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| Public Act 103-0917 | ||||
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AN ACT concerning State government. | ||||
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, | ||||
represented in the General Assembly: | ||||
Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Water | ||||
Plan Task Force Act. | ||||
Section 5. Definitions. As used in this Act: | ||||
"Plan" means the State Water Plan. | ||||
"Task Force" means the State Water Plan Task Force. | ||||
Section 10. State Water Plan Task Force. | ||||
(a) There shall be established within State government and | ||||
universities an interagency task force which shall be known as | ||||
the State Water Plan Task Force. The Task Force shall be | ||||
chaired by the Director of the Office of Water Resources of the | ||||
Department of Natural Resources and composed of the directors, | ||||
or their designee, from the following State entities: | ||||
(1) The Office of Resource Conservation of the | ||||
Department of Natural Resources. | ||||
(2) The Department of Public Health. | ||||
(3) The Environmental Protection Agency. | ||||
(4) The Department of Transportation. | ||||
(5) The Department of Agriculture. | ||||
(6) The Department of Transportation. | ||||
(7) The Illinois Emergency Management Agency and | ||
Office of Homeland Security. | ||
(8) The Pollution Control Board | ||
(9) The Department of Commerce and Economic | ||
Opportunity. | ||
(10) The State Water Survey of the University of | ||
Illinois. | ||
(11) The Water Resource Center of the University of | ||
Illinois. | ||
(b) The Task Force shall coordinate with State agencies | ||
and universities to develop a concise plan for addressing | ||
water issues facing the State. | ||
(c) The Task Force shall: | ||
(1) identify critical water issues; | ||
(2) develop recommendations to address critical water | ||
topic issues; | ||
(3) implement recommendations; and | ||
(4) reevaluate critical water issues and needs. | ||
(d) The Task Force shall publish a State Water Plan not | ||
less than every 10 years. The Plan shall include: | ||
(1) Identification of critical water topics needing | ||
specific attention in this State based on stakeholder | ||
input sought and provided during the plan development. | ||
(2) Topic Lead as an individual from the Task Force | ||
membership responsible for ensuring the development of the | ||
Topic Lead's assigned critical topic section of the Plan. | ||
(3) Plan development shall include public outreach | ||
phases to obtain feedback on the most critical water | ||
issues faced by the State and how to address those issues. | ||
(4) Recommendations related to the identified issues | ||
for each critical topic, including, but not limited to: | ||
(A) New State programs or modification to existing | ||
programs. | ||
(B) New or modified existing policy within a | ||
program or agency. | ||
(C) New or modified legislation. | ||
(D) Requests for a study or research be completed. | ||
(E) Proposals or designs of a construction | ||
project. | ||
(F) Funding requests for the above listed | ||
recommendations. | ||
(5) No more than 2 years shall be used to develop a new | ||
Plan. | ||
(6) The Task Force shall develop and maintain a | ||
publicly available website or portal that summarizes | ||
projects of the Task Force. | ||
(e) The Task Force shall be responsible for developing | ||
membership voting and operational rules. | ||
(f) The Task Force shall meet not less than once per | ||
quarter each calendar year to: | ||
(1) Update the status of the Plan recommendations by | ||
providing a implementation summary that will be published | ||
to the official Task Force website or portal. | ||
(2) Review, evaluate, and publish an annual report | ||
showing the implementation status for each of the Plan's | ||
recommendations. | ||
(g) The Task Force shall have the authority to: | ||
(1) Create and use subtask forces or committees to | ||
identifying critical issues and implementing | ||
recommendations related to the Plan. | ||
(2) Publish special reports specific to critical | ||
topics to add clarification and provide additional details | ||
of action needed. | ||
(3) Review and evaluate State laws, rules, | ||
regulations, and procedures that relate to water needs in | ||
the state. | ||
(4) Recommend procedures for better coordination among | ||
State water-related programs, with local programs and | ||
stakeholder groups. | ||
(5) Recommend and prioritize the State's water related | ||
research needs. | ||
(6) Review, coordinate, and evaluate water data | ||
collection, analysis, and public sharing. | ||
(7) Allow member entities to request annual | ||
appropriations to resource necessary staff participation | ||
on the Task Force and resource Plan development. | ||