THE ILLINOIS ENDANGERED SPECIES PROTECTION ACT

By MELVIN W. SMITH, Illinois Department of Transportation

The Illinois Endangered Species Protection Act was passed by both houses of the State Legislature June 29, 1985, was amendatorally vetoed by the Governor September 23, 1985, and becomes effective July 1, 1986. Included in this Act is a paragraph which states, "It is the public policy of all agencies of State and local governments to utilize their authorities in furtherance of the purposes of this Act by evaluating through a consultation process with the Department (Illinois Department of Conservation) whether actions authorized, funded or carried out by them are likely to jeopardize the continued existance of Illinois listed endangered and threatened species or are likely to result in the destruction or adverse modification of the designated essential habitat of such species, —".

This legislation also provided that the Illinois Department of Conservation (IDOC) has the authority to adopt such rules as are reasonable and necessary to implement the provisions of the Act. IDOC is currently meeting with various local agency organizations to receive input. These rules will be published in the Illinois Register for comment before implementation.

The preparation of a procedural plan for protection of State endangered species and natural areas was authorized by Governor Thompson in Executive Order No. 7 (1985), "Protection of Endangered Species and Natural Areas". This Order requires cooperation between Executive Agencies, such as the Department of Transportation (IDOT) and IDOC during the early planning stage of each project. Any project found to have a likely adverse impact on such an endangered or threatened species or natural area shall be further studied to determine possible methods of mitigating or eliminating such adverse impact. This Order affects all State funded projects and all local agency projects that include state and federal funds.

IDOT's coordination with the IDOC will be provided by the Bureau of Location and Environment (BLE). Our letter #85-23, dated October 17, 1985 and letter #86-3, dated January 22, 1986, explained the Intergrated Process for Environmental Surveys, Studies and Coordination which BLE will use for the consultation with IDOC. Some revisions will be necessary to accommodate this new Act.

Executive Order No. 7 allows for supplemental agreements which would exempt certain types of projects from the consultation process with IDOC.

BLE is in the process of developing a supplemental agreement with IDOC which will allow BLE to give endangered species sign-off without consultation with IDOC for certain types of improvements (such as resurfacing) that obviously would not affect endangered species. This will not eliminate any work for you, but it will speed up the approval process.

My office is monitoring the proceedings, and we hope to be able to provide you with final information on the rules adopted by IDOC in the near future. •

Page 16 / Illinois Municipal Review / June 1986