Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 38, September 20, 2024
a) Scope and
Applicability
1) The USEPA, the Board, or the
Agency may allow for submitting any document as an electronic document in lieu
of a paper document. This Section does not require submitting electronic
documents in lieu of paper documents. This Section specifies the requirements
for any document that must be submitted to the appropriate of the following:
A) To USEPA directly under Title 40 of the
Code of Federal Regulations; or
B)
To the Board or the Agency under any provision of 35 Ill. Adm. Code 702 through
705, 720 through 728, 730, 733, 738, or 739.
2) Electronic document submission under this
Section can occur only as follows:
A) For
submissions of documents to USEPA, submissions may occur only after USEPA has
published a notice in the Federal Register announcing that USEPA is prepared to
receive, in an electronic format, documents required or permitted by the
identified part or subpart of Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations;
or
B) For submissions of documents
to the State, submissions may occur only under the following circumstances:
i) To the Board, into the Clerk's Office
On-Line (COOL) system at
https://pcb.illinois.gov/.
ii) To the Agency, into any electronic
document receiving system for which USEPA has granted approval under 40 CFR 3.1000, so long as the system complies with 40 CFR 3.2000, incorporated by
reference in Section 611.102(c), and USEPA has not withdrawn its approval of
the system in writing.
3) This Section does not apply to any of the
following documents, whether the document is a document submitted to satisfy
the requirements cited in subsection (a)(1):
A) Any document submitted via
facsimile;
B) Any document
submitted via magnetic or optical media, e.g., a diskette, compact disc,
digital video disc, or tape; or
C)
Any data transfer between USEPA, any state, or any local government and either
the Board or the Agency as part of administrative arrangements between the
parties to the transfer to share data.
4) Upon USEPA conferring written approval for
submitting any types of documents as electronic documents in lieu of paper
documents, as described in subsection (a)(2)(B), the Agency or the Board, as
appropriate, must publish a Notice of Public Information in the Illinois
Register that describes the documents approved for submission as electronic
documents, the electronic document receiving system approved to receive them,
the acceptable formats and procedures for their submission, and, as applicable,
the date on which the Board or the Agency will begin to receive those
submissions. If USEPA ceases approval in writing for receiving any type of
document as an electronic document in lieu of a paper document, the Board or
the Agency must similarly publish a Notice of Public Information in the
Illinois Register.
BOARD NOTE: Subsection (a) is derived from 40 CFR 3.1, 3.2, 3.10, 3.20, and 3.1000.
b) Definitions. For this Section, terms will
have the meaning attributed them in 40 CFR 3.3, incorporated by reference in 35
Ill. Adm. Code 720.111(b).
c)
Procedures for Submitting Electronic Documents in Lieu of Paper Documents to
USEPA. Except as provided in subsection (a)(3), any person who is required
under Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations to create and submit or
otherwise provide a document to USEPA may satisfy this requirement with an
electronic document, in lieu of a paper document, provided the following
conditions are met:
1) The person complies
with 40 CFR 3.10, incorporated by reference in Section 720.111(b);
and
2) USEPA has first published a
notice in the Federal Register as described in subsection (a)(2)(A).
BOARD NOTE: Subsection (c) is derived from 40 CFR 3.2(a) and
subpart B of 40 CFR 3.
d) Procedures for Submitting Electronic
Documents in Lieu of Paper Documents to the Board or the Agency
1) The Board or the Agency may establish
procedural rules for submitting electronic documents. The Board or the Agency
must establish any procedural rules under the Administrative Procedure Act [5
ILCS 100/Art. 5].
2) The Board or
the Agency may accept electronic documents under this Section only as provided
in subsection (a)(2)(B).
BOARD NOTE: Subsection (d) is derived from 40 CFR 3.2(b) and
subpart D of 40 CFR 3.
e) Effects of Submitting an Electronic
Document in Lieu of Paper Documents
1) If a
person who submits a document as an electronic document fails to comply with
this Section, that person is subject to the penalties prescribed for failure to
comply with the requirement that the electronic document was intended to
satisfy.
2) If a document submitted
as an electronic document to satisfy a reporting requirement bears an
electronic signature, the electronic signature legally binds, obligates, and
makes the signer responsible to the same extent as the signer's handwritten
signature would on a paper document submitted to satisfy the same reporting
requirement.
3) Proof that a
particular signature device was used to create an electronic signature will
suffice to establish that the individual uniquely entitled to use the device
did so with the intent to sign the electronic document and give it
effect.
4) Nothing in this Section
limits the use of electronic documents or information derived from electronic
documents as evidence in enforcement or other proceedings.
BOARD NOTE: Subsection (e) is derived from 40 CFR 3.4 and 3.2000(c).
f)
Public Document Subject to State Laws. Any electronic document filed with the
Board is a public document. The document, its submission, its retention by the
Board, and its availability for public inspection and copying are subject to
various State laws, including the following:
1) The Administrative Procedure
Act;
2) The Freedom of Information
Act [5 ILCS 140];
3) The State
Records Act [5 ILCS 160];
4) The
Electronic Commerce Security Act [5 ILCS 175];
5) The Act;
6) Regulations relating to public access to
Board records (2 Ill. Adm. Code 2175); and
7) Board procedural rules relating to
protecting trade secrets and confidential information (35 Ill. Adm. Code
130).
g) Nothing in this
Section or in any provisions adopted under subsection (d)(1) will create any
right or privilege to submit any document as an electronic document.
BOARD NOTE: Subsection (g) is derived from 40 CFR 3.2(c).
BOARD NOTE: Derived from 40 CFR 3, 145.11(a)(33),
271.10(b), 271.11(b), and
271.12(h).
