Illinois Administrative Code
Title 35 - ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
Part 1501 - DRYCLEANER ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSE TRUST FUND PROGRAM
Subpart C - REMEDIAL ACTION CLAIMS
Section 1501.350 - Claim Procedures
Universal Citation: 35 IL Admin Code ยง 1501.350
Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 38, September 20, 2024
a) All claims for reimbursement received by the Agency on or after January 17, 2023, must be reviewed in accordance with this Part. Claims received before that date must be reviewed in accordance with the rules in effect at the time of claim submission under 35 Ill. Adm. Code 1500. Except as provided in Section 77 of the DERT Fund Act, the Agency must not review or modify a final determination made by the Council or the Council's contractor before July 1, 2020.
b) Budgets
1) To obtain approval of reimbursable
remedial action costs, a claimant must submit a budget to the Agency for review
and approval before beginning work. The Agency must not accept a budget unless
a corresponding SRP plan has been submitted with the budget in compliance with
35 Ill. Adm. Code 740.
2) The
budget must be submitted on forms and in a format prescribed by the Agency and
must include, at a minimum, the following:
A)
Identification of the claimant and the remediation site, including the
following:
i) The full legal name, address and
telephone number of the claimant, and any contact person to whom inquiries and
correspondence should be addressed;
ii) The address, site name, tax parcel
identification number or numbers, and Agency-issued site identification number
for the remediation site and the date of acceptance into the SRP; and
iii) The Federal Employer Identification
Number (FEIN) or Social Security Number (SSN) of the claimant.
B) Line-item estimates of the
eligible remedial action costs for which the claimant will seek reimbursement,
including the following:
i) Site investigation
activities: drilling costs; physical soil analysis; monitoring well
installation; soil and water disposal costs from drilling activities; and soil
gas sampling.
ii) Sampling and
analysis activities: soil analysis costs; groundwater analysis costs; soil gas
analysis costs; and groundwater purge water disposal costs.
iii) Remedial activities: groundwater
remediation costs; soil excavation and soil disposal costs; soil remediation
costs; backfill costs; groundwater remediation costs; and installation of
building control technologies.
iv)
SRP plan and report preparation costs.
3) The original budget and one copy, both in
paper form, must be mailed to the address designated by the Agency on the
forms.
4) If, following the
approval of a budget, the corresponding SRP plan is amended or the budget needs
to be amended, the claimant must submit an amended budget for review in
accordance with this Part.
5) The
Agency must review the budget in conjunction with the corresponding SRP plan to
determine whether the estimated costs submitted are eligible remedial action
costs and whether the costs estimated for the activities are reasonable.
A)
To be eligible for
eventual reimbursement from the Fund, costs must be within the range of
usual and customary rates for similar or equivalent goods or services, incurred
in performance of remediation work approved by the Agency, and necessary to
respond to the release for which the claimant is seeking reimbursement from the
Fund. [415 ILCS
135/40(f)(8)]
B) The Agency's budget review must consist of
a detailed review of the costs associated with each element necessary to
accomplish the response to the identified release under the EPAct and 35 Ill.
Adm Code 740. Items to be reviewed must include costs associated with any
materials, activities, or services that are included in the SRP plan. The
claimant must demonstrate that all costs are within the range of usual and
customary rates for similar or equivalent goods or services, incurred in
performance of remediation work approved by the Agency, and necessary to
respond to the release for which the claimant is seeking reimbursement from the
Fund.
6) Upon completion
of the review, the Agency must issue a letter to the claimant approving,
disapproving, or modifying the remedial action costs submitted in the budget.
The following procedures, at a minimum, apply regarding Agency determinations:
A) The Agency's budget determination must be
provided in writing.
B) The Agency
may combine the notification of its budget determination with the notification
of its final determination on the corresponding SRP plan.
C) If costs in a budget are disapproved or
approved with modification, the written notification of the Agency's budget
determination must contain the following:
i)
An explanation of the specific type of information or documentation, if any,
that the Agency finds the claimant did not provide;
ii) The reasons for the disapproval or
modification; and
iii) Citations to
statutory or regulatory provisions upon which the determination is
based.
D) If the Agency
disapproves an SRP plan or approves an SRP plan with conditions, in accordance
with 35 Ill. Adm. Code 740, the Agency may return the corresponding budget to
the claimant without review. If an amended SRP plan is submitted in response to
the Agency's action, the claimant may submit an amended budget for review. A
claimant may also submit an amended budget in response to the Agency's approval
of an SRP plan with conditions.
E)
The burden of proof is on the claimant in any review.
7) The Agency must not reimburse a cost from
the Fund unless the corresponding work has been approved in an SRP plan in
accordance with 35 Ill. Adm. Code Part 740 and the cost has been approved in a
budget in accordance with the requirements of this Part.
c) Reimbursement Requests
1) After completing the work approved in an
SRP plan with a corresponding approved budget, a claimant may submit a
reimbursement request to the Agency for the work.
2) The reimbursement request must be
submitted on forms and in a format prescribed by the Agency and must include,
at a minimum, the following information:
A)
Identification of the claimant and the remediation site, including:
i) The full legal name, address and telephone
number of the claimant and any contact person to whom inquiries and
correspondence should be addressed;
ii) The address, site name, tax parcel
identification number or numbers, and Agency-issued site identification number
for the remediation site and the date of acceptance of the site into the SRP;
and
iii) The Federal Employer
Identification Number (FEIN) or Social Security Number (SSN) of the
claimant.
B) Line-item
costs that the claimant incurred for the development and implementation of the
SRP plan, including:
i) Site investigation
activities: drilling costs; physical soil analysis; monitoring well
installation; soil and water disposal costs from drilling activities; and soil
gas sampling.
ii) Sampling and
analysis activities: soil analysis costs; groundwater analysis costs; soil gas
analysis costs; and groundwater purge water disposal costs.
iii) Remedial activities: groundwater
remediation costs; soil excavation and soil disposal costs; soil remediation
costs; backfill costs; groundwater remediation costs; and installation of
building control technologies.
iv)
SRP plan and report preparation costs.
C) All invoices, bills, and payment
documentation related to the incurred line-item costs, above.
D) An IRS Form W-9 completed by the
claimant.
E) A designation of the
claimant's address to which payment, if approved, and notice of final action on
the request are to be sent.
3) The Agency must review the reimbursement
request to determine whether the submitted actual costs fall within the
previously approved budget, and otherwise comply with this Part, 35 Ill. Adm.
Code 740, the EPAct, and the DERT Fund Act.
A)
To be eligible for reimbursement from the Fund, costs must be within
the range of usual and customary rates for similar or equivalent goods or
services, incurred in performance of remediation work approved by the Agency,
and necessary to respond to the release for which the claimant is seeking
reimbursement from the Fund [415 ILCS
135/40] .
B) The Agency's review may include a review
of any or all elements and supporting documentation relied upon by the claimant
in developing the reimbursement request, including a review of invoices or
receipts supporting all claims. The review also may include the review of any
plans, budgets, or reports previously submitted for the site to ensure that the
request is consistent with work proposed and actually performed in conjunction
with the site.
C) Costs must be
less than or equal to the costs approved in the corresponding budget. The
Agency must not reimburse for costs in excess of approved eligible
costs.
D) Work crossing multiple
line-items, as well as transferring funds between line-items, is
prohibited.
4) Upon
completion of the review, the Agency must issue a letter to the claimant
approving, denying, or modifying the remedial action costs submitted in the
reimbursement request. The following considerations apply regarding Agency
determinations:
A) The Agency's reimbursement
request determination must be provided in writing. The Agency's determination
will be considered to have been made on the postmarked date that the written
determination is mailed.
B) If a
reimbursement request is denied or approved with modification, the written
notification must contain the following:
i) An
explanation of the specific type of information or documentation, if any, that
the Agency finds the claimant did not provide;
ii) The reasons for the disapproval or
modification of the remedial action costs requested; and
iii) Citations to statutory or regulatory
provisions upon which the determination is based.
C) The burden of proof is on the claimant in
any review.
5) All
reimbursement requests must be submitted to the Agency within one calendar year
following the date the Agency issues a No Further Remediation Letter for the
release. The Agency must not pay reimbursement requests submitted more than one
calendar year after the date the Agency issues a No Further Remediation Letter
under Subpart F of 35 Ill. Adm. Code 740.
d) Payment
1) After issuing a letter approving or
approving with conditions a reimbursement request the Agency must forward a
voucher to the Illinois Office of the Comptroller for payment.
2) The Agency must not forward a voucher to
the Illinois Office of the Comptroller unless sufficient funds are available to
issue reimbursement in the full amount of the voucher.
3) If the Agency determines that insufficient
funds remain to issue full reimbursement, the Agency must prioritize the
approved reimbursement according to Section
1501.340 and notify affected
claimants in writing.
4) When the
Agency determines that full funds are available for reimbursement, the Agency
must prepare vouchers for payment as follows:
A) Any deductible, under Section
1501.320, must be subtracted
from any amount approved for payment by the Agency.
B) The Agency must request that the Illinois
Office of the Comptroller issue payment to the claimant at the address
designated in accordance with Section
1501.350(c)(2)(E).
The Agency must not authorize the Illinois Office of the Comptroller to issue
payment to an agent, designee, or entity that has conducted remedial action
activities for the claimant.
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