State of Illinois
91st General Assembly
Public Acts

[ Home ]  [ ILCS ] [ Search ] [ Bottom ]
 [ Other General Assemblies ]

Public Act 91-0907

HB3093 Enrolled                                LRB9110635JMks

    AN ACT concerning tree and soil conservation.

    Be it enacted by the People of  the  State  of  Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:

    Section  5.   The  Department  of  Agriculture Law of the
Civil Administrative Code of Illinois is  amended  by  adding
Section 205-440 as follows:

    (20 ILCS 205/205-440 new)
    Sec.  205-440.  Tree  buffer  programs. The Department of
Agriculture shall  (i)  give  guidance  to  organized  buffer
initiatives  regarding the State agencies and State resources
of relevance to implementation of the programs and  (ii)  aid
in  the  promotion of and public dissemination of information
about organized buffer initiatives.

    Section 7.  The Property Tax Code is  amended  by  adding
Section 10-153 as follows:

    (35 ILCS 200/10-153 new)
    Sec. 10-153.  Non-clear cut assessment.  Land that (i) is
not  located  in a unit of local government with a population
greater than 500,000, (ii) is  located  within  15  yards  of
waters  listed  by  the Department of Natural Resources under
Section 5 of the Rivers, Lakes, and Streams Act as navigable,
and (iii) has not been clear cut  of  trees,  as  defined  in
Section  29a  of the Rivers, Lakes, and Streams Act, shall be
valued at 1/12th of its productivity index equalized assessed
value as cropland.

    Section  10.  The  Rivers,  Lakes,  and  Streams  Act  is
amended by changing Section 29a as follows:
    (615 ILCS 5/29a) (from Ch. 19, par. 78)
    Sec. 29a.  Construction permits; maintenance and repairs;
clear cutting.
    (a)  After July 1, 1985, no person, State agency, or unit
of local government shall undertake construction in a  public
body  of  water  or  in  a  stream  without a permit from the
Department of Natural Resources.  No permit shall be required
in a stream which is not a public  body  of  water,  draining
less  than  one square mile in an urban area or less than ten
square miles in a rural area.  No permits shall  be  required
for  field  tile  systems,  tile outlet structures, terraces,
water  and  sediment  control  basins,  grade   stabilization
structures,  or grassed waterways which do not obstruct flood
flows.  Any artificially improved  stream  channel,  drainage
ditch,  levee,  or  pumping  station  existing in serviceable
condition on July 1, 1985 may be maintained and  repaired  to
preserve  design  capacity  and  function  without  a permit.
Maintenance and  repair  of  improved  channels,  ditches  or
levees   shall   follow  accepted  practices  to  reduce,  as
practical, scour, erosion,  sedimentation,  escape  of  loose
material  and  debris,  disturbance  of  adjacent  trees  and
vegetation, and obstruction of flood flows.
    (b)  No   person,   State   agency,   or  unit  of  local
government, except (i) a unit  of  local  government  with  a
population  greater  than  500,000  and  (ii) a commercial or
industrial facility, the operation of which falls  under  the
regulatory  jurisdiction  of  the United States Army Corps of
Engineers or the United States Coast Guard under  Section  10
of  the  Federal  Rivers and Harbors Act, may clear cut trees
within 15 yards of waters  listed  by  the  Department  under
Section 5 as navigable, except as follows:
         (1)  for  the  purpose  of  improving,  maintaining,
    repairing,  constructing,  or reconstructing any highway,
    road,  bridge,  culvert,  drainage  structure,   drainage
    facility,  or  grade separation under the jurisdiction of
    the  Illinois  Department  of   Transportation   or   any
    municipality,   public  water  facility,  road  district,
    highway commissioner, or drainage district;
         (2)  for maintenance and improvement of drainage  of
    or on agricultural land;  and
         (3)  for  the  purpose  of  improving,  maintaining,
    repairing,  constructing,  or reconstructing any facility
    for the  distribution,  transmission,  or  generation  of
    electricity.
    For the purpose of this subsection, "clear cutting" means
the  complete removal of mature or established trees covering
an area of 400 square yards or more of which leaves less than
50% of the existing forest cover.  "Clear cutting"  does  not
include any of the following:
         (1)  The removal of brush or woody debris.
         (2)  The  selective  cutting  of diseased, dying, or
    dead trees.
         (3)  The selective cutting of individual  trees  for
    the purpose of home construction.
         (4)  The  selective cutting of individual trees that
    pose a threat to private property.
         (5)  The clearing of trees for restoration  purposes
    to include:
              (i)  removal of non-native tree species and the
         subsequent reestablishment of native tree species;
              (ii)  thinning  of  trees  for  the purposes of
         encouraging the growth of preferential tree species;
              (iii)  restoration of  wetlands,  prairies,  or
         other   natural   areas   that  will  not  cause  or
         contribute to streambank destabilization.
         (6)  The  removal  of  trees  or  woody   vegetation
    pursuant  to  any  State  or  Federal  conservation  plan
    contracts,  or  when  approved  by the U.S. Army Corps of
    Engineers and the Department.
    The Department of Natural Resources may adopt  rules  for
the  administration  of this subsection and shall adopt rules
permitting a municipality with a  population  of  500,000  or
less  to  petition  the  Department  of  Natural Resources to
permit clear cutting to accommodate  necessary  socioeconomic
development projects.
(Source: P.A. 89-445, eff. 2-7-96.)

[ Top ]