2018-34 Prohibiting the Use of Groundwater as a Potable Water Supply 801 South Jasper Street

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4. What is the City's Obligation under a Ground Water Ordinance? In order to protect public health,the City must prohibit new drinking water wells from tapping into groundwater within an area determined by the IEPA following an in depth ground water review by an engineer. Normally the IEPA's rules do not require existing wells to be closed unless they have become contaminated. Since the City has a public water supply, this prohibition is not usually a hardship. 5. What benefit does the City of Decatur gain by enacting a Ground Water Ordinance? 1. Public health is protected by prohibiting the use of ground water from contaminated sites. 2. Redevelopment of"brownfield" sites is facilitated, thereby returning them to productive use. 3. By exercising choices provided by TACO rules, site owners and operators may reduce remediation costs, return more sites to productive use, hasten property redevelopment, and still fully comply with environmental laws and regulations. 6. Can the City establish rules more strict than those imposed by the IEPA? The City is generally able to establish rules that are equal to or greater than those established by the IEPA. The legality of additional rules will likely vary depending on the desired measure and should in each circumstance be addressed by the Corporation Counsel. The Ground Water Ordinance used by the City is a"typical" document required by the IEPA. The City is able to add conditions and requirements through separate agreements such as removal of some or all contaminated soil, the payment of fees, liability indemnification, etc. 7. Is the owner of the contamination source obligated to address the contamination issue? Yes, the IEPA requires all contamination sources be addressed and remediated in some fashion. Remediation options range from the total removal of the contaminated material to isolating it or to requiring no action at all. The IEPA requires that the issue be addressed and resolved before any development or redevelopment of the property. Until the IEPA signs off on the remediation plan proposed by a property owner, the property is essentially in limbo and of no realistic value. 8. Can the City force the owners of a contamination source to clean up the right of way and remove all contaminated soil? The owner of a leaking underground gas tank or other contamination source is obligated by the IEPA to remediate the contamination which can include removal. In the past it has been successfully argued that removal of contaminated material from the right of way is impractical. It may require a significant amount of legal effort and cost to force the removal of all contaminated material from the right of way due to the significant costs involved. The courts would likely make the ultimate determination as to whether it is practical or not to complete such a removal effort. 9. If the City can require the owner of a contamination source to clean it up,why not do so and clean up the right of way? There are several reasons not to force the removal of all contamination from the City's right of way: Page 12