(415 ILCS 151/1-55)

(Section scheduled to be repealed on December 31, 2026)

Sec. 1-55. Administrative citations.

(a) Any violation of a registration requirement in Sections 1-30, 1-40, or 1-45 of this Act, any violation of the reporting requirement in paragraph (4) of subsection (b) of Section 1-10 of this Act, and any violation of a plan submission requirement in Section 1-25 of this Act shall be enforceable by administrative citation issued by the Agency. Whenever Agency personnel shall, on the basis of direct observation, determine that any person has violated any of those provisions, the Agency may issue and serve, within 60 days after the observed violation, an administrative citation upon that person. Each citation shall be served upon the person named or the person's authorized agent for service of process and shall include the following:

(1) a statement specifying the provisions of this Act that the person has violated;

(2) the penalty imposed under subsection (d) of Section 1-50 of this Act for that violation; and

(3) an affidavit by the personnel observing the violation, attesting to their material actions and observations.

(b) If the person named in the administrative citation fails to petition the Illinois Pollution Control Board for review within 35 days after the date of service, then the Board shall adopt a final order, which shall include the administrative citation and findings of violation as alleged in the citation and shall impose the penalty specified in subsection (d) of Section 1-50 of this Act.

(c) If a petition for review is filed with the Board to contest an administrative citation issued under this Section, then the Agency shall appear as a complainant at a hearing before the Board to be conducted pursuant to subsection (d) of this Section at a time not less than 21 days after notice of the hearing has been sent by the Board to the Agency and the person named in the citation. In those hearings, the burden of proof shall be on the Agency. If, based on the record, the Board finds that the alleged violation occurred, then the Board shall adopt a final order, which shall include the administrative citation and findings of violation as alleged in the citation, and shall impose the penalty specified in subsection (d) of Section 1-50 of this Act. However, if the Board finds that the person appealing the citation has shown that the violation resulted from uncontrollable circumstances, then the Board shall adopt a final order that makes no finding of violation and imposes no penalty.

(d) All hearings under this Section shall be held before a qualified hearing officer, who may be attended by one or more members of the Board, designated by the Chairman. All of these hearings shall be open to the public, and any person may submit written statements to the Board in connection with the subject of these hearings. In addition, the Board may permit any person to offer oral testimony. Any party to a hearing under this Section may be represented by counsel, make oral or written argument, offer testimony, cross-examine witnesses, or take any combination of those actions. All testimony taken before the Board shall be recorded stenographically. The transcript so recorded and any additional matter accepted for the record shall be open to public inspection, and copies of those materials shall be made available to any person upon payment of the actual cost of reproducing the original.

(Source: P.A. 100-362, eff. 8-25-17; 100-433, eff. 8-25-17.)