Title
An ordinance amending ordinance prohibiting the use of groundwater as a potable water supply by the installation or use of potable water supply wells or by any other method.
Staff Summary
• On August 13, 2019, the County Board approved an ordinance to prohibit the use of groundwater from water wells as a potable source of water in designated areas around the Hoffelder closed landfill site in order to allow for development of these properties without further environmental remediation.
• The owner of the property secured similar ordinances from other neighboring jurisdictions.
• The owner of the property presented the Ordinance to the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) for approval and acceptance.
• The IEPA requested the proposed revisions to the ordinance.
• All of the requested revisions are for clarity; there are no substantive changes to the ordinance.
• The Board of Health met regarding this item on February 26, 2020.
Body
ORDINANCE
WHEREAS, certain properties in the County of Lake, Illinois have been used over a period of time for commercial/industrial purposes; and
WHEREAS, because of said use, concentrations of certain chemical constituents in the groundwater beneath the County may exceed Class I groundwater quality standards for the potable resource groundwater as set forth in 35 Illinois Administrative Code 620 or Tier 1 remediation objectives as set forth in 35 Illinois Administrative Code 742; and
WHEREAS, the County of Lake desires to limit potential threats to human health from groundwater contamination while facilitating the redevelopment and productive use of properties that are the source of said chemical constituents;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY, by this County Board of Lake County, Illinois, that the ordinance be amended as follows:
SECTION 1: Use of groundwater as a potable water supply prohibited.
The use or attempt to use as a potable water supply groundwater from within the area depicted in Exhibit A, attached hereto and made a part hereof, by the installation or drilling of wells or by any other method is hereby prohibited. This prohibition expressly includes the County of Lake.
SECTION 2: Penalties.
Any person violating the provisions of this ordinance shall be subject to a fine of up to $1,000 for each violation.
SECTION 3: Definitions.
“Person” is any individual, partnership, co-partnership, firm, company, limited liability company, corporation, association, joint stock company, trust, estate, political subdivision, or any other legal entity, or their legal representatives, agents or assigns.
“Potable water” is any water used for human or domestic consumption, including, but not limited to, water used for drinking, bathing, swimming, washing dishes, or preparing foods.
SECTION 4: Repealer.
All ordinances or parts of ordinances in conflict with this ordinance are hereby repealed insofar as they are in conflict with this ordinance.
SECTION 5: Severability.
If any provision of this ordinance or its application to any person or under any circumstances is adjudged invalid, such adjudication shall not affect the validity of the ordinance as a whole or of any portion not adjudged invalid.
Section 6: Effective date.
This ordinance shall be in full force and effect from and after its passage, approval and publication as required by law.
DATED at Waukegan, Illinois, on May 12, 2020.