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Crest Hill holds public hearing on amended PEID for switch to Lake Michigan water; no public comments
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Summary
City engineers presented an amended Preliminary Environmental Impact Determination (PEID) for water-distribution improvements tied to a planned switch to Lake Michigan water; the council opened a public hearing, accepted comments through Jan. 31 and heard no public testimony.
Crest Hill city engineers and consultants presented an amended Preliminary Environmental Impact Determination (PEID) on Jan. 20, 2025, describing distribution-system work tied to the city’s planned switch to Lake Michigan water. The council opened a public hearing, heard the engineers’ presentation and received no oral comments from the public.
The amended PEID covers multiple projects the city is packaging for Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) funding, including Caden Farm Road water-main reinforcement, the US 30 water-main lining (Phase 1 through Phase 4), a storage tank and receiving/pumping station tied to the Eastern Grand Prairie Water Commission, and an added Western Grand Prairie receiving and pumping station on the city’s west side. City Engineer Ron Wiedemann said the western receiving station—on city-owned land near Caden Farm Road west of Linwood—reduces the need to install a long new main down Route/Sack and provides redundant supply and comparable pressures for western Crest Hill.
The amended plan is specifically intended to meet environmental clearance requirements tied to state revolving loan funding administered by the IEPA. Ron Wiedemann said the project team consulted regulatory agencies on historic preservation, endangered species, wetlands, water resources and Native American tribes; the presentation reported no adverse effects from those consultations. The city made the PEID document available at the city clerk’s office and will forward public comments to the IEPA’s Infrastructure Financial Assistance section.
Council members opened and closed the public hearing during the Jan. 20 meeting. The city invited written comments through Jan. 31, 2025, directed to Chris Covert, project manager, Infrastructure Financial Assistance Section, Illinois EPA, PO Box 19276, 1021 North Grand Avenue East, Springfield, Illinois, or submitted to the city engineer for forwarding.
Why it matters: switching to Lake Michigan water is a multi-year, capital-intensive change that requires environmental review and likely low-interest loans from the IEPA’s programs. The amended PEID changes the distribution approach so water can be received at a western facility instead of routing a single feed across the city, which the engineers said reduces cost and creates redundant supply capacity.
The council heard the engineers’ presentation and a Strand and Associates representative described project scope and regulatory consultations; no members of the public came to the podium to comment during the hearing. After closing the hearing, the council returned to its regular agenda.
