Substantive Standards (11-4-700 et seq.)

Municipal Code of Chicago tit. 11, ch. 11-4, art. II, pt. C

in effect

Municipal Code of Chicago § 11-4-700 Visible emissions limitations.

11-4-700 Visible emissions limitations. (a) No person shall cause or allow the emission of smoke or other particulate matter from an emission unit on a stationary emission source within the city with an opacity greater than 30 percent into the atmosphere unless otherwise permitted by a permit issued under Title V of the Clean Air Act, a Federally Enforceable State Operating Permit (FESOP), or applicable state law. This subsection (a) shall not apply to stationary emission sources subject to the visible emissions limitations set forth in the Illinois Pollution Control Board Rules and Regulations, codified at Section 212.122 of 35 Illinois Administrative Code, as amended. (b) Except to the extent permitted by an operating permit issued under Title V of the Clean Air Act, a FESOP, or applicable state law, the emission of smoke or other particulate matter from any such emission unit in the city may have an opacity greater than 30 percent but not greater than 60 percent for a period or periods aggregating 8 minutes in any 60 minute period provided that such opaque emissions permitted during any 60 minute period shall occur from only one such emission unit located within a 305 meter (1,000 ft) radius from the center point of any other such emission unit owned or operated by such person, and provided further that such opaque emissions permitted from each such emission unit shall be limited to 3 times in any 24 hour period. This subsection (b) shall not apply to stationary emission sources subject to the visible emissions limitations set forth in Illinois Pollution Control Board Rules and Regulations, Codified at Section 212.122 of 35 Illinois Administrative Code, as amended. (c) It shall constitute a violation of this section for a stationary emission source to emit any matter in excess of limitations set forth in a permit issued under Title V of the Clean Air Act, a FESOP, or applicable state law. (d) This section shall not apply to emissions (i) during times of startup, malfunction, breakdown, or equipment maintenance; or (ii) to emissions of water or water vapor from an emission unit. (Added Coun. J. 10-7-09, p. 73413, § 1) Editor's note – Coun. J. 10-7-09, p. 73413, § 1, repealed former § 11-4-700, which pertained to carbon monoxide emissions.

Municipal Code of Chicago § 11-4-710 Nitrogen oxide emissions.

11-4-710 Nitrogen oxide emissions. No person shall cause or allow nitrogen oxide emissions from any source to exceed the limitations set forth by regulations promulgated by the State of Illinois Pollution Control Board, codified at Part 217 of 35 Illinois Administrative Code, as amended, which regulations are adopted and incorporated by reference and made a part of this section as if fully set forth herein. (Added Coun. J. 10-7-09, p. 73413, § 1) Editor's note – Coun. J. 10-7-09, p. 73413, § 1, repealed former § 11-4-710, which also pertained to nitrogen oxide emissions.

Municipal Code of Chicago § 11-4-715 Lead emissions.

11-4-715 Lead emissions. (a) No person shall cause or allow the discharge or emission of lead from any facility: (i) so as to prevent the attainment or maintenance of the national primary ambient air quality standard for lead and its compounds, codified in Title 40, Section 50.16 of the Code of Federal Regulations (C.F.R.), as amended; or (ii) so as to cause or tend to cause air pollution, provided, however, that for purposes of this subsection (ii), lead emissions in compliance with a facility's state or federal air permit shall not constitute air pollution; or (iii) so as to prevent the attainment or maintenance of any applicable ambient air quality standard in violation of Title 35, Section 201.141 of the Illinois Administrative Code (I.A.C.), as amended, 40 C.F.R. Section 50.16, and any subsequent amendments to the national primary ambient air quality standard for lead and its compounds which are adopted and incorporated by reference and made part of this section as if fully set forth herein. (b) For purposes of this section, nonattainment of the applicable ambient air quality standard for lead shall be determined using: data collected from a monitor operated by a federal, state, or local governmental entity; and, the calculation, sampling and analysis methods specified or referred to in 40 C.F.R. Part 50, Appendix R, as amended. (c) Any person who owns or operates a facility subject to the toxic release inventory (T.R.I.) reporting requirements as codified in 40 C.F.R. Part 372, as amended, and reported total lead air emissions greater than or equal to one hundred pounds in a T.R.I. report in any of the five years preceding the current calendar year shall submit quarterly reports to the department, in the form prescribed by the commissioner, of the facility's estimated lead emissions during each quarter of the year. The report for the first quarter of each calendar year (January through March) is due on or before October 15th of the same calendar year; the report for the second quarter (April through June) is due on or before January 15th of the following calendar year; the report for the third quarter (July through September) is due on or before April 15th of the following calendar year; and, the report for the fourth quarter (October through December) is due on or before July 15th of the following calendar year. If the due date under this subsection falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or designated City of Chicago holiday, then the due date will be the first business day immediately following the Saturday, Sunday, or designated City of Chicago holiday. At a minimum, each quarterly report must contain the same information regarding the facility's estimated lead emissions as is required under 40 C.F.R. Section 372.85, as amended, except that the emission estimates will be on a quarterly basis. The person shall estimate its quarterly lead emissions using the same methodology that it uses for its annual T.R.I. report. (Added Coun. J. 7-28-11, p. 4950, § 1; Amend Coun. J. 11-8-12, p. 38872, § 197)

Municipal Code of Chicago § 11-4-720 Emission of particulate matter.

11-4-720 Emission of particulate matter. No person shall cause or allow emissions from any source to exceed the limitations set forth by regulations promulgated by the State of Illinois Pollution Control Board, codified in Part 212 of 35 Illinois Administrative Code, as amended, including regulations set forth to limit fugitive particulate emissions, which regulations are adopted and incorporated by reference and made a part of this section as if fully set forth herein. (Added Coun. J. 10-7-09, p. 73413, § 1) Editor's note – Coun. J. 10-7-09, p. 73413, § 1, repealed former § 11-4-720, which pertained to fugitive particulate emissions.

Municipal Code of Chicago § 11-4-725 Dry cleaning facilities that use perchloroethylene.

11-4-725 Dry cleaning facilities that use perchloroethylene. No person shall cause or allow the operation of any dry cleaning equipment that uses perchloroethylene in violation of Subparts A and M of Part 63 of Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations, as amended, and Section 22.57 of the Illinois Environmental Protection Act, codified at 415 ILCS 5/22.57, which regulations and statute are adopted and incorporated by reference and made a part of this section as if fully set forth herein. (Added Coun. J. 7-29-15, p. 3594, § 1)

Municipal Code of Chicago § 11-4-728 Motor vehicle repair shops.

11-4-728 Motor vehicle repair shops. No person shall cause or allow the operation of any motor vehicle repair shop in violation of Subpart HHHHHH of Part 63 of Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations, as amended, and Part 211 and Subpart HH of Part 218 of Title 35 of the Illinois Administrative Code, as amended, which regulations are adopted and incorporated by reference and made a part of this section as if fully set forth herein. (Added Coun. J. 7-29-15, p. 3594, § 1)

Municipal Code of Chicago § 11-4-730 Air pollution prohibited.

11-4-730 Air pollution prohibited. It shall be unlawful within the City of Chicago for any person to cause, suffer or allow the emission of air pollution; provided, however, emissions in compliance with state or federal law or regulations shall not constitute air pollution. (Added Coun. J. 10-7-09, p. 73413, § 1) Editor's note – Coun. J. 10-7-09, p. 73413, § 1, repealed former § 11-4-730, which pertained to surfacing of lots and roadways.

Municipal Code of Chicago § 11-4-740 Open fires prohibited.

11-4-740 Open fires prohibited. It shall be unlawful to burn paper, wood, garbage, leaves, building construction, demolition debris or any other combustible material in open fires or in metal containers. The commissioner shall implement the rules and regulations set forth in Part 237.120 of 35 Illinois Administrative Code, Open Burning, as promulgated by the State of Illinois Pollution Control Board and subject to amendment from time to time. (Added Coun. J. 10-7-09, p. 73413, § 1; Amend Coun. J. 11-16-11, p. 13798, Art. II, § 6) Editor's note – Coun. J. 10-7-09, p. 73413, § 1, repealed former § 11-4-740, which also prohibited open fires.

Municipal Code of Chicago § 11-4-750 Surfacing of lots and roadways.

11-4-750 Surfacing of lots and roadways. No person shall maintain or conduct or cause to be maintained or conducted any parking lot or automobile or truck sales lot or use any real property for a private roadway without taking reasonable precautions to minimize air pollution, including, but not limited to, covering or treating such real property with a surface or substance, and complying with applicable laws. (Added Coun. J. 10-7-09, p. 73413, § 1) Editor's note – Coun. J. 10-7-09, p. 73413, § 1, repealed former § 11-4-750, which pertained to dilution or concealment of emissions.

Municipal Code of Chicago § 11-4-760 Handling and storage of material susceptible to becoming windborne.

11-4-760 Handling and storage of material susceptible to becoming windborne. (a) Material handling: No person shall cause or permit the use, handling, loading, unloading, storing, depositing, or scattering of any substance or material that may become airborne or be scattered by the wind without taking reasonable precautions to minimize windborne particulate matter. (b) Material storage: No person shall operate or maintain, or cause to be operated or maintained, any building, structure, premises, open area, right-of-way or enterprise which contains, uses or involves any substance or material that may become airborne or be scattered by the wind without taking reasonable precautions to minimize windborne particulate matter. (c) Material piles: Owners and operators of, and general contractors and subcontractors working at, sites with material piles shall employ dust control measures to ensure that no visible dust or dirt from material piles migrates off the site. Work with material piles shall be suspended as necessary during high winds (in excess of 15 miles per hour) unless alternate measures are implemented to effectively control dust. (d) Track out onto the public way: Owners and operators of, and any general contractor or subcontractor working at, any property shall ensure that mud, dirt, and other debris is not tracked onto the public way. The Commissioner or the Commissioner of the Department of Streets and Sanitation may require property owners, operators, general contractors and subcontractors to employ a street sweeper, water truck, truck wash, or other device to control the track out of mud, dust, and debris onto the public way. (e) Rules and regulations. The commissioner is authorized to promulgate additional rules and regulations for the proper management of any substance or material that may become airborne or be scattered by the wind. (f) Enforcement. The Department of the Environment and the Department of Streets and Sanitation are authorized to enforce the provisions of this section. (Added Coun. J. 10-7-09, p. 73413, § 1; Amend Coun. J. 11-16-11, p. 13798, Art. II, § 6; Amend Coun. J. 11-21-17, p. 61755, Art. IV, § 3; Amend Coun. J. 12-20-25, p. 39283, Art. III, § 6) Editor's note – Coun. J. 10-7-09, p. 73413, § 1, repealed former § 11-4-760, which pertained to smoke and gases from internal combustion engines of vehicles.

Municipal Code of Chicago § 11-4-765 Construction site cleanliness.

11-4-765 Construction site cleanliness. (1) As used in this section: (a) "Construction and demolition debris" or "debris" has the meaning ascribed to the former term in Section 11-4-120 of this Code. (b) "Construction site" means any or all portion of the real property that is identified as the location of any excavation or of the erection, enlargement, alteration, repair, removal or demolition of any building, structure or structural part thereof within the City and that requires a permit under Chapter 14A-4 of this Code. However, for purposes of this section, "construction site" does not include a project location where all construction and/or demolition activity, including the staging of construction materials and storing of debris, is conducted within a completely enclosed structure; nor does it include any project location on any property that is, or hereafter becomes, part of Chicago-O'Hare International Airport or Chicago Midway Airport. During the term of any concession and lease agreement between the City of Chicago and a private operator with respect to Chicago Midway Airport, the words "or Chicago Midway Airport" shall be deleted from this paragraph (1)(b). (c) “Contractor” means the general contractor or other person generally responsible for the construction site and shall also include a subcontractor with respect to a violation of this section that is directly attributable to the subcontractor. (d) "Litter" has the meaning ascribed to the term in Section 7-28-200 of this Code. (2) All construction sites shall be governed by the following standards: (a) The contractor shall employ adequate wetting or other abatement measures to prevent the off-site dispersion of dust and debris from a construction site. (b) All construction sites shall be enclosed and secured by a continuous chain link fence at least six feet in height which shall be anchored in a manner sufficient to resist wind loads of 30 pounds per square foot without deflection of more than three inches between the top and bottom of the fence. The contractor may allow one gate to remain open while construction workers are performing construction activities on the construction site. The gate shall be no larger than is reasonably necessary to provide for truck access. (c) Mesh Fabric shall be affixed to the construction site fence face. (i) The mesh fabric shall allow the passage of air but shall contain dust and dirt. (ii) Such mesh fabric shall be the full height of the fence and cover the entire length of the fence including any gated openings. (iii) The mesh fabric and fence shall not display any advertisements or graffiti. (d) The construction site fence shall be placed at the perimeter of the property or, for work in an area substantially smaller than the entire property, around the site of construction large enough to ensure sufficient room for movement of tools and workers, storage of waste receptacles and other items, and the safety of the public. (e) The contractor shall immediately repair any damage to the construction site fence or mesh fabric and maintain the integrity and continuity of the fence for the duration of the project. (f) All dumpsters and debris collection devices shall be stored behind the construction site fence unless specifically permitted for public way use, and shall be regularly serviced to avoid allowing the contents to extend above the top of the dumpster. (g) All construction and demolition debris shall be removed through dust-tight chutes or by lowering it in buckets or containers, and no debris shall be dropped or thrown from any floor. (h) Construction and demolition debris shall be separated from any garbage, litter or landscape wastes that shall be separately contained. (i) Sealed trash containers for litter and garbage shall be provided throughout the site, with at least one container provided for every floor or 4,000 square feet of area, whichever is less. All litter and garbage shall be removed daily or more frequently as needed. (j) Construction materials and construction and demolition debris shall be gathered daily and stored in a neat and orderly manner. (k) The contractor shall take all necessary steps to ensure that dirt and debris from the construction site is not transmitted by vehicles leaving the site to the public way. Mitigation measures shall include, but are not limited to, stoning or paving of haul roads, wheel wash stations and street sweepers. (l) For construction sites that are buildings or structures having four or more floors, the contractor shall enclose with mesh fabric the floor areas where the contractor is conducting construction activities, such as erecting, enlarging, altering, repairing, removing or demolishing on that floor. (i) The mesh fabric shall allow the passage of air but shall contain dust and debris on the enclosed floors. (ii) Fabric enclosures shall be adequately secured. (iii) The mesh fabric shall be installed around the entire floor. (iv) The mesh fabric shall not display any advertisements or graffiti. (m) For tuck pointing operations, the area of grinding shall be enclosed to contain dust and debris from grinding operations. (n) Where materials are stored for use on floors above grade, they shall be secured to prevent movement due to weather conditions or other phenomena. (3) Any person who violates this section shall be fined not less than $750.00 nor more than $1,000.00 for each offense. Any owner, developer or contractor who is responsible for any construction site at which operations are conducted in violation of this section shall be liable for the penalties provided by this section, and shall be jointly and severally liable for such penalties with any subcontractor to which a violation is directly attributable. The Department of the Environment and the Department of Streets and Sanitation shall each have the power to enforce this section. (4) In addition to any other available penalties and remedies provided for in the Code, one or more citations for any violation of subsection (2) above on each of three or more separate days within a three-month period at the same construction site may result in a stop work order issued by the Department of the Environment or the Department of Streets and Sanitation, directing that all activity cease for ten days. Any further citation for violation at the same construction site within six months after the initial stop work order may result in the issuance of another 10-day stop work order. The issuing department shall lift a 10-day stop work order only if sufficient evidence of compliance with this chapter is provided to the department. (a) It shall be unlawful for any person to knowingly violate a stop work order, or to knowingly cause, permit, encourage, assist, aid, abet or direct another person to violate a stop work order, or to knowingly in any manner be a party to a violation of a stop work order. Any person who violates this subsection shall be fined $5,000.00. (b) It shall be unlawful for any person to knowingly destroy, deface, remove, damage, impair, mar, cover or obstruct any stop work order that a city official has posted or affixed at a work site. Any person who violates this subsection shall be fined not less than $200.00 nor more than $500.00. (Added Coun. J. 10-27-21, p. 40504, Art. II, § 6; Amend Coun. J. 11-15-23, p. 6542, Art. V, § 7; Amend Coun. J. 12-20-25, p. 39283, Art. III, § 6)

Municipal Code of Chicago § 11-4-770 Commissioner - Jurisdiction and authority.

11-4-770 Commissioner - Jurisdiction and authority. The commissioner shall have jurisdiction and authority over the sources of any matter, material or substance likely to be scattered by the wind or susceptible to becoming airborne or a contributing factor to air pollution and shall have authority to issue an emergency or non-emergency cessation order or an emergency or non-emergency abatement order in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4-025 of this Code to any person who caused the windborne nuisance, and to instigate prosecutions for violations of any provision of this chapter or any other chapter of this Code relating to the eradication or control of matter susceptible to being windborne. For the purpose of minimizing air pollution, the commissioner may prescribe, by rules and regulation, reasonable, specific operating and maintenance practices for buildings, structures, premises, open areas, automobiles and/or truck parking and sales lots, private roadways, rights-of-way, storage piles of materials, yards, vessels, vehicles, construction, sandblasting, alteration, building, demolition or wrecking operations and any other enterprise which has or involves any matter, material or substance susceptible to being windborne and for the handling, transportation, disposition or other operation with respect to any material subject to being windborne. (Added Coun. J. 10-7-09, p. 73413, § 1) Editor's note – Coun. J. 10-7-09, p. 73413, § 1, repealed former § 11-4-770, which pertained to handling of material susceptible to becoming windborne.

Municipal Code of Chicago § 11-4-780 Refuse burning, municipal waste- burning equipment and municipal waste burning - Prohibited.

11-4-780 Refuse burning, municipal waste- burning equipment and municipal waste burning - Prohibited. (a) It shall be unlawful to burn refuse, garbage or other debris in any boiler or any unit which has not been specifically designed for that purpose and for which an effective certificate of operation has not been issued. (b) It shall be unlawful to install or replace a municipal waste incinerator in the City of Chicago and the burning of municipal waste in any incinerator shall be strictly prohibited except when required by state or federal law; provided, however, the prohibition in this section shall not apply to facilities that convert waste to fuel, steam, electricity, energy, or other resources in a properly-permitted facility. (Added Coun. J. 10-7-09, p. 73413, § 1; Amend Coun. J. 11-16-11, p. 13798, Art. II, § 6) Editor's note – Coun. J. 10-7-09, p. 73413, § 1, repealed former § 11-4-780, which pertained to storage of materials susceptible to becoming windborne.

Source: City of Chicago, Municipal Code of Chicago (American Legal Publishing, codelibrary.amlegal.com)URL: https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/chicago/latest/chicago_il/0-0-0-2654723Fetched: 10/24/2026