Source: by Ashley Rueff and Ray Long - Chicago Tribune
SPRINGFIELD—Legislation inspired by a controversy over tainted water in Crestwood went to the desk of Gov. Pat Quinn today as House lawmakers overwhelmingly voted to ensure citizens are notified when their drinking water is contaminated.
Illinois Governor Pat Quinn - Water Contamination Legislation Bill
The legislation, sponsored by Rep. Frank Mautino (D-Spring Valley), followed Tribune revelations that Crestwood village residents unknowingly drank water drawn from a contaminated well for more than two decades.
Current law requires owners and operators of a water system to be notified when water is contaminated, but it does not require citizens using the water to be notified, according to Atty. Gen. Lisa Madigan, whose office is investigating the issue and worked with Quinn on the proposal.
Crestwood officials kept using a well even though the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency notified them at least 22 years ago that dangerous chemicals related to a dry-cleaning solvent had oozed into the water, records show. The well wasn’t shut down until late 2007, when the EPA tested the well again and found it was still polluted.
One chemical found in the well, vinyl chloride, is so toxic that the U.S. EPA says there is no safe level of exposure. For years, village officials told regulators and residents that all of Crestwood’s water came from Lake Michigan. They repeated that message in annual “consumer confidence reports” required under the federal Safe Drinking Water Act.
Acting on a search warrant obtained by U.S. Atty. Patrick Fitzgerald’s office, federal agents also have raided Crestwood village hall and carted away documents for a criminal investigation.
The state legislation also would make it a felony to provide false information to environmental enforcement officials.
