Bill Text: IL HR0875 | 2017-2018 | 100th General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Calls on policymakers at every level of state government to pursue policies that prioritize the expeditious replacement of all remaining lead-based water infrastructure in Illinois. Declares support and encourages municipalities and all other providers of water service to pursue the full range of options for assuring that water infrastructure in Illinois is as safe, modern, and as accessible as possible. Supports plans to provide water in emergency situations.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)
Status: (Failed) 2019-01-08 - Session Sine Die [HR0875 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2017-HR0875-Introduced.html
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1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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2 | WHEREAS, Clean, safe, reliable water service is essential | ||||||
3 | to the health and well-being of all
residents of Illinois; and
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4 | WHEREAS, Implemented regulations set in place by the U.S. | ||||||
5 | Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) and the Safe Drinking | ||||||
6 | Water Act (SOWA) should be followed; and
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7 | WHEREAS, The events in Flint, Michigan, where thousands of | ||||||
8 | mostly low-income residents
were poisoned by contaminated | ||||||
9 | water, have drawn attention to the harmful consequences of
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10 | underinvestment in and slack oversight of water | ||||||
11 | infrastructure; and
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12 | WHEREAS, Lead contamination tends to disproportionately | ||||||
13 | impact communities of color, with
studies having found a | ||||||
14 | correlation between elevated lead poisoning rates and cities | ||||||
15 | with large
African American populations; and
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16 | WHEREAS, According to the American Society of Civil | ||||||
17 | Engineers (ASCE), U.S. water
infrastructure across the country | ||||||
18 | is rapidly deteriorating, with a significant portion far past | ||||||
19 | its
useful life; and
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20 | WHEREAS, The ASCE, which assigned the nation's drinking |
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1 | water infrastructure a grade of 'D'
in its most recent | ||||||
2 | Infrastructure Report Card, estimates that $1 trillion in new | ||||||
3 | investment is
needed over the next 25 years to modernize this | ||||||
4 | infrastructure; and
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5 | WHEREAS, There are over 52,000 community water systems in | ||||||
6 | the U.S., 84% of which
are owned by municipal or county | ||||||
7 | governments; and
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8 | WHEREAS, Many municipalities in Illinois which provide | ||||||
9 | water service to their residents lack the
financial and | ||||||
10 | technical resources needed to effectively maintain their | ||||||
11 | systems and meet critical
environmental and quality compliance | ||||||
12 | requirements; and
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13 | WHEREAS, These interrelated issues, coupled with the | ||||||
14 | financial struggles facing many local
governments across the | ||||||
15 | state of Illinois, have made it financially impractical for | ||||||
16 | some
municipalities to continue maintaining primary oversight | ||||||
17 | of their water systems; and
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18 | WHEREAS, In some instances, the sale of a water system by a | ||||||
19 | financially distressed municipal
government can relieve fiscal | ||||||
20 | pressure, spur infrastructure investment, and raise water | ||||||
21 | quality; and
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1 | WHEREAS, Working with private entities in this matter via | ||||||
2 | public-private partnerships can also
allow municipalities to | ||||||
3 | benefit from economies of scale, greater access to capital, and | ||||||
4 | technical expertise; and
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5 | WHEREAS, The State of Illinois should be fully involved and | ||||||
6 | consulted in any process that may
affect the management of | ||||||
7 | their water service; and
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8 | WHEREAS, The provision of water service by a private entity | ||||||
9 | is subject to strict public utility and
environmental | ||||||
10 | regulation; therefore, be it
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11 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | ||||||
12 | HUNDREDTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | ||||||
13 | call on policymakers at every level of state
government to | ||||||
14 | pursue policies that prioritize the expeditious replacement of | ||||||
15 | all remaining lead-based
water infrastructure in Illinois; and | ||||||
16 | be it further
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17 | RESOLVED, That we declare our support and encourage | ||||||
18 | municipalities
and all other providers of water service to | ||||||
19 | pursue the full range of options for assuring that water
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20 | infrastructure in Illinois is as safe, modern, and as | ||||||
21 | accessible as possible; and be it further
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1 | RESOLVED, That we support plans to provide water in | ||||||
2 | emergency
situations because individuals should have a right to | ||||||
3 | water even under adverse circumstances
and in the face of | ||||||
4 | natural disasters; and be it further
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5 | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | ||||||
6 | delivered to the President of the
United States, the Vice- | ||||||
7 | President of the United States, all members of the U.S. | ||||||
8 | Congress, and
other federal and state officials as appropriate.
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