Montgomery County Approves Five-Year IEPA Agreement at $75,726 a Year

Montgomery County Board Meeting | June 9, 2026

Article Summary: The Montgomery County Board on June 9 approved a new five-year intergovernmental agreement with the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency calling for annual state funding of $75,726.08 beginning July 1, 2026. A state email in the board packet shows the same amount for each of five state fiscal years.

IEPA Delegation Agreement Key Points:

• Annual state funding is $75,726.08, beginning July 1, 2026.
• The agreement runs five years; a packet email lists identical awards for state fiscal years 2027 through 2031.
• The motion came from Chairman Doug Donaldson with a second by Patty Whitworth; all were in favor.
• The board separately approved an American Environmental Grant Agreement under the EMA/EPA/911 report.

MONTGOMERY COUNTY — The Montgomery County Board on Tuesday, June 9, 2026, approved a five-year delegation agreement with the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency that carries annual state funding of $75,726.08.

Board Chairman Doug Donaldson, reporting for the Coordinating Committee, said the board considered a new five-year delegation agreement with the IEPA calling for annual state funding of $75,726.08 beginning July 1, 2026. He moved to approve the IEPA Delegation Intergovernmental Agreement, seconded by Patty Whitworth. All were in favor.

The board packet includes a May 13 email forwarded to Donaldson and County Board Administrator Mike Plunkett by Montgomery County EMA/EPA/911 Director Dan Hough. The underlying message, from Victoria Slayton, a deputy section manager in the IEPA’s Springfield office, Bureau of Land, states that the agency is approved to grant Montgomery County a state award and lists identical amounts of $75,726.08 for each of state fiscal years 2027, 2028, 2029, 2030 and 2031.

Slayton wrote that if the county is in agreement, it should sign the attached agreement and return it directly, after which it would be sent for IEPA signatures and a fully executed version returned by email.

Across the five listed years, the awards total $378,630.40.

The board also acted on a second EMA-related item under the Coordinating Committee report. Donaldson moved to approve the American Environmental Grant Agreement, seconded by Jeremy Jones. All were in favor, and a copy was directed to Resolution Book 23, page 285.

The minutes do not further describe that agreement. The board packet contains a Commodity Flow Study Consultant Agreement between Montgomery County and AEC, LLC, under which the consultant would provide professional services to develop a Commodity Flow Study in connection with a planning grant awarded by the Illinois Emergency Management Agency and Office of Homeland Security and funded through the U.S. Department of Transportation. That agreement is dependent on the county receiving grant funding from IEMA-OHS; without the grant, it is void.

The AEC agreement names Andrea Campbell, a regional manager, as the consultant’s signatory, at an address in Springfield, and states the consultant has experience in hazardous substances, transportation planning, risk assessment, environmental analysis, public involvement and emergency planning. It requires the consultant to carry $1,000,000 in workers’ compensation coverage, $2,000,000 in commercial general liability, $1,000,000 in automobile liability, $5,000,000 in excess liability and $2,000,000 in professional liability, and provides that the agreement is automatically suspended or terminated if funding is suspended or terminated by IEMA-OHS or USDOT.

Under the consent agenda, Hough was present for questions on the EMA and EPA reports. A monthly activity log in the department reports records an April 29 meeting with the IEPA in Springfield and a May 13 entry stating the IEPA approved an intergovernmental agreement with the county.