Illinois General Assembly - Illinois Compiled Statutes

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415 ILCS 5/11

(415 ILCS 5/11) (from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 1011)

Sec. 11.

(a) The General Assembly finds:

(1) that pollution of the waters of this State constitutes a menace
to public health and welfare, creates public nuisances, is harmful to
wildlife, fish, and aquatic life, impairs domestic, agricultural,
industrial, recreational, and other legitimate beneficial uses of water,
depresses property values, and offends the senses;

(2) that the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, as now or hereafter amended,
provides for a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES)
to regulate the discharge of contaminants to the waters of the United States;

(3) that the Safe Drinking Water Act (P.L. 93-523), as amended, provides
for an Underground Injection Control (UIC) program to regulate the underground
injection of contaminants;

(4) that it would be inappropriate and misleading for the State of Illinois
to issue permits to contaminant sources subject to such federal law, as
well as State law, which do not contain such terms and conditions as are
required by federal law, or the issuance of which is contrary to federal law;

(5) that the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, as now or hereafter amended,
provides that NPDES permits shall be issued by the United States
Environmental Protection Agency unless (a) the State is authorized by and
under its law to establish and administer its own permit program for discharges
into waters within its jurisdiction, and (b) pursuant to such federal Act,
the Administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency approves
such State program to issue permits which will implement the provisions
of such federal Act;

(6) that Part C of the Safe Drinking Water Act (P.L. 93-523), as amended,
provides that the United States Environmental Protection Agency shall implement
the UIC program authorized therein unless (a) the State is authorized by
and under its law to establish and administer its own UIC program, and (b)
pursuant to such federal Act, the Administrator of the United States
Environmental Protection Agency approves such State program which will
implement the provisions of such federal Act;

(7) that it is in the interest of the People of the State of Illinois
for the State to authorize such NPDES and UIC programs and secure federal
approval thereof, and thereby to avoid the existence of duplicative,
overlapping or conflicting state and federal statutory permit systems;

(8) that the federal requirements for the securing of such
NPDES and UIC permit program approval, as set forth in the Federal Water
Pollution Control Act, as now or hereafter amended,
and in the Safe
Drinking Water Act (P.L. 93-523), as amended, respectively, and in regulations
promulgated by the Administrator of the United States Environmental Protection
Agency pursuant thereto are complex and detailed, and the General Assembly
cannot conveniently or advantageously set forth in this Act all the
requirements of such federal Act or all regulations which may be
established thereunder.

(b) It is the purpose of this Title to restore, maintain and enhance the
purity of the waters of this State in order to protect health, welfare,
property, and the quality of life, and to assure that no contaminants are
discharged into the waters of the State, as defined herein, including, but not
limited to, waters to any sewage works, or into any well, or from any source
within the State of Illinois, without being given the degree of treatment
or control necessary to prevent pollution, or without being made subject
to such conditions as are required to achieve and maintain compliance with
State and federal law; and to authorize, empower, and direct the Board to
adopt such regulations and the Agency to adopt such procedures as will enable
the State to secure federal approval to issue NPDES permits pursuant to
the provisions of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, as now or
hereafter amended, and federal regulations pursuant thereto and to
authorize, empower, and direct the Board to adopt such regulations and the
Agency to adopt such procedures as will enable the State to secure federal
approval of the State UIC program pursuant to the provisions of Part C of
the Safe Drinking Water Act (P.L. 93-523), as amended, and federal
regulations pursuant thereto.

(c) The provisions of this Act authorizing implementation of the regulations
pursuant to an NPDES program shall not be construed to limit, affect, impair,
or diminish the authority, duties and responsibilities of the Board, Agency,
Department or any other governmental agency or officer, or of any unit of local
government, to regulate and control pollution of any kind, to restore, to
protect or to enhance the quality of the environment, or to achieve all
other purposes, or to enforce provisions, set forth in this Act or other
State law or regulation.

(Source: P.A. 86-671.)