Section 734.715  Duty to Record a No Further Remediation Letter

a)         Except as provided in subsections (c) and (d) of this Section, an owner or operator receiving a No Further Remediation Letter from the Agency pursuant to this Subpart G must submit the letter, with a copy of any applicable institutional controls (as set forth in 35 Ill. Adm. Code 742, Subpart J) proposed as part of a corrective action completion report, to the office of the recorder or the registrar of titles of the county in which the site is located within 45 days after receipt of the letter.  The letter and any attachments must be filed in accordance with Illinois law so that they form a permanent part of the chain of title for the site.  Upon the lapse of the 45 day period for recording, pursuant to Section 734.720(a)(5) of this Part the Agency may void an unrecorded No Further Remediation Letter for failure to record it in a timely manner.

b)         Except as provided in subsections (c) and (d) of this Section, a No Further Remediation Letter must be perfected upon the date of the official recording of such letter.  The owner or operator must obtain and submit to the Agency, within 30 days after the official recording date, a certified or otherwise accurate and official copy of the letter and any attachments as recorded.  An unperfected No Further Remediation Letter is effective only as between the Agency and the owner or operator.

c)         For sites located in a highway authority right-of-way, the following requirements must apply:

1)         In order for the No Further Remediation Letter to be perfected, the highway authority with jurisdiction over the right-of-way must enter into a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the Agency.  The MOA must include, but is not limited to:

A)        The name of the site, if any, and any highway authority or Agency identifiers (e.g., incident number, Illinois inventory identification number);

B)        The address of the site (or other description sufficient to identify the location of the site with certainty);

C)        A copy of the No Further Remediation Letter for each site subject to the MOA;

D)        Procedures for tracking sites subject to the MOA so that all highway authority offices and personnel whose responsibilities (e.g., land acquisition, maintenance, construction, utility permits) may affect land use limitations will have notice of any environmental concerns and land use limitations applicable to a site;

E)        Provisions addressing future conveyances (including title or any lesser form of interest) or jurisdictional transfers of the site to any other agency, private person or entity and the steps that will be taken to ensure the long-term integrity of any land use limitations including, but not limited to, the following:

i)          Upon creation of a deed, the recording of the No Further Remediation Letter and any other land use limitations requiring recording under 35 Ill. Adm. Code 742, with copies of the recorded instruments sent to the Agency within 30 days after recording;

ii)         Any other arrangements necessary to ensure that property that is conveyed or transferred remains subject to any land use limitations approved and implemented as part of the corrective action plan and the No Further Remediation Letter; and

iii)        Notice to the Agency at least 60 days prior to any such intended conveyance or transfer indicating the mechanism(s) to be used to ensure that any land use limitations will be operated or maintained as required in the corrective action plan and No Further Remediation Letter; and

F)         Provisions for notifying the Agency if any actions taken by the highway authority or its permittees at the site result in the failure or inability to restore the site to meet the requirements of the corrective action plan and the No Further Remediation Letter.

2)         Failure to comply with the requirements of this subsection (c) may result in voidance of the No Further Remediation Letter pursuant to Section 734.720 of this Part as well as any other penalties that may be available.

d)         For sites located on Federally Owned Property for which the Federal Landholding Entity does not have the authority under federal law to record institutional controls on the chain of title, the following requirements must apply:

1)         To perfect a No Further Remediation Letter containing any restriction on future land use(s), the Federal Landholding Entity or Entities responsible for the site must enter into a Land Use Control Memorandum of Agreement (LUC MOA) with the Agency that requires the Federal Landholding Entity to do, at a minimum, the following:

A)        Identify the location on the Federally Owned Property of the site subject to the No Further Remediation Letter.  Such identification must be by means of common address, notations in any available facility master land use plan, site specific GIS or GPS coordinates, plat maps, or any other means that identify the site in question with particularity;

B)        Implement periodic site inspection procedures that ensure oversight by the Federal Landholding Entities of any land use limitations or restrictions imposed pursuant to the No Further Remediation Letter;

C)        Implement procedures for the Federal Landholding Entities to periodically advise the Agency of continued compliance with all maintenance and inspection requirements set forth in the LUC MOA;

D)        Implement procedures for the Federal Landholding Entities to notify the Agency of any planned or emergency changes in land use that may adversely impact land use limitations or restrictions imposed pursuant to the No Further Remediation Letter;

E)        Notify the Agency at least 60 days in advance of a conveyance by deed or fee simple title, by the Federal Landholding Entities, of the site or sites subject to the No Further Remediation Letter, to any entity that will not remain or become a Federal Landholding Entity, and provide the Agency with information about how the Federal Landholding Entities will ensure the No Further Remediation Letter is recorded on the chain of title upon transfer of the property; and

F)         Attach to the LUC MOA a copy of the No Further Remediation Letter for each site subject to the LUC MOA.

2)         To perfect a No Further Remediation letter containing no restriction(s) on future land use, the Federal Landholding Entity must submit the letter to the Office of the Recorder or the Registrar of Titles of the county in which the site is located within 45 days after receipt of the letter.  The letter must be filed in accordance with Illinois law so it forms a permanent part of the chain of title.  The Federal Landholding Entity must obtain and submit to the Agency, within 30 days after recording, a copy of the letter demonstrating that the recording requirements have been satisfied.

3)         Failure to comply with the requirements of this subsection (d) and the LUC MOA may result in voidance of the No Further Remediation Letter as well as any other penalties that may be available.

e)         At no time must any site for which a land use limitation has been imposed as a result of corrective action under this Part be used in a manner inconsistent with the land use limitation set forth in the No Further Remediation Letter.  The land use limitation specified in the No Further Remediation Letter may be revised only by the perfecting of a subsequent No Further Remediation Letter, issued pursuant to Title XVII of the Act and regulations thereunder, following further investigation or remediation that demonstrates the attainment of objectives appropriate for the new land use.