ILCS » Chapter 415 · Act 5
Illinois Compiled Statutes

415 ILCS 5/12 (2026)

Actions prohibited

✓ current as of May 2026
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(415 ILCS 5/12) (from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 1012)
    Sec. 12. Actions prohibited. No person shall:
        (a) Cause or threaten or allow the discharge of any
    
contaminants into the environment in any State so as to cause or tend to cause water pollution in Illinois, either alone or in combination with matter from other sources, or so as to violate regulations or standards adopted by the Pollution Control Board under this Act. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, compliance with the terms and conditions of a permit issued under Section 39(b) of this Act for a permit that authorizes reuse of wastewater for irrigation shall be deemed compliance with this subsection.
        (b) Construct, install, or operate any equipment,
    
facility, vessel, or aircraft capable of causing or contributing to water pollution, or designed to prevent water pollution, of any type designated by Board regulations, without a permit granted by the Agency, or in violation of any conditions imposed by such permit.
        (c) Increase the quantity or strength of any
    
discharge of contaminants into the waters, or construct or install any sewer or sewage treatment facility or any new outlet for contaminants into the waters of this State, without a permit granted by the Agency.
        (d) Deposit any contaminants upon the land in such
    
place and manner so as to create a water pollution hazard.
        (e) Sell, offer, or use any article in any area in
    
which the Board has by regulation forbidden its sale, offer, or use for reasons of water pollution control.
        (f) Cause, threaten, or allow the discharge of any
    
contaminant into the waters of the State, as defined herein, including, but not limited to, waters to any sewage works, or into any well or from any point source within the State, without an NPDES permit for point source discharges issued by the Agency under Section 39(b) of this Act, or in violation of any term or condition imposed by such permit, or in violation of any NPDES permit filing requirement established under Section 39(b), or in violation of any regulations adopted by the Board or of any order adopted by the Board with respect to the NPDES program.
        No permit shall be required under this subsection and
    
under Section 39(b) of this Act for any discharge for which a permit is not required under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, as now or hereafter amended, and regulations pursuant thereto.
        For all purposes of this Act, a permit issued by the
    
Administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency under Section 402 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, as now or hereafter amended, shall be deemed to be a permit issued by the Agency pursuant to Section 39(b) of this Act. However, this shall not apply to the exclusion from the requirement of an operating permit provided under Section 13(b)(i).
        Compliance with the terms and conditions of any
    
permit issued under Section 39(b) of this Act shall be deemed compliance with this subsection except that it shall not be deemed compliance with any standard or effluent limitation imposed for a toxic pollutant injurious to human health.
        In any case where a permit has been timely applied
    
for pursuant to Section 39(b) of this Act but final administrative disposition of such application has not been made, it shall not be a violation of this subsection to discharge without such permit unless the complainant proves that final administrative disposition has not been made because of the failure of the applicant to furnish information reasonably required or requested in order to process the application.
        (g) Cause, threaten, or allow the underground
    
injection of contaminants without a UIC permit issued by the Agency under Section 39(d) of this Act, or in violation of any term or condition imposed by such permit, or in violation of any regulations or standards adopted by the Board or of any order adopted by the Board with respect to the UIC program.
        No permit shall be required under this subsection and
    
under Section 39(d) of this Act for any underground injection of contaminants for which a permit is not required under Part C of the Safe Drinking Water Act (P.L. 93-523), as amended, unless a permit is authorized or required under regulations adopted by the Board pursuant to Section 13 of this Act.
        (h) Introduce contaminants into a sewage works from
    
any nondomestic source except in compliance with the regulations and standards adopted by the Board under this Act.
        (i) Beginning January 1, 2013 or 6 months after the
    
date of issuance of a general NPDES permit for surface discharging private sewage disposal systems by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency or by the United States Environmental Protection Agency, whichever is later, construct or install a surface discharging private sewage disposal system that discharges into the waters of the United States, as that term is used in the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, unless he or she has a coverage letter under a NPDES permit issued by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency or by the United States Environmental Protection Agency or he or she is constructing or installing the surface discharging private sewage disposal system in a jurisdiction in which the local public health department has a general NPDES permit issued by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency or by the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the surface discharging private sewage disposal system is covered under the general NPDES permit.
(Source: P.A. 103-801, eff. 1-1-25; 104-417, eff. 8-15-25.)

    
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 26 cases (3 in the last 5 years), 1996–2023 · leading case: People v. McCarty, 858 N.E.2d 15 (Ill. 2006).
Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment
People v. McCarty, 858 N.E.2d 15 (Ill. 2006). · cites it 2× “6) (West 2000) (prohibiting possession of methamphetamine manufacturing chemicals with intent to manufacture methamphetamine); 415 ILCS 5/12(a) (West 2000) (prohibiting water pollution); 415 ILCS 5/21(a) (West 2000) (prohibiting land pollution); 720 ILCS 5/20-1.”
People Ex Rel. Ryan v. Agpro, Inc., 803 N.E.2d 1007 (Ill. App. Ct. 2004). · cites it 3× “In count I, titled “Water Pollution,” it was alleged that defendants, as a result of their business operations, caused or allowed pesticides to be discharged upon the ground and, in turn, into the surface water and groundwater in violation of section 12(a) of the Act (415 ILCS…”
People Ex Rel. Madigan v. Tang, 805 N.E.2d 243 (Ill. App. Ct. 2004). · cites it 2× “(2000)) rather than the Act’s “caused or allowed” standard, which is at issue here (415 ILCS 5/12(a) (West 2000)). Regardless, the cases are useful to our analysis because they are premised on the same general principles of corporation law that we discussed above and because the…”
People Ex Rel. Ryan v. Agpro, Inc., 824 N.E.2d 270 (Ill. 2005). “3d at 1019 , citing 415 ILCS 5/12(d) (West 2000). In sum, none of the State’s arguments overcome the plain and unambiguous meaning of section 42(e).”
Illinois State Toll High. Auth. v. Amoco Oil Co., 783 N.E.2d 658 (Ill. App. Ct. 2003). “” 415 ILCS 5/12(a), (d) (West 2000). ISTHA alleged that it, Mobil, and Amoco are also hable under the following provisions in section 21 of the Environmental Act: “No person shall: (a) Cause or allow the open dumping of any waste.”
E.O.R. Energy, LLC v. Pollution Control Bd., 2015 IL App (4th) 130443 (Ill. App. Ct. 2015). · cites it 2× “121 (2006)), thereby violating section 12(g) of the Environmental Act (415 ILCS 5/12(g) (West 2004)), by injecting hazardous waste acid into EOR's wells without having an Underground Injection Control (UIC) permit and failing to comply with the listed requirements of section 704.”
Trtanj ex rel. State Farm Fire & Cas. Co. v. City of Granite City, 379 Ill. App. 3d 795 (Ill. App. Ct. 2008). “415 ILCS 5/12(a), 13(a)(3) ( West 2006 ).”
N. Moraine Wastewater Reclamation Dist. v. Illinois Com. Comm'n, 912 N.E.2d 204 (Ill. App. Ct. 2009). “415 ILCS 5/12(b) (West 2006). Thus, it is the IEPA, and not the ICC, that enforces Illinois law relating to the CWA, and it is the IEPA that is vested with the requisite authority to grant Rockwell the appropriate permits.”
TRTANJ v. City of Granite City, 884 N.E.2d 741 (Ill. App. Ct. 2008). “415 ILCS 5/12(a), 13(a)(3) ( West 2006 ).”
E.O.R. Energy, LLC v. Pollution Control Bd., 2015 IL App (4th) 130443 (Ill. App. Ct. 2015). · cites it 2× “121 (2006)), thereby violating section 12(g) of the Environmental Act (415 ILCS 5/12(g) (West 2004)), by injecting hazardous-waste acid into EOR’s wells without having an “Underground Injection Control” (UIC) permit and failing to comply with the listed requirements of section…”
Neumann v. Carlson Env't, Inc., 429 F. Supp. 2d 946 (N.D. Ill. 2006). “The Hopmayers contend both that (1) the court lacks jurisdiction over this claim because exclusive jurisdiction over citizen enforcement actions lies in the Illinois Pollution Control Board, and (2) there is no private right of action under the Act.”
People v. Elec. Plating Co., 683 N.E.2d 465 (Ill. App. Ct. 1997). · cites it 2× “JUSTICE CERDA delivered the opinion of the court: Defendants, Electronic-Plating Company (EPC) and two company officials, Robert Porcelli and Harshad Patel, were indicted on 22 counts of introducing contaminants into a sewage works from a non-domestic source (415 ILCS 5/12(h),…”
Show all 26 citing cases →
— 415 ILCS 5/12(a) — 15 cases
People v. McCarty, 858 N.E.2d 15 (Ill. 2006). “6) (West 2000) (prohibiting possession of methamphetamine manufacturing chemicals with intent to manufacture methamphetamine); 415 ILCS 5/12(a) (West 2000) (prohibiting water pollution); 415 ILCS 5/21(a) (West 2000) (prohibiting land pollution); 720 ILCS 5/20-1.”
People Ex Rel. Madigan v. Tang, 805 N.E.2d 243 (Ill. App. Ct. 2004). “(2000)) rather than the Act’s “caused or allowed” standard, which is at issue here (415 ILCS 5/12(a) (West 2000)). Regardless, the cases are useful to our analysis because they are premised on the same general principles of corporation law that we discussed above and because the…”
Illinois State Toll High. Auth. v. Amoco Oil Co., 783 N.E.2d 658 (Ill. App. Ct. 2003). “” 415 ILCS 5/12(a), (d) (West 2000). ISTHA alleged that it, Mobil, and Amoco are also hable under the following provisions in section 21 of the Environmental Act: “No person shall: (a) Cause or allow the open dumping of any waste.”
Trtanj ex rel. State Farm Fire & Cas. Co. v. City of Granite City, 379 Ill. App. 3d 795 (Ill. App. Ct. 2008). “415 ILCS 5/12(a), 13(a)(3) ( West 2006 ).”
People Ex Rel. Ryan v. Agpro, Inc., 803 N.E.2d 1007 (Ill. App. Ct. 2004). “In count I, titled “Water Pollution,” it was alleged that defendants, as a result of their business operations, caused or allowed pesticides to be discharged upon the ground and, in turn, into the surface water and groundwater in violation of section 12(a) of the Act (415 ILCS…”
— 415 ILCS 5/12(b) — 1 case
N. Moraine Wastewater Reclamation Dist. v. Illinois Com. Comm'n, 912 N.E.2d 204 (Ill. App. Ct. 2009). “415 ILCS 5/12(b) (West 2006). Thus, it is the IEPA, and not the ICC, that enforces Illinois law relating to the CWA, and it is the IEPA that is vested with the requisite authority to grant Rockwell the appropriate permits.”
— 415 ILCS 5/12(d) — 4 cases
People Ex Rel. Ryan v. Agpro, Inc., 803 N.E.2d 1007 (Ill. App. Ct. 2004). “In count I, titled “Water Pollution,” it was alleged that defendants, as a result of their business operations, caused or allowed pesticides to be discharged upon the ground and, in turn, into the surface water and groundwater in violation of section 12(a) of the Act (415 ILCS…”
People Ex Rel. Ryan v. Agpro, Inc., 824 N.E.2d 270 (Ill. 2005). “3d at 1019 , citing 415 ILCS 5/12(d) (West 2000). In sum, none of the State’s arguments overcome the plain and unambiguous meaning of section 42(e).”
People ex rel. Ryan v. Agpro, Inc. (Ill. App. Ct. 2004).
People ex rel. Ryan v. Agpro, Inc. (Ill. 2005).
— 415 ILCS 5/12(f) — 3 cases
Cont'l Cas. Co. v. 401 North Wabash Venture, LLC, 2023 IL App (1st) 221625 (Ill. App. Ct. 2023).
Nat. Resources Def. Council v. The Pollution Control Bd., 2015 IL App (4th) 140644 (Ill. App. Ct. 2015).
Nat. Resources Def. Council v. The Pollution Control Bd., 2015 IL App (4th) 140644 (Ill. App. Ct. 2015).
— 415 ILCS 5/12(g) — 2 cases
E.O.R. Energy, LLC v. Pollution Control Bd., 2015 IL App (4th) 130443 (Ill. App. Ct. 2015). “121 (2006)), thereby violating section 12(g) of the Environmental Act (415 ILCS 5/12(g) (West 2004)), by injecting hazardous waste acid into EOR's wells without having an Underground Injection Control (UIC) permit and failing to comply with the listed requirements of section 704.”
E.O.R. Energy, LLC v. Pollution Control Bd., 2015 IL App (4th) 130443 (Ill. App. Ct. 2015). “121 (2006)), thereby violating section 12(g) of the Environmental Act (415 ILCS 5/12(g) (West 2004)), by injecting hazardous-waste acid into EOR’s wells without having an “Underground Injection Control” (UIC) permit and failing to comply with the listed requirements of section…”
— 415 ILCS 5/12(h) — 2 cases
People v. Elec. Plating Co., 683 N.E.2d 465 (Ill. App. Ct. 1997). “JUSTICE CERDA delivered the opinion of the court: Defendants, Electronic-Plating Company (EPC) and two company officials, Robert Porcelli and Harshad Patel, were indicted on 22 counts of introducing contaminants into a sewage works from a non-domestic source (415 ILCS 5/12(h),…”
People v. Elec. Plating Co. (Ill. App. Ct. 1997).
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