SPRINGFIELD – Groundwater near quarry fill sites in Illinois will be monitored more closely as a result of legislation passed by State Senator John Connor (D-Lockport) that was signed into law Friday.

“It is our responsibility to be careful stewards of our natural resources so that we are able to hand down communities that will continue to grow and thrive,” Connor said. “This legislation will help to ensure that Illinoisans will have clean drinking water for years to come.”

Connor was joined in this initiative by Representative Dagmara Avelar (D-Bolingbrook), who filed the bill in the House, and State Senator Laura Ellman (D-Naperville) who filed identical legislation during the previous General Assembly and has been an advocate for the cause in the Senate.

This legislation is an initiative of the Illinois Environmental Council and the Environmental Law and Policy Center. The new law allocates funding to expand teams of inspectors tasked with monitoring clean construction and demolition debris facilities. The increased monitoring and testing facilitated by this legislation would ultimately ensure that contaminants are kept out of groundwater where clean construction demolition debris is dumped.

“It is our job as legislators and residents of Illinois, to make sure our groundwater stays safe and clean,” Avelar said. “Our Earth is slowly deteriorating so it is critical that legislators throughout the country find legislation that benefits both the environment and state. I believe House Bill 653 does both of those things.”

The new law will go into effect Jan. 1, 2022.

###