Tazewell County, IL Environmental Rules: Flood Zones (2026)

Tazewell County regulates development in mapped floodplains under Chapter 152 of the county code, adopted under the county's statutory floodplain authority at 55 ILCS 5/5-1041 and 55 ILCS 5/5-1063 and to comply with the National Flood Insurance Program at 44 CFR 59-79. The rule reaches only the unincorporated area of the county: Pekin, East Peoria, Morton, Washington and the county's other incorporated cities and villages administer their own floodplain codes. 05 requires anyone, including a firm, corporation or government body, to obtain a development permit from the Floodplain Administrator (the county's Community Development Administrator) before commencing any development inside the floodplain.

2% annual chance flood elevation, a stricter test than the standard 1% base flood used for ordinary construction. The Floodplain Administrator issues permits only for construction and substantial improvements that satisfy the chapter, and reviews site plans surveyed to NAVD 88 showing lot lines, grading, sewage and water facilities, floodway limits and the lowest floor elevation of every proposed building before signing off. 99. If the Administrator finds a violation, such as building without a permit or breaching a permit's conditions, the owner gets written notice and ten days to correct it.

An owner who misses that window faces a circuit court injunction, a fine of not less than $50 nor more than $750 for each offense, a separate offense for every day the violation continues, and a recorded notice of violation on the property's title. The county can also flag the violation to the owner's flood insurer as a willful act that may suspend National Flood Insurance Program coverage, and the Administrator may issue a written stop-work order suspending the permit while the violation is unresolved.