Last week a pair of local lawmakers proposed a bill to better protect the Mahomet Aquifer.

State Senator Chapin Rose along with Representative Bill Mitchell proposed a bill that would allow all the counties on the aquifer to pass off the local siting of polychlorinated bipheynls (PCBs) being dumped over the water table. Representative Rose says because the Mahomet Aquifer provides drinking water for almost 750-thousand people, caution is necessary when discussing what happens over it.

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Senator Rose says there was significant opposition last year, but he says they will continue to work through that opposition and try to work with lawmakers that oppose it. He says the general goal will be to stop and prevent the dumping of PCBs over the aquifer.

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Last year, Rose coordinated a hearing in front of the EPA where community leaders spoke of the importance of the Mahomet Aquifer. He feels that will be a huge catalyst in this bill continue to have momentum.

The bill filed is similar to a bill filed last year by Rose and Mitchell, however, they have made some changes to it.