615 ILCS 5/18

(615 ILCS 5/18) (from Ch. 19, par. 65)

Sec. 18. It is unlawful to make any fill or deposit of rock, earth, sand, or other material, or any refuse matter of any kind or description or build or commence the building of any wharf, pier, dolphin, boom, weir, breakwater, bulkhead, jetty, causeway, harbor, or mooring facilities for watercraft, or build or commence the building of any other structure, or do any work of any kind whatsoever in any of the public bodies of water within the State of Illinois, without first submitting the plans, profiles, and specifications therefor, and such other data and information as may be required, to the Department of Natural Resources of the State and receiving a permit therefor signed by the Director of the Department and authenticated by the seal thereof. However, this requirement does not apply to duck blinds which comply with regulations of the Department of Natural Resources.

However, except as provided in this Act, no permit shall be issued or renewed authorizing any fill or deposit of rock, earth, sand, or other material, or any refuse matter of any kind or description in Lake Michigan unless the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency makes a final determination pursuant to subsection (a) of Section 39 of the Environmental Protection Act, as now or hereafter amended, that the proposed dredging or deposit of material will not cause a violation of the Environmental Protection Act or Pollution Control Board regulations.

Nothing herein shall be construed to authorize the discharge or other disposition of materials of any kind into Lake Michigan without first obtaining a joint permit from the Department of Natural Resources and the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency. Any person, corporation, company, city or municipality, or other agency, who or which (1) discharges or disposes of any such materials into Lake Michigan without a permit or in violation of a permit, or (2) does any of the things prohibited by this Section shall be guilty of a Class A misdemeanor.

The building of any causeway, harbor, or mooring facilities for watercraft in Lake Michigan shall be confined to those areas recommended by the Department and authorized by the General Assembly and approved by the Governor and shall be in aid of and not an interference with the public interest or navigation. Any structure, fill, or deposit erected or made in any of the public bodies of water of this State, in violation of this Section is a purpresture and may be abated as such at the expense of the person, corporation, company, city, municipality, or other agency responsible therefor, or if, in the discretion of the Department of Natural Resources, it be decided that the structure, fill, or deposit may remain, the Department may fix such rule, regulation, requirement, restrictions, or rentals or require and compel such changes, modifications and repairs as are necessary to protect the interest of the State.

The Department of Natural Resources may grant, subject to the foregoing provisions of this Section, a permit to any person, firm or corporation, not a riparian owner, to use the water from any of the public bodies of water within the State of Illinois for industrial manufacturing or public utility purposes, and to construct the necessary intakes, structures, tunnels, and conduits in, under, or on the beds of such bodies of water to obtain the use of such water or to return the same, provided, however, that such use shall not interfere with navigation. Such permit shall be for a definite period of years not exceeding 40 years and may be renewed subject to the same time limitation. If the water so to be used is to be taken from a lake or stream located in or adjoining any municipality, such permit shall not become effective until approved by the Commissioner of Public Works of such municipality, or if it has no Commissioner of Public Works, by the Public (or City) Engineer, or if it has no such Engineer, by the Mayor or President of the Municipality.

Subject to the notice and hearing hereinafter provided for, where a permit is sought for a structure, fill, or deposit in a slip, the Department shall require as condition precedent to the issuance of such permit, a signed statement approving such action by all riparian owners whose access to public waters will be directly affected by such structure, fill, or deposit. No such permit shall be issued without the approval of the Governor and without a public hearing, 10 days' notice of the time, place, and purpose of which is published in a newspaper of general circulation in the county in which such slip is located. Whenever a permit to fill or deposit in a slip is issued, all work done pursuant to the permit is by authorization and under the direction of the Department of Natural Resources. If deemed in the public interest, the Department of Natural Resources may, for the purpose of establishing uniform shore lines upon Lake Michigan or other streams or lakes of this State, permit fills of rock, earth or sand to be placed inside a bulkhead, wall or breakwater so constructed as not to permit the escape of such materials into Lake Michigan or any such lake, river, or stream, and the Department is authorized to require of applicants for such permits such contracts or to impose such restrictions as shall fully protect the interests of the State. However, the Department may permit the placing of unconfined fills or deposits of clear sand, rock or other material approved by the Department in or along the shores of Lake Michigan or in, or along the shores of, other streams or lakes of this State for the purpose of replacing or augmenting the natural material in the littoral currents, for creating new beaches or for replenishing existing beaches, for the protection of the shore against erosion or for other lawful purposes specifically authorized by statute; and the Department may permit the deposit of dredged material in Lake Michigan only where the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency makes a final determination, pursuant to subsection (a) of Section 39 of the Environmental Protection Act, as now or hereafter amended, that the dredging or deposit of material will not cause a violation of the Environmental Protection Act or Pollution Control Board regulations. Any person adversely affected by a final determination of the Environmental Protection Agency may petition for a hearing before the Pollution Control Board pursuant to Section 40 of the Environmental Protection Act, as now or hereafter amended. The petition for review shall stay the issuance of the permit until the Pollution Control Board affirms or reverses the Agency's determination. If there is no final action by the Pollution Control Board within 120 days, the Department may issue the permit. Judicial review of the Pollution Control Board's final determination shall be pursuant to Section 41 of the Environmental Protection Act, as now or hereafter amended. The restriction as to the deposit of dredged materials shall not apply to any reclamation or fill-in of Lake Michigan under the authority of any statute now or hereafter in effect or under the supervision of any park district or municipality where such materials are placed inside a bulkhead, wall or breakwater so constructed as not to permit the escape of such materials into Lake Michigan.

Wherever the terms public waters or public bodies of water are used or referred to in this Act, they mean all open public streams and lakes capable of being navigated by water craft, in whole or in part, for commercial uses and purposes, and all lakes, rivers, and streams which in their natural condition were capable of being improved and made navigable, or that are connected with or discharged their waters into navigable lakes or rivers within, or upon the borders of the State of Illinois, together with all bayous, sloughs, backwaters, and submerged lands that are open to the main channel or body of water and directly accessible thereto. Nothing herein contained applies to a harbor under the jurisdiction and control of a park district, nor to any existing yacht club facilities, improvements thereon and replacements thereof whether in the same or a new location. Nothing herein contained applies to the location of any harbor under the jurisdiction and control of any city or village of less than 500,000 population.

Notwithstanding any provision of this Act to the contrary, the Department of Natural Resources shall have no power to promulgate rules or regulations, or to issue or deny permits, with respect to barge fleeting areas in rivers located wholly or partly within this State. For purposes of this paragraph, "barge fleeting area" means a facility, at a fixed site, which is used to provide barge mooring services.

(Source: P.A. 89-445, eff. 2-7-96.)