TRANSMITTAL LETTER FOR BOARD MEETING OF JUNE 1, 2023
COMMITTEE ON STORMWATER MANAGEMENT
Mr. Brian A. Perkovich, Executive Director
Title
Authority to negotiate Intergovernmental Agreements to assist various local municipalities with the condition assessment and the rehabilitation of sanitary sewers
Body
Dear Sir:
On March 9, 2023, the District learned that $3.5 million in Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) funds were allocated for use by the District under the Fiscal Year 2023 Omnibus Appropriations Bill that was signed into law by President Joe Biden on December 29, 2022. These funds will be used to provide direct assistance to the Cities of Country Club Hills and Markham and the Villages of Bellwood, Ford Heights, and Hazel Crest with assessing the condition of their high-risk sanitary sewers and repairing defects that are identified during the condition assessment.
Each of these municipalities owns separate sanitary sewer systems. Under the Short-Term Requirements of the District’s Infiltration and Inflow Control Program (IICP), all municipalities in the District owning separate sewer systems are required to identify their high-risk sanitary sewers, which typically comprise ten percent of the entire sanitary system. The assessments document the condition of the sewers, manholes, and lift stations in high-risk portions of the system. Once completed, severe defects that have been identified must be corrected. Obtaining funding for this work is often an obstacle for many municipalities. Therefore, the EPA funds were requested by the District to assist Country Club Hills, Markham, Bellwood, Ford Heights, and Hazel Crest to complete their Short-Term Requirements and come into compliance with the IICP. These five communities were selected due to their sewer systems’ need for condition assessment and corrective action and their being located in predominantly Environmental Justice areas.
In order to facilitate efficient use of these funds, the District will contract for condition assessment and rehabilitation services directly. Authorization from the municipalities will be required for the District’s contractor to perform work in the local sewer systems. Therefore, individual Intergovernmental Agreements (IGAs) with each municipality will need to be executed in advance of condition assessment work.
It is hereby requested that the Board of Commissioners authorize the District to negotiate IGAs with the Cities of Country Club Hills and Markham and the Villages of Bellwood, Ford Heights, and Hazel Crest. The terms and conditions of the IGAs, including cost sharing and long-term maintenance requirements for the municipalities, will be defined through negotiations between the District and the municipalities. Once the parties agree in principle, authority to enter into the individual IGAs will be sought from the District’s Board of Commissioners.
Requested, Catherine A. O’Connor, Director of Engineering, KMF:MD
Recommended, Brian A. Perkovich, Executive Director
Disposition of this agenda item will be documented in the official Regular Board Meeting Minutes of the Board of Commissioners for June 1, 2023