Revised Illinois comment 070709x

Representatives of Illinois’ Environmental Protection Agency wrote the following when asked to provide or verify figures regarding the state's enforcement of the Clean Water Act: “Please note that the Illinois EPA is required by the Illinois Environmental Protection Act to provide each violator an opportunity to return to compliance prior to referral for formal enforcement. Violation Notices (VNs) and Compliance Commitment Agreements (CCAs) are part of this statutory process. If a violation is continuing to occur that is causing a significant water quality impact, then an immediate referral for formal enforcement is allowed in accordance with Section 43 of the Illinois Environmental Protection Act. Formal enforcement is one tool for obtaining NPDES program compliance. We protect the resources of the state through an integrated system of permitting and compliance assurance. Forment of a non-compliant facility, or to remedy a violation, is usually our last step in the compliance assurance process. The Illinois EPA does not have independent enforcement authority. This means that in order to obtain formal orders and assess penalties on polluters, we must refer our cases to USEPA or the Illinois Attorney General’s office for formal action. It is important that you tell your readers that not all NPDES violations contribute to pollution and they do not all merit enforcement action. Many Discharge Monitoring Report (DMR) and schedule violations ...