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Illinois Surface Discharge Permit (ILG62)

Contact Information

Mark Ackerman
ackerman.mark@epa.gov
312-353-4145

Comment Period

EPA accepted comments from the public on draft permit ILG62 until Nov. 15, 2012.

Wastewater from homes or businesses not connected to a municipal sewer system is generally treated by individual wastewater treatment systems. In most cases, that means a septic system. Nearly one in four households in the United States uses an individual septic system to treat wastewater.

What comes out of the septic system is called discharge and usually goes into the ground around the system, but may also be released onto the ground surface and potentially into nearby bodies of water. The Clean Water Act and Illinois Environmental Protection Act require permits for septic systems that discharge into federally protected waters.

EPA’s General Permit

EPA has prepared a draft NPDES general permit for new and replacement septic systems that discharge to federally protected waters or conveyances to such waters.  In order to be eligible for coverage under the general permit your new or replacement system must process only domestic sewage at a flow less than 1,500 gallons per day.  Also a connection to a sanitary sewer must be more than 200 feet from your property.  For a permit at a residence, you must show that alternatives to surface discharging systems are technologically or economically infeasible. For a permit at a business, alternatives must be technically infeasible.

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