Bill Text: IL SR0705 | 2023-2024 | 103rd General Assembly | Introduced

---

Bill Title: Declares April 21 through April 27, 2024 as Green Infrastructure Week in the State of Illinois. Encourages individuals, businesses, and local and state governments to pursue Green Infrastructure initiatives.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Passed) 2024-04-18 - Resolution Adopted [SR0705 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2023-SR0705-Introduced.html

---

SR0705 LRB103 36992 LAW 67107 r
SENATE RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, "Green infrastructure" means any storm water
management technique or practice employed with the primary
goal of preserving, restoring, or mimicking natural hydrology;
and
WHEREAS, Green infrastructure includes, but is not limited
to, methods of using soil and vegetation to promote soil
percolation, evapotranspiration, and filtration; and
WHEREAS, Green infrastructure includes the preservation
and restoration of natural landscape features, such as
forests, floodplains, headwaters, and wetlands; and
WHEREAS, Green infrastructure also includes rain gardens,
permeable pavements, green roofs, infiltration planters, trees
and tree boxes, and rainwater harvesting for non-potable uses,
such as toilet flushing and landscape irrigation; and
WHEREAS, Urban storm water, when not properly controlled
and treated, can cause pollution of the waters of the State,
threaten public health, and damage property by carrying
pollutants from our highways, streets, roads, parking lots,
driveways, sidewalks, alleys, lawns, and other surfaces of low
permeability into lakes, rivers, streams, and ponds; and

SR0705 - 2 - LRB103 36992 LAW 67107 r
WHEREAS, Development can increase storm water runoff by
increasing the size and number of paved and other impervious
surfaces within a watershed and decreasing the extent of
vegetated and other permeable surface areas that control storm
water runoff through natural infiltration and
evapotranspiration and groundwater recharge; and
WHEREAS, Current urban storm water related threats to the
State's water resources include pollution, increased water
temperatures, flooding, groundwater depletion, loss of
habitat, stream bank erosion, sewer overflows, basement
backups, contaminated drinking water sources, and
sedimentation of waterways; and
WHEREAS, Some studies show that preserving and expanding
natural and built green infrastructure can minimize negative
impacts and enhance the resilience of water infrastructure and
water bodies; and
WHEREAS, There are a number of potential benefits from the
use of green infrastructure, including cleaner water, enhanced
water supplies, reduced flooding, cleaner air, increased
energy efficiency, the mitigation and adaptation of the
impacts of climate change, increased biodiversity, improved
benefits for communities, better health potential for

SR0705 - 3 - LRB103 36992 LAW 67107 r
inhabitants, more green jobs, and cost savings; therefore, be
it
RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL
ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we declare April 21
through April 27, 2024 as Green Infrastructure Week in the
State of Illinois; and be it further