JULY 9, 2015 17 ILL. ADM. CODE CH, I, SEC. 870 TITLE 17: CONSERVATION CHAPTER I: DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES SUBCHAPTER b: FISH AND WILDLIFE PART 870 AQUACULTURE, TRANSPORTATION, STOCKING, IMPORTATION AND/OR POSSESSION OF AQUATIC LIFE Section 870.5 Definitions 870.10 Aquatic Life Approved Species List 870.20 Aquaculture Facility Permit Application and Requirements 870.30 Aquaculture Permit Application and Requirements 870.40 Cessation of Business; Recordkeeping and Reporting 870.50 Unlawful Acts 870.60 Restricted Species Transportation Permit Procedures 870.70 Penalties 870.80 Exceptions AUTHORITY: Implementing and authorized by Sections 1-20, 1-105, 1-125, 1-135, 1-140, 1- 145 and 20-90 of the Fish and Aquatic Life Code [515 ILCS 5/1-20, 1-105, 1-125, 1-135, 1-140, 1-145 and 20-90]. SOURCE: Adopted July 12, 1974; effective July 24, 1974; codified at 5 Ill. Reg. 10649, amended at 7 Ill. Reg. 14947, effective November 1, 1983; amended at 10 Ill. Reg. 963, effective January 7, 1986; Part repealed and new Part adopted at 13 Ill. Reg. 10503, effective June 20, 1989; amended at 14 Ill. Reg. 11190, effective June 29, 1990; recodified by changing the agency name from Department of Conservation to Department of Natural Resources at 20 Ill. Reg. 9389; amended at 27 Ill. Reg. 7741, effective April 21, 2003; amended at 39 Ill. Reg. 10394, effective July 9, 2015. Section 870.5 Definitions The following definitions apply to this Part. "Annual Report" means the record of the annual operations of an aquaculture permit holder that shall be submitted to the Department under Section 370.40(c). "Aquaculture" means the controlled breeding, hatching, propagation or raising of aquatic life by an aquaculturist [515 ILCS 5/20-90]. "Aquaculture Permit" means a permit issued to any person who engages in the breeding, hatching, propagating or raising of aquatic life, whether indigenous or JULY 9, 2015 17 ILL. ADM. CODE CH, I, SEC. 870 nonindigenous. Aquatic life bred, hatched, propagated or raised by a permittee may be transported and sold for food or stocking purposes. [515 ILCS 5/20-90] "Aquaculturist" means an individual involved in producing, transporting or marketing aquatic life or aquatic products from privately owned waters for commercial purposes [20 ILCS 215/4(b)]. "Aquatic Life" means fish, mollusks, crustaceans, algae and other aquatic plants and invertebrates [515 ILCS 5/1-20]. For purposes of this Part, "aquatic life" does not include amphibians or reptiles, which are governed by the Herptile-Herps Act [510 ILCS 68]; saltwater species commonly used as seafood that will not survive in freshwater, such as lobsters, clams, mussels and oysters; any species listed as endangered or threatened under Section 8 of the Illinois Endangered Species Protection Act [520 ILCS 10], which are governed under Section 3 of that Act; or any persons exempted by Section 870.80 of this Part. "Aquatic Life Approved Species List" or "Approved List" means the list created by the Department under Section 870.10. The Approved List is used in the licensure of aquaculture facilities and the permitting of aquaculturists, and regulating importation and transportation of aquatic life. "Chief" means the Chief of the DNR Division of Fisheries. "Code" means the Fish and Aquatic Life Code [515 ILCS 5]. "Department" or "DNR" means the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. "Division" means the DNR Division of Fisheries. "Wholly Owned" means a pond or lake where the boundary of the pond or lake is completely contained within a landowner's property. (Source: Added at 39 Ill. Reg. 10394, effective July 9, 2015) Section 870.10 Aquatic Life Approved Species List a) For the purposes of regulating aquaculture and the transportation, stocking, importation and/or possession of aquatic life specified in this Part, the Aquatic Life Approved Species List is established. The Approved List is created and maintained by the Department and is comprised of specific species of aquatic life, within the categories of fish, crustaceans, gastropods, mollusks and plants. JULY 9, 2015 17 ILL. ADM. CODE CH, I, SEC. 870 b) Any species not on the Approved List shall not be imported or possessed alive without a letter of authorization to import/possess those species. c) Copies of the Aquatic Life Approved Species List may be obtained free of charge by writing to: Aquaculture Specialist Illinois Department of Natural Resources Aquatic Nuisance Species and Aquaculture Program One Natural Resources Way Springfield IL 62702-1271 d) The Aquaculture Advisory Committee shall review requests for letters of authorization to import/possess aquatic species not included on the Approved List, and recommend to the Division under what conditions species may be imported/possessed. The Committee shall be composed of: 1) The Chiefs of the following DNR Divisions: A) Fisheries (Chair); B) Wildlife; C) Natural Heritage; D) Law Enforcement. 2) Should they agree to participate: A) The Chief of the Illinois Natural History Survey; B) The Aquaculture Coordinator, Department of Agriculture; C) The Director, Southern Illinois University Fisheries, Aquaculture and Aquatic Sciences; D) The Chief, Division of Food, Drugs and Dairies, Department of Public Health. e) The Chief of the Division of Fisheries shall consider the recommendations of the Committee prior to rendering final decisions regarding requests for letters of authorization to import/possess species not included on the Approved List. The JULY 9, 2015 17 ILL. ADM. CODE CH, I, SEC. 870 Committee's recommendations and the decisions of the Chief shall be based upon the potential detriment to the natural fishery resource. (Source: Amended at 39 Ill. Reg. 10394, effective July 9, 2015) Section 870.20 Aquaculture Facility Permit Application and Requirements a) Facility Permit Entities wishing to import/possess aquatic life for sale for food or stocking purposes shall apply for a permit for the facility where the aquatic life will be maintained. b) Facility Intended for Species Not on the Approved List Entities wishing to import/possess aquatic life not on the Aquatic Life Approved Species List must submit with their application an aquaculture facilities plan, which the Department must approve prior to issuing a permit for the facility. The facility will be inspected by the Department as part of the application review process. c) Permit Standards The Department will issue a facility permit if it concludes, after consideration of the application and any required facility plan and inspection of the facility, that the facility will not pose a danger to the natural fishery resource of the State. A facility will be deemed eligible for a permit based on the following standards. 1) The facility must be self-contained and not capable of overflowing into other waters of the State. 2) The facility is not located in a 100-year flood plain, as defined by the DNR Division of Water Resources (see 17 Ill. Adm. Code 3706), unless the location is approved by the Department based upon the facility's susceptibility to flooding. 3) The facility, if it needs to drain or discharge water, shall do so: A) into a municipal water treatment facility; B) into an on-site waste treatment facility incorporating sand filtration and chlorination; or C) in another manner approved by the Department. d) Facility Permit Conditions JULY 9, 2015 17 ILL. ADM. CODE CH, I, SEC. 870 The Department may impose additional conditions on the facility permit, specific to the facility, that are deemed necessary or appropriate for the protection of the State's aquatic resources. e) Timing of the Facility Permit Process 1) The Department will approve or deny an application for a facility permit within 8 weeks after it is submitted. 2) An applicant may apply under Section 870.30 for the aquaculture permit. Any aquaculture permits the Department issues prior to permitting the facility are conditional pending permit approval for the receiving facility. Aquatic life introduced to the facility prior to final permitting of the facility is at the applicant's own risk. f) Authorized Department personnel may conduct an inspection of any permitted facility at any time. (Source: Former Section 870.20 renumbered to Section 870.30 and Section 870.20 renumbered from former Section 870.30 and amended at 39 Ill. Reg. 10394, effective July 9, 2015) Section 870.30 Aquaculture Permit Application and Requirements a) Persons wishing to propagate, grow and harvest aquatic life for food or stocking purposes must obtain an aquaculture permit from the Department prior to the commencement of those activities. 1) The application for a permit shall be obtained from and must be submitted to the Aquaculture Specialist at the address in Section 870.10(c) 2) Applicants must complete all portions of the permit application form. Incomplete applications will be rejected. 3) The Department will issue permits to applicants who meet the requirements of the Code and this Part. 4) The permit fee of $50 shall be assessed online or from an approved Point of Sale Location using a Customer ID Number issued by the Department after approval of the application. Paper payments are not accepted. Illinois DNR license vendors can be found at www.dnr.illinois.gov/LPR/pages/License PermitVendors. 5) Aquaculture permits expire on March 31 annually. Upon expiration of the JULY 9, 2015 17 ILL. ADM. CODE CH, I, SEC. 870 aquaculture permit, the permittee may renew the permit by submitting the renewal application and the Annual Report required by Section 870.40(c) to the Department by January 31. The Department will review the Annual Report in determining whether the permit will be renewed. b) Timing of the Aquaculture Permit Application/Letter of Authorization Process 1) Applicants wishing to import/possess aquatic life that appears on the Approved List shall submit their aquaculture permit application at least 4 weeks prior to the importation/possession. 2) Applicants wishing to import/possess aquatic life not on the Approved List may submit an application for the aquaculture permit with the Department. The Department will review the permit application and make its determination within 8 weeks after receipt of the application. 3) Letters of authorization shall have a beginning and ending date. c) Inspection of Permit and Letters of Authorization The aquaculture permit with any letters of authorization shall be available for inspection by the Department upon request. (Source: Former Section 870.30 renumbered to Section 870.20 and Section 870.30 renumbered from former Section 870.20 and amended at 39 Ill. Reg. 10394, effective July 9, 2015) Section 870.40 Cessation of Business; Recordkeeping and Reporting a) Permittee with Letters of Authorization – Cessation of Business 1) In the event that the holder of an aquaculture permit with letters of authorization for aquatic life not on the Approved List goes out of business or possesses the aquatic life contrary to the Code, the Department shall determine disposition of the aquatic life as it deems necessary, based upon the potential detriment to the aquatic resource of the State. 2) Holders of permits with letters of authorization who cease operation, for whatever reason, are required to notify the Department in writing within 30 days after their cessation of business. Permits/letters of authorization are not transferrable to other persons or businesses, including heirs or assigns. 3) When a holder of a permit with letters of authorization ceases doing JULY 9, 2015 17 ILL. ADM. CODE CH, I, SEC. 870 business voluntarily or involuntarily, his or her permit/letters of authorization expire at the cessation of business. b) Recordkeeping Records shall be maintained as required in Sections 20-90 and 20-125 of the Code. These records shall be made available to any authorized employee of the Department or any peace officer, upon request [515 ILCS 5/20-125]. Records shall be kept for a minimum of 2 years after the transaction [515 ILCS 5/20-90]. c) Annual Report 1) All aquaculture permit holders shall submit to the Department, on forms provided by the Department, by January 31 of each year, an Annual Report providing information on the previous calendar year's activity for aquatic life possessed, bought, sold or shipped. The information required in this Annual Report shall include: A) name, address and license number of buyer; B) name, address and license number of seller; C) transaction date; D) species; E) number of pounds, to the nearest half pound; F) origin [515 ILCS 5/20-125(a)]; G) price paid per pound (optional); and H) any other information (e.g., receipt number, carrier type, etc.) as required by the Department on the form. 2) Failure of the permittee to submit the required Annual Report in the manner and time frame specified shall be grounds for refusal by the Department to renew a permit for the following year until all required reports are received and approved by the Department. (Source: Amended at 39 Ill. Reg. 10394, effective July 9, 2015) Section 870.50 Unlawful Acts JULY 9, 2015 17 ILL. ADM. CODE CH, I, SEC. 870 a) Release of Aquatic Life It is unlawful to release (or allow escape of) any aquatic life into the waters of this State without first securing permission of the Department to do so, except that the owners of a body of water or their agents may release aquatic life on the Approved List into waters that are wholly on their property. All aquatic life may be immediately returned unharmed to waters from where they were taken [515 ILCS 5/10-100(a)]. Permission will be based upon the potential detriment to the aquatic resource. b) Transportation It is unlawful for any person to transport, ship or convey within the State any live grass carp/white amur (Ctenopharyngodon idella), black carp (Mylopharyngodon piceus), bighead carp (Hypophthalmichthys nobilis), silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix), tilapia (Oreochromis species) or any hybrid of these species, or any other species not on the Approved List, unless that person possesses a Restricted Species Transportation Permit issued by the Department. c) It is unlawful to transport, ship or convey live trout, salmon or char into the State unless a salmonid import permit has been issued to the source hatchery, as required by Section 10-105 of the Code. A copy of the salmonid import permit must accompany each shipment. A salmonid import permit will be issued only if the source hatchery has been inspected by the Department within the last 12 months and found free of the following disease agents: VHS – Viral Hemorrhagic Septicemia Virus; IHN – Infectious Hematopoetic Necrosis Virus; CS – Ceratomyxosis (Ceratomyxa shasta); PKD – Proliferative Kidney Disease agent; and/or any other disease agents that are not known to be present in the Great Lakes Basin. 1) A salmonid import permit may be issued for a period of up to 6 months following the inspection of the source hatchery. The salmonid import permit will be reissued if the owner/operator of the source hatchery certifies that there has been no change in the disease status of the source hatchery in the 6 month period following the annual inspection. A bill of sale, listing quantity, species, and hatchery of origin shall be provided to and retained by the final recipient of the fish, until the fish are disposed of. 2) The Department recognizes persons inspecting hatcheries using the methods of diagnosis found in "Suggested Procedures for the Detection and Identification of Certain Finfish and Shellfish Pathogens" 4th ed., Version 1 (1994), published by the Fish Health Section of the American Fisheries Society or the "Manual of Compliance to the Fish Health Protection Regulations of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Canada (1988) (no further amendments or editions are included), as competent in JULY 9, 2015 17 ILL. ADM. CODE CH, I, SEC. 870 the diagnosis of fish diseases, unless a clearcut conflict of interest exists (such as the inspector being related to the hatchery owner by blood, adoption, marriage or economic interest). d) No live aquatic life not on the Approved List produced at the facilities operated or owned by an aquaculture permit holder may be removed from the site unless it is being transferred to another permit holder who has permission to possess them, or to a fish market as food, or to an aquarium shop. (Source: Amended at 39 Ill. Reg. 10394, effective July 9, 2015) Section 870.60 Restricted Species Transportation Permit Procedures a) Generally Applicable Provisions; Exemptions 1) Triploid Grass Carp Triploid grass carp under 4 inches in length cannot be shipped, transported or stocked at any time and may be possessed only by authorized aquaculture permit holders. 2) For the purposes of this Section, a shipment is defined as one load of fish; for example, 3 truckloads of fish being transported in convoy would be 3 shipments. 3) Landowner Exemption A) Landowners South of I-80 i) Pre-Order from Retail Outlet If the triploid grass carp are listed on a Restricted Species Transportation Permit (RSTP) issued to the Illinois aquaculturist or Illinois licensed aquatic life dealer that supplied the triploid grass carp to the entity from which the landowner pre-ordered the fish, the landowner is exempt from the RSTP requirement while transporting those fish for stocking in his or her wholly owned waters south of I- 80. During the transport, the landowner must have available the receipt from the entity from which the landowner purchased the fish. The exemption applies only during the first 24 hours after the purchase. ii) Purchase Over-the-Counter Lake or pond owners purchasing no more than 20 triploid JULY 9, 2015 17 ILL. ADM. CODE CH, I, SEC. 870 grass carp over-the-counter are exempt from the RSTP requirement while transporting triploid grass carp purchased and obtained in Illinois for stocking in their wholly owned waters south of I-80, as long as they have a receipt from an aquaculturist selling over-the-counter in Illinois. (See subsection (c).) During the transport, the landowner must have available the receipt from the entity from which the landowner purchased the fish. The exemption applies only during the first 24 hours after the purchase. B) Landowners North of I-80 – Pre-Order from Retail Outlet Those landowners wanting to stock wholly owned lakes/ponds north of I-80 with triploid grass carp must procure those fish through an Illinois aquaculturist or Illinois licensed aquatic life dealer who holds an RSTP authorizing transport and stocking of those fish. (See subsection (c).) During transport of those fish by the landowner to his or her wholly owned lake/pond, the landowner is exempt from the RSTP requirement, but must have available the receipt from the entity from which the landowner purchased the fish. The exemption applies only during the first 24 hours after the purchase. b) Fish Importers, Aquaculturists and Commercial Fishermen An RSTP is required for live grass carp, black carp, bighead carp, silver carp, tilapia (Oreochromis species) or any hybrid of these species, or any other species not on the Approved List, including commercial fishermen that are holding Asian carp in a crib for later transport or that are transporting directly to a rendering facility for slaughter (with restrictions (see Section 870.50(b))). RSTPs are available from the Aquaculture Specialist at the address in Section 870.10(c). Applications must be received by the ProgramDivision of Fisheries at least two weeks prior to the proposed shipment date. IDNR will evaluate the potential for escapement into glacial lakes, sloughs, potholes, bottom land, backwater lakes, streams, rivers, water areas known to harbor animals or plants on the national or Illinois threatened or endangered species list, natural areas or nature preserves, or wetlands. An RSTP shall be required for each shipment, except that extended permits covering regular periodic deliveries may be granted by the Department, pursuant to Section 10-105 of the Code. An RSTP is valid only: 1) on the dates listed on the permit; and 2) for names and addresses listed for delivery on the application/permit.