September 4, 2003 - On September 4, 2003, the Illinois Pollution Control Board adopted a final opinion and order in the rulemaking entitled Noise Rule Update: Amendments to 35 Ill. Adm. Code 900 and 903, R03-08. The Board initiated this rulemaking to amend and update the Board’s noise rules.

November 6, 2003 - On November 6, the Illinois Pollution Control Board adopted a final opinion and order in the rulemaking entitled Radionuclide Restricted Status, Amendments to 35 Ill. Adm. Code 602.105, 602.106, 602.108, and 602.115, R03-21, adopting amendments to the permitting rules for public water supplies (PWS).

June 5, 2003 - On June 5, 2003, the Illinois Pollution Control Board adopted a second notice opinion and order in the rulemaking entitled Noise Rule Update: Amendments to 35 Ill. Adm. Code 900 and 903, R03-08. The Board initiated this rulemaking to amend and update the Board’s noise rules. The proposed rulemaking now goes to the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules (JCAR) for review.

October 16, 2003 - The Illinois Pollution Control Board will hold an additional hearing in the rulemaking entitled Proposed New And Updated Rules For Measurement and Numerical Sound Emissions Standards Amendments to 35 Ill. Adm. Code 901 and 910, (R03-9). On October 16, 2003, the Board authorized the additional hearing in response to public comments received during the first notice period. The Board has previously held two public hearings on this proposed rulemaking. The proposal would create new and update existing regulations governing noise to reflect present scientific standards for many of the sound measurement definitions and techniques contained in the Board’s rules.

August 21, 2003 - The Board is amending its procedural rules and administrative rules to accommodate its new provisions for electronic filing and recent changes to the Environmental Protection Act (Act). 415 ILCS 5 (2002). On August 21, 2003, the Board opened rulemaking docket R04-8, entitled Amendments to the Board’s Procedural Rules: 35 Ill. Adm. Code 101-130. To maximize efficiency and minimize confusion, the Board will address all needed procedural rule amendments at one time and in one docket, R04-8, rather than using multiple dockets and having new procedural rules taking effect on different dates.

September 4, 2003 - On September 4, 2003, the Illinois Pollution Control Board adopted a second-notice opinion and order in the rulemaking entitled Radionuclide Restricted Status, Amendments to 35 Ill. Adm. Code 602.105, 602.106, 602.108, and 602.115, R03-21, which proposes amendments to the permitting rules for public water supplies (PWS). The proposed amendments now go to the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules (JCAR) for review.

June 19, 2003 - On June 19, 2003, after two public hearings and a public comment period, the Illinois Pollution Control Board proposed first-notice amendments to its permitting rules for public water supplies (PWS). See Radionuclide Restricted Status, Amendments to 35 Ill. Adm. Code 602.105, 602.106, 602.108, and 602.115, R03-21 (June 19, 2003). The amendments would extend an existing exemption, allowing the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency to continue issuing construction and operating permits to qualifying PWS though the water supplies do not comply with the radionuclide standards for drinking water.

July 10, 2003 - On July 10, 2003, the Illinois Pollution Control Board proposed first-notice new and updated regulations governing noise that would reflect present scientific standards for many of the sound measurement definitions and techniques contained in the Board’s rules. Proposed New And Updated Rules For Measurement and Numerical Sound Emissions Standards Amendments to 35 Ill. Adm. Code 901 and 910, (R03-9) revises outdated numerical sound emission standards for property line noise sources found at 35 Ill. Adm. Code Parts 901.

August 21, 2003 - On August 21, 2003, the Board opened a rulemaking entitled Amendments to the Board’s Procedural Rules: 35 Ill. Adm. Code 101-130, R04-8, to amend its procedural rules to allow for electronic filing in all Board proceedings through the Board’s new Clerk’s Office On-Line (COOL) and to reflect amendments to the Environmental Protection Act in P.A. 92-574, effective June 26, 2002. The Board also opened Amendments to the Board’s Administrative Rules: 2 Ill. Adm. Code 2175, R04-9, to reflect amendments to the Administrative Procedure Act in P.A. 92-330, effective August 9, 2001.

November 6, 2003 - The Illinois Pollution Control Board on November 6, 2003, adopted a second notice opinion and order in the rulemaking entitled Brownfields Site Restoration Program, Amendments to 35 Ill. Adm. Code 740, (R03-20). The proposed rule adopted for second notice is substantively unchanged from that adopted by the Board in July. The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) filed this rulemaking to establish procedures and standards for administering the Brownfields Site Restoration Program (BSRP). A “brownfields” site is real property with “actual or perceived contamination and an active potential for redevelopment.” 415 ILCS 5/58.2 (2002).

June 19, 2003 - On June 19, 2003, the Illinois Pollution Control Board (Board) granted to Dynergy Midwest Generation, Inc. (Dynergy) a 45-day provisional variance from the total suspended solids (TSS) effluent concentration limits of Outfall 001 in its NPDES Permit No. IL000004 and 35 Ill. Adm. Code 304.141(a). The provisional variance would allow for the dredging of the secondary cell of the ash pond system at Dynergy’s coal-fired generating station located near Baldwin in St. Clair and Randolph Counties.

June 19, 2003 - On June 19, 2003, the Illinois Pollution Control Board (Board) granted to General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems Inc. (GDOTS) a 45-day provisional variance from the hazardous waste accumulation time requirements of 35 Ill. Adm. Code 722.134. The provisional variance will allow GDOTS to keep one 30-gallon drum of black powder contaminated material and eight 30-gallon drums of RP-1315 Propellant, wet with water, on-site at its facility in Marion for longer than the allowable 90 days, due to unforeseen, temporary and uncontrollable circumstances.

March 20, 2003 - On March 20, 2003, the Illinois Pollution Control Board (Board) granted to the City of Auburn (Auburn) a 45-day provisional variance from monthly average carbonaceous biochemical oxygen demand (CBOD) and total suspended solids (TSS) effluent limits in its National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit. The provisional variance will allow Auburn to pump wastewater from lagoon #2 into Sugar Creek a few feet downstream of the NPDES permitted outfall and to relax CBOD and TSS permitted limits. This will lower the water level in lagoon #2, allowing for inspection and repair of the rock filter laterals, intake pipes and valves.

February 6, 2003 - On February 6, 2003, the Illinois Pollution Control Board adopted a final notice opinion and order in Proposed Amendments to General Permitting Provisions For Portable Emission Units Amendments to 35 Ill. Adm. Code 201,(R02-10). The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) initiated this rulemaking to relieve the administrative burden on the IEPA and the owners and operators of the portable emission units that are frequently relocated. Portable emission units release emissions for less than one year, are permitted to release less than 25 tons annually of any combination of regulated air pollutants, are designed to be portable, and are not used as thermal desorption systems or as incinerator systems.

February 25, 2003 - The Illinois Pollution Control Board is considering a proposal to amend the Board’s regulations used by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency for issuing permits under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES). The rulemaking, Proposed Amendments to: Public Participation Rules in 35 Ill. Adm. Code Part 309 NPDES Permits and Permitting Procedures (R03-19), was filed on January 13, 2003 by the Environmental Law and Policy Center of the Midwest, Illinois Chapter of the Sierra Club, Prairie Rivers Network, and 225 petitioners.

September 4, 2003 - On September 4, 2003, the Illinois Pollution Control Board sent to first notice a rulemaking proposal to amend the Board’s regulations used by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) for issuing permits under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES). The rulemaking, Proposed Amendments to: Public Participation Rules in 35 Ill. Adm. Code Part 309 NPDES Permits and Permitting Procedures (R03-19), was filed on January 13, 2003 by the Environmental Law and Policy Center of the Midwest, Illinois Chapter of the Sierra Club, Prairie Rivers Network, and 225 petitioners.

April 23, 2003 - The Illinois Pollution Control Board is considering a proposal to amend its permitting rules for public water supplies (PWS) at 35 Ill. Adm. Code 602. The rulemaking proposal, Amendments to 35 Ill. Adm. Code 602.105, 602.106, 602.108, and 602.115 (R03-21), was filed on April 7, 2003, by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA). The proposed amendments would allow IEPA to continue issuing permits to PWS that do not meet the final drinking water standards for radionuclides, but only if the PWS at issue is bound by a court order or IEPA Compliance Commitment Agreement to meet the standards.

April 3, 2003 - On April 3, 2003, the Illinois Pollution Control Board adopted a proposed second notice package opinion and order in the rulemaking entitled Noise Rule Update: Amendments to 35 Ill. Adm. Code 900 and 903, R03-08. The proposed second notice is intended to give the public time to review and comment on the changes made since the Board’s first notice opinion and order was adopted on December 19, 2002.

July 10, 2003 - On July 10, 2003, the Illinois Pollution Control Board adopted, with modifications, a first notice opinion and order in the rulemaking entitled Brownfields Site Restoration Program, Amendments to 35 Ill. Adm. Code 740, (R03-20). The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) filed this rulemaking to establish procedures and standards for administering the Brownfields Site Restoration Program (BSRP). A “brownfields” site is real property with “actual or perceived contamination and an active potential for redevelopment.” 415 ILCS 5/58.2 (2002).

April 3, 2003 - On April 3, 2003, the Illinois Pollution Control Board adopted a proposed second notice for public comment in the rulemaking entitled Noise Rule Update: Amendments to 35 Ill. Adm. Code 900 and 903, R03-08. The proposed second notice is intended to give the public time to review and comment on the changes made since the Board’s first notice opinion and order was adopted on December 19, 2002.