70 ILCS 2605/7h — Illinois Code / Chapter 70 / Act 2605 / Section 7h
Section 7h
Status: in_force

(70 ILCS 2605/7h) Sec. 7h. Stormwater management. (a) Stormwater management in Cook County shall be under the general supervision of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago. The District has the authority to plan, manage, implement, and finance activities relating to stormwater management in Cook County. The authority of the District with respect to stormwater management extends throughout Cook County and is not limited to the area otherwise within the territory and jurisdiction of the District under this Act. For the purposes of this Section, the term "stormwater management" includes, without limitation, the management of floods and floodwaters. (b) The District may utilize the resources of cooperating local watershed councils (including the stormwater management planning councils created under Section 5-1062.1 of the Counties Code), councils of local governments, the Northeastern Illinois Planning Commission, and similar organizations and agencies. The District may provide those organizations and agencies with funding, on a contractual basis, for providing information to the District, providing information to the public, or performing other activities related to stormwater management. The District, in addition to other powers vested in it, may negotiate and enter into agreements with any county for the management of stormwater runoff in accordance with subsection (c) of Section 5-1062 of the Counties Code. The District may enter into intergovernmental agreements with Cook County or other units of local government that are located in whole or in part outside the District for the purpose of implementing the stormwater management plan and providing stormwater management services in areas not included within the territory of the District. (c) The District shall prepare and adopt by ordinance a countywide stormwater management plan for Cook County. The countywide plan may incorporate one or more separate watershed plans. Prior to adopting the countywide stormwater management plan, the District shall hold at least one public hearing thereon and shall afford interested persons an opportunity to be heard. (d) The District may prescribe by ordinance reasonable rules and regulations for floodplain and stormwater management and for governing the location, width, course, and release rate of all stormwater runoff channels, streams, and basins in Cook County, in accordance with the adopted stormwater management plan. These rules and regulations shall, at a minimum, meet the standards for floodplain management established by the Office of Water Resources of the Department of Natural Resources and the requirements of the Federal Emergency Management Agency for participation in the National Flood Insurance Program. The ordinance adopted by the District under this subsection may provide for a civil penalty for each violation of the ordinance of not less than $100 nor more than $1,000, excluding costs and fees that may be assessed under this Section. Each day's continuance of a violation is a separate offense. (d-5) Civil penalties assessed by the board of commissioners for violations of an ordinance adopted under subsection (d) shall be assessed following a hearing, which may be conducted by the board of commissioners or its designee, pursuant to procedures adopted by the board of commissioners. The procedures shall include, at a minimum, the following: (1) In addition to any civil penalty imposed, the board of commissioners may order a