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U.S. EPA Seeks Public Comment on Mahomet Aquifer Designation

Release Date: 03/12/2014
Contact Information: Peter Cassell, 312-886-6234, [email protected]

CHICAGO - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today proposed 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 comment period on the proposed designation begins March 13 and closes June 12, 2014.

The Safe Drinking Water Act gives EPA authority to designate an aquifer as a sole or principal source of drinking water for a specified area. That designation allows EPA to review all federally funded projects 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. More than half of the population in east-central Illinois relies on the Mahomet Aquifer system as a source of the drinking water.

EPA will hold two 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 Best Western Ashland House, 201 E. Ashland St., 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.

Draft documents and information about the public hearings are available on EPA’s website at https://www.epa.gov/region5/water/gwdw/mahomet/index.htm. Documents are also available at:

· Champaign Public Library, 200 W. Green St., Champaign.
· Bloomington Public Library, 205 E. Olive St., Bloomington.
· Pekin Public Library, 301 S. Fourth St., Pekin.
· Havana Public Library, 201 W. Adams St., Havana.
· Watseka Public Library, 201 S. 4th St., Watseka.
· U.S. EPA’s Region 5 Office, 77 W. Jackson Blvd., Chicago.