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Public Act 096-0388
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| HB2251 Enrolled |
LRB096 06271 AJT 16354 b |
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AN ACT concerning waterways.
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Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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represented in the General Assembly:
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Section 5. The Rivers, Lakes, and Streams Act is amended by |
changing Section 23a as follows:
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(615 ILCS 5/23a) (from Ch. 19, par. 70a)
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Sec. 23a. The Department is authorized to carry out |
inspections of any
dam within the State, and to establish |
standards and issue permits for the
safe construction of new |
dams and the reconstruction, repair, operation
and maintenance |
of all existing dams. If any inspection carried out
by the |
Department or by a federal agency in which the Department |
concurs
determines that a dam is in an unsafe condition, the |
Department shall
so notify the appropriate public officials of |
the affected city or county,
the State's Attorney of the county |
in which the dam is located, and the
Illinois Emergency |
Management Agency.
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The Department may compel the installation of fishways in |
dams wherever
deemed necessary.
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The Department may establish by rule minimum water levels |
for water behind
dams on streams and rivers as necessary to |
preserve the fish and other aquatic
life and to safeguard the |
health of the community.
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Upon a determination of the Department that a dam |
constitutes a serious
threat to life or a threat of substantial |
property damage, the Department
may issue orders to require |
changes in the structure or its operation or
maintenance |
necessary for proper control of water levels at normal stages
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and for the disposal of flood waters and for the protection of |
navigation
and any persons or property situated downstream from |
the dam or to otherwise
remove the threat provided, however, |
that no existing dam, based solely
upon the enactment by any |
governmental unit of any new rule, regulation,
ordinance, law, |
or other requirement passed after the construction of the
dam, |
shall be deemed to constitute a serious threat to life or a |
threat of
substantial property damage if it was designed and |
constructed under a
permit from the State of Illinois in |
conformance with all applicable
standards existing at the time |
of its construction and is in good repair.
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The Department shall be required, prior to taking any |
action to compel
alteration or breaching of any dam, to furnish |
in writing to the owner of
the dam (1) a detailed and specific |
list of defects discovered in the course
of inspection of the |
dam, including the specific nature of any inadequacies
in the |
capacity of the spillway system and any indications of seepage, |
erosion,
or other evidence of structural deficiency in the dam |
or spillway; and (2)
a statement of the applicable standards |
that if complied with by the owner
of the dam would put the dam |
into compliance with the State's requirements.
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No order shall be issued requiring alteration of any |
existing dam until after
notice and opportunity for hearing has |
been provided by the Department to the
dam owners. If the owner |
or owners of the dam are unknown, notice will be
provided by |
publication in a newspaper of general circulation in the county |
in
which the structure is located. Any order issued under this |
Section shall
include a statement of the findings supporting |
the order.
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Opportunity for hearing is not required in emergency |
situations when the
Department finds there is imminent hazard |
to personal public safety of people.
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The Department may enforce the provisions of this Section |
and of rules
and orders issued hereunder by injunction or other
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appropriate action.
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Neither the Department of Natural Resources nor
employees |
or agents of the Department shall be liable for damages |
sustained
through the partial or total failure of any dam or |
the operation or maintenance
of any dam by reason of the |
Department's regulation thereof. Nothing in this
Act shall |
relieve an owner or operator of a dam from the legal duties,
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obligations, and liabilities arising from ownership or |
operation.
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The Department shall review and update its operations |
manuals for the Algonquin Dam and the William G. Stratton Lock |
and Dam on an annual basis. |
(Source: P.A. 89-445, eff. 2-7-96.)
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