ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD

September

30,

1976

IN THE MATTER OF:

NPDES REGULATIONS

)

R73-ll

& R73-12

ORDER OF THE BOARD

(by Mr. Goodman):

On August

16,

1976,

the Illinois Environmental Protection

Agency

(Agency)

requested the Illinois Pollution Control Board

(Board)

to change the effective date of Rule 410(c)

of the Water

Regulations

(Chapter

3).

The Agency requested that the Board

make Rule

410(c) immediately effective rather than contingent

upon transfer of NPDES authority from the United States Environ-

mental Protection Agency

(U.S.E.P.A)

to the State of Illinois.

In adopting R73-ll and R73-l2,

the NPDES Regulations,

the

Board anticipated the prompt transfer of NPDES authority from

U.S. EPA to the State.

Therefore,

all the regulations adopted

in

R73-ll and R73—12 were to be effective upon the date of approval

and transfer of NPDES authority to the State by the Administrator

of U.S.

EPA, whether or not that particular regulation depended

upon the transfer of authority for its basis.

Subsequent

facts

have not validated the Boardts anticipation of the transfer of

authority.

Rule 410(c)

states

as follows:

The standards of Chapter

3 shall apply

to

thermal discharges

unless,

after public

notice and opportunity for public hear-

ing,

in accordance with Section 316 of the

FWPCA and applicable federal regulations,

the

Administrator

and

the

Board

have

de-

termined

that different standards shall

apply to a particular thermal discharge.

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661

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—2—

It is obvious on a plain reading of the Regulation that the appli-

cation of

410(c)

is not contingent upon the adoption of the

NPDES

authority by the State of Illinois.

Rather it determines the

relationship between the Board, the standards of Chapter

3 with

respect to thermal discharges,

and Section 316 of the FWPCA,

regardless of what authority is in charge of the NPDES permit

system at any particular time.

The Board,

therefore,

finds that since NPDES authority has not

been transferred to the State of Illinois,

and 410(c)

as a regulation

is necessary

for the protection of the environment in the State of

Illinois,

and there is no relation between.410(c)

and the transfer

of NPDES authority

to the State of Illinois,

410(c) should be made

effective immediately.

The Board,

therefore, proposes to amend the adopting Order in

R73—1l and R73—12 to the extent that Rule 410(c) be made effective

immediately.

In accordance with the Board’s policy of public notice

and public participation, the foregoing proposed amendment to the

Board Order shall be published in the next Environmental Register

for the purpose of public comment.

The Public Comment period shall

run until November 15,

1976.

After consideration of the public

comment received pursuant to publication,

the Board shall make

a

final decision concerning the effective date of Rule 410(c).

In consideration of the foregoing, the amendment

to Rule 410(c)

of the Water Regulations as proposed by the Agency

is hereby denied.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

I

,

Chr

i

stan

T~.

M~.ifc’ti

,

(~1

‘‘

rk

oI

t

1i’

I 11

I

noi

s

Pcl

1 ut

ion

Control

Board,

hereby

c

~rtify

the

above

Order

was

a

opted

on

then

day

of

—,

1976

by

a

vote

of

—0

Illinois Pollution

trol Board

23

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