11-4-1520 Permit – Application.

   (A)   Application for a permit to operate an incinerator, liquid waste handling facility, resource recovery facility, sanitary landfill or transfer station, or any other facility which disposes, handles or treats waste shall demonstrate that the facility is designed, located and will be operated to protect the health, safety and welfare of the public, and shall be accompanied by the following:

      (1)   written consent of the owner of the property or his authorized agent;

      (2)   evidence of payment of real property taxes or evidence of exemption;

      (3)   evidence that the facility is located in a district for which a variation in the nature of a special use may be obtained from the zoning board of appeals pursuant to the Chicago Zoning Ordinance, Title 17 ;

      (4)   plot plan indicating the property boundaries; locations of buildings and ancillary structures; roads; boundaries of waste disposal, handling and storage areas; fences or other access control devices; location of fire protection facilities; and any other facilities/structures planned for site;

      (5)   general layout of the facility and equipment including plans, descriptions and specifications necessary to describe the physical operating characteristics of the facility;

      (6)   plat of survey prepared by a professional land surveyor registered by the State of Illinois;

      (7)   legal description of the property boundary and limits of waste disposal, handling and storage areas prepared by a professional land surveyor registered by the State of Illinois;

      (8)   location and available capacity of utilities and calculations of the facility's utility needs;

      (9)   type of waste handled, disposed of or treated;

      (10)   estimated quantity of each waste type received, treated and disposed of per day;

      (11)   water pumping equipment, including descriptions of specifications, pumping capacity, back- up capacity and location within the facility;

      (12)   fire prevention measures, including a comprehensive fire prevention and response plan;

      (13)   security equipment, including measures to restrict all unauthorized access to the site;

      (14)   emergency procedures in event of equipment failure and a demonstration that sufficient back-up and emergency operating capacity exists to adequately process one (1) day's waste flow into the facility;

      (15)   emergency communication system;

      (16)   first aid equipment;

      (17)   drawings and specifications for all structures and fixed equipment including all drawings, specifications, analysis and calculations demonstrating that the facility can be operated as proposed and in a safe manner;

      (18)   device, apparatus or process used in the facility, including a waste flow diagram and a demonstration that all equipment, processes and staffing are capable of safely handling the intended quantities of waste at all points in the facility;

      (19)   storage capacity, including detailed calculations of the total disposal capacity and the storage capacity of any storage area or tipping floor;

      (20)   water drainage, including a demonstration that adequate systems exist to handle stormwater and wastewater flows generated at the site;

      (21)   means of vehicle access to and egress from the facility, including a description of points of ingress and egress from the facility for all vehicles, a designation of roads to be used by traffic generated by the facility, and a demonstration that the impact of the site-generated traffic on existing traffic flows will be minimized;

      (22)   parking facilities, including a demonstration that adequate on-site parking exists for all vehicles entering the site;

      (23)   employee facilities;

      (24)   rodent control, including a plan which provides for regular inspection, prevention and elimination of rodents;

      (25)   method of screening or fencing the facility from surrounding area, including a demonstration that the method of screening or fencing will adequately control noise, dust, blowing litter and will limit access to authorized persons;

      (26)   method for treatment of odors, including a plan which provides for the prevention of odors and the prompt elimination of odors that do occur;

      (27)   closure plan, including a decommissioning plan to be implemented upon closure of the facility, calculation of closure costs and demonstration that financing for closure is available;

      (28)   proposed buffer zone including a description of the extent and effectiveness of such zones;

      (29)   environment assessment as provided in the Chicago Zoning Ordinance, Title 17;

      (30)   any other information relating to operations, safety, facility design, and environmental impacts deemed necessary by the commissioner to ensure that the facility can operate as proposed and that it can operate in compliance with the provisions of this Code and all other applicable local, state and federal laws and regulations.

   (B)   An application for a permit for a liquid waste handling facility shall be accompanied by the information required in section 11-4-1520(A), and, in addition, the following:

      (1)   monitoring well locations, including a demonstration that the monitoring wells are located and constructed so that contamination of groundwater can be detected prior to leaving the site;

      (2)   a plan for monitoring of constituents released from the facility, including maximum concentrations of constituents and frequency of monitoring; as well as a demonstration that the monitoring parameters are capable of detecting a release from the facility and a description of the statistical basis for the selected monitoring parameters;

      (3)   soil composition, including a hydroecological investigation of the site and the surrounding area;

      (4)   a description of all safety equipment and spill response procedures;

      (5)   plans for safety dikes, including a demonstration that sufficient secondary containment facilities exist for all lagoons, impoundments and tanks;

      (6)   composition and method of construction of pit liners, including a construction quality assurance plan that will provide sufficient data to demonstrate that the liner will prevent contamination of the surrounding environment.

   (C)   An application for a permit for a sanitary landfill shall be accompanied by the information required in Section 11-4-1520(A) and, in addition, the following:

      (1)   monitoring well locations, including a demonstration that the monitoring wells are located and constructed such that contamination of groundwater can be detected prior to leaving the site;

      (2)   a plan for monitoring of constituents released from the landfill, including maximum concentrations of constituents and frequency of monitoring; as well as a demonstration that the monitoring parameters are capable of detecting a release from the facility and a description of the statistical basis for the selected monitoring parameters;

      (3)   soil composition, including a hydrogeological investigation of the site and the surrounding area;

      (4)   composition and method of construction of pit liners, including a construction quality assurance plan that will provide sufficient data to demonstrate that the liner will prevent contamination of the surrounding environment;

      (5)   type of cover, including the source, composition, and quantities available for daily, intermediate and final cover;

      (6)   fill direction, including a phasing plan and schedule for construction and waste disposal activities throughout the life of the facility;

      (7)   proposed grade of the landfill, including a topographic map of the final grades and a demonstration that the final grades of the landfill will have stable slopes and will prevent erosion of the final cover;

      (8)   leachate collection method and procedure, including a demonstration that the leachate collection system is capable of maintaining a maximum leachate head on the liner of one foot throughout the entire landfill and a plan for the storage and treatment of the leachate;

      (9)   methane recovery systems, including a demonstration that the system is capable of preventing the migration of methane to surrounding properties or to the atmosphere, and that the system is capable of collecting, storing and utilizing methane emissions in an environmentally sound manner;

      (10)   method of erosion control, including a demonstration that such methods are effective in preventing erosion at the site;

      (11)   closure plan, including a closure and long-term care plan which demonstrates that the facility will not contaminate the surrounding soil, air, and water and will not threaten public health and safety; a calculation of closure costs; and a demonstration that financing for closure of the site is available.

   (D)   An application for a permit for a transfer station shall be accompanied by the information required in Section 11-4-1520(A) and, in addition, the following:

      (1)   type of vehicles used;

      (2)   name and location of all solid waste disposal facilities to which waste from the station will be hauled, including the proposed routes and travel times to the solid waste disposal facility;

      (3)   method of volume reduction utilized, including specifications and operating procedures for any equipment used for volume reduction;

      (4)   method of curtailing windblown materials;

      (5)   daily cleanup procedures, including a plan for the facility which will minimize odors, bacteria, disease-bearing animals or insects and rodents;

      (6)   a plan that demonstrates that all waste will be removed from the facility at the end of each operating day.

   (E)   An application for a permit for an incinerator or resource recovery facility shall be accompanied by the information required in Section 11-4-1520(A) and, in addition, the following:

      (1)   air pollution control devices or measures;

      (2)   method of ash disposal;

      (3)   location of site for ash disposal;

      (4)   front end recycling plans for feasible and optimal recovery of materials.

   (F)   Prior to February 1, 2025, notwithstanding any provisions of this chapter: (1) no permit shall be issued nor modification of any permit allowed for the expansion of any existing sanitary landfill or liquid waste handling facility which utilizes deep well injection or landfill as a means of waste disposal, and (2) no permit shall be issued for the creation or operation of a new sanitary landfill site or liquid waste handling facility which utilizes deep well injection or landfill as a means of waste disposal. The commissioner shall not issue or modify any permit subject to the restrictions in Section 11-4-1520(F) to any person including any applicant whose application was pending prior to the passage of the ordinance.

   (G)   The commissioner shall render a decision concerning an application for a facility which handles, treats or disposes of waste pursuant to Sections 11-4-250, 11-4-1500 and 11-4-1520 within 180 days after a complete application, permit fee and security required by Section 11-4-370 have been filed with the commissioner's office, unless the commissioner makes a determination that additional information or additional time is needed to review the application. Provided, however, that the commissioner may not take more than 90 additional days to render a decision. Additional information that the commissioner may request includes, but is not limited to: technical and design documents; procedural plans; environmental assessments; information which relates to operations, safety, facility design and environmental impacts; and information which the commissioner deems necessary to ensure that the facility can operate as proposed and in compliance with the provisions of this code and all other applicable local, state and federal laws.

(Prior code § 17-6.4; Added Coun. J. 3-8-89, p. 25433; Amend Coun. J. 7-12-90, p. 18326; Amend Coun. J. 1-4-92, p. 11801; Amend Coun. J. 2-9-94, p. 45184; Amend Coun. J. 8-3-94, p. 55153; Amend Coun. J. 1-12-95, p. 65073; Amend Coun. J. 1-10-96, p. 14653; Amend Coun. J. 1-14-97, p. 37535; Amend Coun. J. 1-14-98, p. 59873; Amend Coun. J. 9-1-99, p. 10090, § 4; Amend Coun. J. 1-12-00, p. 23755, § 1; Amend Coun. J. 1-16-02, p. 77349, § 1; Amend Coun. J. 1-16-03, p. 101865, § 1; Amend Coun. J. 12-15-04, p. 40007, § 1; Amend Coun. J. 6-8-05, p. 49892, § 1)

 

Notes

Title 17

The hyper-linked material is not part of the Chicago Building Code infobase and therefore is not included herein.  The material is included in other provisions of the Chicago Municipal Code.  The complete Chicago Municipal Code is available for purchase from American Legal Publishing in both print and Folio® versions.  Please click here for the appropriate American Legal order form in printable Adobe® PDF format.  For additional information, you may visit American Legal's website by clicking here.

11-4-1525 Permit – Conditions of issuance.

   The commissioner shall not grant a new permit or renew an existing permit for any incinerator, liquid waste handling facility, resource recovery facility, sanitary landfill, or transfer station or any facility that disposes, handles or treats any waste in the City of Chicago, unless each of the following conditions has been met:

   (1)   The application meets all applicable requirements of this Code;

   (2)   The application demonstrates that the facility is designed, located and capable of operating in a manner consistent with the health, safety and welfare of the public;

   (3)   The application demonstrates that the facility will be in compliance with all applicable local, state and federal laws:

   (4)   The applicant has paid all fees required by the Municipal Code of Chicago;

   (5)   The applicant has filed the security required by Section 11-4-370;

   (6)   The application demonstrates that the facility complies with the City of Chicago Solid Waste Management Plan, as amended.

(Added Coun. J. 1-12-95, p. 65073; Amend Coun. J. 9-1-99, p. 10090, § 5; Amend Coun. J. 2-9-11, p. 112149, § 5)

11-4-1527 Permit fees.

   (a)   The permit fees to operate a sanitary landfill, resource recovery facility, solid waste incinerator, liquid waste handling facility, transfer station or waste handling facility shall be as follows:

 

Annual sanitary landfill fees:
25-acre tract or less	$10,000.00
More than 25 acres but less than 50 acres	$20,000.00
50 acres or more but less than 75 acres	$30,000.00
75 acres or over	$40,000.00

 

 

Annual resource recovery facility or solid waste incinerator fees:
Design capacity of 250 tons per day or less	$5,000.00
Design capacity of more than 250 tons per day but less than 750 tons per day	$10,000.00
Design capacity of more than 750 tons per day but less than 1,250 tons per day	$20,000.00
Design capacity of more than 1,250 tons per day	$25,000.00

 

 

Annual liquid waste handling facility fees:
New or existing facility	$15,000.00

 

 

Quarterly transfer station or waste handling facility fees:
New or existing facility	$0.22 per ton of waste receive

 

   (b)   The City of Chicago shall be exempt from the payment of any fee required under this section.

   (c)   Every operator of a transfer station or waste handling facility shall remit the required permit fees to the department with the remittance return form prescribed by the commissioner. On or before the last day of each quarterly period, the operator must file the remittance return form and remit the fee attributable to the amount of waste received less any waste removed from the waste stream and properly recycled.

   (d)   The commissioner shall have the authority to promulgate rules for the collection of the fees required to be paid by this section.

(Added Coun. J. 10-7-09, p. 73413, § 1; Amend Coun. J. 2-9-11, p. 112149, § 6; Amend Coun. J. 11-21-17, p. 61858, Art. VII, § 1)

11-4-1530 Compliance with rules and regulations required.

   All sanitary landfills, incinerators, resource recovery facilities, transfer stations, recycling facilities, and facilities that dispose, handle or treat any waste located within the city shall operate in compliance with the Federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976, P.L. 94-580, as amended; the Illinois Environmental Protection Act, P.A. 76-2429, as amended and all other applicable federal, state and local laws and regulations.

(Prior code § 17-6.5; Added Coun. J. 3-8-89, p. 25433; Amend Coun. J. 1-12-95, p. 65073)

11-4-1540 Reports.

   Owners or operators of sanitary landfills, incinerators, resource recovery facilities, or liquid waste handling facilities in the City of Chicago who are required to file with the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency or the Illinois Pollution Control Board any report or plan pursuant to regulation of that authority shall maintain a copy of each report or plan so filed on the premises within the corporate limits of the city. Said reports or plans shall be available to the commissioner or his authorized agent for inspection at all times during normal business hours and upon reasonable notice at other times to insure compliance with this chapter. Owners or operators of sanitary landfills, resource recovery facilities, liquid waste handling facilities and incinerators shall also report monthly, on forms provided by the commissioner, the total volume in cubic yards of incoming waste materials.

(Prior code § 17-6.6; Added Coun. J. 3-8-89, p. 25433)

11-4-1550 Operational requirements.

   Sanitary landfills permitted under this chapter shall comply with the following requirements:

   (A)   Drainage. Sanitary landfills shall be designed and operated to insure proper drainage, to minimize flooding or standing water and to prevent runoff onto adjacent property and run-on onto the facility.

   (B)   Fill. All solid or liquid waste which is disposed of in a sanitary landfill shall be compacted in layers. The layers of compacted material shall not exceed eight feet in height for each lift. Where the trench system of sanitary landfill is used, successive parallel trenches shall be at least 20 feet apart.

   (C)   Cover. All solid or liquid waste disposed of in a sanitary landfill shall be covered by at least six inches of cover daily or more frequently as specified in the permit. Landfilled materials shall be leveled and spread at sufficient intervals to prevent unsightly appearance or rodent harborage and shall have a final cover compacted to a depth of not less than 24 inches upon closure.

   (D)   Grade. The final grade of each sanitary landfill shall be determined by the commissioner, and each permit for a sanitary landfill issued under this chapter shall specify the grade to which the disposal of waste is authorized.

   (E)   Erosion Control. Erosion control measures shall be implemented once the height of a sanitary landfill reaches ten feet above Chicago City Datum.

   (F)   Monitoring. Groundwater monitoring wells, at least two of which shall be located upgrade from the facility and four of which shall be located downgrade from the facility, shall be sampled quarterly. All samples shall be analyzed and shall be consistent with regulations issued under the Illinois Environmental Protection Act, P. A. 76-2429. The results of such sampling and analyses shall be sent to the commissioner no later than 45 days after sampling.

   (G)   Liners. Each trench or the entire landfill, if the trench system is not used, shall have a liner installed prior to commencement of operation in order to minimize the potential for migration of leachate from the site.

   (H)   Leachate Collection. A leachate collection system shall also be installed prior to commencement of operation. The leachate shall be analyzed by the owner or operator two times per year, and the analyses submitted to the commissioner. Such analyses shall test for all conventional and toxic pollutants designated by the United States Environmental Protection Agency under the Federal Clear Water Act.

(Prior code § 17-6.7; Added Coun. J. 3-8-89, p. 25433)

11-4-1560 Screening requirements.

   All Class III recycling facilities, sanitary landfills, incinerators, resource recovery facilities and liquid waste handling facilities, and transfer stations shall be visually screened from view and shall have buffer zones, as provided in the Chicago Zoning Ordinance, Title 17 .

(Prior code § 17-6.8; Added Coun. J. 3-8-89, p. 25433; Amend Coun. J. 11-16-11, p. 13798, Art. II, § 6)

 

Notes

Title 17

The hyper-linked material is not part of the Chicago Building Code infobase and therefore is not included herein.  The material is included in other provisions of the Chicago Municipal Code.  The complete Chicago Municipal Code is available for purchase from American Legal Publishing in both print and Folio® versions.  Please click here for the appropriate American Legal order form in printable Adobe® PDF format.  For additional information, you may visit American Legal's website by clicking here.

11-4-1570 Compliance with other code provisions required.

   Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to relieve any person receiving a permit hereunder from compliance with any other provisions of the Municipal Code.

(Prior code § 17-6.9; Added Coun. J. 3-8-89, p. 25433)

11-4-1580 Inspections – Jurisdiction.

   Inspections of liquid waste handling facilities, recycling facilities, incinerators, resource recovery facilities, sanitary landfills, and transfer stations shall be under the jurisdiction of the commissioner.

(Prior code § 17-6.10; Amend Coun. J. 3-8-89, p. 25433)