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STATE WATER PLAN TASK FORCE
April 13, 2026
Illinois Department of Natural Resources
Web-Ex Meeting Minutes
Task Force Members Present:
IDNR–OWR: Wes Cattoor, Rick Pohlman, Terra McParland, Steve Altman, Wei Han, Meg Kelly, Megan McKinney, Kiel Harms
IDNR–ORC: Brian Metzke
ISWS: Jason Zhang, Glenn Heisted
IEPA: Jeff Edstrom, Darin LeCrone
IDOT: Brian McCoy
IDOA: Brian Rennecker
IEMA: Zack Krug
IDPH: Brian Cox
PCB: Essence Brown
IWRC: Yu-Feng Forrest Lin
Agencies Not in Attendance:
DCEO
Non-Members Present:
Amy Russell (USGS)
Call to Order & Roll Call:
Rick Pohlman opened the meeting at 1:33 pm. Wes Cattoor conducted roll call and confirmed a quorum with ten members present.
Approval of Previous Meeting Minutes:
IDNR-OWR- Rick Pohlman is present
IDNR-ORC- Brian Metke present
IDPH-Brian Cox present
IEPA- Jeff Edstrom present
IDOT-Brian McCoy is present
IDOA-Brian Rennecker is present
IEMA- Zach Krug present
PCB- Essence Brown is present
DCEO- none
ISWS- Jason Zhang is present
IWRC- Yu Feng Forrest Lin is present
Wes Cattoor asked for any changes to the minutes.
Motion to approve: Yu-Feng Forrest Lin Second: Brian Rennecker Result: Approved unanimously
Legislative Updates:
Data center legislation (SB 3761 and 3830) continues to focus on water and energy impacts, with concerns about lack of appropriations.
River Access Modernization Bill (HB 5165) looking to allow public access on non-public water raises concerns regarding private property rights and may result in creation of a task force.
Floodplain/Levee legislation (SB 1595) proposes limiting DNR regulatory jurisdiction; concerns were expressed.
Groundwater governance hearings were held involving multiple SWPTF members. There is an additional hearing scheduled for April 16, 2026, which PRI was invited to participate.
An inquiry was made on the wetlands bill to which Brian Metzke stated one of the two bills moved out of committee.
Annual State Water Plan Update:
Draft 2025 Annual State Water Plan Update was shared with the group and discussion was opened without any comments. Motion to approve: Jason Zhang Second: Steve Altman, Result: Approved unanimously
Section Updates:
1.Water Quality: Jeff Edstrom is online. Section 319 funding opportunities coming up in next few months. Green infrastructure contracts are underway. Darin LeCrone will be the new agency rep going forward. 319 budget funding is at zero, but the hope is that similar to last year, that gets changed.
2. Climate Change: David Kristovich is not online. No update.
3. Integrated Water Management: Limited progress on the IWIC framework. There is continued work on the model database. IDNR has been placing additional priority on disadvantaged communities, particularly Metro East.
· Brandon Road-DNR/OWR: Brandon Road project moving forward with funding; management changes under review, transitioning from Rock Island District to The Detroit District. The impacts of this are unknown. The contract For Increment 1A was awarded on Saturday
4. Long Term Funding- Nidhan Singh is not online. Jeff Edstrom says he has no updates regarding this issue.
5. Water Sustainability: Wei Han was online. Jason Zhang reported that they are determining methodology for lake evaporation calculations. Water reporting for irrigation has increased by about 20% over last three years. OWR continue to work on water supply planning. There was a kickoff meeting for the drought subgroup for developing the drought plan but need a more complete representation from state agencies, especially IEPA and IDOA.
6. Lake Michigan: Meg Kelly is online. $970K in grants issued primarily in education and outreach and some in design, planning and engineering. Notice of funding cycle open, hosting a webinar on April 22nd for interested applicants. Working with USACE on Great Lakes Coastal Resilency Study with eight great lake states. Hoping to have invitations out to the Lake Michigan public beach access subcommittee coming out in the next few weeks.
7. Flood Damage Mitigation: Terra McParland is online. ISWS has their models in the Model database. A sneak peak of the database was provided at IAFSM conference. Next OWR will add their models to the database. Lots of work has been done on the SAFR and inundation modeling. Illinois River should be reposted in a few months.
8. Aquatic and Riparian Habitat: Brian Metzke is online. Updated and revised the biological stream characterization and biologically significant streams project from the previous 2007 version. The public facing online view has been updated.
9. Water Use Laws: Steve Altman is online. Continued work with others on Part 3700 rules.
10. Navigation: Brian McCoy is online. Maritime freight movement through the Mississippi study scope out for consultation. Great Lakes navigation system and major ports study being updated from 2010 version. We are seeking a consultant to complete port district master plans. There is still funding needed to complete this.
11. Erosion & Sedimentation: Brian Rennecker is online. Multiple grant programs active. RCPPP pre-enrollment is nearly complete. Focus on early establishment of cover crops and using different methods such as robot and drones. Funding is at 7.5 million for three years. They are completing a nutrient loss reduction strategy interactive dashboard.
12. Data Management: Jason Zhang is online. ISWS developed an excel spreadsheet tool for evaluating gage in the state. There is a need to revive the stream gauge coordinator meeting.
Recreation: No update. Mike McCelland is not online.
New Business:
No new business discussed.
Public Comment:
USGS provided two updates. Next Tuesday April 21, 2026t, the USGS will be hosting an Illinois River basin stakeholders meeting. The other was on staffing shortages of about 20-25%. This will lead to potential impacts to stream gauge monitoring and the inability for USGS to maintain the current amount of gages. USGS is looking to discuss network reduction with stakeholders.
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Next Meeting:
July 20th at 1:30- virtual
Oct 19th at 1:30- hybrid, virtual and in person. Hosted at EPA
January 18th, 2027 at 1:30 pm- virtual
Adjournment:
Rick Pohlman said he expects to see some bills passed into law. If there are agenda items that need added, please reach out to Wes Cattoor. Terra McParland motioned to adjourn. Wei Han seconded.
The meeting ended at 2:39 pm.
Meeting adjourned.
Previous meeting minutes and documents can be requested via email to wes.cattoor@illinois.gov
