Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 38, September 20, 2024
a) An owner or
operator who has received approval for any budget submitted pursuant to this
Part and who is eligible for payment from the Fund may elect to defer site
investigation or corrective action activities until funds are available in an
amount equal to the amount approved in the budget if the requirements of
subsection (b) of this Section are met.
1)
Approvals of budgets must be pursuant to Agency review in accordance with
Subpart E of this Part.
2) The
Agency must monitor the availability of funds and must provide notice of
insufficient funds to owners or operators in accordance with Section
734.505(g)
of this Part.
3) Owners and
operators must submit elections to defer site investigation or corrective
action activities on forms prescribed and provided by the Agency and, if
specified by the Agency by written notice, in an electronic format. The
Agency's record of the date of receipt must be deemed conclusive unless a
contrary date is proven by a dated, signed receipt from certified or registered
mail.
4) The Agency must review
elections to defer site investigation or corrective action activities to
determine whether the requirements of subsection (b) of this Section are met.
The Agency must notify the owner or operator in writing of its final action on
any such election. If the Agency fails to notify the owner or operator of its
final action within 120 days after its receipt of the election, the owner or
operator may deem the election rejected by operation of law.
A) The Agency must mail notices of final
action on an election to defer by registered or certified mail, post marked
with a date stamp and with return receipt requested. Final action must be
deemed to have taken place on the post marked date that such notice is
mailed.
B) Any action by the Agency
to reject an election, or the rejection of an election by the Agency's failure
to act, is subject to appeal to the Board within 35 days after the Agency's
final action in the manner provided for the review of permit decisions in
Section 40 of the Act.
5) Upon approval of an election to defer site
investigation or corrective action activities until funds are available, the
Agency must place the site on a priority list for payment and notification of
availability of sufficient funds. Sites must enter the priority list for
payment based solely on the date the Agency receives a complete written
election of deferral, with the earliest dates having the highest
priority.
6) As funds become
available the Agency must encumber funds for each site in the order of priority
in an amount equal to the total of the approved budget for which deferral was
sought. The Agency must then notify owners or operators that sufficient funds
have been allocated for the owner or operator's site. After such notification
the owner or operator must commence site investigation or corrective action
activities.
7) Authorization of
payment of encumbered funds for deferred site investigation or corrective
action activities must be approved in accordance with the requirements of
Subpart F of this Part.
b) An owner or operator who elects to defer
site investigation or corrective action activities under subsection (a) of this
Section must submit a report certified by a Licensed Professional Engineer or
Licensed Professional Geologist demonstrating the following:
1) The Agency has approved the owner's or
operator's site investigation budget or corrective action budget;
2) The owner or operator has been determined
eligible to seek payment from the Fund;
3) The early action requirements of Subpart B
of this Part have been met;
4)
Groundwater contamination does not exceed the Tier 1 groundwater ingestion
exposure route remediation objectives of 35 Ill. Adm. Code 742 for the
applicable indicator contaminants as a result of the release, modeling in
accordance with 35 Ill. Adm. Code 742 shows that groundwater contamination will
not exceed such Tier 1 remediation objectives as a result of the release, and
no potable water supply wells are impacted as a result of the release;
and
5) Soil contamination exceeding
the Tier 1 groundwater ingestion exposure route remediation objectives of 35
Ill. Adm. Code 742 for the applicable indicator contaminants does not extend
beyond the site's property boundary and is not located within a regulated
recharge area, a wellhead protection area, or the setback zone of a potable
water supply well. Documentation to demonstrate that this subsection (b)(5) is
satisfied must include, but not be limited to, the results of a water supply
well survey conducted in accordance with Section
734.445
of this Part.
c) An
owner or operator may, at any time, withdraw the election to defer site
investigation or corrective action activities. The Agency must be notified in
writing of the withdrawal. Upon such withdrawal, the owner or operator must
proceed with site investigation or corrective action, as applicable, in
accordance with the requirements of this Part.