Mr. Gottemoller leaves the meeting at 9:30 A.M.
Adam Wallen, Director of Planning and Development, and Stoyan Kolev, Water Resources Manager, joined the committee for the discussion.
Mr. Wallen stated they received a State's Attorney opinion late Friday afternoon that bolstered the state law's authority. The Illinois Agricultural Impact Mitigation Agreement (AIMA) has stipulations in state law that if the drainage and drain tile is damaged it needs to be repaired in a reasonable timeframe. He stated the SMO has requirements for drain tile replacements with some engineering exceptions, such as if there was something that would not agree that it is the best idea to replace the drain tiles. The case that brought the issue to the surface was a solar farm that replaced its drain tiles.
Chair Smith stated they do what they are able to until they are put in a position where they are told they cannot. He inquired about who makes the decision that if they had drain tile running across the southwest corner and it would not work they would need to move it to the northeast corner and who designed it.
Mr. Kolev stated the applicant's engineer would propose that solution, they would review it to see if it is viable, and then they would provide a solution. He noted that they would prefer that the drain tiles are not changed too often because they want to maintain the integrity and functionality of the farmland.
Chair Smith stated the takeaway is that the County went to the applicant that was an issue, and they did their part. He stated it is unfortunate that it is flooding the neighbors downstream but it seems as though it would be their responsibility to fix their tile, so he does not see why they would apply the bond to fix someone else's damage.
Mr. Kolev stated they are required to adopt the County's SMO, and if the language is included they would need to adhere to those standards. Chair Smith wanted to confirm that is something that they could enforce. Mr. Kolev confirmed that is correct.
Chair Smith stated it is an unfortunate situation but it is up to the land owner that is downstream to either take care of it or not. He stated the topic was on the agenda for discussion and the committee does not need to provide direction because the department did what they were required to do.