Right to Know
The Right to Know law requires Illinois EPA to notify citizens when contamination
in soil or groundwater that poses a threat of exposure to the public is found. The
Right to Know notifications will include information about the contaminant,
a description of the potential adverse health effects, and a recommendation
that water wells be tested. The method of notification may include one
or more of the following: personal notification, such as letters mailed
to individual well owners, public meetings, signs, or notices in local newspapers. The
Right to Know fact sheet contains additional information about the law and
the notifications.
Illinois EPA coordinated with the Interagency Coordinating Committee on Groundwater
(ICCG) and the Groundwater Advisory Council (GAC) to develop the framework
for implementation of the Right to Know law. Additionally, the ICCG/GAC
recommended the formation of a GAC Right to Know subcommittee to provide input
for the development of the notification process. The Groundwater Advisory
Council Notification Methods Recommendations link contains the recommendations
from the subcommittee. For information about the ICCG and GAC, please
visit the Groundwater Advisory Council and Interagency Coordination Committee
on Groundwater web
page.
A pilot
Right to Know notification, in the form of a mailing, was conducted
during June and July 2005 in the South Chicago Area. The Right to Know
Pilot Mailing link contains the items included in the mailing. A follow-up
survey to gather feedback about the pilot notification was conducted in August
2005. The Summary of Survey Responses contains the results of the survey.
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