[ Search ] [ PDF text ] [ Legislation ]
[ Home ] [ Back ] [ Bottom ]
92_HB3019
LRB9201354LDpr
1 AN ACT in relation to environmental matters.
2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3 represented in the General Assembly:
4 Section 5. The Environmental Protection Act is amended
5 by changing Sections 54.12, 54.13, and 55.3 as follows:
6 (415 ILCS 5/54.12) (from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 1054.12)
7 Sec. 54.12. "Tire storage site" means a site where used
8 tires are stored or processed, other than (1) the site at
9 which the tires were separated from the vehicle wheel rim,
10 (2) the site where the used tires were accepted in trade as
11 part of a sale of new tires, or (3) a site at which both new
12 and used tires are sold at retail in the regular course of
13 business, and at which not more than 250 used tires are kept
14 at any time or (4) a facility at which tires are sold at
15 retail provided that the facility maintains less than 1300
16 recyclable tires, 1300 tire carcasses, and 1300 used tires on
17 site and those tires are stored inside a building or so that
18 they are prevented from accumulating water.
19 (Source: P.A. 89-200, eff. 1-1-96.)
20 (415 ILCS 5/54.13) (from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 1054.13)
21 Sec. 54.13. "Used tire" means a worn, damaged, or
22 defective tire that which is not mounted on a vehicle wheel
23 rim.
24 (Source: P.A. 86-452.)
25 (415 ILCS 5/55.3) (from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 1055.3)
26 Sec. 55.3. (a) Upon finding that an accumulation of used
27 or waste tires creates an immediate danger to health, the
28 Agency may take action pursuant to Section 34 of this Act.
29 (b) Upon making a finding that an accumulation of used
-2- LRB9201354LDpr
1 or waste tires creates a hazard posing a threat to public
2 health or the environment, the Agency may undertake
3 preventive or corrective action in accordance with this
4 subsection. Such preventive or corrective action may consist
5 of any or all of the following:
6 (1) Treating and handling used or waste tires and
7 other infested materials within the area for control of
8 mosquitoes and other disease vectors.
9 (2) Relocation of ignition sources and any used or
10 waste tires within the area for control and prevention of
11 tire fires.
12 (3) Removal of used and waste tire accumulations
13 from the area.
14 (4) Removal of soil and water contamination related
15 to tire accumulations.
16 (5) Installation of devices to monitor and control
17 groundwater and surface water contamination related to
18 tire accumulations.
19 (6) Such other actions as may be authorized by
20 Board regulations.
21 (c) The Agency may, subject to the availability of
22 appropriated funds, undertake a consensual removal action for
23 the removal of up to 1,000 used or waste tires at no cost to
24 the owner according to the following requirements:
25 (1) Actions under this subsection shall be taken
26 pursuant to a written agreement between the Agency and
27 the owner of the tire accumulation.
28 (2) The written agreement shall at a minimum
29 specify:
30 (i) that the owner relinquishes any claim of
31 an ownership interest in any tires that are removed,
32 or in any proceeds from their sale;
33 (ii) that tires will no longer be allowed to
34 be accumulated at the site;
-3- LRB9201354LDpr
1 (iii) that the owner will hold harmless the
2 Agency or any employee or contractor utilized by the
3 Agency to effect the removal, for any damage to
4 property incurred during the course of action under
5 this subsection, except for gross negligence or
6 intentional misconduct; and
7 (iv) any conditions upon or assistance
8 required from the owner to assure that the tires are
9 so located or arranged as to facilitate their
10 removal.
11 (3) The Agency may by rule establish conditions and
12 priorities for removal of used and waste tires under this
13 subsection.
14 (4) The Agency shall prescribe the form of written
15 agreements under this subsection.
16 (d) The Agency shall have authority to provide notice to
17 the owner or operator, or both, of a site where used or waste
18 tires are located and to the owner or operator, or both, of
19 the accumulation of tires at the site, whenever the Agency
20 finds that the used or waste tires pose a threat to public
21 health or the environment, or that there is no the owner or
22 operator, or both, is not proceeding in accordance with a
23 tire removal agreement approved under Section 55.4.
24 The notice provided by the Agency shall include the
25 identified preventive or corrective action, and shall provide
26 an opportunity for the owner or operator, or both, to perform
27 such action.
28 For sites with more than 250,000 passenger tire
29 equivalents, following the notice provided for by this
30 subsection (d), the Agency may enter into a written
31 reimbursement agreement with the owner or operator of the
32 site. The agreement shall provide a schedule for the owner
33 or operator to reimburse the Agency for costs incurred for
34 preventive or corrective action, which shall not exceed 5
-4- LRB9201354LDpr
1 years in length. An owner or operator making payments under a
2 written reimbursement agreement pursuant to this subsection
3 (d) shall not be liable for punitive damages under subsection
4 (h) of this Section.
5 (e) In accordance with constitutional limitations, the
6 Agency shall have authority to enter at all reasonable times
7 upon any private or public property for the purpose of taking
8 whatever preventive or corrective action is necessary and
9 appropriate in accordance with the provisions of this
10 Section, including but not limited to removal, processing or
11 treatment of used or waste tires, whenever the Agency finds
12 that used or waste tires pose a threat to public health or
13 the environment.
14 (f) In undertaking preventive, corrective or consensual
15 removal action under this Section the Agency may consider use
16 of the following: rubber reuse alternatives, shredding or
17 other conversion through use of mobile or fixed facilities,
18 energy recovery through burning or incineration, and landfill
19 disposal. To the extent practicable, the Agency shall
20 consult with the Department of Commerce and Community Affairs
21 regarding the availability of alternatives to landfilling
22 used and waste tires, and shall make every reasonable effort
23 to coordinate tire cleanup projects with applicable programs
24 that relate to such alternative practices.
25 (g) Except as otherwise provided in this Section, the
26 owner or operator of any site or accumulation of used or
27 waste tires at which the Agency has undertaken corrective or
28 preventive action under this Section shall be liable for all
29 costs thereof incurred by the State of Illinois, including
30 reasonable costs of collection. Any monies received by the
31 Agency hereunder shall be deposited into the Used Tire
32 Management Fund. The Agency may in its discretion store,
33 dispose of or convey the tires that are removed from an area
34 at which it has undertaken a corrective, preventive or
-5- LRB9201354LDpr
1 consensual removal action, and may sell or store such tires
2 and other items, including but not limited to rims, that are
3 removed from the area. The net proceeds of any sale shall be
4 credited against the liability incurred by the owner or
5 operator for the costs of any preventive or corrective
6 action.
7 (h) Any person liable to the Agency for costs incurred
8 under subsection (g) of this Section may be liable to the
9 State of Illinois for punitive damages in an amount at least
10 equal to, and not more than 2 times, the costs incurred by
11 the State if such person failed without sufficient cause to
12 take preventive or corrective action pursuant to notice
13 issued under subsection (d) of this Section.
14 (i) There shall be no liability under subsection (g) of
15 this Section for a person otherwise liable who can establish
16 by a preponderance of the evidence that the hazard created by
17 the tires was caused solely by:
18 (1) an act of God;
19 (2) an act of war; or
20 (3) an act or omission of a third party other than
21 an employee or agent, and other than a person whose act
22 or omission occurs in connection with a contractual
23 relationship with the person otherwise liable.
24 For the purposes of this subsection, "contractual
25 relationship" includes, but is not limited to, land
26 contracts, deeds and other instruments transferring title or
27 possession, unless the real property upon which the
28 accumulation is located was acquired by the defendant after
29 the disposal or placement of used or waste tires on, in or at
30 the property and one or more of the following circumstances
31 is also established by a preponderance of the evidence:
32 (A) at the time the defendant acquired the
33 property, the defendant did not know and had no
34 reason to know that any used or waste tires had been
-6- LRB9201354LDpr
1 disposed of or placed on, in or at the property, and
2 the defendant undertook, at the time of acquisition,
3 all appropriate inquiries into the previous
4 ownership and uses of the property consistent with
5 good commercial or customary practice in an effort
6 to minimize liability;
7 (B) the defendant is a government entity which
8 acquired the property by escheat or through any
9 other involuntary transfer or acquisition, or
10 through the exercise of eminent domain authority by
11 purchase or condemnation; or
12 (C) the defendant acquired the property by
13 inheritance or bequest.
14 (j) Nothing in this Section shall affect or modify the
15 obligations or liability of any person under any other
16 provision of this Act, federal law, or State law, including
17 the common law, for injuries, damages or losses resulting
18 from the circumstances leading to Agency action under this
19 Section.
20 (k) The costs and damages provided for in this Section
21 may be imposed by the Board in an action brought before the
22 Board in accordance with Title VIII of this Act, except that
23 subsection (c) of Section 33 of this Act shall not apply to
24 any such action.
25 (l) The Agency shall, when feasible, consult with the
26 Department of Public Health prior to taking any action to
27 remove or treat an infested tire accumulation for control of
28 mosquitoes or other disease vectors. The Agency may by
29 contract or agreement secure the services of the Department
30 of Public Health, any local public health department, or any
31 other qualified person in treating any such infestation as
32 part of an emergency or preventive action.
33 (m) Neither the State, the Agency, the Board, the
34 Director, nor any State employee shall be liable for any
-7- LRB9201354LDpr
1 damage or injury arising out of or resulting from any action
2 taken under this Section.
3 (Source: P.A. 89-445, eff. 2-7-96.)