U.S. E.P.A. Looks for Public Review on Mahomet Aquifer Designation
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Category: WaterType: News
Source: EPA
Date: Wednesday, March 12th, 2014
CHICAGO - The E.P.A. today suggested approval of a petition to designate a portion of the Mahomet Aquifer system in east-central Illinois as a sole source aquifer. EPA's public review period on the suggested designation begins March 13 and closes June 12, 2014.
The Safe Drinking Water Act gives E.P.A. authority to designate an aquifer as a sole or principal source of drinking water for a specified area. That designation allows E.P.A. to review all federally funded plans within the designated area to ensure they will not contaminate the aquifer.
The Mahomet Aquifer system is an underground layer of water-bearing sand and gravel that fills a wide bedrock valley in all or parts of 14 east-central Illinois counties. The aquifer system is the source of approximately 53 million gallons of water every year for 120 public water systems and thousands of rural wells that serve about a half million people. In excess of half of the population in east-central Illinois relies on the Mahomet Aquifer system as a source of the drinking water.
E.P.A. will hold 2 public hearings on May 13 at 7:30 p.m. at the Hilton Garden Inn, 1501 S. Neil St., Champaign; and on May 14 at 7:30 p.m. at the Morton Park District's Freedom Hall, 349 Birchwood, Morton. Oral and written comments will be accepted at both hearings. Informational sessions in advance of the public hearings will run from 6:30 p.m. to 7:15 p.m. on both evenings.
Outline documents and information about the public hearings are accessible on EPA's website at
http://www.epa.gov/region5/water/gwdw/mahomet/index.htm. Documents are also accessible at:
· Champaign Public Library, 200 W. Green St., Champaign.
· Bloomington Public Library, 205 E. Olive St., Bloomington.
· Pekin Public Library, 301 S. 4th St., Pekin.
· Havana Public Library, 201 W. Adams St., Havana.
· Watseka Public Library, 201 S. Fourth St., Watseka.
· U.S. EPA's Region five Office, 77 W. Jackson Blvd., Chicago.
Comments should be addressed to William Spaulding, U.S. E.P.A. (WG-15J), 77 W. Jackson Blvd., Chicago, IL 60604-3590 or
[email protected]. For questions or additional information contact William Spaulding at 312-886-9262, or EPA's toll-free line at 800-621-8431, 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (weekdays).
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