the district
12		trustees and any interested parties an opportunity to present
13		oral and written evidence. The committee shall render its
14		decision upon the petition for exception from dissolution based
15		upon the best interests of the residents of the district. In
16		the event that the exception is not allowed, the district may
17		file a petition within 30 days of the decision with the circuit
18		court. In that case, the notice and hearing requirements for
19		the court shall be the same as herein provided for the
20		committee. The court shall likewise render its decision of
21		whether to dissolve the district based upon the best interests
22		of residents of the district.
23		The dissolution of any drainage district shall not affect
24		the obligation of any bonds issued or contracts entered into by
25		the district nor invalidate the levy, extension or collection
26		of any taxes or special assessments upon the property in the

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1		former drainage district. All property and obligations of the
2		former drainage district shall be assumed and managed by the
3		county, and the debts of the former drainage district shall be
4		discharged as soon as practicable.
5		If a drainage district lies only partly within a county
6		that adopts a county stormwater management plan, the county may
7		petition the circuit court to disconnect from the drainage
8		district that portion of the district that lies within that
9		county. The property of the drainage district within the
10		disconnected area shall be assumed and managed by the county.
11		The county shall also assume a portion of the drainage
12		district's debt at the time of disconnection, based on the
13		portion of the value of the taxable property of the drainage
14		district which is located within the area being disconnected.
15		The operations of any drainage district that continues to
16		exist in a county that has adopted a stormwater management plan
17		in accordance with this Section shall be in accordance with the
18		adopted plan.
19		(l) Any county that has adopted a county stormwater
20		management plan under this Section may, after 10 days days'
21		written notice receiving consent of the owner or occupant,
22		enter upon any lands or waters within the county for the
23		purpose of inspecting stormwater facilities or causing the
24		removal of any obstruction to an affected watercourse. If
25		consent is denied or cannot be reasonably obtained, the county
26		ordinance shall provide a process or procedure for an

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1		administrative warrant to be obtained. The county shall be
2		responsible for any damages occasioned thereby.
3		(m) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (a) of this
4		Section, upon petition of the municipality, and based on a
5		finding of the stormwater management planning committee, the
6		county shall not enforce rules and regulations adopted by the
7		county in any municipality located wholly or partly within the
8		county that has a municipal stormwater management ordinance
9		that is consistent with and at least as stringent as the county
10		plan and ordinance, and is being enforced by the municipal
11		authorities. On issues that the county ordinance is more
12		stringent as deemed by the committee, the county shall only
13		enforce rules and regulations adopted by the county on the more
14		stringent issues and accept municipal permits. The county shall
15		have no more than 60 days to review permits or the permits
16		shall be deemed approved.
17		(n) A county may issue general obligation bonds for
18		implementing any stormwater plan adopted under this Section in
19		the manner prescribed in Section 5-1012; except that the
20		referendum requirement of Section 5-1012 does not apply to
21		bonds issued pursuant to this Section on which the principal
22		and interest are to be paid entirely out of funds generated by
23		the taxes and fees authorized by this Section.
24		(o) A county that has adopted a fee schedule pursuant to
25		this Section may not thereafter issue any bond extensions
26		related to implementing a stormwater management plan.

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1		(p) The powers authorized by this Section may be
2		implemented by the county board for a portion of the county
3		subject to similar stormwater management needs.
4		(q) The powers and taxes authorized by this Section are in
5		addition to the powers and taxes authorized by Division 5-15;
6		in exercising its powers under this Section, a county shall not
7		be subject to the restrictions and requirements of that
8		Division.
9		(r) Stormwater management projects and actions related to
10		stormwater management in a county that has adopted a fee
11		schedule or tax pursuant to this Section prior to the effective
12		date of this amendatory Act of the 98th General Assembly are
13		not altered by this amendatory Act of the 98th General
14		Assembly.
15		(Source: P.A. 98-335, eff. 8-13-13; 98-756, eff. 7-16-14.)
16		Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
17		becoming law.