415 ILCS 5/ Environmental Protection Act.

(415 ILCS 5/32) (from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 1032)

Sec. 32. All hearings under this Title shall be held before a qualified hearing officer, who may be attended by at least one member of the Board, designated by the Chairman. All such hearings shall be open to the public, and any person may submit written statements to the Board in connection with the subject thereof. In addition, the Board may permit any person to offer oral testimony.

Any party to a hearing under this subsection may be represented by counsel, may make oral or written argument, offer testimony, cross-examine witnesses, or take any combination of such actions. All testimony taken before the Board shall be recorded stenographically. The transcript so recorded, and any additional matter accepted for the record, shall be open to public inspection, and copies thereof shall be made available to any person upon payment of the actual cost of reproducing the original.

(Source: P.A. 76-2429.)

(415 ILCS 5/33) (from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 1033)

Sec. 33. Board orders.

(a) After due consideration of the written and oral statements, the testimony and arguments that shall be submitted at the hearing, or upon default in appearance of the respondent on return day specified in the notice, the Board shall issue and enter such final order, or make such final determination, as it shall deem appropriate under the circumstances. It shall not be a defense to findings of violations of the provisions of this Act, any rule or regulation adopted under this Act, any permit or term or condition of a permit, or any Board order, or a bar to the assessment of civil penalties that the person has come into compliance subsequent to the violation, except where such action is barred by any applicable State or federal statute of limitation. In all such matters the Board shall file and publish a written opinion stating the facts and reasons leading to its decision. The Board shall immediately notify the respondent of such order in writing by registered mail.

(b) Such order may include a direction to cease and desist from 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, and/or the imposition by the Board of civil penalties in accord with Section 42 of this Act. The Board may also revoke the permit as a penalty for violation. If such order includes a reasonable delay during which to correct a violation, the Board may require the posting of sufficient performance bond or other security to assure the correction of such violation within the time prescribed.

(c) In making its orders and determinations, the Board shall take into consideration all the facts and circumstances bearing upon the reasonableness of the emissions, discharges or deposits involved including, but not limited to:

(i) the character and degree of injury to, or interference with the protection of the health, general welfare and physical property of the people;

(ii) the social and economic value of the pollution source;

(iii) the suitability or unsuitability of the pollution source to the area in which it is located, including the question of priority of location in the area involved;

(iv) the technical practicability and economic reasonableness of reducing or eliminating the emissions, discharges or deposits resulting from such pollution source; and

(v) any subsequent compliance.

Whenever a proceeding before the Board may affect the right of the public individually or collectively to the use of community sewer or water facilities provided by a municipally owned or publicly regulated company, the Board shall at least 30 days prior to the scheduled date of the first hearing in such proceeding, give notice of the date, time, place, and purpose of such hearing by public advertisement in a newspaper of general circulation in the area of the State concerned. The Board shall conduct a full and complete hearing into the social and economic impact which would result from restriction or denial of the right to use such facilities and allow all persons claiming an interest to intervene as parties and present evidence of such social and economic impact.

(d) All orders issued and entered by the Board pursuant to this Section shall be enforceable by injunction, mandamus, or other appropriate remedy, in accordance with Section 42 of this Act.

(Source: P.A. 93-152, eff. 7-10-03.)

(415 ILCS 5/34) (from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 1034)

Sec. 34. (a) Upon a finding that episode or emergency conditions specified in Board regulations exist, the Agency shall declare such alerts or emergencies as provided by those regulations. While such an alert or emergency is in effect, the Agency may seal any equipment, vehicle, vessel, aircraft, or other facility operated in violation of such regulations.

(b) In cases other than those identified in subsection (a) of this Section:

(1) At any pollution control facility where the Agency finds that an emergency condition exists creating an immediate danger to public health or welfare or the environment, the Agency may seal any equipment, vehicle, vessel, aircraft, or other facility contributing to the emergency condition; and

(2) At any other site or facility where the Agency finds that an imminent and substantial endangerment to the public health or welfare or the environment exists, the Agency may seal any equipment, vehicle, vessel, aircraft, or other facility contributing to the imminent and substantial endangerment.

(c) It shall be a Class A misdemeanor to break any seal affixed under this section, or to operate any sealed equipment, vehicle, vessel, aircraft, or other facility until the seal is removed according to law.

(d) The owner or operator of any equipment, vehicle, vessel, aircraft or other facility sealed pursuant to this section is entitled to a hearing in accord with Section 32 of this Act to determine whether the seal should be removed; except that in such hearing at least one Board member shall be present, and those Board members present may render a final decision without regard to the requirements of paragraph (a) of Section 5 of this Act. The petitioner may also seek immediate injunctive relief.

(Source: P.A. 94-272, eff. 7-19-05.)

(415 ILCS 5/Tit. IX heading) TITLE IX: VARIANCES AND TIME-LIMITED WATER QUALITY STANDARDS (Source: P.A. 99-937, eff. 2-24-17.)

(415 ILCS 5/35) (from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 1035)

Sec. 35. Variances; general provisions. To the extent consistent with applicable provisions of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, as now or hereafter amended, the Federal Safe Drinking Water Act (P.L. 93-523), as now or hereafter amended, the Clean Air Act as amended in 1977 (P.L. 95-95), and regulations pursuant thereto, and to the extent consistent with applicable provisions of the Federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976 (P.L. 94-580), and regulations pursuant thereto:

(a) The Board may grant individual variances beyond the limitations prescribed in this Act, whenever it is found, upon presentation of adequate proof, that compliance with any rule or regulation, requirement or order of the Board would impose an arbitrary or unreasonable hardship. However, the Board is not required to find that an arbitrary or unreasonable hardship exists exclusively because the regulatory standard is under review and the costs of compliance are substantial and certain. In granting or denying a variance the Board shall file and publish a written opinion stating the facts and reasons leading to its decision.

(b) The Agency shall grant provisional variances whenever it is found, upon presentation of adequate proof, that compliance on a short term basis with any rule or regulation, requirement or order of the Board, or with any permit requirement, would impose an arbitrary or unreasonable hardship.

(Source: P.A. 93-152, eff. 7-10-03.)

(415 ILCS 5/36) (from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 1036)

Sec. 36. Variances and provisional variances.

(a) In granting a variance the Board may impose such conditions as the policies of this Act may require. If the hardship complained of consists solely of the need for a reasonable delay in which to correct a violation of this Act or of the Board regulations, the Board shall condition the grant of such variance upon the posting of sufficient performance bond or other security to assure the completion of the work covered by the variance. The Board shall have no authority to delegate to the Agency its powers to require such performance bond. The original amount of such performance bond shall not exceed the reasonable cost of the work to be completed pursuant to the variance. The obligation under such bond shall at no time exceed the reasonable cost of work remaining pursuant to the variance.

(b) Except as provided by Section 38 of this Act, any variance granted pursuant to the provisions of this Section shall be granted for such period of time, not exceeding five years, as shall be specified by the Board at the time of the grant of such variance, and upon the condition that the person who receives such variance shall make such periodic progress reports as the Board shall specify. Such variance may be extended from year to year by affirmative action of the Board, but only if satisfactory progress has been shown.

(c) Any provisional variance granted by the Agency pursuant to subsection (b) of Section 35 shall be for a period of time not to exceed 45 days. A provisional variance may be extended up to an additional 45 days by written decision of the Agency. The provisional variances granted to any one person shall not exceed a total of 90 days during any calendar year.

(Source: P.A. 93-152, eff. 7-10-03.)