(415 ILCS 5/11) (from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 1011)
Sec. 11. (a) The General Assembly finds:
(1) that pollution of the waters of this State constitutes a menace to public health and welfare, creates public nuisances, is harmful to wildlife, fish, and aquatic life, impairs domestic, agricultural, industrial, recreational, and other legitimate beneficial uses of water, depresses property values, and offends the senses;
(2) that the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, as now or hereafter amended, provides for a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) to regulate the discharge of contaminants to the waters of the United States;
(3) that the Safe Drinking Water Act (P.L. 93‑523), as amended, provides for an Underground Injection Control (UIC) program to regulate the underground injection of contaminants;
(4) that it would be inappropriate and misleading for the State of Illinois to issue permits to contaminant sources subject to such federal law, as well as State law, which do not contain such terms and conditions as are required by federal law, or the issuance of which is contrary to federal law;
(5) that the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, as now or hereafter amended, provides that NPDES permits shall be issued by the United States Environmental Protection Agency unless (a) the State is authorized by and under its law to establish and administer its own permit program for discharges into waters within its jurisdiction, and (b) pursuant to such federal Act, the Administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency approves such State program to issue permits which will implement the provisions of such federal Act;
(6) that Part C of the Safe Drinking Water Act (P.L. 93‑523), as amended, provides that the United States Environmental Protection Agency shall implement the UIC program authorized therein unless (a) the State is authorized by and under its law to establish and administer its own UIC program, and (b) pursuant to such federal Act, the Administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency approves such State program which will implement the provisions of such federal Act;
(7) that it is in the interest of the People of the State of Illinois for the State to authorize such NPDES and UIC programs and secure federal approval thereof, and thereby to avoid the existence of duplicative, overlapping or conflicting state and federal statutory permit systems;
(8) that the federal requirements for the securing of such NPDES and UIC permit program approval, as set forth in the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, as now or hereafter amended, and in the Safe Drinking Water Act (P.L. 93‑523), as amended, respectively, and in regulations promulgated by the Administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency pursuant thereto are complex and detailed, and the General Assembly cannot conveniently or advantageously set forth in this Act all the requirements of such federal Act or all regulations which may be established thereunder.
(b) It is the purpose of this Title to restore, maintain and enhance the purity of the waters of this State in order to protect health, welfare, property, and the quality of life, and to assure that no contaminants are discharged into the waters of the State, as defined herein, including, but not limited to, waters to any sewage works, or into any well, or from any source within the State of Illinois, without being given the degree of treatment or control necessary to prevent pollution, or without being made subject to such conditions as are required to achieve and maintain compliance with State and federal law; and to authorize, empower, and direct the Board to adopt such regulations and the Agency to adopt such procedures as will enable the State to secure federal approval to issue NPDES permits pursuant to the provisions of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, as now or hereafter amended, and federal regulations pursuant thereto and to authorize, empower, and direct the Board to adopt such regulations and the Agency to adopt such procedures as will enable the State to secure federal approval of the State UIC program pursuant to the provisions of Part C of the Safe Drinking Water Act (P.L. 93‑523), as amended, and federal regulations pursuant thereto.
(c) The provisions of this Act authorizing implementation of the regulations pursuant to an NPDES program shall not be construed to limit, affect, impair, or diminish the authority, duties and responsibilities of the Board, Agency, Department or any other governmental agency or officer, or of any unit of local government, to regulate and control pollution of any kind, to restore, to protect or to enhance the quality of the environment, or to achieve all other purposes, or to enforce provisions, set forth in this Act or other State law or regulation.
(Source: P.A. 86‑671.) |
(415 ILCS 5/12.2) (from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 1012.2)
Sec. 12.2. Water pollution construction permit fees.
(a) Beginning July 1, 2003, the Agency shall collect a fee in the amount set forth in this Section:
(1) for any sewer which requires a construction |
| permit under paragraph (b) of Section 12, from each applicant for a sewer construction permit under paragraph (b) of Section 12 or regulations adopted hereunder; and | |
(2) for any treatment works, industrial pretreatment |
| works, or industrial wastewater source that requires a construction permit under paragraph (b) of Section 12, from the applicant for the construction permit. However, no fee shall be required for a treatment works or wastewater source directly covered and authorized under an NPDES permit issued by the Agency, nor for any treatment works, industrial pretreatment works, or industrial wastewater source (i) that is under or pending construction authorized by a valid construction permit issued by the Agency prior to July 1, 2003, during the term of that construction permit, or (ii) for which a completed construction permit application has been received by the Agency prior to July 1, 2003, with respect to the permit issued under that application. | |
(b) Each applicant or person required to pay a fee under this Section shall submit the fee to the Agency along with the permit application. The Agency shall deny any construction permit application for which a fee is required under this Section that does not contain the appropriate fee.
(c) The amount of the fee is as follows:
(1) A $100 fee shall be required for any sewer |
| constructed with a design population of 1. | |
(2) A $400 fee shall be required for any sewer |
| constructed with a design population of 2 to 20. | |
(3) A $800 fee shall be required for any sewer |
| constructed with a design population greater than 20 but less than 101. | |
(4) A $1200 fee shall be required for any sewer |
| constructed with a design population greater than 100 but less than 500. | |
(5) A $2400 fee shall be required for any sewer |
| constructed with a design population of 500 or more. | |
(6) A $1,000 fee shall be required for any |
| industrial wastewater source that does not require pretreatment of the wastewater prior to discharge to the publicly owned treatment works or publicly regulated treatment works. | |
(7) A $3,000 fee shall be required for any |
| industrial wastewater source that requires pretreatment of the wastewater for non‑toxic pollutants prior to discharge to the publicly owned treatment works or publicly regulated treatment works. | |
(8) A $6,000 fee shall be required for any |
| industrial wastewater source that requires pretreatment of the wastewater for toxic pollutants prior to discharge to the publicly owned treatment works or publicly regulated treatment works. | |
(9) A $2,500 fee shall be required for construction |
| relating to land application of industrial sludge or spray irrigation of industrial wastewater. | |
All fees collected by the Agency under this Section shall be deposited into the Environmental Protection Permit and Inspection Fund in accordance with Section 22.8.
(d) Prior to a final Agency decision on a permit application for which a fee has been paid under this Section, the applicant may propose modification to the application in accordance with this Act and regulations adopted hereunder without any additional fee becoming due, unless the proposed modifications cause an increase in the design population served by the sewer specified in the permit application before the modifications or the modifications cause a change in the applicable fee category stated in subsection (c). If the modifications cause such an increase or change the fee category and the increase results in additional fees being due under subsection (c), the applicant shall submit the additional fee to the Agency with the proposed modifications.
(e) No fee shall be due under this Section from:
(1) any department, agency or unit of State |
| government for installing or extending a sewer; | |
(2) any unit of local government with which the |
| Agency has entered into a written delegation agreement under Section 4 which allows such unit to issue construction permits under this Title, or regulations adopted hereunder, for installing or extending a sewer; or | |
(3) any unit of local government or school district |
| for installing or extending a sewer where both of the following conditions are met: | |
(i) the cost of the installation or extension is |
| paid wholly from monies of the unit of local government or school district, State grants or loans, federal grants or loans, or any combination thereof; and | |
(ii) the unit of local government or school |
| district is not given monies, reimbursed or paid, either in whole or in part, by another person (except for State grants or loans or federal grants or loans) for the installation or extension. | |
(f) The Agency may establish procedures relating to the collection of fees under this Section. The Agency shall not refund any fee paid to it under this Section. Notwithstanding the provisions of any rule adopted before July 1, 2003 concerning fees under this Section, the Agency shall assess and collect the fees imposed under subdivision (a)(2) of this Section and the increases in the fees imposed under subdivision (a)(1) of this Section beginning on July 1, 2003, for all completed applications received on or after that date.
(g) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, the Agency shall, not later than 45 days following the receipt of both an application for a construction permit and the fee required by this Section, either approve that application and issue a permit or tender to the applicant a written statement setting forth with specificity the reasons for the disapproval of the application and denial of a permit. If the Agency takes no final action within 45 days after the filing of the application for a permit, the applicant may deem the permit issued.
(h) For purposes of this Section:
"Toxic pollutants" means those pollutants defined in Section 502(13) of the federal Clean Water Act and regulations adopted pursuant to that Act.
"Industrial" refers to those industrial users referenced in Section 502(13) of the federal Clean Water Act and regulations adopted pursuant to that Act.
"Pretreatment" means the reduction of the amount of pollutants, the elimination of pollutants, or the alteration of the nature of pollutant properties in wastewater prior to or in lieu of discharging or otherwise introducing those pollutants into a publicly owned treatment works or publicly regulated treatment works.
(Source: P.A. 93‑32, eff. 7‑1‑03.) |
(415 ILCS 5/12.5)
Sec. 12.5. NPDES discharge fees; sludge permit fees.
(a) Beginning July 1, 2003, the Agency shall assess and collect annual fees (i) in the amounts set forth in subsection (e) for all discharges that require an NPDES permit under subsection (f) of Section 12, from each person holding an NPDES permit authorizing those discharges (including a person who continues to discharge under an expired permit pending renewal), and (ii) in the amounts set forth in subsection (f) of this Section for all activities that require a permit under subsection (b) of Section 12, from each person holding a domestic sewage sludge generator or user permit.
Each person subject to this Section must remit the applicable annual fee to the Agency in accordance with the requirements set forth in this Section and any rules adopted pursuant to this Section.
(b) Within 30 days after the effective date of this Section, and each year thereafter, except when a fee is not due because of the operation of subsection (c), the Agency shall send a fee notice by mail to each existing permittee subject to a fee under this Section at his or her address of record. The notice shall state the amount of the applicable annual fee and the date by which payment is required.
Except as provided in subsection (c) with respect to initial fees under new permits and certain modifications of existing permits, fees payable under this Section are due by the date specified in the fee notice, which shall be no less than 30 days after the date the fee notice is mailed by the Agency.
(c) The initial annual fee for discharges under a new NPDES permit or for activity under a new sludge generator or sludge user permit must be remitted to the Agency prior to the issuance of the permit. The Agency shall provide notice of the amount of the fee to the applicant during its review of the application. In the case of a new NPDES or sludge permit issued during the months of January through June, the Agency may prorate the initial annual fee payable under this Section.
The initial annual fee for discharges or other activity under a general NPDES permit must be remitted to the Agency as part of the application for coverage under that general permit.
Beginning January 1, 2010, in the case of construction site storm water discharges for which a coverage letter under a general NPDES permit or individual NPDES permit has been issued or for which the application for coverage under an NPDES permit has been filed with the Agency, no annual fee shall be due after payment of an initial annual fee in the amount provided in subsection (e)(10) of this Section.
If a requested modification to an existing NPDES permit causes a change in the applicable fee categories under subsection (e) that results in an increase in the required fee, the permittee must pay to the Agency the amount of the increase, prorated for the number of months remaining before the next July 1, before the modification is granted.
(d) Failure to submit the fee required under this Section by the due date constitutes a violation of this Section. Late payments shall incur an interest penalty, calculated at the rate in effect from time to time for tax delinquencies under subsection (a) of Section 1003 of the Illinois Income Tax Act, from the date the fee is due until the date the fee payment is received by the Agency.
(e) The annual fees applicable to discharges under NPDES permits are as follows:
(1) For NPDES permits for publicly owned treatment
| works, other facilities for which the wastewater being treated and discharged is primarily domestic sewage, and wastewater discharges from the operation of public water supply treatment facilities, the fee is: | |
(i) $1,500 for the 12 months beginning July 1, |
| 2003 and $500 for each subsequent year, for facilities with a Design Average Flow rate of less than 100,000 gallons per day; | |
(ii) $5,000 for the 12 months beginning July 1, |
| 2003 and $2,500 for each subsequent year, for facilities with a Design Average Flow rate of at least 100,000 gallons per day but less than 500,000 gallons per day; | |
(iii) $7,500 for facilities with a Design |
| Average Flow rate of at least 500,000 gallons per day but less than 1,000,000 gallons per day; | |
(iv) $15,000 for facilities with a Design |
| Average Flow rate of at least 1,000,000 gallons per day but less than 5,000,000 gallons per day; | |
(v) $30,000 for facilities with a Design Average |
| Flow rate of at least 5,000,000 gallons per day but less than 10,000,000 gallons per day; and | |
(vi) $50,000 for facilities with a Design |
| Average Flow rate of 10,000,000 gallons per day or more. | |
(2) For NPDES permits for treatment works or sewer |
| collection systems that include combined sewer overflow outfalls, the fee is: | |
(i) $1,000 for systems serving a tributary |
| population of 10,000 or less; | |
(ii) $5,000 for systems serving a tributary |
| population that is greater than 10,000 but not more than 25,000; and | |
(iii) $20,000 for systems serving a tributary |
| population that is greater than 25,000. | |
The fee amounts in this subdivision (e)(2) are in |
| addition to the fees stated in subdivision (e)(1) when the combined sewer overflow outfall is contained within a permit subject to subsection (e)(1) fees. | |
(3) For NPDES permits for mines producing coal, the |
| |
(4) For NPDES permits for mines other than mines |
| producing coal, the fee is $5,000. | |
(5) For NPDES permits for industrial activity where |
| toxic substances are not regulated, other than permits covered under subdivision (e)(3) or (e)(4), the fee is: | |
(i) $1,000 for a facility with a Design Average |
| Flow rate that is not more than 10,000 gallons per day; | |
(ii) $2,500 for a facility with a Design Average |
| Flow rate that is more than 10,000 gallons per day but not more than 100,000 gallons per day; and | |
(iii) $10,000 for a facility with a Design |
| Average Flow rate that is more than 100,000 gallons per day. | |
(6) For NPDES permits for industrial activity where |
| toxic substances are regulated, other than permits covered under subdivision (e)(3) or (e)(4), the fee is: | |
(i) $15,000 for a facility with a Design Average |
| Flow rate that is not more than 250,000 gallons per day; and | |
(ii) $20,000 for a facility with a Design |
| Average Flow rate that is more than 250,000 gallons per day. | |
(7) For NPDES permits for industrial activity |
| classified by USEPA as a major discharge, other than permits covered under subdivision (e)(3) or (e)(4), the fee is: | |
(i) $30,000 for a facility where toxic |
| substances are not regulated; and | |
(ii) $50,000 for a facility where toxic |
| substances are regulated. | |
(8) For NPDES permits for municipal separate storm |
| sewer systems, the fee is $1,000. | |
(9) For NPDES permits for industrial storm water, |
| |
(10) for NPDES permits for construction site storm |
| |