Bill Text: IL HR0269 | 2015-2016 | 99th General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Designates March 8-14, 2015 as "Illinois Groundwater Awareness Week" and urges Governor Rauner to issue a proclamation calling on the people of the great State of Illinois to observe the week by learning more about groundwater and its importance to peoples' lives and encourage them to act in ways that value and protect this resource.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Passed) 2015-05-06 - Resolution Adopted [HR0269 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2015-HR0269-Introduced.html
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1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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2 | WHEREAS, More than half of Illinois residents receive their
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3 | water from groundwater wells; this makes Illinois groundwater a | ||||||
4 | valuable natural resource that needs to be protected; and
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5 | WHEREAS, Next to breathable air, groundwater may be the
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6 | next most important resource necessary for human life; and
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7 | WHEREAS, Agricultural irrigation is the single largest use
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8 | of groundwater, nourishing much of the produce and livestock
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9 | that fills our grocery stores; and
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10 | WHEREAS, Groundwater can be found beneath the surface
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11 | virtually anywhere, making it possible to live in rural or even
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12 | remote places where public water systems do not exist; and
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13 | WHEREAS, Groundwater makes it possible for ecosystems
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14 | teeming with life to exist as it supplies plants and animals
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15 | with life-giving water and often meets critical water needs in
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16 | the midst of drought because of its abundance beneath the
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17 | surface of the earth; and
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18 | WHEREAS, Spring is a good season to have an annual water
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19 | well checkup before the peak water use season begins according
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20 | to the National Ground Water Association and the Illinois
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1 | Association of Groundwater Professionals (IAGP); and
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2 | WHEREAS, An abandoned well as defined by the Illinois Water
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3 | Well Construction Code is a water or monitoring well that is no
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4 | longer used to supply water, or that is in such a state of
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5 | disrepair that the well or boring has the potential for
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6 | transmitting contaminants into an aquifer or otherwise | ||||||
7 | threatens
the public health or safety; furthermore, the code | ||||||
8 | requires that an abandoned well be properly sealed within 30 | ||||||
9 | days after it
is abandoned and no longer in use; and
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10 | WHEREAS, The IAGP encourages the Illinois Department of | ||||||
11 | Publich Health and units of local government to identify the
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12 | number and location of abandoned wells, educate communities of
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13 | the need for building demolition policies and procedures to
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14 | include inspection for abandoned wells, provide evaluation
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15 | processes to determine appropriateness of well for non-potable
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16 | use, support annual inspections by local government of well | ||||||
17 | non-potable
use, build awareness and raise funds to provide | ||||||
18 | help and
support well-sealing, and to recognize private wells | ||||||
19 | as a viable
means to reduce and conserve potable water for | ||||||
20 | non-potable use; therefore, be it
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21 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | ||||||
22 | NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | ||||||
23 | designate March 8-14, 2015 as "Illinois Groundwater Awareness |
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1 | Week"; and be it further
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2 | RESOLVED, That we urge the Governor to issue a proclamation
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3 | calling on the people of the great State of Illinois to observe
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4 | the week by learning more about groundwater and its importance
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5 | in peoples' lives and to encourage them to act in ways that | ||||||
6 | value and protect this resource.
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