HB5145enr 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HB5145 Enrolled LRB097 16753 CEL 61928 b

AN ACT concerning State government.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The Abandoned Mined Lands and Water Reclamation Act is amended by changing Section 2.11 as follows:

(20 ILCS 1920/2.11) (from Ch. 96 1/2, par. 8002.11)

Sec. 2.11. Non-coal reclamation.

(a) It is hereby declared that open and abandoned tunnels, shafts, and entryways and abandoned and deteriorating equipment, structures, and facilities resulting from any previous non-coal mining operations constitute a hazard to the public health and safety. The Department is authorized and empowered to fill or seal such abandoned tunnels, shafts, and entryways and remove equipment, structures, and facilities which it determines could endanger life and property and constitute a hazard to the public health and safety.

(b) The Department may make expenditures and carry out the purposes of this Section for lands mined for substances other than coal; provided, however, that annual expenditures for non-coal reclamation do not exceed 2% of the Department's annual budget for mine land reclamation through August 31, 1999; and provided further, that all obligations for such expenditures shall be made by August 31, 2001. Except for those non-coal reclamation projects relating to the protection of the public health or safety which shall be accorded a high priority, non-coal reclamation expenditures shall be made only after all reclamation with respect to abandoned coal lands or coal development impacts has been accomplished.

(c) In those instances where coal mine waste piles are being reworked for conservation purposes, the Department may make additional incremental expenditures to dispose of the wastes from such operations by filling voids and sealing tunnels if the disposal of these wastes is in accordance with the purposes of this Section.

(d) The Department shall acquire, by purchase, exchange, gifts, condemnation or otherwise, the fee simple title or any lesser interest in and to such land rights or other property as the Department considers necessary to carry out the provisions of this Section. Transfers and dispositions of such land shall be made in the same manner as prescribed by Section 2.07 of this Act.

(e) Consistent with this Section, the Department may enter and reclaim abandoned non-coal mined lands in the same manner as prescribed in Section 2.04 of this Act.

(Source: P.A. 91-727, eff. 6-2-00.)

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon becoming law.