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90_SB1474
70 ILCS 2605/7a from Ch. 42, par. 326a
Amends the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District Act.
Authorizes a sanitary district to establish annual fees by
classification for the cost of administering and enforcing
sewer discharge ordinances. Provides that delinquent fees
shall become liens against the person's property.
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1 AN ACT to amend the Metropolitan Water Reclamation
2 District Act by changing Section 7a.
3 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
4 represented in the General Assembly:
5 Section 5. The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District
6 Act is amended by changing Section 7a as follows:
7 (70 ILCS 2605/7a) (from Ch. 42, par. 326a)
8 Sec. 7a. Discharge into sewers of a sanitary district.
9 (a) The terms used in this Section are defined as
10 follows:
11 "Board of Commissioners" means the Board of Commissioners
12 of the sanitary district.
13 "Sewage" means water-carried human wastes or a
14 combination of water-carried wastes from residences,
15 buildings, businesses, industrial establishments,
16 institutions, or other places together with any ground,
17 surface, storm, or other water that may be present.
18 "Industrial Wastes" means all solids, liquids, or gaseous
19 wastes resulting from any commercial, industrial,
20 manufacturing, agricultural, trade, or business operation or
21 process, or from the development, recovery, or processing of
22 natural resources.
23 "Other Wastes" means decayed wood, sawdust, shavings,
24 bark, lime, refuse, ashes, garbage, offal, oil, tar,
25 chemicals, and all other substances except sewage and
26 industrial wastes.
27 "Person" means any individual, firm, association, joint
28 venture, sole proprietorship, company, partnership, estate
29 copartnership, corporation, joint stock company, trust,
30 school district, unit of local government, or private
31 corporation organized or existing under the laws of this or
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1 any other state or country.
2 "General Superintendent" means the general superintendent
3 of the sanitary district.
4 (b) It shall be unlawful for any person to discharge
5 sewage, industrial waste, or other wastes into the sewerage
6 system of a sanitary district or into any sewer connected
7 therewith, except upon the terms and conditions that the
8 sanitary district might reasonably impose by way of
9 ordinance, permit, or otherwise.
10 Any sanitary district, in addition to all other powers
11 vested in it and in the interest of public health and safety,
12 or as authorized by subsections (b) and (c) of Section 46 of
13 the Environmental Protection Act, is hereby empowered to pass
14 all ordinances, rules, or regulations necessary to implement
15 this Section, including but not limited to, the imposition of
16 charges based on factors that influence the cost of
17 treatment, including strength and volume, and including the
18 right of access during reasonable hours to the premises of a
19 person for enforcement of adopted ordinances, rules, or
20 regulations.
21 (c) Whenever the sanitary district acting through the
22 general superintendent determines that sewage, industrial
23 wastes, or other wastes are being discharged into the
24 sewerage system and when, in the opinion of the general
25 superintendent the discharge is in violation of an ordinance,
26 rules, or regulations adopted by the Board of Commissioners
27 under this Section governing industrial wastes or other
28 wastes, the general superintendent shall order the offending
29 party to cease and desist. The order shall be served by
30 certified mail or personally on the owner, officer,
31 registered agent, or individual designated by permit.
32 In the event the offending party fails or refuses to
33 discontinue the discharge within 90 days after notification
34 of the cease and desist order, the general superintendent
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1 may order the offending party to show cause before the Board
2 of Commissioners of the sanitary district why the discharge
3 should not be discontinued. A notice shall be served on the
4 offending party directing him, her, or it to show cause
5 before the Board of Commissioners why an order should not be
6 entered directing the discontinuance of the discharge. The
7 notice shall specify the time and place where a hearing will
8 be held and shall be served personally or by registered or
9 certified mail at least 10 days before the hearing; and in
10 the case of a unit of local government or a corporation the
11 service shall be upon an officer or agent thereof. After
12 reviewing the evidence, the Board of Commissioners may issue
13 an order to the party responsible for the discharge,
14 directing that within a specified period of time the
15 discharge be discontinued. The Board of Commissioners may
16 also order the party responsible for the discharge to pay a
17 civil penalty in an amount specified by the Board of
18 Commissioners that is not less than $100 nor more than $2,000
19 per day for each day of discharge of effluent in violation of
20 this Act as provided in subsection (d). The Board of
21 Commissioners may also order the party responsible for the
22 violation to pay court reporter costs and hearing officer
23 fees in a total amount not exceeding $3,000.
24 (d) The Board of Commissioners shall establish
25 procedures for assessing civil penalties and issuing orders
26 under subsection (c) as follows:
27 (1) In making its orders and determinations, the
28 Board of Commissioners shall take into consideration all
29 the facts and circumstances bearing on the activities
30 involved and the assessment of civil penalties as shown
31 by the record produced at the hearing.
32 (2) The Board of Commissioners shall establish a
33 panel of independent hearing officers to conduct all
34 hearings on the assessment of civil penalties and
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1 issuance of orders under subsection (c). The hearing
2 officers shall be attorneys licensed to practice law in
3 this State.
4 (3) The Board of Commissioners shall promulgate
5 procedural rules governing the proceedings, the
6 assessment of civil penalties, and the issuance of
7 orders.
8 (4) All hearings shall be on the record, and
9 testimony taken must be under oath and recorded
10 stenographically. Transcripts so recorded must be made
11 available to any member of the public or any party to the
12 hearing upon payment of the usual charges for
13 transcripts. At the hearing, the hearing officer may
14 issue, in the name of the Board of Commissioners, notices
15 of hearing requesting the attendance and testimony of
16 witnesses and the production of evidence relevant to any
17 matter involved in the hearing and may examine witnesses.
18 (5) The hearing officer shall conduct a full and
19 impartial hearing on the record, with an opportunity for
20 the presentation of evidence and cross-examination of the
21 witnesses. The hearing officer shall issue findings of
22 fact, conclusions of law, a recommended civil penalty,
23 and an order based solely on the record. The hearing
24 officer may also recommend, as part of the order, that
25 the discharge of industrial waste be discontinued within
26 a specified time.
27 (6) The findings of fact, conclusions of law,
28 recommended civil penalty, and order shall be transmitted
29 to the Board of Commissioners along with a complete
30 record of the hearing.
31 (7) The Board of Commissioners shall either approve
32 or disapprove the findings of fact, conclusions of law,
33 recommended civil penalty, and order. If the findings of
34 fact, conclusions of law, recommended civil penalty, or
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1 order are rejected, the Board of Commissioners shall
2 remand the matter to the hearing officer for further
3 proceedings. If the order is accepted by the Board of
4 Commissioners, it shall constitute the final order of the
5 Board of Commissioners.
6 (8) The Administrative Review Law, and the rules
7 adopted under that Law, shall govern all proceedings for
8 the judicial review of final orders of the Board of
9 Commissioners issued under this subsection.
10 (9) The civil penalty specified by the Board of
11 Commissioners shall be paid within 35 days after the
12 party on whom it is imposed receives a written copy of
13 the order of the Board of Commissioners, unless the
14 person or persons to whom the order is issued seeks
15 judicial review under paragraph (8).
16 (10) If the respondent seeks judicial review of the
17 order assessing civil penalties, the respondent shall,
18 within 35 days after the date of the final order, pay the
19 amount of the civil penalties into an escrow account
20 maintained by the district for that purpose or file a
21 bond guaranteeing payment of the civil penalties if the
22 civil penalties are upheld on review.
23 (11) Civil penalties not paid by the times
24 specified above shall be delinquent and subject to a lien
25 recorded against the property of the person ordered to
26 pay the penalty. The foregoing provisions for asserting
27 liens against real estate by the sanitary district shall
28 be in addition to and not in derogation of any other
29 remedy or right of recovery, in law or equity, that the
30 sanitary district may have with respect to the collection
31 or recovery of penalties and charges imposed by the
32 sanitary district. Judgment in a civil action brought by
33 the sanitary district to recover or collect the charges
34 shall not operate as a release and waiver of the lien
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1 upon the real estate for the amount of the judgment.
2 Only satisfaction of the judgment or the filing of a
3 release or satisfaction of lien shall release the lien.
4 (e) The general superintendent may order a person to
5 cease the discharge of industrial waste upon a finding by the
6 general superintendent that the final order of the Board of
7 Commissioners entered after a hearing to show cause has been
8 violated. The general superintendent shall serve the person
9 with a copy of his or her order either by certified mail or
10 personally by serving the owner, officer, registered agent,
11 or individual designated by permit. The order of the general
12 superintendent shall also schedule an expedited hearing
13 before a hearing officer designated by the Board of
14 Commissioners for the purpose of determining whether the
15 company has violated the final order of the Board of
16 Commissioners. The Board of Commissioners shall adopt rules
17 of procedure governing expedited hearings. In no event shall
18 the hearing be conducted less than 7 days after receipt by
19 the person of the general superintendent's order.
20 At the conclusion of the expedited hearing, the hearing
21 officer shall prepare a report with his or her findings and
22 recommendations and transmit it to the Board of
23 Commissioners. If the Board of Commissioners, after
24 reviewing the findings and recommendations, and the record
25 produced at the hearings, determines that the person has
26 violated the Board of Commissioner's final order, the Board
27 of Commissioners may authorize the plugging of the sewer.
28 The general superintendent shall give not less than 10 days
29 written notice of the Board of Commissioner's order to the
30 owner, officer, registered agent, or individual designated by
31 permit, as well as the owner of record of the real estate and
32 other parties known to be affected, that the sewer will be
33 plugged. The Administrative Review Law, and the rules adopted
34 under that Law, shall govern all proceedings for the judicial
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1 review of final orders of the Board of Commissioners issued
2 under this subsection.
3 The foregoing provision for plugging a sewer shall be in
4 addition to and not in derogation of any other remedy, in law
5 or in equity, that the district may have to prevent violation
6 of its ordinances and orders of its Board of Commissioners.
7 (f) A violation of the final order of the Board of
8 Commissioners shall be considered a nuisance. If any person
9 discharges sewage, industrial wastes, or other wastes into
10 any waters contrary to the final order of the Board of
11 Commissioners, the sanitary district acting through the
12 general superintendent has the power to commence an action or
13 proceeding in the circuit court in and for the county in
14 which the sanitary district is located for the purpose of
15 having the discharge stopped either by mandamus or
16 injunction, or to remedy the violation in any manner provided
17 for in this Section.
18 The court shall specify a time, not exceeding 20 days
19 after the service of the copy of the complaint, in which the
20 party complained of must plead to the complaint, and in the
21 meantime, the party may be restrained. In case of default or
22 after pleading, the court shall immediately inquire into the
23 facts and circumstances of the case and enter an appropriate
24 judgment in respect to the matters complained of. Appeals
25 may be taken as in other civil cases.
26 (g) The sanitary district, acting through the general
27 superintendent, has the power to commence an action or
28 proceeding for mandamus or injunction in the circuit court
29 ordering a person to cease its discharge, when, in the
30 opinion of the general superintendent, the person's discharge
31 presents an imminent danger to the public health, welfare, or
32 safety, presents or may present an endangerment to the
33 environment, or threatens to interfere with the operation of
34 the sewerage system or a water reclamation plant under the
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1 jurisdiction of the sanitary district. The initiation of a
2 show cause hearing is not a prerequisite to the commencement
3 by the sanitary district of an action or proceeding for
4 mandamus or injunction in the circuit court. The court shall
5 specify a time, not exceeding 20 days after the service of a
6 copy of the petition, in which the party complained of must
7 answer the petition, and in the meantime, the party may be
8 restrained. In case of default in answer or after answer,
9 the court shall immediately inquire into the facts and
10 circumstances of the case and enter an appropriate judgment
11 order in respect to the matters complained of. An appeal may
12 be taken from the final judgment in the same manner and with
13 the same effect as appeals are taken from judgment of the
14 circuit court in other actions for mandamus or injunction.
15 (h) Whenever the sanitary district commences an action
16 under subsection (f) of this Section, the court shall assess
17 a civil penalty of not less than $1,000 nor more than $10,000
18 for each day the person violates a Board order. Whenever the
19 sanitary district commences an action under subsection (g) of
20 this Section, the court shall assess a civil penalty of not
21 less than $1,000 nor more than $10,000 for each day the
22 person violates the ordinance. Each day's continuance of the
23 violation is a separate offense. The penalties provided in
24 this Section plus interest at the rate set forth in the
25 Interest Act on unpaid penalties, costs, and fees, imposed by
26 the Board of Commissioners under subsection (d), the
27 reasonable costs to the sanitary district of removal or other
28 remedial action caused by discharges in violation of this
29 Act, reasonable attorney's fees, court costs, and other
30 expenses of litigation together with costs for inspection,
31 sampling, analysis, and administration related to the
32 enforcement action against the offending party are
33 recoverable by the sanitary district in a civil action.
34 (i) The Board of Commissioners may establish fees for
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1 late filing of reports with the sanitary district required by
2 an ordinance governing discharges. The sanitary district
3 shall provide by certified mail a written notice of the fee
4 assessment that states the person has 30 days after the
5 receipt of the notice to request a conference with the
6 general superintendent's designee to discuss or dispute the
7 appropriateness of the assessed fee. Unless a person objects
8 to paying the fee for filing a report late by timely
9 requesting in writing a conference with a designee of the
10 general superintendent, that person waives his or her right
11 to a conference and the sanitary district may impose a lien
12 recorded against the property of the person for the amount of
13 the unpaid fee.
14 If a person requests a conference and the matter is not
15 resolved at the conference, the person subject to the fee may
16 request an administrative hearing before an impartial hearing
17 officer appointed under subsection (d) to determine the
18 person's liability for and the amount of the fee.
19 If the hearing officer finds that the late filing fees
20 are owed to the sanitary district, the sanitary district
21 shall notify the responsible person or persons of the hearing
22 officer's decision. If payment is not made within 30 days
23 after the notice, the sanitary district may impose a lien on
24 the property of the person or persons.
25 Any liens filed under this subsection shall apply only to
26 the property to which the late filing fees are related. A
27 claim for lien shall be filed in the office of the recorder
28 of the county in which the property is located. The filing
29 of a claim for lien by the district does not prevent the
30 sanitary district from pursuing other means for collecting
31 late filing fees. If a claim for lien is filed, the sanitary
32 district shall notify the person whose property is subject to
33 the lien, and the person may challenge the lien by filing an
34 action in the circuit court. The action shall be filed
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1 within 90 days after the person receives the notice of the
2 filing of the claim for lien. The court shall hear evidence
3 concerning the underlying reasons for the lien only if an
4 administrative hearing has not been held under this
5 subsection.
6 (j) If the provisions of any paragraph of this Section
7 are declared unconstitutional or invalid by the final
8 decision of any court of competent jurisdiction, the
9 provisions of the remaining paragraphs continue in effect.
10 (k) Nothing in this Section eliminates any of the powers
11 now granted to municipalities having a population of 500,000
12 or more as to design, preparation of plans, and construction,
13 maintenance, and operation of sewers and sewerage systems, or
14 for the control and elimination or prevention of the
15 pollution of their waters or waterways, in the Illinois
16 Municipal Code or any other Act of the State of Illinois.
17 (l) A sanitary district is authorized through its
18 ordinances to recover from persons the cost of controlling
19 and monitoring the discharge of industrial wastes into the
20 sewers of the sanitary district and the cost for enforcing
21 ordinances concerning that discharge. For the purpose of
22 recovering its costs, a sanitary district may establish
23 classes of persons regulated by its ordinances, establish
24 annual fees for the cost of administering the requirements of
25 its ordinances controlling the discharge of industrial
26 wastes, and establish specific charges for enforcement
27 activities resulting from noncompliance with its ordinances.
28 The costs to be recovered from any person shall be liens
29 against the property of the person when the costs become
30 delinquent as provided in the ordinances of the sanitary
31 district. The provision for asserting liens shall be in
32 addition to and not in derogation of any other means, in law
33 or equity, that the sanitary district may have in the
34 collection of costs imposed by the sanitary district.
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1 (Source: P.A. 90-354, eff. 8-8-97.)