Environmental Progress - Spring 1998

Illinois Moving Forward on Lake Michigan Toxic Limits

On Oct. 16, 1997, the Illinois Pollution Control Board endorsed new toxic standards for Lake Michigan as part of a coordinated effort between the Great Lakes states (Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York). Proposed by the Illinois EPA, the new standards were modified in response to the concerns of industry and the public following two public hearings. The proposal now moves to review by the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules (JCAR) before final adoption.

The new water quality toxic standards are part of the Great Lakes Initiative, an effort by U.S. EPA and diverse governmental, industrial, and citizen groups to apply modern scientific methods and research to protect the waters of the Great Lakes, including Lake Michigan, for swimming, fishing, or drinking without interference by toxic substances. The proposed new standards retain a requirement that mixing zones that allow the dilution of persistent toxic substances will be gradually prohibited. The U.S. EPA provision for the gradual ban was successfully challenged in federal court and must be readopted by U.S. EPA.

Rules for the Agency to implement the Great Lakes Initiative provide a consistent method of applying the new standards to wastewater sources that continue to discharge to Lake Michigan. Special provisions will provide for improved public review of developments that add persistent toxic substances to the Lake Michigan watershed.

Standards for some substances are so stringent that present scientific test procedures are barely able to detect their presence in the water or in discharges, so the Agency rules provide for procedures to target monitoring, permitting and reporting procedures on uncertain concentrations of these substances. Use of the existing waters to dilute discharges is limited to the ability of the waters to still attain water quality standards. Public comments were received until November 24, 1997 and then the proposal was submitted to the JCAR for review and adoption.

Following final adoption of the new standards by the Illinois Pollution Control Board and implementing rules by the Agency, the new program was submitted to U.S. EPA for approval.

Regulations Now Only a Click Away

The rules of the Illinois Pollution Control Board and the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency are no longer limited to the shelves of libraries and your attorney’s offices. No longer do you have to page through page after page of text, tables and diagrams to find the rule for your situation or for your planned expansion. Are you tired of having to retype the rule in your letters or complaints? Now you can speed your research and keep abreast of the latest environmental regulatory developments in Illinois with the Internet.

The Internet is a vast connection of computers throughout the world that enables their users to communicate with each other and exchange information. Each computer, including your home computer, uses a modem (a device to connect to the telephone system) and simple software to connect to the homepage or the electronic address of another user. The state of Illinois and many of its agencies have homepages, as do millions of businesses and individuals around the world. All you have to do is type the address of your destination at your software’s prompt and you are connected.

The address for Illinois environmental regulations is: http://www.ipcb.state.il.us/SLR/IPCBandIEPAEnvironmentalRegulations-Title35.asp.

The regulations are periodically updated to provide the most current rules in effect and may be downloaded for your use without charge.