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91_HB0165
LRB9100276ACsb
1 AN ACT to amend the Environmental Protection Act by
2 changing Section 42.
3 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
4 represented in the General Assembly:
5 Section 5. The Environmental Protection Act is amended
6 by changing Section 42 as follows:
7 (415 ILCS 5/42) (from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 1042)
8 Sec. 42. Civil penalties.
9 (a) Except as otherwise provided in this Section, any
10 person that violates any provision of this Act or any
11 regulation adopted by the Board, or any permit or term or
12 condition thereof, or that violates any determination or
13 order of the Board pursuant to this Act, shall be liable to a
14 civil penalty of up to not to exceed $50,000 for the
15 violation, plus and an additional civil penalty of not to
16 exceed $10,000 for each day during which the violation
17 continues; this additional penalty may not exceed $10,000 per
18 day for a first violation, $20,000 per day for a second
19 similar violation, and $50,000 per day for a third or
20 subsequent similar violation. Civil such penalties may, upon
21 order of the Board or a court of competent jurisdiction, be
22 made payable to the Environmental Protection Trust Fund, to
23 be used in accordance with the provisions of the
24 Environmental Protection Trust Fund Act.
25 (b) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of
26 this Section:
27 (1) Any person that violates Section 12(f) of this
28 Act or any NPDES permit or term or condition thereof, or
29 any filing requirement, regulation or order relating to
30 the NPDES permit program, shall be liable to a civil
31 penalty of not to exceed $10,000 per day of violation.
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1 (2) Any person that violates Section 12(g) of this
2 Act or any UIC permit or term or condition thereof, or
3 any filing requirement, regulation or order relating to
4 the State UIC program for all wells, except Class II
5 wells as defined by the Board under this Act, shall be
6 liable to a civil penalty not to exceed $2,500 per day of
7 violation; provided, however, that any person who commits
8 such violations relating to the State UIC program for
9 Class II wells, as defined by the Board under this Act,
10 shall be liable to a civil penalty of not to exceed
11 $10,000 for the violation and an additional civil penalty
12 of not to exceed $1,000 for each day during which the
13 violation continues.
14 (3) Any person that violates Sections 21(f), 21(g),
15 21(h) or 21(i) of this Act, or any RCRA permit or term or
16 condition thereof, or any filing requirement, regulation
17 or order relating to the State RCRA program, shall be
18 liable to a civil penalty of up to not to exceed $25,000
19 per day of violation, or the penalty set forth in
20 subsection (a), whichever is greater.
21 (4) In an administrative citation action under
22 Section 31.1 of this Act, any person found to have
23 violated any provision of subsection (o) or (p) of
24 Section 21 of this Act shall pay a civil penalty of $500
25 for each violation of each such provision, plus any
26 hearing costs incurred by the Board and the Agency. Such
27 penalties shall be made payable to the Environmental
28 Protection Trust Fund, to be used in accordance with the
29 provisions of the Environmental Protection Trust Fund
30 Act; except that if a unit of local government issued the
31 administrative citation, 50% of the civil penalty shall
32 be payable to the unit of local government.
33 (5) Any person who violates subsection 6 of Section
34 39.5 of this Act or any CAAPP permit, or term or
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1 condition thereof, or any fee or filing requirement, or
2 any duty to allow or carry out inspection, entry or
3 monitoring activities, or any regulation or order
4 relating to the CAAPP shall be liable for a civil penalty
5 not to exceed $10,000 per day of violation.
6 (b.5) In lieu of the penalties set forth in subsections
7 (a) and (b) of this Section, any person who fails to file, in
8 a timely manner, toxic chemical release forms with the Agency
9 pursuant to Section 25b-2 of this Act shall be liable for a
10 civil penalty of $100 per day for each day the forms are
11 late, not to exceed a maximum total penalty of $6,000. This
12 daily penalty shall begin accruing on the thirty-first day
13 after the date that the person receives the warning notice
14 issued by the Agency pursuant to Section 25b-6 of this Act;
15 and the penalty shall be paid to the Agency. The daily
16 accrual of penalties shall cease as of January 1 of the
17 following year. All penalties collected by the Agency
18 pursuant to this subsection shall be deposited into the
19 Environmental Protection Permit and Inspection Fund.
20 (c) Any person that violates this Act, or an order or
21 other determination of the Board under this Act and causes
22 the death of fish or aquatic life shall, in addition to the
23 other penalties provided by this Act, be liable to pay to the
24 State an additional sum for the reasonable value of the fish
25 or aquatic life destroyed. Any money so recovered shall be
26 placed in the Wildlife and Fish Fund in the State Treasury.
27 (d) The penalties provided for in this Section may be
28 recovered in a civil action.
29 (e) The State's Attorney of the county in which the
30 violation occurred, or the Attorney General, may, at the
31 request of the Agency or on his own motion, institute a civil
32 action for an injunction to restrain violations of this Act.
33 (f) The State's Attorney of the county in which the
34 violation occurred, or the Attorney General, shall bring such
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1 actions in the name of the people of the State of Illinois.
2 Without limiting any other authority which may exist for the
3 awarding of attorney's fees and costs, the Board or a court
4 of competent jurisdiction may award costs and reasonable
5 attorney's fees, including the reasonable costs of expert
6 witnesses and consultants, to the State's Attorney or the
7 Attorney General in a case where he has prevailed against a
8 person who has committed a wilful, knowing or repeated
9 violation of the Act.
10 Any funds collected under this subsection (f) in which
11 the Attorney General has prevailed shall be deposited in the
12 Hazardous Waste Fund created in Section 22.2 of this Act. Any
13 funds collected under this subsection (f) in which a State's
14 Attorney has prevailed shall be retained by the county in
15 which he serves.
16 (g) All final orders imposing civil penalties pursuant
17 to this Section shall prescribe the time for payment of such
18 penalties. If any such penalty is not paid within the time
19 prescribed, interest on such penalty at the rate set forth in
20 subsection (a) of Section 1003 of the Illinois Income Tax
21 Act, shall be paid for the period from the date payment is
22 due until the date payment is received. However, if the time
23 for payment is stayed during the pendency of an appeal,
24 interest shall not accrue during such stay.
25 (h) In determining the appropriate civil penalty to be
26 imposed under subdivisions (a), (b)(1), (b)(2), (b)(3), or
27 (b)(5) of this Section, the Board is authorized to consider
28 any matters of record in mitigation or aggravation of
29 penalty, including but not limited to the following factors:
30 (1) the duration and gravity of the violation;
31 (2) the presence or absence of due diligence on the
32 part of the violator in attempting to comply with
33 requirements of this Act and regulations thereunder or to
34 secure relief therefrom as provided by this Act;
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1 (3) any economic benefits accrued by the violator
2 because of delay in compliance with requirements;
3 (4) the amount of monetary penalty which will serve
4 to deter further violations by the violator and to
5 otherwise aid in enhancing voluntary compliance with this
6 Act by the violator and other persons similarly subject
7 to the Act; and
8 (5) the number, proximity in time, and gravity of
9 previously adjudicated violations of this Act by the
10 violator.
11 (Source: P.A. 90-773, eff. 8-14-98.)
12 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
13 becoming law.