ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD

April 24,

1975

IN THE MATTER OF

NATIONAL POLLUTANT DISCHARGE

)

R73-ll

&

12

ELIMINATION SYSTE~4REGULATIONS

OPINION AND ORDER OF THE BOARD

(by Mr. Dumelle):

The Environmental Protection Agency

(Agency)

on December

21,

1974

requested that the Board amend Rule

952 of Chapter

3 of the Pollution Control Board Regulation, Operation

Permits; New or Modified Treatment Works,

Sewers, Waste

Water,

Sources.

The existing Rule 952(b)

suspended the

requirement for an Operating Permit for any treatment works

or wastewater source for which an NPDES Permit is required.. .from

the effective date of this Subpart B of the earlier of

either:

(1)

January

31,

1975 or

(2)

the date of the final

determination by the Administrator pursuant to Section

402(c)

of the FWPCA that the state’s NPDES Permit program

does not meet the requirements of Section 402(b)

or does not

conform to the guidelines issued under Section 304(h) (2)

of

the FWPCA.”

The Agency proposes to replace the January

31,

1975 with June

30,

1975 and to include

“only that portion

of”

as restriction on those treatment works or wastewater

sources

for which an NPDES Permit is required and for which

an Operating Permit

is not required.

On January

9,

1975,

the Board authorized the Agency

proposed change for publication and public comment.

The

proposal was published in Environmental Register #97

on

January

28,

1975.

The public comment period extended until

March

4,

1975.

The Board received favorable comments from

Olin Brass, The Metropolitan Sanitary District of Greater

Chicago

(MSDGC) and the Illinois Manufacturers Association.

Citizens for a Better Environment submitted a public comment

in opposition

to the proposal.

When the Board enacted the NPDES Regulations,

the Board

kept the record open to consider minor modifications such as

this proposal by the Agency.

In the Opinion which the Board

published on December

5,

1974, accompanying the adoption of

the NPDES Rules, the Board stated that purpose for the

original suspension

of the Operating Permit requirement was

to “provide a relief from the dual permit system and to

allow the Agency to concentrate its resources in the certification

and drafting of NPDES Permits for final issuance by the U.S.

Environmental Protection Agency”

(U.S.

EPA).

At the present

16_511

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—2—

time the Agency is preparing to make a formal submittal of

the Illinois NPDES Permit program to the U.S.

EPA.

A letter

from the Director of the Agency received by the Board on

March

6,

1975,

lists

three major steps which the U.S. EPA

felt remained before a final submissipn could be given due

consideration by the U.S.

EPA.

These were the preparation

of

a statement by the Illinois Attorney General

that

the

state had the authority to adopt the NPDES Permit program,

the preparation and submittal

to the U.S. EPA of a Continuous

Planning Process and U.S. EPA objections concerning waiver

provisions

in the Memorandum of Agreement between U.S. EPA

and the Agency.

The Illinois Environmental Protection

Agency is currently conducting public hearings on

a state

program plan for 1976 which includes a proposed Continuous

Planning Process.

The Attorney General has prepared a draft

Attorney General statement,

Because it appears

to

the Board that a submittal

and

ultimate approval of the Illinois NPDES Permit program will

be forthcoming,

and because

the

Board

does

not desire to

conttflUe

a

dual

permit

program,

the

Board has decided to

grant

the

Agency’s

proposed

revision

to

include

the

June

30,

1975

date.

The

Agency7s

proposed

limitation

of

“only

that

portion

of”to

those

treatment

works

and

waste

water

sources

for

which

an

NPDES

Permit

is

required

was

objected

by

the

MSDGC,

The

MSDGC

stated

that

NPDES

Permits

are

all

inclusive

and

that

the

Agency

should

not

require

Operating

Permits

for

nortions

of

facilities

for

which

NPDES

Permits

are

required.

The

Board

feels

that

the

Agency~s

suggested

language

is

a

clarification

of

the

intent

to

suspend

the

state

Operating

Permit

requirement

for

only

those

facilities

for

which

an

NPDES

Permit

is

required.

For

this

reason

the

Board

has

decided to adopt

the

Agency1s proposed limitation.

ORDER

Rule 952(I~) of Chapter

3 of the Pollution Control Board

Regulations is hereby amended to read:

However, the requirement for an Operating Permit for

only that portion of any treatment works or wastewater

source for which an NPDES Permit is required shall be

suspended from the effective date of this Subpart B

until the earlier of either:

1)

June

30,

1975,

or

16

—512

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—3—

2)

The date of

a final determination by the Administrator,

pursuant to Section 402(c)

of the FWPCA, that the

State’s NPDES Permit program does not meet the requirements

of Section 402(b) or does not conform to the guidelines

issued under Section 304(h) (2)

of the FWPCA.

IT

IS SO ORDERED.

I, Christan L. Moffett, Clerk of the Illinois Pollution

Control Board, hereby certify the above Opinion and Order were

adopted on the

,~.j1’i

day of April, 1975 by

a vote of

4/_.ø

Illinois Pollution

rol Board