Illinois Administrative Code

Section 309.102 NPDES Permit Required a) Unless it complies with the Act, Board regulations, the CWA, and the provisions and conditions of the NPDES permit issued to the discharger, the discharge of any contaminant or pollutant by any person into the waters of the State from a po…

Section 309.103 Application – General a) Application Forms 1) An applicant for an NPDES Permit must apply under Section 309.223, on forms provided by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (Agency). The forms must comprise the NPDES application forms promulgated by the U.S.…

Section 309.104 Renewal a) Any permittee who wishes to continue to discharge after the expiration date of the NPDES Permit must timely apply for reissuance of the permit. 1) A permittee has submitted a timely application for a new permit when: A) The permittee submits: i) an appl…

Section 309.105 Authority to Deny NPDES Permits An NPDES Permit must not be issued if: a) The permit would authorize the discharge of a radiological, chemical, or biological warfare agent or high-level radioactive waste; b) The discharge would, in the judgment of the Secretary of…

Section 309.106 Access to Facilities and Further Information If the Agency determines that additional information or a site visit is necessary for the Agency to evaluate an NPDES Permit application, it must notify the applicant and arrange to secure the additional information or …

Section 309.107 Distribution of Applications When the Agency determines that an application for an NPDES Permit is complete, it must: a) Unless otherwise agreed, send a copy of the application to the District Engineer of the appropriate district of the U.S. Corps of Engineers wit…

Section 309.108 Tentative Determination and Draft Permit After receiving a complete application for an NPDES Permit, the Agency must prepare a tentative determination. The determination must include at least the following: a) A statement of whether an NPDES Permit is to be issued…

Section 309.109 Public Notice a) Upon tentative determination to issue or deny an NPDES Permit, completion of the draft permit, if any, and not earlier than 10 days after notice to the applicant under Section 309.108(d), the Agency must circulate public notice of the completed ap…

Section 309.110 Contents of Public Notice of Application The contents of the public notice of applications for NPDES Permits must include at least the following: a) Name, address, and telephone number of the Agency; b) Name and address of the applicant; c) Brief description of th…

Section 309.111 Combined Notices a) The Agency may circulate public notice of applications for more than one NPDES Permit at a time. If a public notice concerns more than one NPDES Permit application, the information required by Section 309.109 must be included in the notice for …

Section 309.112 Agency Action After Comment Period Subject to Section 309.120, if the Agency does not hold a public hearing concerning the permit after the comment period, the Agency must evaluate any comments received and either issue or deny the permit. (Source: Amended at 47 I…

Section 309.113 Fact Sheets a) For every discharge with a total volume of more than 500,000 gallons (1.9 megaliters) on any day of the year, the Agency must prepare and, following public notice, send upon request to any person a fact sheet concerning the application described in …

Section 309.114 Notice to Other Governmental Agencies When it issues a public notice under Sections 309.109 through 309.112, the Agency must: a) Send a fact sheet, if one has been prepared, to any other states whose waters may be affected by issuing the proposed permit and, upon …

Section 309.115 Public Hearings on NPDES Permit Applications a) Agency Determination on Whether to Hold a Public Hearing 1) The Agency must hold a public hearing on issuing or denying an NPDES Permit or group of permits whenever the Agency determines that there exists a significa…

Section 309.116 Notice of Agency Hearing The Agency must issue public notice of the hearing at least 30 days before the date of the hearing, in the manner described by Sections 309.109 through 309.112 for public notice. The Agency must send notices of the hearing to all persons a…

Section 309.117 Agency Hearing The applicant or any person must be permitted to submit oral or written statements and data concerning the proposed permit or group of permits. The Chair has the authority to fix reasonable limits upon the time allowed for oral statements and may re…

Section 309.118 Agency Hearing File a) Following the public hearing, the Chair must prepare a hearing file, which must include: 1) Copies of statements submitted in writing; 2) A summary of the statements submitted orally; 3) A report of the major issues raised at the hearing; 4)…

Section 309.119 Agency Action After Hearing Subject to Section 309.120 and after the public hearing the Agency may make appropriate modifications in the terms and conditions of proposed permits and must transmit to the Regional Administrator for approval a copy of the permit prop…

Section 309.120 Reopening the Record to Receive Additional Written Comment a) The Agency must order the public comment period reopened to receive additional written comments when the Agency significantly modifies the draft permit and the final permit is not a logical outgrowth of…

Section 309.141 Terms and Conditions of NPDES Permits In establishing the terms and conditions of each issued NPDES Permit, the Agency must apply and ensure compliance with all of the following, whenever applicable: a) Effluent limitations under sections 301 and 302 of the CWA; b…

Section 309.142 Water Quality Standards and Waste Load Allocation If an NPDES Permit includes as conditions the effluent standards and limitations described in Sections 309.141, 309.142, and 309.143, the Agency must determine and verify that the discharge authorized by the permit…

Section 309.143 Effluent Limitations a) Effluent limitations must control all pollutant or pollutant parameters (conventional, nonconventional, or toxic pollutants) that the Agency determines are, or may be, discharged at a level that will cause, have the reasonable potential to …

Section 309.144 Federal New Source Standards of Performance Regardless of any other provisions of these rules, any point source whose construction began after October 18, 1972, and that is constructed to meet all applicable federal standards of performance as defined in section 3…

Section 309.145 Duration of Permits All NPDES Permits must be issued for fixed terms not to exceed five years. (Source: Amended at 47 Ill. Reg. 5017, effective March 23, 2023)

Section 309.146 Authority to Establish Recording, Reporting, Monitoring, and Sampling Requirements a) The Agency must require every holder of an NPDES Permit, as a condition of the NPDES Permit issued to the holder, to: 1) Establish, maintain, and retain records; 2) Make reports …

Section 309.147 Authority to Apply Entry and Inspection Requirements a) Any holder of an NPDES Permit and any industrial user of a publicly owned or publicly regulated sewage treatment plant must be required, as a condition of the NPDES Permit issued to the holder and in complian…

Section 309.148 Schedules of Compliance The Agency must establish schedules of compliance in NPDES Permits in the following manner: a) For any discharge that is not in compliance with applicable effluent standards and limitations, applicable water quality standards, or other lega…

Section 309.149 Authority to Require Notice of Introduction of Pollutants into Publicly Owned Treatment Works The Agency must include in all NPDES Permits issued to publicly owned or publicly regulated treatment works conditions requiring the permittee to give notice to the Agenc…

Section 309.150 Authority to Ensure Compliance by Industrial Users with Sections 204(b), 307, and 308 of the Clean Water Act a) Any NPDES Permit issued to a publicly owned or publicly regulated treatment works must include a condition requiring that the permittee require any indu…

Section 309.151 Maintenance and Equipment Any NPDES Permit issued must include as a condition that the permittee must maintain in good working order and operate as efficiently as possible any facilities or systems of control installed by the permittee to achieve compliance with t…

Section 309.152 Toxic Pollutants Any NPDES Permit issued must include as a condition that if a toxic effluent standard or prohibition (including any schedule of compliance specified in the effluent standard or prohibition) is established under section 307(a) of the CWA for a toxi…

Section 309.153 Deep Well Disposal of Pollutants (Repealed) (Source: Repealed at 8 Ill. Reg. 1612, effective January 18, 1984)

Section 309.154 Authorization to Construct a) A person must not cause or allow the construction of any new treatment works, disposal well, or wastewater source for which an NPDES Permit is required or cause or allow the modification of any existing treatment works, disposal well,…

Section 309.155 Sewage Sludge Disposal In establishing the terms and conditions of each issued NPDES Permit, the Agency must apply and ensure compliance with applicable regulations promulgated under section 405 of the CWA governing the disposal of sewage sludge from treatment wor…

Section 309.156 Total Dissolved Solids Reporting and Monitoring The Agency must by permit condition require monitoring and reporting levels of total dissolved solids in effluents unless it finds that this reporting and monitoring are not required to accomplish the purposes of the…

Section 309.157 Permit Limits for Total Metals a) The NPDES permit limits for metals must be expressed in total metals form even though the water quality standards for metals specified in 35 Ill. Adm. Code 302.208(e), 302.504(a), and 304.105 are in their dissolved form. The total…

Section 309.181 Appeal of Final Agency Action on a Permit Application a) If any NPDES Permit has been issued or denied by the Agency, any appeal of the issuance or denial of the permit, or of any of its terms or conditions, must be to the Board according to its Procedural Rules. …

Section 309.182 Authority to Modify, Suspend or Revoke Permits a) Any person, whether or not a party to or participant at an earlier proceeding before the Agency or the Board, may file a complaint for modification, suspension, or revocation of an NPDES Permit in accordance with t…

Section 309.183 Revision of Schedule of Compliance a) The Agency may, upon request of the applicant, revise or modify a schedule of compliance in an issued NPDES Permit if it determines a good and valid cause (such as an Act of God, strike, flood, materials shortage, or another e…

Section 309.184 Regulatory Relief To the extent authorized by the CWA and the Act, the Board may grant variances, adjusted standards, or time limited water quality standards from standards, limitations, and requirements imposed by these NPDES rules. If the Board grants a variance…

Section 309.185 Public Access to Information (Repealed) (Source: Repealed at 47 Ill. Reg. 5017, effective March 23, 2023)

Section 309.191 Effective Date (Repealed) (Source: Repealed at 47 Ill. Reg. 5017, effective March 23, 2023) SUBPART B: OTHER PERMITS

Section 309.201 Preamble a) This Subpart B establishes basic rules for issuing permits to construct, modify, and operate treatment works, pretreatment works, sewers, wastewater sources, and other discharges that are not required to have NPDES Permits. b) The following discharges …

Section 309.202 Construction Permits Except for treatment works or wastewater sources that have or will have discharges for which NPDES Permits are required, and for which NPDES Permits have been issued by the Agency: a) A person must not cause or allow the construction of any ne…

Section 309.203 Operating Permits; New or Modified Sources a) A person must not cause or allow the use or operation of any treatment works, sewer, pretreatment works, or wastewater source for which a construction permit is required under Section 309.202 without an operating permi…

Section 309.204 Operating Permits; Existing Sources a) A person must not cause or allow the use or operation of any treatment works, pretreatment works, or wastewater source without an operating permit issued by the Agency, except as provided in subsections (b), (c), and (d). b) …

Section 309.205 Joint Construction and Operating Permits If the Agency determines that a proposed treatment works, pretreatment works, sewer, or wastewater source is sufficiently standard to obviate the need for separate construction and operating permits, the Agency may issue a …