The Superintendent shall not recommend approval of, and the Mayor shall not execute a proposed highway authority agreement unless the execution and implementation of the agreement will not pose any significant risk of harm to persons or the environment from contaminated soil or groundwater. In addition, any approved and executed highway authority agreement shall, at a minimum, by its terms and conditions, do the following:
(A) Provide that the agreement shall be null and void should the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency not approve it as a basis for issuing a "no further remediation letter" in accordance with the pertinent provisions of the Illinois Administrative Code;
(B) Provide that there shall be a rebuttable presumption that any contaminants found in the right-of-way arose from release of contaminants on the property;
(C) Commit the city to prohibiting the use of groundwater under the right-of-way as a potable or other domestic supply of water, and to imposing reasonable controls on the access to soils on and under the right-of-way to reduce to an acceptable level the risks of harmful exposure to contaminated soils by persons or the environment;
(D) Commit the owner/operator to indemnify, defend and hold the city harmless for any damages to property or injury to individuals, including death therefrom, and costs incurred, including attorney's fees and court costs, associated with or in any manner arising from the release of contaminants on the property;
(E) Reserve to the city the right to construct, reconstruct, improve, repair, maintain and operate a highway upon the right-of-way, or allow others to do the same by permit, and reserve to the city or others by permit the right to remove contaminated soil and/or groundwater;
(F) Reserve to the city the right to remove and dispose of contaminated groundwater and/or soil as needed to avoid further release of contaminated soils or groundwater from activities described in division (E) of this section;
(G) Commit the owner/operator, at the city's discretion, to perform the removal and disposal of contaminated groundwater and/or soil resulting from the release of contaminants on the property, at no cost to the city, in accordance with state and federal environmental rules and regulations, as needed to avoid further release of contaminated soils or groundwater from activities described in division (E) of this section; and
(H) Commit the owner/operator to reimburse the city, or any agent acting on the city's behalf, for any reasonable costs that it or its agent may incur in protecting human health and environment from hazards posed by or arising from release of contaminants on the property, including but not limited to those associated with identifying, handling, storing, removing or disposing of contaminated groundwater and/or soil associated with the release of contaminants on the property.
(Ord. 10-33, passed 10-11-10)