Illinois Legislature Passes Bill Initiated by Environmental Groups
When the drinking water crisis and scandal in Flint, Michigan was exposed last winter, environmental groups in Illinois decided we needed to take action to discover potential lead water contamination problems at home. To that end, we banded together and started drafting a bill. In hindsight, the initial drafts seem overly ambitious, yet we got the ball rolling! Later, with the invaluable help of the Attorney General’s Office and the Illinois Environmental Council, we crafted a compromise bill and steered it successfully through competing interests. Once the bill is signed by Governor Rauner mandatory testing of drinking water in schools will begin.
Prairie Rivers Network was very pleased to work in coalition with Illinois Environmental Council, the Illinois Attorney General, Natural Resources Defense Council and Illinois Sierra Club to achieve passage of this important bill. Read NRDC’s good summary of the bill, including additional requirements.
