(e) The Agency shall have the duty to investigate violations of this
Act, any rule or regulation adopted under this Act, any permit or
term or condition of a permit, or any Board order;
to issue administrative citations as provided in Section 31.1 of this
Act; and to take such summary enforcement action as is provided
for by Section 34 of this Act.
(f) The Agency shall appear before the Board in any hearing upon a
petition for variance or time-limited water quality standard, the denial of a permit, or the validity or effect
of a rule or regulation of the Board, and shall have the authority to
appear before the Board in any hearing under the Act.
(g) The Agency shall have the duty to administer, in accord with
Title X of this Act, such permit and certification systems as may be
established by this Act or by regulations adopted thereunder.
The Agency may enter into written delegation agreements with any department,
agency, or unit of State or local government under which all or portions
of this duty may be delegated for public water supply storage and transport
systems, sewage collection and transport systems, air pollution control
sources with uncontrolled emissions of 100 tons per year or less and
application of algicides to waters of the State. Such delegation
agreements will require that the work to be performed thereunder will be
in accordance with Agency criteria, subject to Agency review, and shall
include such financial and program auditing by the Agency as may be required.
(h) The Agency shall have authority to require the submission of
complete plans and specifications from any applicant for a permit
required by this Act or by regulations thereunder, and to require the
submission of such reports regarding actual or potential violations of
this Act, any rule or regulation adopted under this Act, any permit or
term or condition of a permit, or any Board order, as may be necessary for the purposes of
this Act.
(i) The Agency shall have authority to make recommendations to the
Board for the adoption of regulations under Title VII of the Act.
(j) The Agency shall have the duty to represent the State of
Illinois in any and all matters pertaining to plans, procedures, or
negotiations for interstate compacts or other governmental arrangements
relating to environmental protection.
(k) The Agency shall have the authority to accept, receive, and
administer on behalf of the State any grants, gifts, loans, indirect cost
reimbursements, or other funds made available to the State from any source
for purposes of this Act or for air or water pollution control, public water
supply, solid waste disposal, noise abatement, or other environmental
protection activities, surveys, or programs. Any federal funds received by the
Agency pursuant to this subsection shall be deposited in a trust fund with the
State Treasurer and held and disbursed by him in accordance with Treasurer as
Custodian of Funds Act, provided that such monies shall be used only for the
purposes for which they are contributed and any balance remaining shall be
returned to the contributor.
The Agency is authorized to promulgate such regulations and enter
into such contracts as it may deem necessary for carrying out the
provisions of this subsection.
(l) The Agency is hereby designated as water pollution agency for
the state for all purposes of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, as
amended; as implementing agency for the State for all purposes of the Safe
Drinking Water Act, Public Law 93-523, as now or hereafter amended, except
Section 1425 of that Act; as air pollution agency for the state for all
purposes of the Clean Air Act of 1970, Public Law 91-604, approved December 31,
1970, as amended; and as solid waste agency for the state for all purposes of
the Solid Waste Disposal Act, Public Law 89-272, approved October 20, 1965,
and amended by the Resource Recovery Act of 1970, Public Law 91-512, approved
October 26, 1970, as amended, and amended by the Resource Conservation and
Recovery Act of 1976, (P.L. 94-580) approved October 21, 1976, as amended; as
noise control agency for the state for all purposes of the Noise Control Act of
1972, Public Law 92-574, approved October 27, 1972, as amended; and as
implementing agency for the State for all purposes of the Comprehensive
Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (P.L. 96-510),
as amended; and otherwise as pollution control agency for the State pursuant
to federal laws integrated with the foregoing laws, for financing purposes or
otherwise. The Agency is hereby authorized to take all action necessary or
appropriate to secure to the State the benefits of such federal Acts, provided
that the Agency shall transmit to the United States without change any
standards adopted by the Pollution Control Board pursuant to Section 5(c) of
this Act. This subsection (l) of Section 4 shall not be construed to bar or
prohibit the Environmental Protection Trust Fund Commission from accepting,
receiving, and administering on behalf of the State any grants, gifts,
loans or other funds for which the Commission is eligible pursuant to the
Environmental Protection Trust Fund Act. The Agency is hereby designated as
the State agency for all purposes of administering the requirements of Section
313 of the federal Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act of 1986.
Any municipality, sanitary district, or other political subdivision,
or any Agency of the State or interstate Agency, which makes application
for loans or grants under such federal Acts shall notify the Agency of
such application; the Agency may participate in proceedings under such
federal Acts.
(m) The Agency shall have authority, consistent with Section 5(c)
and other provisions of this Act, and for purposes of Section 303(e) of
the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, as now or hereafter amended,
to engage in planning processes and activities and to develop
plans in cooperation with units of local government, state agencies and
officers, and other appropriate persons in connection with the
jurisdiction or duties of each such unit, agency, officer or person.
Public hearings shall be held on the planning process, at which any
person shall be permitted to appear and be heard, pursuant to procedural
regulations promulgated by the Agency.
(n) In accordance with the powers conferred upon the Agency by
Sections 10(g), 13(b), 19, 22(d) and 25 of this Act, the Agency shall
have authority to establish and enforce minimum standards for the
operation of laboratories relating to analyses and laboratory tests for
air pollution, water pollution, noise emissions, contaminant discharges
onto land and sanitary, chemical, and mineral quality of water
distributed by a public water supply. The Agency may enter into formal
working agreements with other departments or agencies of state
government under which all or portions of this authority may be
delegated to the cooperating department or agency.
(o) The Agency shall have the authority to issue certificates of
competency to persons and laboratories meeting the minimum standards
established by the Agency in accordance with Section 4(n) of this Act
and to promulgate and enforce regulations relevant to the issuance and
use of such certificates. The Agency may enter into formal working
agreements with other departments or agencies of state government under
which all or portions of this authority may be delegated to the
cooperating department or agency.
(p) Except as provided in Section 17.7, the Agency shall have the
duty to analyze samples as required
from each public water supply to determine compliance with the
contaminant levels specified by the Pollution Control Board. The maximum
number of samples which the Agency shall be required to analyze for
microbiological quality shall be 6 per month, but the Agency may, at its
option, analyze a larger number each month for any supply. Results of
sample analyses for additional required bacteriological testing,
turbidity, residual chlorine and radionuclides are to be provided to the
Agency in accordance with Section 19. Owners of water supplies may enter
into agreements with the Agency to provide for reduced Agency
participation in sample analyses.
(q) The Agency shall have the authority to provide notice to any
person who may be liable pursuant to Section 22.2(f) of this Act for a
release or a substantial threat of a release of a hazardous substance or
pesticide. Such notice shall include the identified response action and an
opportunity for such person to perform the response action.
(r) The Agency may enter into written delegation agreements with any
unit of local government under which it may delegate all or portions of its
inspecting, investigating and enforcement functions. Such delegation
agreements shall require that work performed thereunder be in accordance
with Agency criteria and subject to Agency review.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, no unit of
local government shall be liable for any injury resulting from the exercise
of its authority pursuant to such a delegation agreement unless the injury
is proximately caused by the willful and wanton negligence of an agent or
employee of the unit of local government, and any policy of insurance
coverage issued to a unit of local government may provide for the denial of
liability and the nonpayment of claims based upon injuries for which the unit
of local government is not liable pursuant to this subsection (r).
(s) The Agency shall have authority to take whatever preventive or
corrective action is necessary or appropriate, including but not limited to
expenditure of monies appropriated from the Build Illinois Bond Fund for removal or remedial action, whenever
any hazardous substance or pesticide is released or
there is a substantial threat of such a release into the environment. The
State, the Director, and any State employee shall be indemnified for any
damages or injury arising out of or resulting from any action taken under
this subsection. The Director of the Agency is authorized to enter into
such contracts and agreements as are necessary
to carry out the Agency's duties under this subsection.
(t) The Agency shall have authority to distribute grants, subject to
appropriation by the General Assembly, to units of local government for financing and construction of
wastewater facilities in both incorporated and unincorporated areas. With respect to all monies appropriated
from the Build Illinois Bond Fund for wastewater facility grants, the Agency shall make
distributions in conformity with the rules and regulations established
pursuant to the Anti-Pollution Bond Act, as now or hereafter amended.
(u) Pursuant to the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act, the
Agency shall have the authority to adopt such rules as are necessary or
appropriate for the Agency to implement Section 31.1 of this Act.
(v) (Blank.)
(w) Neither the State, nor the Director, nor the Board, nor any State
employee shall be liable for any damages or injury arising out of or
resulting from any action taken under subsection (s).
(x)(1) The Agency shall have authority to distribute grants, subject to
appropriation by the General Assembly, to units of local government for
financing and construction of public water supply facilities. With respect
to all monies appropriated from the Build Illinois Bond Fund for public water supply grants, such grants shall be
made in accordance with rules promulgated by the Agency.
Such rules shall include a requirement for a local match of 30% of the
total project cost for projects funded through such grants.
(2) The Agency shall not terminate a grant to a unit of local government
for the financing and construction of public water supply facilities unless
and until the Agency adopts rules that set forth precise and complete
standards, pursuant to Section 5-20 of the Illinois Administrative
Procedure Act, for the termination of such grants. The Agency shall not
make determinations on whether specific grant conditions are necessary to
ensure the integrity of a project or on whether subagreements shall be
awarded, with respect to grants for the financing and construction of
public water supply facilities, unless and until the Agency adopts rules
that set forth precise and complete standards, pursuant to Section 5-20
of the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act, for making such
determinations. The Agency shall not issue a stop-work order in relation to
such grants unless and until the Agency adopts precise and complete standards,
pursuant to Section 5-20 of the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act, for
determining whether to issue a stop-work order.
(y) The Agency shall have authority to release any person from further
responsibility for preventive or corrective action under this Act following
successful completion of preventive or corrective action undertaken by such
person upon written request by the person.
(z) To the extent permitted by any applicable federal law or regulation, for all work performed for State construction projects which are funded in whole or in part by a capital infrastructure bill enacted by the 96th General Assembly by sums appropriated to the Environmental Protection Agency, at least 50% of the total labor hours must be performed by actual residents of the State of Illinois. For purposes of this subsection, "actual residents of the State of Illinois" means persons domiciled in the State of Illinois. The Department of Labor shall promulgate rules providing for the enforcement of this subsection.
(aa) The Agency may adopt rules requiring the electronic submission of any information required to be submitted to the Agency pursuant to any State or federal law or regulation or any court or Board order. Any rules adopted under this subsection (aa) must include, but are not limited to, identification of the information to be submitted electronically.
(Source: P.A. 102-1071, eff. 6-10-22; 102-1115, eff. 1-9-23.)
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