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Illinois Wetland Regulations Fail to Advance

Illinois Wetland Regulations Fail to Advance

May 29, 2024 Last Edit: June 5, 2025

Illinois Wetland Regulations Fail to Advance

Legislation to impose sweeping new regulations on privately owned land in the name of wetland protection failed to advance out of the Illinois Senate this spring. Modeled off the far-reaching federal Waters of the United States (WOTUS) regulations struck down last year by the Supreme Court, SB 771 would have required home builders, contractors, farmers,  and other landowners to go through a potentially lengthy and costly permitting process to develop privately held property if the development resulted in the discharge of dredged or fill material into a vaguely defined “wetland”—unless that land qualified for a special exemption. Failure to obtain the required permit could have resulted in penalties of up to $10,000 per day of violation. The legislation would have permitted the Department of Natural Resources to set permitting fees and granted it permission to “enter at all reasonable times upon any private or public property for the purpose of inspecting and investigating to ascertain compliance and possible violations of this Act, implementing rules, or permit terms or conditions.” NFIB joined a coalition of business and agricultural groups to successfully oppose these strict regulations on private land usage.

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