SB2081 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB097 10313 JDS 50521 b

97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2011 and 2012
SB2081

Introduced 2/10/2011, by Sen. Kirk W. Dillard

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

415 ILCS 5/12.5

Amends the Environmental Protection Act. Uses a portion of the NPDES fees collected by the Environmental Protection Agency to finance clean water projects recommended by the DuPage River Salt Creek Workgroup (DRSCW). Requires all projects receiving grants from the Agency to be recommended by the DRSWC, in accordance with a project prioritization process and annual prioritized projects list. Establishes requirements for eligible projects. Establishes requirements for an organization to be certified as a Certified Local Watershed Organization (CLWO). Requires the Agency to adopt rules to implement these requirements. Creates the Illinois Local Watershed Fund as a special fund in the State treasury.

FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

A BILL FOR

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 12.5 as follows:

(415 ILCS 5/12.5)

Sec. 12.5. NPDES discharge fees; sludge permit fees.

(a) Beginning July 1, 2003, the Agency shall assess and collect annual fees (i) in the amounts set forth in subsection (e) for all discharges that require an NPDES permit under subsection (f) of Section 12, from each person holding an NPDES permit authorizing those discharges (including a person who continues to discharge under an expired permit pending renewal), and (ii) in the amounts set forth in subsection (f) of this Section for all activities that require a permit under subsection (b) of Section 12, from each person holding a domestic sewage sludge generator or user permit.

Each person subject to this Section must remit the applicable annual fee to the Agency in accordance with the requirements set forth in this Section and any rules adopted pursuant to this Section.

(b) Within 30 days after the effective date of this Section, and each year thereafter, except when a fee is not due because of the operation of subsection (c), the Agency shall send a fee notice by mail to each existing permittee subject to a fee under this Section at his or her address of record. The notice shall state the amount of the applicable annual fee and the date by which payment is required.

Except as provided in subsection (c) with respect to initial fees under new permits and certain modifications of existing permits, fees payable under this Section are due by the date specified in the fee notice, which shall be no less than 30 days after the date the fee notice is mailed by the Agency.

(c) The initial annual fee for discharges under a new NPDES permit or for activity under a new sludge generator or sludge user permit must be remitted to the Agency prior to the issuance of the permit. The Agency shall provide notice of the amount of the fee to the applicant during its review of the application. In the case of a new NPDES or sludge permit issued during the months of January through June, the Agency may prorate the initial annual fee payable under this Section.

The initial annual fee for discharges or other activity under a general NPDES permit must be remitted to the Agency as part of the application for coverage under that general permit.

Beginning January 1, 2010, in the case of construction site storm water discharges for which a coverage letter under a general NPDES permit or individual NPDES permit has been issued or for which the application for coverage under an NPDES permit has been filed with the Agency, no annual fee shall be due after payment of an initial annual fee in the amount provided in subsection (e)(10) of this Section.

If a requested modification to an existing NPDES permit causes a change in the applicable fee categories under subsection (e) that results in an increase in the required fee, the permittee must pay to the Agency the amount of the increase, prorated for the number of months remaining before the next July 1, before the modification is granted.

(d) Failure to submit the fee required under this Section by the due date constitutes a violation of this Section. Late payments shall incur an interest penalty, calculated at the rate in effect from time to time for tax delinquencies under subsection (a) of Section 1003 of the Illinois Income Tax Act, from the date the fee is due until the date the fee payment is received by the Agency.

(e) The annual fees applicable to discharges under NPDES permits are as follows:

(1) For NPDES permits for publicly owned treatment works, other facilities for which the wastewater being treated and discharged is primarily domestic sewage, and wastewater discharges from the operation of public water supply treatment facilities, the fee is:

(i) $1,500 for the 12 months beginning July 1, 2003 and $500 for each subsequent year, for facilities with a Design Average Flow rate of less than 100,000 gallons per day;

(ii) $5,000 for the 12 months beginning July 1, 2003 and $2,500 for each subsequent year, for facilities with a Design Average Flow rate of at least 100,000 gallons per day but less than 500,000 gallons per day;

(iii) $7,500 for facilities with a Design Average Flow rate of at least 500,000 gallons per day but less than 1,000,000 gallons per day;

(iv) $15,000 for facilities with a Design Average Flow rate of at least 1,000,000 gallons per day but less than 5,000,000 gallons per day;

(v) $30,000 for facilities with a Design Average Flow rate of at least 5,000,000 gallons per day but less than 10,000,000 gallons per day; and

(vi) $50,000 for facilities with a Design Average Flow rate of 10,000,000 gallons per day or more.

(2) For NPDES permits for treatment works or sewer collection systems that include combined sewer overflow outfalls, the fee is:

(i) $1,000 for systems serving a tributary population of 10,000 or less;

(ii) $5,000 for systems serving a tributary population that is greater than 10,000 but not more than 25,000; and

(iii) $20,000 for systems serving a tributary population that is greater than 25,000.

The fee amounts in this subdivision (e)(2) are in addition to the fees stated in subdivision (e)(1) when the combined sewer overflow outfall is contained within a permit subject to subsection (e)(1) fees.

(3) For NPDES permits for mines producing coal, the fee is $5,000.

(4) For NPDES permits for mines other than mines producing coal, the fee is $5,000.

(5) For NPDES permits for industrial activity where toxic substances are not regulated, other than permits covered under subdivision (e)(3) or (e)(4), the fee is:

(i) $1,000 for a facility with a Design Average Flow rate that is not more than 10,000 gallons per day;

(ii) $2,500 for a facility with a Design Average Flow rate that is more than 10,000 gallons per day but not more than 100,000 gallons per day; and

(iii) $10,000 for a facility with a Design Average Flow rate that is more than 100,000 gallons per day.

(6) For NPDES permits for industrial activity where toxic substances are regulated, other than permits covered under subdivision (e)(3) or (e)(4), the fee is:

(i) $15,000 for a facility with a Design Average Flow rate that is not more than 250,000 gallons per day; and

(ii) $20,000 for a facility with a Design Average Flow rate that is more than 250,000 gallons per day.

(7) For NPDES permits for industrial activity classified by USEPA as a major discharge, other than permits covered under subdivision (e)(3) or (e)(4), the fee is:

(i) $30,000 for a facility where toxic substances are not regulated; and

(ii) $50,000 for a facility where toxic substances are regulated.

(8) For NPDES permits for municipal separate storm sewer systems, the fee is $1,000.

(9) For NPDES permits for industrial storm water, the fee is $500.

(10) for NPDES permits for construction site storm water, the fee

(A) for applications received before January 1, 2010 is $500;

(B) for applications received on or after January 1, 2010 is:

(i) $250 if less than 5 acres are disturbed; and

(ii) $750 if 5 or more acres are disturbed.

(f) The annual fee for activities under a permit that authorizes applying sludge on land is $2,500 for a sludge generator permit and $5,000 for a sludge user permit.

(g) More than one of the annual fees specified in subsections (e) and (f) may be applicable to a permit holder. These fees are in addition to any other fees required under this Act.

(h) The fees imposed under this Section do not apply to the State or any department or agency of the State, nor to any school district, or to any private sewage disposal system as defined in the Private Sewage Disposal Licensing Act (225 ILCS 225/).

(i) The Agency may adopt rules to administer the fee program established in this Section. The Agency may include provisions pertaining to invoices, notice of late payment, refunds, and disputes concerning the amount or timeliness of payment. The Agency may set forth procedures and criteria for the acceptance of payments. The absence of such rules does not affect the duty of the Agency to immediately begin the assessment and collection of fees under this Section.

(j) All fees and interest penalties collected by the Agency under this Section shall be deposited into the Illinois Clean Water Fund, which is hereby created as a special fund in the State treasury. Gifts, supplemental environmental project funds, and grants may be deposited into the Fund. Investment earnings on moneys held in the Fund shall be credited to the Fund.

Subject to appropriation, the moneys in the Fund shall be used by the Agency to carry out the Agency's clean water activities.

(k) Except as provided in subsection (l) or Agency rules, fees paid to the Agency under this Section are not refundable.

(l) The Agency may refund the difference between (a) the amount paid by any person under subsection (e)(1)(i) or (e)(1)(ii) of this Section for the 12 months beginning July 1, 2004 and (b) the amount due under subsection (e)(1)(i) or (e)(1)(ii) as established by this amendatory Act of the 93rd General Assembly.

(m) A pilot grant program is hereby established to determine the effectiveness of local watershed management to improve the quality of local streams.

(1) All NPDES permit fees paid each year under Sections (e)(l),(e)(2),(e)(8),(e)(9) and (f) above for NPDES permit facilities which are owned by a municipality, county, sanitary District or other public agency and which are also tributary to the watersheds of the East Branch of the DuPage River, West Branch of the DuPage River and Salt Creek shall be directed into a grant program to be awarded by the Agency for projects recommended by the DuPage River Salt Creek Workgroup (DRSCW) to improve those three watersheds. The Agency shall provide the DRSCW with a list of the NPDES permit fees described under this section each year after these fees are invoiced and, 60 days following receipt of said list, the DRSCW shall notify the Agency of the NPDES facilities and fees which are tributary to the DRSCW watersheds and, therefore subject to this pilot grant program. The location of the point of discharge into the receiving stream shall determine the tributary watershed for those NPDES permit facilities having one point of discharge. For those NPDES permit facilities having more than one point of discharge, such as a municipal storm water system, the tributary watershed shall be the watershed that receives the majority of the permitted flow.

(2) The recommendation of the DRSCW shall be required for such projects as long as the DRSCW is certified by the Agency as a Certified Local Watershed Organization (CLWO) as provided herein. The funds directed into the grant program shall only be used for the purposes designated herein. If the DRSCW fails to maintain designation as a CLWO for any year, the funds in the grant program for that year may be utilized for other clean water purposes, as determined by the Agency. If the total cost of all projects recommended by the DRSCW for any year is less than the funds available in the grant program, all such remaining funds in the grant program for that year shall be carried over to the next year.

(3) All projects receiving grants from the Agency must be recommended by the DRSCW, in accordance with a project prioritization process and annual prioritized projects list. Persons desiring to obtain a grant for a DRSCW recommended project must submit an application to the Agency and DRSCW, with a commitment to provide at least a 40% project match. All grants shall be in the amount of 60% of eligible project costs, although the Agency and DRSCW can mutually agree to a lower grant participation percentage, and a corresponding higher local match, for any year based on project applications received. The DRSCW may submit applications for projects and DRSCW member dues may be used to satisfy the local match requirement for said projects. Funds from other grant programs, including Section 319 grant funds, may be used to meet the local match requirement for this program.

(4) Eligible projects must improve stream quality by enhancing habitat, reducing stream bank erosion, providing protective riparian areas, implementing green infrastructure or best management practices (BMPs) and other appropriate means.

(5) In order to receive designation as a CLWO from the Agency, a local watershed organization must submit documentation of the following items to the Agency by January 15 of each year:

(i) most recent audit report, if applicable;

(ii) most recent U.S. income tax return;

(iii) most recent Illinois income tax return;

(iv) notification of tax exempt status from the U.S. Internal Revenue Service;

(v) registration with the Illinois Secretary of State;

(vi) most recent annual report filed with the Illinois Secretary of State;

(vii) bylaws which require that all officers of the organization must be an employee or officer of a public agency holding an NPDES permit for a discharge from a publicly owned treatment works or from a public separate storm sewer system;

(viii) a map depicting the watershed(s) for which the CLWO designation is requested;

(ix) a diverse membership representing a cross-section of stakeholders within the watershed;

(x) a process to develop consensus on group activities;

(xi) stable and ongoing revenues to fund group activities;

(xii) a stream monitoring program appropriate to the watershed and adequate to identify and prioritize stream improvement projects and to evaluate the effectiveness of implemented projects;

(xiii) a process to identify and prioritize stream improvement projects;

(xiv) an annual prioritized list of stream improvement projects and

(xv) an application fee of $1,500.00.

The Agency may request additional information and conduct such inquiries as it deems appropriate. If the Agency has not issued a written denial of a request for CLWO designation by April 15, then the CLWO designation is considered approved for that year. The Agency may deny CLWO designation to an organization that does not meet the above requirements. The Agency shall only approve one CLWO designation for a watershed.

(6) The Agency shall adopt rules, within 18 months, to establish the grant program. The Agency shall utilize interim procedures to award project grants pending the adoption of final rules.

(7) At the completion of the first five years of the pilot grant program, and every five years thereafter, the DRSCW shall prepare and submit to the Agency a report detailing all projects completed under the program, including the amounts of grant funding and local matching funding and an assessment of the improvements to the quality of each of the three watersheds within the DRSCW.

(8) All fees collected by the Agency under this Section shall be deposited into the Illinois Local Watershed Fund, which is hereby created as a special fund in the State treasury. Investment earnings on moneys held in the Fund shall be credited to the Fund.

(Source: P.A. 95-516, eff. 8-28-07; 96-245, eff. 8-11-09.)