Full Text of HJR0013 095th General Assembly
HJ0013eng 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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| HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION 13
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| WHEREAS, Compliance with the requirements of the National | 3 |
| Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) and the effects | 4 |
| of surface discharging private sewage disposal systems on | 5 |
| communities within the State are matters of extreme importance; | 6 |
| and
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| WHEREAS, Illinois is mandated by the federal Clean Water | 8 |
| Act to adhere to and enforce the standards set forth by the | 9 |
| NPDES to protect the waters of the United States; and | 10 |
| WHEREAS, Failure of Illinois to enforce NPDES standards on | 11 |
| surface discharging private sewage disposal systems requires | 12 |
| the federal Environmental Protection Agency to withdraw from | 13 |
| the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency the authority to | 14 |
| grant NPDES permits under State and federal law; and | 15 |
| WHEREAS, Loss of NPDES permit standing could have a | 16 |
| devastating effect on jobs and water quality in Illinois; and | 17 |
| WHEREAS, Malfunctioning or improperly operating and | 18 |
| maintained surface discharging private sewage disposal systems | 19 |
| can pose serious health hazards; a surface discharging system | 20 |
| that is malfunctioning or improperly operating and maintained | 21 |
| may contain raw sewage, which is not always obvious or visible |
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| to the untrained eye and may contain disease-causing organisms, | 2 |
| such as bacteria and viruses that come from the digestive | 3 |
| tract, respiratory tract, and skin; diseases commonly | 4 |
| associated with improperly treated sewage include | 5 |
| Gastroenteritis, Shigellosis, Salmonella, Hepatitis A, and | 6 |
| Leptospirosis; and
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| WHEREAS, There are soil conditions of the State in which a | 8 |
| surface discharging system is the only viable choice due to the | 9 |
| poor absorption qualities of the soil types, such as high clay, | 10 |
| rock content, or high seasonal water table, although reasonable | 11 |
| technical measures may exist to minimize or eliminate | 12 |
| discharges from these systems to waters of the United States; | 13 |
| and | 14 |
| WHEREAS, A failing surface discharging system has the | 15 |
| potential to affect an entire subdivision or surrounding area; | 16 |
| in particular the discharge may become a tempting nuisance to | 17 |
| neighborhood children and pets who may play in or around the | 18 |
| pooling discharge and, subsequently, become directly infected | 19 |
| or become the modes of transmission by tracking disease-causing | 20 |
| organisms into their homes; and
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| WHEREAS, Existing discharging septic systems were | 22 |
| permitted to be installed under the Private Sewage Disposal | 23 |
| Licensing Act without the owners being aware of the |
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| requirements of the federal Clean Water Act; and | 2 |
| WHEREAS, Different states and regions require varying | 3 |
| degrees of permit conditions, including different testing and | 4 |
| sampling requirements per year; and | 5 |
| WHEREAS, We want to ensure that while we protect the | 6 |
| environment, we also place the minimum burden possible on | 7 |
| owners of these existing and new systems; therefore, be it | 8 |
| RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 9 |
| NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE | 10 |
| SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that there is created the Joint Task | 11 |
| Force on National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System | 12 |
| (NPDES) Compliance, which shall be charged with the following | 13 |
| tasks: | 14 |
| (1) examining the State's current compliance with | 15 |
| NPDES laws, rules, and guidelines related to surface | 16 |
| discharging private sewage disposal systems; | 17 |
| (2) forming a reasonably complete picture of where in | 18 |
| the State surface discharging private sewage disposal | 19 |
| systems have been permitted and where they have not been | 20 |
| permitted; | 21 |
| (3) examining alternatives to surface discharging | 22 |
| private sewage disposal systems; | 23 |
| (4) examining how other states are regulating surface |
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| discharging private sewage disposal systems; and
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| (5) examining how Illinois can comply with national | 3 |
| NPDES laws, rules, and guidelines in such a way as to | 4 |
| minimize the financial impact upon Illinois homeowners who | 5 |
| currently use surface discharging private sewage disposal | 6 |
| systems; and be it further | 7 |
| RESOLVED, That the Joint Task Force shall consist of 8 | 8 |
| members, 2 of whom shall be appointed by the President of the | 9 |
| Senate; 2 of whom shall be appointed by the Speaker of the | 10 |
| House of Representatives; 2 of whom shall be appointed by the | 11 |
| Minority Leader of the Senate; and 2 of whom shall be appointed | 12 |
| by the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives; and be | 13 |
| it further | 14 |
| RESOLVED, That the Joint Task Force shall meet initially at | 15 |
| the call of the Speaker and the President, shall select 2 | 16 |
| members as co-chairpersons, one from each political party, at | 17 |
| its initial meeting, and shall thereafter meet at the joint | 18 |
| call of the co-chairpersons; and be it further | 19 |
| RESOLVED, That the Environmental Protection Agency shall | 20 |
| provide support staff for the Joint Task Force; and be it | 21 |
| further | 22 |
| RESOLVED, That the Joint Task Force shall report its |
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| findings
to the General Assembly by filing copies of its report | 2 |
| with the
Clerk of the House and the Secretary of the Senate no | 3 |
| later
than January 1, 2008; and that upon filing its report the | 4 |
| Joint Task Force is dissolved.
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