[ Search ] [ Legislation ]
[ Home ] [ Back ] [ Bottom ]
91_HB3008
LRB9109982ACtm
1 AN ACT in relation to environmental safety.
2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3 represented in the General Assembly:
4 Section 5. The Illinois Low-Level Radioactive Waste
5 Management Act is amended by changing Section 10.2 as
6 follows:
7 (420 ILCS 20/10.2) (from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 241-10.2)
8 Sec. 10.2. Creation of Low-Level Radioactive Waste Task
9 Group; adoption of criteria; report on the evaluation of a
10 proposed site; selection of site for characterization.
11 (a) There is hereby created the Low-Level Radioactive
12 Waste Task Group consisting of the Directors of the
13 Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Natural
14 Resources, and the Department of Nuclear Safety (or their
15 designees) and 6 additional members designated by the
16 Governor. The 6 additional members shall:
17 (1) be confirmed by the Senate; and
18 (2) receive compensation of $300 per day for their
19 services on the Task Group unless they are officers or
20 employees of the State, in which case they shall receive
21 no additional compensation.
22 Four of the additional members shall have expertise in
23 the field of geology, hydrogeology, or hydrology. Of the 2
24 remaining additional members, one shall be a member of the
25 public with experience in environmental matters and one shall
26 have at least 5 years experience in local government. The
27 Directors of the Environmental Protection Agency, the
28 Department of Natural Resources, and the Department of
29 Nuclear Safety (or their designees) shall receive no
30 additional compensation for their service on the Task Group.
31 All members of the Task Group shall be compensated for their
-2- LRB9109982ACtm
1 expenses. The Governor shall designate the chairman of the
2 Task Group. Upon adoption of the criteria under subsection
3 (b) of this Section, the Directors of the Department of
4 Nuclear Safety and the Environmental Protection Agency shall
5 be replaced on the Task Group by members designated by the
6 Governor and confirmed by the Senate. The members designated
7 to replace the Directors of the Department of Nuclear Safety
8 and the Environmental Protection Agency shall have such
9 expertise as the Governor may determine. The members of the
10 Task Group shall be members until they resign, are replaced
11 by the Governor, or the Task Group is abolished. Except as
12 provided in this Act, the Task Group shall be subject to the
13 Open Meetings Act and the Illinois Administrative Procedure
14 Act. Any action required to be taken by the Task Group under
15 this Act shall be taken by a majority vote of its members. An
16 identical vote by 5 members of the Task Group shall
17 constitute a majority vote.
18 (b) To protect the public health, safety and welfare,
19 the Task Group shall develop proposed criteria for selection
20 of a site for a regional disposal facility. Principal
21 criteria shall relate to the geographic, geologic,
22 seismologic, tectonic, hydrologic, and other scientific
23 conditions best suited for a regional disposal facility.
24 Supplemental criteria may relate to land use (including (i)
25 the location of existing underground mines and (ii) the
26 exclusion of State parks, State conservation areas, and other
27 State owned lands identified by the Task Group), economics,
28 transportation, meteorology, and any other matter identified
29 by the Task Group as relating to desirable conditions for a
30 regional disposal facility. All of the criteria shall be as
31 specific as possible.
32 The chairman of the Task Group shall publish a notice of
33 availability of the proposed criteria in the State newspaper,
34 make copies of the proposed criteria available without charge
-3- LRB9109982ACtm
1 to the public, and hold public hearings to receive comments
2 on the proposed criteria. Written comments on the proposed
3 criteria may be submitted to the chairman of the Task Group
4 within a time period to be determined by the Task Group.
5 Upon completion of the review of timely submitted comments on
6 the proposed criteria, the Task Group shall adopt criteria
7 for selection of a site for a regional disposal facility.
8 Adoption of the criteria is not subject to the Illinois
9 Administrative Procedure Act. The chairman of the Task Group
10 shall provide copies of the criteria to the Governor, the
11 President and Minority Leader of the Senate, the Speaker and
12 Minority Leader of the House, and all county boards in the
13 State of Illinois and shall make copies of the criteria
14 available without charge to the public.
15 (c) Upon adoption of the criteria, the Director of
16 Natural Resources shall direct the Scientific Surveys to
17 screen the State of Illinois. By September 30, 1997, the
18 Scientific Surveys shall (i) complete a Statewide screening
19 of the State using available information and the Surveys'
20 geography-based information system to produce individual and
21 composite maps showing the application of individual
22 criteria; (ii) complete the evaluation of all land
23 volunteered before the effective date of this amendatory Act
24 of 1997 to determine whether any of the volunteered land
25 appears likely to satisfy the criteria; (iii) document the
26 results of the screening and volunteer site evaluations in a
27 written report and submit the report to the chairman of the
28 Task Group and to the Director; and (iv) transmit to the Task
29 Group and to the Department, in a form specified by the Task
30 Group and the Department, all information and documents
31 assembled by the Scientific Surveys in performing the
32 obligations of the Scientific Surveys under this Act. Upon
33 completion of the screening and volunteer site evaluation
34 process, the Director of the Department of Natural Resources
-4- LRB9109982ACtm
1 shall be replaced on the Task Group by a member appointed by
2 the Governor and confirmed by the Senate. The member
3 appointed to replace the Director of the Department of
4 Natural Resources shall have expertise that the Governor
5 determines to be appropriate.
6 (c-3) By December 1, 2000, the Department, in
7 consultation with the Task Group, waste generators, and any
8 interested counties and municipalities and after holding 3
9 public hearings throughout the State, shall prepare a report
10 regarding, at a minimum, the impact and ramifications, if
11 any, of the following factors and circumstances on the
12 siting, design, licensure, development, construction,
13 operation, closure, and post-closure care of a regional
14 disposal facility:
15 (1) the federal, state, and regional programs for
16 the siting, development, and operation of disposal
17 facilities for low-level radioactive wastes and the
18 nature, extent, and likelihood of any legislative or
19 administrative changes to those programs;
20 (2) (blank);
21 (3) the current and most reliable projections
22 regarding the costs of the siting, design, development,
23 construction, operation, closure, decommissioning, and
24 post-closure care of a regional disposal facility;
25 (4) the current and most reliable estimates of the
26 total volume of low-level radioactive waste that will be
27 disposed at a regional disposal facility in Illinois and
28 the projected annual volume amounts;
29 (5) the nature and extent of the available, if any,
30 storage and disposal facilities outside the region of the
31 Compact for storage and disposal of low-level radioactive
32 waste generated from within the region of the Compact;
33 and
34 (6) the development and implementation of a
-5- LRB9109982ACtm
1 voluntary site selection process in which land may be
2 volunteered for the regional disposal facility jointly by
3 landowners and (i) the municipality in which the land is
4 located, (ii) every municipality within 1 1/2 miles of
5 the land if the land is not within a municipality, or
6 (iii) the county or counties in which the land is located
7 if the land is not within a municipality and not within 1
8 1/2 miles of a municipality. The Director shall provide
9 copies of the report to the Governor, the President and
10 Minority Leader of the Senate, and the Speaker and
11 Minority Leader of the House. The Director shall also
12 publish a notice of availability of the report in the
13 State newspaper and make copies of the report available
14 without charge to the public.
15 (c-5) Following submittal of the report pursuant to
16 subsection (c-3) of this Section, the Department may adopt
17 rules establishing a site selection process for the regional
18 disposal facility. In developing rules, the Department
19 shall, at a minimum, consider the following:
20 (1) A comprehensive and open process under which
21 the land for sites recommended and proposed by the
22 contractor under subsection (e) of this Section shall be
23 volunteered lands as provided in this Section. Land may
24 be volunteered for the regional disposal facility jointly
25 by landowners and (i) the municipality in which the land
26 is located, (ii) every municipality with 1 1/2 miles of
27 the land if the land is not within a municipality, or
28 (iii) the county or counties in which the land is located
29 if the land is not within a municipality and not within 1
30 1/2 miles of a municipality.
31 (2) Utilization of the State screening and
32 volunteer site evaluation report prepared by the
33 Scientific Surveys under subsection (c) of this Section
34 for the purpose of determining whether proposed sites
-6- LRB9109982ACtm
1 appear likely to satisfy the site selection criteria.
2 (3) Coordination of the site selection process with
3 the projected annual and total volume of low-level
4 radioactive waste to be disposed at the regional disposal
5 facility as identified in the report prepared under
6 subsection (c-3) of this Section.
7 The site selection process established under this
8 subsection shall require the contractor selected by the
9 Department pursuant to Sections 5 and 10 of this Act to
10 propose one site to the Task Group for approval under
11 subsections (d) through (i) of this Section.
12 No proposed site shall be selected as the site for the
13 regional disposal facility unless it satisfies the site
14 selection criteria established by the Task Group under
15 subsection (b) of this Section.
16 (d) The contractor selected by the Department under
17 Sections 5 and 10 of this Act shall conduct evaluations,
18 including possible intrusive field investigations, of the
19 sites and locations identified under the site selection
20 process established under subsection (c-5) of this Section.
21 (e) Upon completion of the site evaluations, the
22 contractor selected by the Department shall identify one site
23 of at least 640 acres that appears promising for development
24 of the regional disposal facility in compliance with the site
25 selection criteria established by the Task Group pursuant to
26 subsection (b) of this Section. The contractor may conduct
27 any other evaluation of the site identified under this
28 subsection that the contractor deems appropriate to determine
29 whether the site satisfies the criteria adopted under
30 subsection (b) of this Section. Upon completion of the
31 evaluations under this subsection, the contractor shall
32 prepare and submit to the Department a report on the
33 evaluation of the identified site, including a recommendation
34 as to whether the identified site should be further
-7- LRB9109982ACtm
1 considered for selection as a site for the regional disposal
2 facility. A site so recommended for further consideration is
3 hereinafter referred to as a "proposed site".
4 (f) A report completed under subsection (e) of this
5 Section that recommends a proposed site shall also be
6 submitted to the chairman of the Task Group. Within 45 days
7 following receipt of a report, the chairman of the Task Group
8 shall publish in newspapers of general circulation in the
9 county or counties in which a proposed site is located a
10 notice of the availability of the report and a notice of a
11 public meeting. The chairman of the Task Group shall also,
12 within the 45-day period, provide copies of the report and
13 the notice to the Governor, the President and Minority Leader
14 of the Senate, the Speaker and Minority Leader of the House,
15 members of the General Assembly from the legislative district
16 or districts in which a proposed site is located, the county
17 board or boards of the county or counties containing a
18 proposed site, and each city, village, and incorporated town
19 within a 5 mile radius of a proposed site. The chairman of
20 the Task Group shall make copies of the report available
21 without charge to the public.
22 (g) The chairman of the Task Group shall convene at
23 least one public meeting on each proposed site. At the
24 public meeting or meetings, the contractor selected by the
25 Department shall present the results of the evaluation of the
26 proposed site. The Task Group shall receive such other
27 written and oral information about the proposed site that may
28 be submitted at the meeting. Following the meeting, the Task
29 Group shall decide whether the proposed site satisfies the
30 criteria adopted under subsection (b) of this Section. If
31 the Task Group determines that the proposed site does not
32 satisfy the criteria, the Department may require a contractor
33 to submit a further report pursuant to subsection (e) of this
34 Section proposing another site from the locations identified
-8- LRB9109982ACtm
1 under the site selection process established pursuant to
2 subsection (c-5) of this Section as likely to satisfy the
3 criteria. Following notice and distribution of the report as
4 required by subsection (f) of this Section, the new proposed
5 site shall be the subject of a public meeting under this
6 subsection. The contractor selected by the Department shall
7 propose additional sites, and the Task Group shall conduct
8 additional public meetings, until the Task Group has approved
9 a proposed site recommended by a contractor as satisfying the
10 criteria adopted under subsection (b) of this Section. In
11 the event that the Task Group does not approve any of the
12 proposed sites recommended by the contractor under this
13 subsection as satisfying the criteria adopted under
14 subsection (b) of this Section, the Task Group shall
15 immediately suspend all work and the Department shall prepare
16 a study containing, at a minimum, the Department's
17 recommendations regarding the viability of the site selection
18 process established pursuant to this Act, based on the
19 factors and circumstances specified in items (1) through (6)
20 of subsection (c-3) of Section 10.2. The Department shall
21 provide copies of the study to the Governor, the President
22 and Minority Leader of the Senate, and the Speaker and
23 Minority Leader of the House. The Department shall also
24 publish a notice of availability of the study in the State
25 newspaper and make copies of the report available without
26 charge to the public.
27 (h) (Blank).
28 (i) Upon the Task Group's decision that a proposed site
29 satisfies the criteria adopted under subsection (b) of this
30 Section, the contractor shall proceed with the
31 characterization and licensure of the proposed site under
32 Section 10.3 of this Act and the Task Group shall immediately
33 suspend all work, except as otherwise specifically required
34 in subsection (b) of Section 10.3 of this Act.
-9- LRB9109982ACtm
1 (Source: P.A. 90-29, eff. 6-26-97; 91-601, eff. 8-16-99.)