Public Act 103-0801
 
HB3046 EnrolledLRB103 29657 CPF 56059 b

    AN ACT concerning safety.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 5. The Environmental Protection Act is amended by
changing Section 12 and by adding Sections 12.7 and 14.8 as
follows:
 
    (415 ILCS 5/12)  (from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 1012)
    Sec. 12. Actions prohibited. No person shall:
    (a) Cause or threaten or allow the discharge of any
contaminants into the environment in any State so as to cause
or tend to cause water pollution in Illinois, either alone or
in combination with matter from other sources, or so as to
violate regulations or standards adopted by the Pollution
Control Board under this Act. Notwithstanding any provision of
law to the contrary, compliance with the terms and conditions
of a permit issued under Section 39(b) of the Act for a permit
that authorizes reuse of wastewater for irrigation shall be
deemed compliance with this subsection.
    (b) Construct, install, or operate any equipment,
facility, vessel, or aircraft capable of causing or
contributing to water pollution, or designed to prevent water
pollution, of any type designated by Board regulations,
without a permit granted by the Agency, or in violation of any
conditions imposed by such permit.
    (c) Increase the quantity or strength of any discharge of
contaminants into the waters, or construct or install any
sewer or sewage treatment facility or any new outlet for
contaminants into the waters of this State, without a permit
granted by the Agency.
    (d) Deposit any contaminants upon the land in such place
and manner so as to create a water pollution hazard.
    (e) Sell, offer, or use any article in any area in which
the Board has by regulation forbidden its sale, offer, or use
for reasons of water pollution control.
    (f) Cause, threaten or allow the discharge of any
contaminant 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 point source within the State,
without an NPDES permit for point source discharges issued by
the Agency under Section 39(b) of this Act, or in violation of
any term or condition imposed by such permit, or in violation
of any NPDES permit filing requirement established under
Section 39(b), or in violation of any regulations adopted by
the Board or of any order adopted by the Board with respect to
the NPDES program.
    No permit shall be required under this subsection and
under Section 39(b) of this Act for any discharge for which a
permit is not required under the Federal Water Pollution
Control Act, as now or hereafter amended, and regulations
pursuant thereto.
    For all purposes of this Act, a permit issued by the
Administrator of the United States Environmental Protection
Agency under Section 402 of the Federal Water Pollution
Control Act, as now or hereafter amended, shall be deemed to be
a permit issued by the Agency pursuant to Section 39(b) of this
Act. However, this shall not apply to the exclusion from the
requirement of an operating permit provided under Section
13(b)(i).
    Compliance with the terms and conditions of any permit
issued under Section 39(b) of this Act shall be deemed
compliance with this subsection except that it shall not be
deemed compliance with any standard or effluent limitation
imposed for a toxic pollutant injurious to human health.
    In any case where a permit has been timely applied for
pursuant to Section 39(b) of this Act but final administrative
disposition of such application has not been made, it shall
not be a violation of this subsection to discharge without
such permit unless the complainant proves that final
administrative disposition has not been made because of the
failure of the applicant to furnish information reasonably
required or requested in order to process the application.
    (g) Cause, threaten or allow the underground injection of
contaminants without a UIC permit issued by the Agency under
Section 39(d) of this Act, or in violation of any term or
condition imposed by such permit, or in violation of any
regulations or standards adopted by the Board or of any order
adopted by the Board with respect to the UIC program.
    No permit shall be required under this subsection and
under Section 39(d) of this Act for any underground injection
of contaminants for which a permit is not required under Part C
of the Safe Drinking Water Act (P.L. 93-523), as amended,
unless a permit is authorized or required under regulations
adopted by the Board pursuant to Section 13 of this Act.
    (h) Introduce contaminants into a sewage works from any
nondomestic source except in compliance with the regulations
and standards adopted by the Board under this Act.
    (i) Beginning January 1, 2013 or 6 months after the date of
issuance of a general NPDES permit for surface discharging
private sewage disposal systems by the Illinois Environmental
Protection Agency or by the United States Environmental
Protection Agency, whichever is later, construct or install a
surface discharging private sewage disposal system that
discharges into the waters of the United States, as that term
is used in the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, unless he
or she has a coverage letter under a NPDES permit issued by the
Illinois Environmental Protection Agency or by the United
States Environmental Protection Agency or he or she is
constructing or installing the surface discharging private
sewage disposal system in a jurisdiction in which the local
public health department has a general NPDES permit issued by
the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency or by the United
States Environmental Protection Agency and the surface
discharging private sewage disposal system is covered under
the general NPDES permit.
(Source: P.A. 96-801, eff. 1-1-10; 97-1081, eff. 8-24-12.)
 
    (415 ILCS 5/12.7 new)
    Sec. 12.7. Wastewater reuse. Notwithstanding any other
provision of law, the use of treated municipal wastewater from
a publicly owned treatment works is authorized for irrigation
when conducted in accordance with a permit issued under
Section 39(b) of the Act.
 
    (415 ILCS 5/14.8 new)
    Sec. 14.8. Recycled sewage treatment plant effluent reuse.
The Agency may propose and the Board shall adopt:
        (1) amendments to the Board's primary drinking water
    standards that will repeal the prohibition on the use of
    recycled sewage treatment plant effluent set forth in
    subsection (c) of 35 Ill. Adm. Code 611.231 and that will
    make any other revisions to those rules that are necessary
    to facilitate water reuse in the State; and
        (2) rules establishing programs for direct potable
    reuse of treated wastewater, including rules establishing
    permitting standards and a permit application process.

Effective Date: 1/1/2025