Illinois EPA's New Fees To Local Communities

Last year, Senator Dan Rutherford (R-Pontiac) made public the amount of new fees each city in Illinois was assessed by the Blagojevich Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA). After weeks of stonewalling, the agency finally provided the dollar amounts charged the communities for the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits. The new state fees were assessed for sewer and wastewater discharge and of course would have to be paid by the community’s resident’s property taxes or greater sewer or water charges.

Rutherford was forced to file a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request last year and appealed the IEPA’s refusal to provide the information on dollar amounts each community was assessed by the Blagojevich administration. Here's why - the inequities are staggering:

City.........Population... Fees..Per Resident.....Fee.......Per Res.


AURORA............142,990....... $35,500.............$0.25..............$36,500..................$0.26

BRIMFIELD.............933.........$5,000..............$5.36................$5,000..................$5.36

CHICAGO.......2,896,016.....$447,500..............$0.15.............$420,000..................$0.15

DEER CREEK..........605.........$5,000..............$8.26................$2,500..................$4.13

EAST PEORIA.....22,638......$37,500...............$1.66..............$32,000..................$1.41

EL PASO.................2,695........$5,000...............$1.86................$5,000..................$1.86

EUREKA.................4,871........$8,000...............$1.64................$9,000...................$1.85

JOLIET................106,221.....$133,500...............$1.26.............$138,500..................$1.30

METAMORA.........2,700.......$18,000..............$6.67...............$15,500..................$5.74

MINONK...............2,168.........$8,000..............$3.69.................$6,000..................$2.77

PEORIA...............112,396......$77,500..............$0.69................$50,000.................$0.44

ROANOKE.............1,994........$5,000..............$2.51..................$2,500..................$1.25

WASHINGTON...10,841...... $28,500.............$2.63................$28,500.................$2.63