Statutes > Illinois Statutes > CHAPTER 615 WATERWAYS > 615 ILCS 5/ Rivers, Lakes, and Streams Act.

615 ILCS 5/ Rivers, Lakes, and Streams Act.

    (615 ILCS 5/4.9) (from Ch. 19, par. 51.9)
    Sec. 4.9. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Rivers, Lakes, and Streams Act.
(Source: P.A. 86‑1324.)

    (615 ILCS 5/5) (from Ch. 19, par. 52)
    Sec. 5. The Department of Natural Resources shall upon behalf of the State of Illinois, have jurisdiction and supervision over all of the rivers and lakes of the State of Illinois, wherein the State of Illinois or the people of the State have any rights or interests, and shall make a list by counties of all the waters of Illinois, showing the waters, both navigable and non‑navigable, that are found in each county of the State, and if the same are lakes, the extent of the shore lines and the amount, extent and area of the water surface; and in a like way, if the same are rivers, and specifying whether the same are navigable or non‑navigable, and whether they have or have not been meandered.
(Source: P.A. 89‑445, eff. 2‑7‑96.)

    (615 ILCS 5/6) (from Ch. 19, par. 53)
    Sec. 6. The Department of Natural Resources shall obtain all possible data with reference to all of the waters of the State of Illinois, including original surveys, meander notes, maps, plats, river gauges, high and low water marks, and all and every source of information which will tend to disclose or establish the rights of the People of the State of Illinois with reference to each body of water in the State, and shall from time to time make public report of its findings.
(Source: P.A. 89‑445, eff. 2‑7‑96.)

    (615 ILCS 5/7) (from Ch. 19, par. 54)
    Sec. 7. It shall be the duty of the Department of Natural Resources to have a general supervision of every body of water within the State of Illinois, wherein the State or the people of the State have any rights or interests, whether the same be lakes or rivers, and at all times to exercise a vigilant care to see that none of said bodies of water are encroached upon, or wrongfully seized or used by any private interest in any way, except as may be provided by law and then only after permission shall be given by said department, and from time to time for that purpose, to make accurate surveys of the shores of said lakes and rivers, and to jealously guard the same in order that the true and natural conditions thereof may not be wrongfully and improperly changed to the detriment and injury of the State of Illinois.
    In order to expedite the fulfillment of such duties by the department, and to remove or reduce many causes of contention between the State and riparian owners, every subdivision plat drawn for any land bordering or including any public waters of the State of Illinois in which the State has any property rights or property interests, shall be submitted to the Department of Natural Resources for review and approval as to the boundary line between private interest and public interests, and shall not be recorded until so reviewed and approved by the department. Should the department find such boundary line to be incorrectly indicated on the plat, it shall return the plat unapproved with a statement in detail of the reasons for not approving such plat.
    The Department of Natural Resources shall have power and authority to inquire into encroachments upon, wrongful invasion and private use of every stream, river, lake or other body of water in which the State of Illinois has any right or interests. The department shall have power to make and enforce such orders as will secure every stream, river, lake or other body of water, in which the State of Illinois has any right or interest against encroachment, wrongful seizure or private use.
(Source: P.A. 89‑445, eff. 2‑7‑96.)

    (615 ILCS 5/8) (from Ch. 19, par. 55)
    Sec. 8. The Department of Natural Resources shall receive from any citizen complaints as to any invasion of or encroachment upon any rights of the State, or of any citizen of the State, with reference to any of the public bodies of water of the State, or as to any interference with the right or claim of any citizen to use or enjoy any public water of this State, and upon being requested so to do, the Department, in its discretion, may hold a public hearing for the purpose of taking evidence with reference to the subject matter of the complaint, and of hearing all persons who may appear upon behalf of, or in opposition to the petition, and at the conclusion of the hearing it shall enter an order defining the rights and interests of the parties, and prescribing their duties.
(Source: P.A. 89‑445, eff. 2‑7‑96.)

    (615 ILCS 5/9) (from Ch. 19, par. 56)
    Sec. 9. The Department of Natural Resources shall carefully investigate any and all complaints that may be made that any person, company or corporation is attempting to interfere with the free and unobstructed navigation of any of the public bodies of water of the State, and if it finds that the complaint is well founded, the Department shall enter such order as may be required to prevent wrongful interference with such navigation.
(Source: P.A. 89‑445, eff. 2‑7‑96.)

    (615 ILCS 5/10) (from Ch. 19, par. 57)
    Sec. 10. The Department of Natural Resources shall investigate any and all complaints within the State that any person, company, association or corporation is attempting to assert any lawful rights or exclusive privileges or franchises with reference to docks, landings, wharves, or the free and unobstructed access to, or egress from any navigable body of water, and if it finds upon investigation that any complaint is well founded, it shall enter such order as may be necessary to correct the wrongful act.
(Source: P.A. 89‑445, eff. 2‑7‑96.)

    (615 ILCS 5/11) (from Ch. 19, par. 58)
    Sec. 11. The Department of Natural Resources shall obtain all possible data, surveys, charts, high and low water marks, and river gauges, and information with reference to the navigability of any of the public bodies of water of the State, and keep the same at all times available for public inspection, and aid in extending the navigation of any of the public bodies of water of the State. Such information shall be furnished at its actual cost to any person desiring the same. Certified copies of such data shall be received in court as evidence of the facts thereby shown.
(Source: P.A. 89‑445, eff. 2‑7‑96.)

    (615 ILCS 5/12) (from Ch. 19, par. 59)
    Sec. 12. The Department of Natural Resources shall procure and collect all obtainable data with reference to deep waterways within the State, and from time to time disseminate information with reference thereto, and take such action as will permit and encourage every available use of the public bodies of water of the State, for navigation and carrying trade, both of commerce and passenger.
(Source: P.A. 89‑445, eff. 2‑7‑96.)

    (615 ILCS 5/13) (from Ch. 19, par. 60)
    Sec. 13. The Department of Natural Resources shall make a careful investigation of every body of water, both river and lake, in the State, and ascertain to what extent, if at all, the same have been encroached upon by private interests or individuals, and wherever it believes that the same have been encroached upon, the Department shall commence appropriate action either to recover full compensation for such wrongful encroachment, or to recover the use of the same, or of any lands improperly or unlawfully made in connection with any public river or lake for the use of the People of the State. The right and authority hereby given and created shall not be held to be exclusive, or to take from the Attorney General or any other law officer of the State the right to commence suit or action.
(Source: P.A. 91‑357, eff. 7‑29‑99.)

    (615 ILCS 5/14a) (from Ch. 19, par. 61a)
    Sec. 14a. It is the express intention of this legislation that close cooperation shall exist between the Pollution Control Board, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Department of Natural Resources and that every resource of State government shall be applied to the proper preservation and utilization of the waters of Lake Michigan.
    The Environmental Protection Agency shall work in close cooperation with the City of Chicago and other affected units of government to: (1) terminate discharge of pollutional waste materials to Lake Michigan from vessels in both intra‑state and inter‑state navigation, and (2) abate domestic, industrial, and other pollution to assure that Lake Michigan beaches in Illinois are suitable for full body contact sports, meeting criteria of the Pollution Control Board.
    The Environmental Protection Agency shall regularly conduct water quality and lake bed surveys to evaluate the ecology and the quality of water in Lake Michigan. Results of such surveys shall be made available, without charge, to all interested persons and agencies. It shall be the responsibility of the Director of the Environmental Protection Agency to report annually or at such other times as the Governor shall direct; such report shall provide hydrologic, biologic, and chemical data together with recommendations to the Governor and members of the General Assembly.
    The requirement for reporting to the General Assembly shall be satisfied by filing copies of the report with the Speaker, the Minority Leader and the Clerk of the House of Representatives and the President, the Minority Leader and the Secretary of the Senate and the Legislative Research Unit, as required by Section 3.1 of "An Act to revise the law in relation to the General Assembly", approved February 25, 1874, as amended, and filing such additional copies with the State Government Report Distribution Center for the General Assembly as is required under paragraph (t) of Section 7 of the State Library Act.
    In meeting the requirements of this Act, the Pollution Control Board, Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Natural Resources are authorized to be in direct contact with individuals, municipalities, public and private corporations and other organizations which are or may be contributing to the discharge of pollution to Lake Michigan.
(Source: P.A. 89‑445, eff. 2‑7‑96.)

    (615 ILCS 5/15) (from Ch. 19, par. 62)
    Sec. 15. The Department of Natural Resources shall obtain and preserve all obtainable data with reference to the rivers and lakes of Illinois, and make its office a repository thereof, and all such records and data shall be public and available for the use of any person who may be interested therein; and certified copies thereof shall be received in court as evidence of the facts therein set forth. To secure the information authorized by this section to be obtained the Department or its duly authorized agent may cross any lands within the State and enter any building or factory where the power used is of hydraulic generation.
(Source: P.A. 89‑445, eff. 2‑7‑96.)

    (615 ILCS 5/16) (from Ch. 19, par. 63)
    Sec. 16. The Department of Natural Resources shall plan and devise methods, ways and means for the preservation and beautifying of the public bodies of water of the State, and for making the same more available for the use of the public, and it shall from time to time report its findings and conclusions to the Governor and general assembly, and from time to time submit to the general assembly drafts of such measures as it may deem necessary to be enacted for the accomplishment of such purpose, or for the protection of such bodies of water.
    The requirement for reporting to the General Assembly shall be satisfied by filing copies of the report with the Speaker, the Minority Leader and the Clerk of the House of Representatives and the President, the Minority Leader and the Secretary of the Senate and the Legislative Research Unit, as required by Section 3.1 of "An Act to revise the law in relation to the General Assembly", approved February 25, 1874, as amended, and filing such additional copies with the State Government Report Distribution Center for the General Assembly as is required under paragraph (t) of Section 7 of the State Library Act.
(Source: P.A. 89‑445, eff. 2‑7‑96.)

    (615 ILCS 5/17) (from Ch. 19, par. 64)
    Sec. 17. The Department of Natural Resources shall furnish at its actual cost to any person or persons who may be desirous of reclaiming, draining or cultivating any wash or overflowed lands in connection with any of the public waters of the State, any and all data which it may have in its possession, showing surveys, elevations, contours, cost of construction of levees, plans therefor, and information with reference thereto, and shall, advise with, aid and assist in any and all enterprises looking towards the reclamation or drainage of lands wherever in its judgment the same may be attempted without detriment to the interests of the State, or the public, in any of said bodies of water.
(Source: P.A. 89‑445, eff. 2‑7‑96.)

    (615 ILCS 5/18) (from Ch. 19, par. 65)
    Sec. 18. It is unlawful to make any fill or deposit of rock, earth, sand, or other material, or any refuse matter of any kind or description or build or commence the building of any wharf, pier, dolphin, boom, weir, breakwater, bulkhead, jetty, causeway, harbor, or mooring facilities for watercraft, or build or commence the building of any other structure, or do any work of any kind whatsoever in any of the public bodies of water within the State of Illinois, without first submitting the plans, profiles, and specifications therefor, and such other data and information as may be required, to the Department of Natural Resources of the State and receiving a permit therefor signed by the Director of the Department and authenticated by the seal thereof. However, this requirement does not apply to duck blinds which comply with regulations of the Department of Natural Resources.
    However, except as provided in this Act, no permit shall be issued or renewed authorizing any fill or deposit of rock, earth, sand, or other material, or any refuse matter of any kind or description in Lake Michigan unless the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency makes a final determination pursuant to subsection (a) of Section 39 of the Environmental Protection Act, as now or hereafter amended, that the proposed dredging or deposit of material will not cause a violation of the Environmental Protection Act or Pollution Control Board regulations.
    Nothing herein shall be construed to authorize the discharge or other disposition of materials of any kind into Lake Michigan without first obtaining a joint permit from the Department of Natural Resources and the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency. Any person, corporation, company, city or municipality, or other agency, who or which (1) discharges or disposes of any such materials into Lake Michigan without a permit or in violation of a permit, or (2) does any of the things prohibited by this Section shall be guilty of a Class A misdemeanor.
    The building of any causeway, harbor, or mooring facilities for watercraft in Lake Michigan shall be confined to those areas recommended by the Department and authorized by the General Assembly and approved by the Governor and shall be in aid of and not an interference with the public interest or navigation. Any structure, fill, or deposit erected or made in any of the public bodies of water of this State, in violation of this Section is a purpresture and may be abated as such at the expense of the person, corporation, company, city, municipality, or other agency responsible therefor, or if, in the discretion of the Department of Natural Resources, it be decided that the structure, fill, or deposit may remain, the Department may fix such rule, regulation, requirement, restrictions, or rentals or require and compel such changes, modifications and repairs as are necessary to protect the interest of the State.
    The Department of Natural Resources may grant, subject to the foregoing provisions of this Section, a permit to any person, firm or corporation, not a riparian owner, to use the water from any of the public bodies of water within the State of Illinois for industrial manufacturing or public utility purposes, and to construct the necessary intakes, structures, tunnels, and conduits in, under, or on the beds of such bodies of water to obtain the use of such water or to return the same, provided, however, that such use shall not interfere with navigation. Such permit shall be for a definite period of years not exceeding 40 years and may be renewed subject to the same time limitation. If the water so to be used is to be taken from a lake or stream located in or adjoining any municipality, such permit shall not become effective until approved by the Commissioner of Public Works of such municipality, or if it has no Commissioner of Public Works, by the Public (or City) Engineer, or if it has no such Engineer, by the Mayor or President of the Municipality.
    Subject to the notice and hearing hereinafter provided for, where a permit is sought for a structure, fill, or deposit in a slip, the Department shall require as condition precedent to the issuance of such permit, a signed statement approving such action by all riparian owners whose access to public waters will be directly affected by such structure, fill, or deposit. No such permit shall be issued without the approval of the Governor and without a public hearing, 10 days' notice of the time, place, and purpose of which is published in a newspaper of general circulation in the county in which such slip is located. Whenever a permit to fill or deposit in a slip is issued, all work done pursuant to the permit is by authorization and under the direction of the Department of Natural Resources. If deemed in the public interest, the Department of Natural Resources may, for the purpose of establishing uniform shore lines upon Lake Michigan or other streams or lakes of this State, permit fills of rock, earth or sand to be placed inside a bulkhead, wall or breakwater so constructed as not to permit the escape of such materials into Lake Michigan or any such lake, river, or stream, and the Department is authorized to require of applicants for such permits such contracts or to impose such restrictions as shall fully protect the interests of the State. However, the Department may permit the placing of unconfined fills or deposits of clear sand, rock or other material approved by the Department in or along the shores of Lake Michigan or in, or along the shores of, other streams or lakes of this State for the purpose of replacing or augmenting the natural material in the littoral currents, for creating new beaches or for replenishing existing beaches, for the protection of the shore against erosion or for other lawful purposes specifically authorized by statute; and the Department may permit the deposit of dredged material in Lake Michigan only where the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency makes a final determination, pursuant to subsection (a) of Section 39 of the Environmental Protection Act, as now or hereafter amended, that the dredging or deposit of material will not cause a violation of the Environmental Protection Act or Pollution Control Board regulations. Any person adversely affected by a final determination of the Environmental Protection Agency may petition for a hearing before the Pollution Control Board pursuant to Section 40 of the Environmental Protection Act, as now or hereafter amended. The petition for review shall stay the issuance of the permit until the Pollution Control Board affirms or reverses the Agency's determination. If there is no final action by the Pollution Control Board within 120 days, the Department may issue the permit. Judicial review of the Pollution Control Board's final determination shall be pursuant to Section 41 of the Environmental Protection Act, as now or hereafter amended. The restriction as to the deposit of dredged materials shall not apply to any reclamation or fill‑in of Lake Michigan under the authority of any statute now or hereafter in effect or under the supervision of any park district or municipality where such materials are placed inside a bulkhead, wall or breakwater so constructed as not to permit the escape of such materials into Lake Michigan.
    Wherever the terms public waters or public bodies of water are used or referred to in this Act, they mean all open public streams and lakes capable of being navigated by water craft, in whole or in part, for commercial uses and purposes, and all lakes, rivers, and streams which in their natural condition were capable of being improved and made navigable, or that are connected with or discharged their waters into navigable lakes or rivers within, or upon the borders of the State of Illinois, together with all bayous, sloughs, backwaters, and submerged lands that are open to the main channel or body of water and directly accessible thereto. Nothing herein contained applies to a harbor under the jurisdiction and control of a park district, nor to any existing yacht club facilities, improvements thereon and replacements thereof whether in the same or a new location. Nothing herein contained applies to the location of any harbor under the jurisdiction and control of any city or village of less than 500,000 population.
    Notwithstanding any provision of this Act to the contrary, the Department of Natural Resources shall have no power to promulgate rules or regulations, or to issue or deny permits, with respect to barge fleeting areas in rivers located wholly or partly within this State. For purposes of this paragraph, "barge fleeting area" means a facility, at a fixed site, which is used to provide barge mooring services.
(Source: P.A. 89‑445, eff. 2‑7‑96.)

    (615 ILCS 5/18a) (from Ch. 19, par. 65a)
    Sec. 18a. The Department of Natural Resources, upon the issuance of any permit under the provisions of Section 18 of this Act, shall have the right to enter into an agreement with any person, firm or corporation to whom a permit is issued, by the terms of which agreement the person, firm or corporation may take earth, stone, sand or gravel, or any combination of these materials, from the bed or below the bed of any public waters within the State at a price based upon the fair market value for any material or combinations of materials so taken.
    The Department of Natural Resources may however, permit any municipal corporation or political subdivision of the State of Illinois or any governmental unit or agency of the State, or the Federal Government or any agency of the Federal Government, to take the earth, stone, sand or gravel, or any combination of these materials, without compensation if the municipal corporation, political subdivision, or governmental unit or agency of the State, or the Federal Government or agency of the Federal Government, proposes to furnish the material in connection with any public project or construction work, and is not acting for or on behalf of any person, firm or corporation who is required to furnish the material.
(Source: P.A. 89‑445, eff. 2‑7‑96.)

    (615 ILCS 5/18b) (from Ch. 19, par. 65b)
    Sec. 18b. The Department of Natural Resources, may also, upon the issuance of any permit under the provisions of Section 18 of this Act, enter into an agreement with any person, firm or corporation to whom such a permit is issued by the terms of which agreement such person, firm or corporation, may take coal, gas, oil or other mineral or substance from or below the bed of any public waters within the State. No such agreement shall be made however, unless bids have first been advertised for and received in accordance with Section 4 of "The Illinois Purchasing Act", approved July 11, 1957, as heretofore and hereafter amended. Such agreement shall be made only with the highest responsible bidder.
(Source: P.A. 89‑445, eff. 2‑7‑96.)

    (615 ILCS 5/18c) (from Ch. 19, par. 65c)
    Sec. 18c. The Department of Natural Resources, may also, upon the issuance of a permit under the provisions of Section 18 of this Act, enter into an agreement with any person, firm, or corporation, by the terms of which agreement such person, firm, or corporation, may build or place in, upon or below the bed of that portion of Chicago Harbor in Lake Michigan lying South of the Chicago River Entrance, West of the U. S. Inner Breakwater, North of East 11th Place extended and East of the Harbor Line established by the Secretary of War in Lake Michigan, May 3, 1940, or lying North of Navy Pier, South of the Chicago Central Water Filtration Plant, East of a line running north through the inner west end of Navy Pier, and West of a line running North through the outer or east end of Navy Pier, any causeway, harbor or mooring facilities for watercraft, and agrees to pay a rental, charges or fee to the State of Illinois for the use and occupation of any State owned lands which may be authorized to be utilized for such purposes; the rental, charge or fee shall be determined by said Department. No such agreement permitting any causeway, harbor or mooring facilities for watercraft in, upon or below the bed of said portion of Chicago Harbor in Lake Michigan shall be made, which by its terms, permits the use and occupation of State owned lands for a period of over 20 years, nor shall such agreement be entered into unless provision therein is made that such agreement shall be revocable at the will of said Department to permit use thereof by the State of Illinois for any public purpose.
(Source: P.A. 89‑445, eff. 2‑7‑96.)

    (615 ILCS 5/18d) (from Ch. 19, par. 65d)
    Sec. 18d. No agreement permitting the right to take earth, stone, sand or gravel, or combination or combinations thereof, coal, gas, oil or other mineral or substance, shall be made which by its terms permits such a taking for a period of over 5 years.
    Every person, firm and corporation, with whom any such agreement is made by the Department of Natural Resources, shall furnish said Department a surety bond, for the use of the People of the State of Illinois, with good and sufficient sureties and in such amount as is acceptable to such Department, to secure the payment of the amounts agreed upon for the taking of such earth, stone, sand, gravel, minerals, substances, or the building of any causeway, harbor or mooring facilities for watercraft, and to save the State of Illinois harmless to any damages caused by any such person, firm or corporation in connection with the taking of any such earth, stone, sand, gravel, minerals, substances, or the use and occupation of State owned lands for watercraft facilities.
    Every person, firm, corporation, municipal corporation, political subdivision or governmental unit or agency thereof which by any agreement is permitted to take any such earth, stone, sand or gravel, minerals or substances, and is required to make compensation therefor, shall report to the Department of Natural Resources, on or before the fifteenth day of each calendar month, the amount of such earth, stone, sand, gravel, minerals, or substances taken by him, them or it during the next preceding calendar month and make payment therefor.
    Payment for earth, stone, sand or gravel or combination or combinations thereof so taken, shall be for each cubic yard of such material based upon quantities determined by the Department of Natural Resources by means of commonly used engineering methods of measurement of such earth, stone, sand or gravel.
    Payment for coal, gas, oil or other minerals or substances shall be at the price per pound, ton, cubic foot, gallon, cubic yard or other commonly used applicable unit of weight or measure at the unit price bid by the highest responsible bidder based upon quantities determined by the Department of Natural Resources by means of commonly used engineering methods of measurements of such coal, gas, oil or other minerals or substances.
    The Department of Natural Resources has the right of access to and the right of examination during reasonable business hours of all books, records, papers and memoranda of any person, firm, corporation, municipal corporation, political subdivision or governmental unit or agency thereof, with whom it has any such agreement permitting the taking of any such earth, stone, sand, gravel, coal, gas, oil or other minerals or substances for compensation.
(Source: P.A. 89‑445, eff. 2‑7‑96.)

    (615 ILCS 5/18e) (from Ch. 19, par. 65e)
    Sec. 18e. The Department of Natural Resources has the right to accept, on behalf of the State, any payments made in accordance with any agreement authorized by Sections 18a, 18b and 18c of this Act. Any such payments so received shall be promptly processed by said Department for deposit in the General Revenue Fund of the State Treasury.
(Source: P.A. 89‑445, eff. 2‑7‑96.)

    (615 ILCS 5/18f)(from Ch. 19, par. 65f)
    Sec. 18f. (a) The Department of Natural Resources shall define 100‑year floodplains within the State of Illinois on a township by township basis and may issue permits for any construction within such 100‑year floodplains on or after the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1971. The Department shall publish and distribute suitable reports, together with mapping and hydrologic exhibits pertaining to 100‑year floodplains defined and established under this Act. In defining applicable 100‑year floodplains, the Department shall cooperate with, and shall consider planning and zoning requirements of, regional planning agencies created by statute, counties, municipalities and other units of government. A period of thirty days shall be allowed for any agency to submit written comments to the Department regarding any proposed 100‑year floodplain area. If such agency fails to return comments to the Department within the specified time period the Department may proceed with the publication and institution of the 100‑year floodplain permit procedure. The Department is charged with the planning, development, and evaluation of the most economic combination of retention storage, channel improvement, and floodplain preservation in defining and establishing 100‑year floodplain areas. All construction undertaken on a defined 100‑year floodplain subsequent to the effective date of this amendatory Act, without benefit of a permit from the Department of Natural Resources, shall be unlawful and the Department, may in its discretion, proceed to obtain injunctive relief for abatement or removal of such unlawful construction. The Department, in its discretion, may make such investigations and conduct such hearings as may be necessary to the performance of its duties under this amendatory Act of 1971. Activity of the Department under this Section shall be limited to townships related to projects of the Department authorized by the General Assembly. The report of the Department shall be considered a final administrative decision and subject to judicial review in accordance with the provision of the Administrative Review Law.
    (b) For the purposes of this Section, including for the purposes of granting permit and license applications filed or pending prior to the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly, "100‑year floodplain" means the lowland and relatively flat areas adjoining inland and coastal waters, including flood‑prone areas of offshore islands, that are inundated by a flood that has a 1% or greater chance of recurring in any given year or a flood of a magnitude equalled or exceeded once in 100 years on the average over a significantly long period. For the purposes of this Section, an area shall be deemed by operation of law not to be within the 100‑year floodplain if the area lies within an area protected by a federal levee and is located in a flood prevention district established in accordance with the Flood Prevention District Act; provided, however, that an area that lies within a flood prevention district established in accordance with the Flood Prevention District Act shall be deemed by operation of law to be within the 100‑year floodplain if, according to the currently adopted federal flood insurance rate map, the area is subject to inundation by a 100‑year flood from bodies of water other than the Mississippi River.
(Source: P.A. 96‑1395, eff. 7‑29‑10.)

    (615 ILCS 5/18g)(from Ch. 19, par. 65g)
    Sec. 18g. (a) The Department of Natural Resources shall define the 100‑year floodway within metropolitan counties located in the area served by the Northeastern Illinois Planning Commission, except for the part of that area which is within any city with a population exceeding 1,500,000. In defining the 100‑year floodway, the Department may rely on published data and maps which have been prepared by the Department itself, by the Illinois State Water Survey of the University of Illinois, by federal, State or local governmental agencies, or by any other private or public source which it determines to be reliable and appropriate.
    (b) The Department may issue permits for construction that is an appropriate use of the designated 100‑year floodway in such metropolitan counties. If a unit of local government has adopted an ordinance that establishes minimum standards for appropriate use of the floodway that are at least as restrictive as those established by the Department and this Section, and the unit of local government has adequate staff to enforce the ordinance, the Department may delegate to such unit of local government the authority to issue permits for construction that is an appropriate use of the floodway within its jurisdiction.
    (c) No person may engage in any new construction within the 100‑year floodway as designated by the Department in such metropolitan counties, unless such construction relates to an appropriate use of the floodway. No unit of local government, including home rule units, in such metropolitan counties may issue any building permit or other apparent authorization for any prohibited new construction within the 100‑year floodway.
    (d) For the purpose of this Section, including for the purposes of granting permit and license applications filed or pending prior to the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly:
        (1) "100‑year floodway" means the channel and that
    portion of the 100‑year floodplain adjacent to a stream or watercourse which is needed to store and convey the 100‑year frequency flood discharge without a significant increase in stage.
        (1.5) "100‑year floodplain" means the lowland and
    relatively flat areas adjoining inland and coastal waters, including flood‑prone areas of offshore islands, that are inundated by a flood that has a 1% or greater chance of recurring in any given year or a flood of a magnitude equalled or exceeded once in 100 years on the average over a significantly long period.
        (2) "New construction" means the construction of any
    new building or structure or the placement of any fill or material, but does not include the repair, remodeling or maintenance of buildings or structures in existence on the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1987.
        (3) "Appropriate use of the floodway" means use for
    (i) flood control structures, dikes, dams and other public works or private improvements relating to the control of drainage, flooding or ero