Statutes > Illinois Statutes > CHAPTER 415 ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY > 415 ILCS 5/ Environmental Protection Act. > Title V - Land Pollution and Refuse Disposal

Title V - Land Pollution and Refuse Disposal


      (415 ILCS 5/Tit. V heading)
TITLE V: LAND POLLUTION AND REFUSE DISPOSAL

    (415 ILCS 5/20) (from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 1020)
    Sec. 20. (a) The General Assembly finds:
        (1) that economic and population growth and new
     methods of manufacture, packaging, and marketing, without the parallel growth of facilities enabling and ensuring the recycling, reuse and conservation of natural resources and solid waste, have resulted in a rising tide of scrap and waste materials of all kinds;
        (2) that excessive quantities of refuse and
     inefficient and improper methods of refuse disposal result in scenic blight, cause serious hazards to public health and safety, create public nuisances, divert land from more productive uses, depress the value of nearby property, offend the senses, and otherwise interfere with community life and development;
        (3) that the failure to salvage and reuse scrap and
     refuse results in the waste and depletion of our natural resources and contributes to the degradation of our environment;
        (4) that hazardous waste presents, in addition to
     the problems associated with non‑hazardous waste, special dangers to health and requires a greater degree of regulation than does non‑hazardous waste;
        (5) that Subtitle C of the Resource Conservation and
     Recovery Act of 1976 (P.L. 94‑580), as amended, provides for comprehensive regulation of the treatment, storage, disposal, transportation and generation of hazardous waste;
        (6) that it would be inappropriate for the State of
     Illinois to adopt a hazardous waste management program that is less stringent than or conflicts with federal law;
        (7) that Subtitle C of the Resource Conservation and
     Recovery Act of 1976 (P.L. 94‑580), as amended, provides that the United States Environmental Protection Agency shall implement the hazardous waste management program authorized therein unless (a) the State is authorized by and under its law to establish and administer its own hazardous waste management program, and (b) pursuant to such federal Act, the Administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency finds that the State hazardous waste program is equivalent to the federal program;
        (8) that it is in the interest of the people of the
     State of Illinois to authorize such a hazardous waste management program and secure federal approval thereof, and thereby to avoid the existence of duplicative, overlapping or conflicting state and federal programs;
        (9) that the federal requirements for the securing
     of such State hazardous waste management program approval, as set forth in Subtitle C of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976 (P.L. 94‑580), as amended, 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;
        (10) that the handling, storage and disposal of
     hazardous substances and petroleum pose a danger of exposing citizens, property, natural resources and the environment to substantial risk of harm or degradation, that the Agency is authorized by this Act to use public funds to respond to and correct releases of hazardous substances and petroleum, that by doing such the value of property is enhanced or preserved, that persons should not receive a financial benefit at the expense of public funds when the Agency performs a cleanup, and that establishing environmental reclamation liens on property subject to response or corrective action will help assure that public funds are recompensed;
        (11) that Subtitle D of the Resource Conservation
     and Recovery Act of 1976 (P.L. 94‑580), as amended, provides for comprehensive regulation of the disposal of solid waste;
        (12) that it would be inappropriate for the State of
     Illinois to adopt a solid waste management program that is less stringent than or conflicts with federal law;
        (13) that Subtitle D of the Resource Conservation
     and Recovery Act of 1976 (P.L. 94‑580), as amended, provides that the United States Environmental Protection Agency shall implement the solid waste management program authorized in that Act unless (i) the State is authorized by and under its law to establish and administer its own solid waste management program, and (ii) pursuant to such federal Act, the Administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency finds that the State solid waste program is equivalent to the federal program;
        (14) that it is in the interest of the people of the
     State of Illinois to authorize such a solid waste management program and secure federal approval of the program, and thereby avoid the existence of duplicative, overlapping or conflicting State and federal programs;
        (15) that the federal requirements for the securing
     of State solid waste management program approval, as set forth in Subtitle D of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976 (P.L. 94‑580), as amended, and in regulations promulgated by the Administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency under that Act are complex and detailed, and the General Assembly cannot conveniently or advantageously set forth in this Act all the requirements of the federal Act or all regulations which may be established under the federal Act.
    (b) It is the purpose of this Title to prevent the pollution or misuse of land, to promote the conservation of natural resources and minimize environmental damage by reducing the difficulty of disposal of wastes and encouraging and effecting the recycling and reuse of waste materials, and upgrading waste collection, treatment, storage, and disposal practices; 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 hazardous waste and solid waste management programs pursuant to the provisions of subtitles C and D of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976 (P.L. 94‑580), as amended, and federal regulations pursuant thereto.
    (c) It is in the public interest to encourage the recycling and reuse of materials such as paper and paperboard and that the Board and the Agency in their planning and in the adoption, interpretation, and enforcement of regulations and standards shall encourage such recycling and reuse to the extent consistent with federal requirements.
    (d) The General Assembly finds:
        (1) that an increase in the hazardous waste disposal
     fee is necessary to provide increased funding for hazardous waste cleanup activities;
        (2) that there are wastes currently being treated,
     stored or disposed of on‑site which, because of changing federal regulations or other factors, may be disposed of off‑site;
        (3) that State policy and programs should be
     developed to assist local governments and private industry in seeking solutions to hazardous waste management problems;
        (4) that there are wastes which may have reduced
     environmental threat when disposed of in monofills because they are non‑putrescible, homogeneous, do not contain free liquids, or for other reasons;
        (5) that both permitted or interim status on‑site
     and off‑site hazardous waste disposal facilities are covered by financial responsibility requirements to assure funding removal or remedial actions;
        (6) that the disposal of wastes in monofills
     receiving only the same type of waste or compatible materials may facilitate future recovery of materials when it becomes technically feasible;
        (7) that for these and other reasons there are
     limitations on the amount of hazardous waste treatment and disposal fees on various activities under current law, and that a similar limitation is appropriate for generators disposing in monofills.
    (e) The General Assembly finds that:
        (1) It is the policy of the State of Illinois, as
     expressed in the Environmental Protection Act, the Illinois Solid Waste Management Act, the Solid Waste Planning and Recycling Act and other laws, to collect information about the disposal of waste at landfills and incinerators in Illinois.
        (2) Some disposal facilities in Illinois are quickly
     using up scarce waste disposal capacity because of the importation of waste from outside the State.
        (3) In order to evaluate current waste handling
     capacity and future trends in waste handling, the State of Illinois needs to collect information on the quantities of waste being brought into the State for disposal.
        (4) By collecting data relating to the movement of
     solid waste into Illinois, the State of Illinois will be able to more effectively assign resources to educate persons about, and assure compliance with, Illinois disposal restrictions, and will be able to more effectively plan for future waste management needs.
(Source: P.A. 87‑484; 88‑496.)

    (415 ILCS 5/20.1) (from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 1020.1)
    Sec. 20.1. (a) The Agency shall conduct a survey and prepare and publish a list of sites in the State where hazardous waste has been deposited, treated, or stored.
    (b) The Agency shall monitor hazardous waste processing, use, handling, storage, and disposal practices in the State, and shall determined existing and expected rates of production of hazardous waste.
    (c) The Agency shall compile and make available to the public an annual report identifying the types and quantities of hazardous waste generated, stored, treated or disposed of within this State and containing the other information required to be collected under this Section.
(Source: P.A. 83‑906.)

    (415 ILCS 5/21)(from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 1021)
    Sec. 21. Prohibited acts. No person shall:
    (a) Cause or allow the open dumping of any waste.
    (b) Abandon, dump, or deposit any waste upon the public highways or other public property, except in a sanitary landfill approved by the Agency pursuant to regulations adopted by the Board.
    (c) Abandon any vehicle in violation of the "Abandoned Vehicles Amendment to the Illinois Vehicle Code", as enacted by the 76th General Assembly.
    (d) Conduct any waste‑storage, waste‑treatment, or waste‑disposal operation:
        (1) without a permit granted by the Agency or in
     violation of any conditions imposed by such permit, including periodic reports and full access to adequate records and the inspection of facilities, as may be necessary to assure compliance with this Act and with regulations and standards adopted thereunder; provided, however, that, except for municipal solid waste landfill units that receive waste on or after October 9, 1993, no permit shall be required for (i) any person conducting a waste‑storage, waste‑treatment, or waste‑disposal operation for wastes generated by such person's own activities which are stored, treated, or disposed within the site where such wastes are generated, or (ii) a facility located in a county with a population over 700,000 as of January 1, 2000, operated and located in accordance with Section 22.38 of this Act, and used exclusively for the transfer, storage, or treatment of general construction or demolition debris, provided that the facility was receiving construction or demolition debris on the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly;
        (2) in violation of any regulations or standards
     adopted by the Board under this Act; or
        (3) which receives waste after August 31, 1988, does
     not have a permit issued by the Agency, and is (i) a landfill used exclusively for the disposal of waste generated at the site, (ii) a surface impoundment receiving special waste not listed in an NPDES permit, (iii) a waste pile in which the total volume of waste is greater than 100 cubic yards or the waste is stored for over one year, or (iv) a land treatment facility receiving special waste generated at the site; without giving notice of the operation to the Agency by January 1, 1989, or 30 days after the date on which the operation commences, whichever is later, and every 3 years thereafter. The form for such notification shall be specified by the Agency, and shall be limited to information regarding: the name and address of the location of the operation; the type of operation; the types and amounts of waste stored, treated or disposed of on an annual basis; the remaining capacity of the operation; and the remaining expected life of the operation.
    Item (3) of this subsection (d) shall not apply to any person engaged in agricultural activity who is disposing of a substance that constitutes solid waste, if the substance was acquired for use by that person on his own property, and the substance is disposed of on his own property in accordance with regulations or standards adopted by the Board.
    This subsection (d) shall not apply to hazardous waste.
    (e) Dispose, treat, store or abandon any waste, or transport any waste into this State for disposal, treatment, storage or abandonment, except at a site or facility which meets the requirements of this Act and of regulations and standards thereunder.
    (f) Conduct any hazardous waste‑storage, hazardous waste‑treatment or hazardous waste‑disposal operation:
        (1) without a RCRA permit for the site issued by the
     Agency under subsection (d) of Section 39 of this Act, or in violation of any condition imposed by such permit, including periodic reports and full access to adequate records and the inspection of facilities, as may be necessary to assure compliance with this Act and with regulations and standards adopted thereunder; or
        (2) in violation of any regulations or standards
     adopted by the Board under this Act; or
        (3) in violation of any RCRA permit filing
     requirement established under standards adopted by the Board under this Act; or
        (4) in violation of any order adopted by the Board
     under this Act.
    Notwithstanding the above, no RCRA permit shall be required under this subsection or subsection (d) of Section 39 of this Act for any person engaged in agricultural activity who is disposing of a substance which has been identified as a hazardous waste, and which has been designated by Board regulations as being subject to this exception, if the substance was acquired for use by that person on his own property and the substance is disposed of on his own property in accordance with regulations or standards adopted by the Board.
    (g) Conduct any hazardous waste‑transportation operation:
        (1) without registering with and obtaining a permit
     from the Agency in accordance with the Uniform Program implemented under subsection (l‑5) of Section 22.2; or
        (2) in violation of any regulations or standards
     adopted by the Board under this Act.
    (h) Conduct any hazardous waste‑recycling or hazardous waste‑reclamation or hazardous waste‑reuse operation in violation of any regulations, standards or permit requirements adopted by the Board under this Act.
    (i) Conduct any process or engage in any act which produces hazardous waste in violation of any regulations or standards adopted by the Board under subsections (a) and (c) of Section 22.4 of this Act.
    (j) Conduct any special waste transportation operation in violation of any regulations, standards or permit requirements adopted by the Board under this Act. However, sludge from a water or sewage treatment plant owned and operated by a unit of local government which (1) is subject to a sludge management plan approved by the Agency or a permit granted by the Agency, and (2) has been tested and determined not to be a hazardous waste as required by applicable State and federal laws and regulations, may be transported in this State without a special waste hauling permit, and the preparation and carrying of a manifest shall not be required for such sludge under the rules of the Pollution Control Board. The unit of local government which operates the treatment plant producing such sludge shall file a semiannual report with the Agency identifying the volume of such sludge transported during the reporting period, the hauler of the sludge, and the disposal sites to which it was transported. This subsection (j) shall not apply to hazardous waste.
    (k) Fail or refuse to pay any fee imposed under this Act.
    (l) Locate a hazardous waste disposal site above an active or inactive shaft or tunneled mine or within 2 miles of an active fault in the earth's crust. In counties of population less than 225,000 no hazardous waste disposal site shall be located (1) within 1 1/2 miles of the corporate limits as defined on June 30, 1978, of any municipality without the approval of the governing body of the municipality in an official action; or (2) within 1000 feet of an existing private well or the existing source of a public water supply measured from the boundary of the actual active permitted site and excluding existing private wells on the property of the permit applicant. The provisions of this subsection do not apply to publicly‑owned sewage works or the disposal or utilization of sludge from publicly‑owned sewage works.
    (m) Transfer interest in any land which has been used as a hazardous waste disposal site without written notification to the Agency of the transfer and to the transferee of the conditions imposed by the Agency upon its use under subsection (g) of Section 39.
    (n) Use any land which has been used as a hazardous waste disposal site except in compliance with conditions imposed by the Agency under subsection (g) of Section 39.
    (o) Conduct a sanitary landfill operation which is required to have a permit under subsection (d) of this Section, in a manner which results in any of the following conditions:
        (1) refuse in standing or flowing waters;
        (2) leachate flows entering waters of the State;
        (3) leachate flows exiting the landfill confines (as
     determined by the boundaries established for the landfill by a permit issued by the Agency);
        (4) open burning of refuse in violation of Section 9
     of this Act;
        (5) uncovered refuse remaining from any previous
     operating day or at the conclusion of any operating day, unless authorized by permit;
        (6) failure to provide final cover within time
     limits established by Board regulations;
        (7) acceptance of wastes without necessary permits;
        (8) scavenging as defined by Board regulations;
        (9) deposition of refuse in any unpermitted portion
     of the landfill;
        (10) acceptance of a special waste without a
     required manifest;
        (11) failure to submit reports required by permits
     or Board regulations;
        (12) failure to collect and contain litter from the
     site by the end of each operating day;
        (13) failure to submit any cost estimate for the
     site or any performance bond or other security for the site as required by this Act or Board rules.
    The prohibitions specified in this subsection (o) shall be enforceable by the Agency either by administrative citation under Section 31.1 of this Act or as otherwise provided by this Act. The specific prohibitions in this subsection do not limit the power of the Board to establish regulations or standards applicable to sanitary landfills.
    (p) In violation of subdivision (a) of this Section, cause or allow the open dumping of any waste in a manner which results in any of the following occurrences at the dump site:
        (1) litter;
        (2) scavenging;
        (3) open burning;
        (4) deposition of waste in standing or flowing
     waters;
        (5) proliferation of disease vectors;
        (6) standing or flowing liquid discharge from the
     dump site;
        (7) deposition of:
            (i) general construction or demolition debris as
         defined in Section 3.160(a) of this Act; or
            (ii) clean construction or demolition debris as
         defined in Section 3.160(b) of this Act.
    The prohibitions specified in this subsection (p) shall be enforceable by the Agency either by administrative citation under Section 31.1 of this Act or as otherwise provided by this Act. The specific prohibitions in this subsection do not limit the power of the Board to establish regulations or standards applicable to open dumping.
    (q) Conduct a landscape waste composting operation without an Agency permit, provided, however, that no permit shall be required for any person:
        (1) conducting a landscape waste composting
     operation for landscape wastes generated by such person's own activities which are stored, treated or disposed of within the site where such wastes are generated; or
        (2) applying landscape waste or composted landscape
     waste at agronomic rates; or
        (3) operating a landscape waste composting facility
     on a farm, if the facility meets all of the following criteria:
            (A) the composting facility is operated by the
         farmer on property on which the composting material is utilized, and the composting facility constitutes no more than 2% of the property's total acreage, except that the Agency may allow a higher percentage for individual sites where the owner or operator has demonstrated to the Agency that the site's soil characteristics or crop needs require a higher rate;
            (B) the property on which the composting
         facility is located, and any associated property on which the compost is used, is principally and diligently devoted to the production of agricultural crops and is not owned, leased or otherwise controlled by any waste hauler or generator of nonagricultural compost materials, and the operator of the composting facility is not an employee, partner, shareholder, or in any way connected with or controlled by any such waste hauler or generator;
            (C) all compost generated by the composting
         facility is applied at agronomic rates and used as mulch, fertilizer or soil conditioner on land actually farmed by the person operating the composting facility, and the finished compost is not stored at the composting site for a period longer than 18 months prior to its application as mulch, fertilizer, or soil conditioner;
            (D) the owner or operator, by January 1, 1990
         (or the January 1 following commencement of operation, whichever is later) and January 1 of each year thereafter, (i) registers the site with the Agency, (ii) reports to the Agency on the volume of composting material received and used at the site, (iii) certifies to the Agency that the site complies with the requirements set forth in subparagraphs (A), (B) and (C) of this paragraph (q)(3), and (iv) certifies to the Agency that all composting material was placed more than 200 feet from the nearest potable water supply well, was placed outside the boundary of the 10‑year floodplain or on a part of the site that is floodproofed, was placed at least 1/4 mile from the nearest residence (other than a residence located on the same property as the facility) and there are not more than 10 occupied non‑farm residences within 1/2 mile of the boundaries of the site on the date of application, and was placed more than 5 feet above the water table.
    For the purposes of this subsection (q), "agronomic rates" means the application of not more than 20 tons per acre per year, except that the Agency may allow a higher rate for individual sites where the owner or operator has demonstrated to the Agency that the site's soil characteristics or crop needs require a higher rate.
    (r) Cause or allow the storage or disposal of coal combustion waste unless:
        (1) such waste is stored or disposed of at a site or
     facility