70 ILCS 2405/26

(70 ILCS 2405/26) (from Ch. 42, par. 317h)

Sec. 26. (1) The terms used in this Section are defined as follows:

The term "Board of Trustees" means the Board of Trustees of a sanitary district organized under this Act.

The term "District Director" means the chief administrative officer of such sanitary district.

The term "Waters" means all accumulations of water, surface and underground, natural and artificial, public and private, or parts thereof, which are wholly or partially within, or flow through, the territorial boundaries of such sanitary district.

The term "Wastewater" means the combination of liquid and water-carried wastes from residences, commercial buildings, industrial plants and institutions, including polluted cooling water.

The term "Sanitary Wastewater" means the combination of liquid and water-carried wastes discharged from toilet and other sanitary plumbing facilities.

The term "Industrial Wastewater" means a combination of liquid and water-carried waste, discharged from any industrial establishment and resulting from any trade or process carried on in that establishment including the wastewater from pretreatment facilities and polluted cooling water.

The term "Combined Wastewater" means wastewater including sanitary wastewater, industrial wastewater, storm water, infiltration and inflow carried to the sewage treatment plant by a sewer.

The term "Pollutant" means any dredged spoil, solid waste, incinerator residue, sewage, garbage, sewage sludge, munitions, chemical wastes, biological materials, radioactive materials, heat, wrecked or discharged equipment, rock, sand, cellar dirt and industrial, municipal, and agricultural waste discharged into any waters as will or is likely to create a nuisance or render such waters harmful or detrimental or injurious to public health, safety or welfare, or to domestic, commercial, industrial, agricultural, recreational, or other legitimate uses, or to livestock, wild animals, birds, fish, or other aquatic life, or causes or may cause interference with the operation of the sanitary district sewage treatment plant.

The term "Interference" means an inhibition or disruption of the sanitary district's sewage treatment plant, its treatment processes or operations, or its sludge processes, use or disposal which is a cause of or significantly contributes to either a violation of any requirement of the sewage treatment work's ability to discharge to the waters of the State of Illinois or to the prevention of sewage sludge use or disposal by the sewage treatment work in accordance with the applicable statutory and regulatory provisions.

The term "Person" means any and all persons, natural or artificial, including any individual, firm or association, and any unit of local government or private corporation organized or existing under the laws of this or any other state or country.

(2) The sanitary district, acting through the District Director, may study, investigate and from time to time determine ways and means of removing from the water within such sanitary district so far as is practicable, all pollutants in accordance with Federal and State statutes and applicable regulations, and to determine methods of abating such pollutants that are detrimental to public health or to animals, fish or aquatic life, or detrimental to the practicable use of the waters for purposes of recreation, industry or agriculture, or which interfere or might interfere with the operation of such sanitary district's sewage treatment plant.

(3) The sanitary district may by ordinance provide that no user who is planning to discharge into any waters, pollutants or wastewater which may cause the pollution of such waters within such sanitary district, may make such discharge unless a written permit or permits for such discharge have been granted by the sanitary district acting through its Board of Trustees. The sanitary district may by ordinance provide that no changes in or additions to a user's discharge into any waters, including changes in or additions to the method of treating of wastewater or pollutants, may be made within such sanitary district unless and until the proposed changes have been submitted to and approved by the sanitary district and a permit or permits have been issued therefor by the Board of Trustees.

(4) Plans and specifications describing any discharges set forth in this Act shall be submitted to the sanitary district before a written permit or permits may be issued. Construction of any facilities required by such plans and specifications must be in accordance with such plans and specifications. In case it is necessary or desirable to make material changes in said plans or specifications, the revised plans or specifications, together with the reasons for the proposed changes must be submitted to the sanitary district for a revised or supplemental written permit.

(5) The sanitary district, acting through the District Director, may require any user, other than a user discharging only domestic strength waste, which is discharging to the sanitary district, to file with it complete plans of the whole or of any part of its wastewater discharge system and any other information and records concerning the installation and operation of such system.

(6) The sanitary district, acting through the District Director, may establish procedures for the review of any plans, specifications or other data relative to any user's wastewater discharge system, for which this Act requires a written permit or permits.

(7) The sanitary district, acting through the District Director, may adopt and enforce rules and regulations governing the issuance of permits and the method and manner under which plans, specifications, or other data relative thereto must be submitted for such wastewater discharge systems or for additions to, changes in or extensions of such wastewater discharge systems.

(8) Whenever the sanitary district, acting through the District Director, determines that wastewater or pollutants are being discharged into any waters and when, in the opinion of the District Director, such discharge pollutes the same or renders such waters incapable of use for the purposes stated herein, the District Director may by conference, conciliation and persuasion, endeavor to the fullest extent possible to eliminate such discharge or cause such discharger to cease such pollution. The District Director shall not hold more than one such conference for any single user in any consecutive 12 month period before calling for a Show Cause Hearing as set forth herein. In addition, nothing in this Section shall prohibit the Director, upon discovery of an ongoing or potential discharge of pollutants to the sewage treatment works which reasonably appears to present an imminent danger to the health or welfare of persons, from seeking and obtaining from the Circuit Court of the county in which the sanitary district is located a Temporary Restraining Order to halt or prohibit such discharge or from proceeding under any other provision of this Act; and provided further, that where the Director discovers an ongoing or potential discharge to its sewage treatment works which presents or may present a danger to the environment or which threatens to interfere or interferes with the operation of its treatment works, he may call a Show Cause Hearing as set forth herein without the requirement for such process of conference, conciliation and persuasion.

In the case of the failure by conference, conciliation and persuasion to correct or remedy any claimed violation, the District Director may order whoever causes such discharge to show cause before the Board of Trustees of such sanitary district why such discharge should not be discontinued. A notice may be served on the offending party directing him or it to show cause before such Board of Trustees why an Order should not be entered directing the discontinuance of such discharge. Such notice shall specify the time and place where a hearing will be held and shall be served personally or by registered or certified mail at least 5 days before the hearing; and in the case of a unit of local government or a corporation, such service shall be upon an officer or agent thereof. After reviewing the evidence, the Board of Trustees may issue an order to the party responsible for such discharge, directing that the user responsible shall cease such discharge immediately or that following a specified time such discharge shall cease or the discharge permit or permits previously issued to such discharger shall be revoked immediately or after a time certain, or shall issue such other order as may serve to abate said discharge. If the party fails to cease such discharge in accordance with the Board's Order, the sanitary district may disconnect such discharge on Order of the Board of Trustees.

(9) Any permit authorized and issued under the provisions of this Act may, when necessary, in the opinion of the District Director, to prevent pollution of such waters, be revoked or modified by the Board of Trustees after investigation, notice and hearing as provided in paragraph (8) of this Section.

(10) A violation of an order of the Board of Trustees shall be considered a nuisance. If any person discharges sewage or industrial wastes or other wastes into any waters contrary to the orders of the Board of Trustees, the sanitary district, acting through the District Director, has the power to commence an action or proceeding in the Circuit Court in and for the county in which such sanitary district is located for the purpose of having the discharge stopped either by mandamus or injunction.

The Court shall specify a time, not exceeding 20 days after the service of the copy of the Petition, in which the party complained of must answer the Petition, and in the meantime, the party may be restrained. In case of default in answer or after answer, the Court shall immediately inquire into the facts and circumstances of the case and enter any appropriate judgment order in respect to the matters complained of. An appeal may be taken from the final judgment in the same manner and with the same effect as appeals are taken from judgments of the Circuit Court in other actions for mandamus or injunction.

(11) The Board of Trustees or any member thereof, or any officer or employee designated by such Board, may conduct the hearing and take the evidence provided for in paragraph (8) of this Section, and transmit a report of the evidence and hearing, together with recommendations, to the Board of Trustees for action thereon.

At any public hearing, testimony must be taken under oath and recorded stenographically. The transcript so recorded must be made available to any member of the public or any party to the hearing upon payment of the usual charges therefor.

In any such hearing, the Board, or the designated member or members, or any officer or employee of the District designated by the Board, may subpoena and compel the attendance of witnesses and the production of evidence reasonably necessary to the resolution of the matter under consideration. The Board, or the designated member or members, or any officer or employee of the District designated by the Board, shall issue such subpoenas upon the request of any party to a Show Cause Hearing under paragraph (8) of this Section or upon its own Motion, and may examine witnesses.

(12) The provisions of the Administrative Review Law, and the rules adopted pursuant thereto, apply to and govern all proceedings for the judicial review of final administrative decisions of the Board of Trustees hereunder. The term "administrative decision" is defined as in Section 3-101 of the Code of Civil Procedure.

(13) Whoever violates any provisions of this Act or fails to comply with an order of the Board of Trustees in accordance with the provisions of this Act shall be fined not less than $100 nor more than $1,000. Each day's continuance of such violation or failure is a separate offense. The penalties provided in this Section plus reasonable attorney's fees, court costs and other expenses of litigation are recoverable by the sanitary district upon its suit, as debts are recoverable at law.

(Source: P.A. 90-655, eff. 7-30-98.)