(a) Stormwater management in Cook County shall be conducted as provided in Section 7h of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District Act. As used in this Section, “District” means the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago.
     The purpose of this Section is to create planning councils, organized by watershed, to contribute to the stormwater management process by advising the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago and representing the needs and interests of the members of the public and the local governments included within their respective watersheds.
    (b) Stormwater management planning councils shall be formed for each of the following established watersheds of the Chicago Metropolitan Area: North Branch Chicago River, Lower Des Plaines Tributaries, Cal-Sag Channel, Little Calumet River, Poplar Creek, and Upper Salt Creek. In addition a stormwater management planning council shall be established for the combined sewer areas of Cook County. Additional stormwater management planning councils may be formed by the District for other watersheds within Cook County. Membership on the watershed councils shall consist of the chief elected official, or his or her designee, from each municipality and township within the watershed and the Cook County Board President, or his or her designee, if unincorporated area is included in the watershed. A municipality or township shall be a member of more than one watershed council if the corporate boundaries of that municipality or township extend into more than one watershed, or if the municipality or township is served in part by separate sewers and combined sewers. Subcommittees of the stormwater management planning councils may be established to assist the stormwater management planning councils in performing their duties. The councils may adopt bylaws to govern the functioning of the stormwater management councils and subcommittees.
    (c) The principal duties of the watershed planning councils shall be to advise the District on the development and implementation of the countywide stormwater management plan with respect to matters relating to their respective watersheds and to advise and represent the concerns of the units of local government in the watershed area. The councils shall meet at least quarterly and shall hold at least one public hearing during the preparation of the plan.
    (d) The District shall give careful consideration to the recommendations and concerns of the watershed planning councils throughout the planning process and shall coordinate the 6 watershed plans as developed and to coordinate the planning process with the adjoining counties to ensure that recommended stormwater projects will have no significant adverse impact on the levels or flows of stormwater in the inter-county watershed or on the capacity of existing and planned stormwater retention facilities. The District shall include cost benefit analysis in its deliberations and in evaluating priorities for projects from watershed to watershed. The District shall identify in an annual published report steps taken by the District to accommodate the concerns and recommendations of the watershed planning councils.
    (e) The stormwater management planning councils may recommend rules and regulations to the District governing the location, width, course, and release rates of all stormwater runoff channels, streams, and basins in their respective watersheds.
    (f) The Northwest Municipal Conference, the South Suburban Mayors and Managers Association, the Southwest Conference of Mayors, and the West Central Municipal Conference shall be responsible for the coordination of the planning councils created under this Section.