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Belvidere public works director: IEPA notice over lead-inventory omission was rescinded after resubmission; 7,500 notices prepared
Summary
Public Works Director Brent Anderson told the committee the Illinois EPA flagged the city for omitting sample sites from its lead-service-line inventory, the city supplied the updated form and the IEPA rescinded the violation; about 7,500 customer notice letters were prepared and roughly half were mailed before the rescission.
Brent Anderson, Belvidere’s public works director, told the committee that the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency issued a July notice saying the city had not properly included its sample sites in the initial lead-service-line inventory. “They indicated to us that we did not put the sample sites in the inventory,” Anderson said.
Anderson said the city has about 70 locations that must be sampled and included on the inventory, and that the department completed the updated form once the IEPA provided the current version. “They proceeded to send us the new form with the spaces of allotments to do that, and we completed that work and got that turned around and sent back to them,” he said.
The director said the IEPA dated a letter withdrawing the violation on July 30. “So bottom line is we don't have a violation... The inventory has been accepted,” Anderson said, noting the department had already prepared a public-notice letter and mailed roughly half of the 7,500 required notices before the rescission.
Anderson urged residents who have not yet returned the department’s survey to do so and said staff will continue sampling and inventory maintenance to meet the lead-and-copper rule requirements. He said the city is using a state grant to complete the work and that staff have received several completed surveys since notices went out.
The council did not take a formal vote on the inventory matter; Anderson asked members to direct inquiries to the water department and said staff will answer resident calls. The next step is continued follow-up on sampling and survey returns and keeping the inventory up to date with IEPA.
