Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of Public Act 096-0737
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Public Act 096-0737


 

Public Act 0737 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY



 


 
Public Act 096-0737
 
SB2103 Enrolled LRB096 03340 JDS 13382 b

    AN ACT concerning safety.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 5. The Environmental Protection Act is amended by
changing Sections 31.1, 42, 55, and 55.1 as follows:
 
    (415 ILCS 5/31.1)  (from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 1031.1)
    Sec. 31.1. Administrative citation.
    (a) The prohibitions specified in subsections (o) and (p)
of Section 21 and subsection (k) of Section 55 of this Act
shall be enforceable either by administrative citation under
this Section or as otherwise provided by this Act.
    (b) Whenever Agency personnel or personnel of a unit of
local government to which the Agency has delegated its
functions pursuant to subsection (r) of Section 4 of this Act,
on the basis of direct observation, determine that any person
has violated any provision of subsection (o) or (p) of Section
21 or subsection (k) of Section 55 of this Act, the Agency or
such unit of local government may issue and serve an
administrative citation upon such person within not more than
60 days after the date of the observed violation. Each such
citation issued shall be served upon the person named therein
or such person's authorized agent for service of process, and
shall include the following information:
        (1) a statement specifying the provisions of
    subsection (o) or (p) of Section 21 or subsection (k) of
    Section 55 of which the person was observed to be in
    violation;
        (2) a copy of the inspection report in which the Agency
    or local government recorded the violation, which report
    shall include the date and time of inspection, and weather
    conditions prevailing during the inspection;
        (3) the penalty imposed by subdivision (b)(4) or
    (b)(4-5) of Section 42 for such violation;
        (4) instructions for contesting the administrative
    citation findings pursuant to this Section, including
    notification that the person has 35 days within which to
    file a petition for review before the Board to contest the
    administrative citation; and
        (5) an affidavit by the personnel observing the
    violation, attesting to their material actions and
    observations.
    (c) The Agency or unit of local government shall file a
copy of each administrative citation served under subsection
(b) of this Section with the Board no later than 10 days after
the date of service.
    (d) (1) If the person named in the administrative citation
fails to petition the Board for review within 35 days from the
date of service, the Board shall adopt a final order, which
shall include the administrative citation and findings of
violation as alleged in the citation, and shall impose the
penalty specified in subdivision (b)(4) or (b)(4-5) of Section
42.
    (2) If a petition for review is filed before the Board to
contest an administrative citation issued under subsection (b)
of this Section, the Agency or unit of local government shall
appear as a complainant at a hearing before the Board to be
conducted pursuant to Section 32 of this Act at a time not less
than 21 days after notice of such hearing has been sent by the
Board to the Agency or unit of local government and the person
named in the citation. In such hearings, the burden of proof
shall be on the Agency or unit of local government. If, based
on the record, the Board finds that the alleged violation
occurred, it shall adopt a final order which shall include the
administrative citation and findings of violation as alleged in
the citation, and shall impose the penalty specified in
subdivision (b)(4) or (b)(4-5) of Section 42. However, if the
Board finds that the person appealing the citation has shown
that the violation resulted from uncontrollable circumstances,
the Board shall adopt a final order which makes no finding of
violation and which imposes no penalty.
    (e) Sections 10-25 through 10-60 of the Illinois
Administrative Procedure Act shall not apply to any
administrative citation issued under subsection (b) of this
Section.
    (f) The other provisions of this Section shall not apply to
a sanitary landfill operated by a unit of local government
solely for the purpose of disposing of water and sewage
treatment plant sludges, including necessary stabilizing
materials.
    (g) All final orders issued and entered by the Board
pursuant to this Section shall be enforceable by injunction,
mandamus or other appropriate remedy, in accordance with
Section 42 of this Act.
(Source: P.A. 92-16, eff. 6-28-01.)
 
    (415 ILCS 5/42)  (from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 1042)
    Sec. 42. Civil penalties.
    (a) Except as provided in this Section, any person that
violates any provision of this Act or any regulation adopted by
the Board, or any permit or term or condition thereof, or that
violates any order of the Board pursuant to this Act, shall be
liable for a civil penalty of not to exceed $50,000 for the
violation and an additional civil penalty of not to exceed
$10,000 for each day during which the violation continues; such
penalties may, upon order of the Board or a court of competent
jurisdiction, be made payable to the Environmental Protection
Trust Fund, to be used in accordance with the provisions of the
Environmental Protection Trust Fund Act.
    (b) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of
this Section:
        (1) Any person that violates Section 12(f) of this Act
    or any NPDES permit or term or condition thereof, or any
    filing requirement, regulation or order relating to the
    NPDES permit program, shall be liable to a civil penalty of
    not to exceed $10,000 per day of violation.
        (2) Any person that violates Section 12(g) of this Act
    or any UIC permit or term or condition thereof, or any
    filing requirement, regulation or order relating to the
    State UIC program for all wells, except Class II wells as
    defined by the Board under this Act, shall be liable to a
    civil penalty not to exceed $2,500 per day of violation;
    provided, however, that any person who commits such
    violations relating to the State UIC program for Class II
    wells, as defined by the Board under this Act, shall be
    liable to a civil penalty of not to exceed $10,000 for the
    violation and an additional civil penalty of not to exceed
    $1,000 for each day during which the violation continues.
        (3) Any person that violates Sections 21(f), 21(g),
    21(h) or 21(i) of this Act, or any RCRA permit or term or
    condition thereof, or any filing requirement, regulation
    or order relating to the State RCRA program, shall be
    liable to a civil penalty of not to exceed $25,000 per day
    of violation.
        (4) In an administrative citation action under Section
    31.1 of this Act, any person found to have violated any
    provision of subsection (o) of Section 21 of this Act shall
    pay a civil penalty of $500 for each violation of each such
    provision, plus any hearing costs incurred by the Board and
    the Agency. Such penalties shall be made payable to the
    Environmental Protection Trust Fund, to be used in
    accordance with the provisions of the Environmental
    Protection Trust Fund Act; except that if a unit of local
    government issued the administrative citation, 50% of the
    civil penalty shall be payable to the unit of local
    government.
        (4-5) In an administrative citation action under
    Section 31.1 of this Act, any person found to have violated
    any provision of subsection (p) of Section 21 or subsection
    (k) of Section 55 of this Act shall pay a civil penalty of
    $1,500 for each violation of each such provision, plus any
    hearing costs incurred by the Board and the Agency, except
    that the civil penalty amount shall be $3,000 for each
    violation of any provision of subsection (p) of Section 21
    or subsection (k) of Section 55 that is the person's second
    or subsequent adjudication violation of that provision.
    The penalties shall be deposited into the Environmental
    Protection Trust Fund, to be used in accordance with the
    provisions of the Environmental Protection Trust Fund Act;
    except that if a unit of local government issued the
    administrative citation, 50% of the civil penalty shall be
    payable to the unit of local government.
        (5) Any person who violates subsection 6 of Section
    39.5 of this Act or any CAAPP permit, or term or condition
    thereof, or any fee or filing requirement, or any duty to
    allow or carry out inspection, entry or monitoring
    activities, or any regulation or order relating to the
    CAAPP shall be liable for a civil penalty not to exceed
    $10,000 per day of violation.
    (b.5) In lieu of the penalties set forth in subsections (a)
and (b) of this Section, any person who fails to file, in a
timely manner, toxic chemical release forms with the Agency
pursuant to Section 25b-2 of this Act shall be liable for a
civil penalty of $100 per day for each day the forms are late,
not to exceed a maximum total penalty of $6,000. This daily
penalty shall begin accruing on the thirty-first day after the
date that the person receives the warning notice issued by the
Agency pursuant to Section 25b-6 of this Act; and the penalty
shall be paid to the Agency. The daily accrual of penalties
shall cease as of January 1 of the following year. All
penalties collected by the Agency pursuant to this subsection
shall be deposited into the Environmental Protection Permit and
Inspection Fund.
    (c) Any person that violates this Act, any rule or
regulation adopted under this Act, any permit or term or
condition of a permit, or any Board order and causes the death
of fish or aquatic life shall, in addition to the other
penalties provided by this Act, be liable to pay to the State
an additional sum for the reasonable value of the fish or
aquatic life destroyed. Any money so recovered shall be placed
in the Wildlife and Fish Fund in the State Treasury.
    (d) The penalties provided for in this Section may be
recovered in a civil action.
    (e) The State's Attorney of the county in which the
violation occurred, or the Attorney General, may, at the
request of the Agency or on his own motion, institute a civil
action for an injunction, prohibitory or mandatory, to restrain
violations of this Act, any rule or regulation adopted under
this Act, any permit or term or condition of a permit, or any
Board order, or to require such other actions as may be
necessary to address violations of this Act, any rule or
regulation adopted under this Act, any permit or term or
condition of a permit, or any Board order.
    (f) The State's Attorney of the county in which the
violation occurred, or the Attorney General, shall bring such
actions in the name of the people of the State of Illinois.
Without limiting any other authority which may exist for the
awarding of attorney's fees and costs, the Board or a court of
competent jurisdiction may award costs and reasonable
attorney's fees, including the reasonable costs of expert
witnesses and consultants, to the State's Attorney or the
Attorney General in a case where he has prevailed against a
person who has committed a wilful, knowing or repeated
violation of this Act, any rule or regulation adopted under
this Act, any permit or term or condition of a permit, or any
Board order.
    Any funds collected under this subsection (f) in which the
Attorney General has prevailed shall be deposited in the
Hazardous Waste Fund created in Section 22.2 of this Act. Any
funds collected under this subsection (f) in which a State's
Attorney has prevailed shall be retained by the county in which
he serves.
    (g) All final orders imposing civil penalties pursuant to
this Section shall prescribe the time for payment of such
penalties. If any such penalty is not paid within the time
prescribed, interest on such penalty at the rate set forth in
subsection (a) of Section 1003 of the Illinois Income Tax Act,
shall be paid for the period from the date payment is due until
the date payment is received. However, if the time for payment
is stayed during the pendency of an appeal, interest shall not
accrue during such stay.
    (h) In determining the appropriate civil penalty to be
imposed under subdivisions (a), (b)(1), (b)(2), (b)(3), or
(b)(5) of this Section, the Board is authorized to consider any
matters of record in mitigation or aggravation of penalty,
including but not limited to the following factors:
        (1) the duration and gravity of the violation;
        (2) the presence or absence of due diligence on the
    part of the respondent in attempting to comply with
    requirements of this Act and regulations thereunder or to
    secure relief therefrom as provided by this Act;
        (3) any economic benefits accrued by the respondent
    because of delay in compliance with requirements, in which
    case the economic benefits shall be determined by the
    lowest cost alternative for achieving compliance;
        (4) the amount of monetary penalty which will serve to
    deter further violations by the respondent and to otherwise
    aid in enhancing voluntary compliance with this Act by the
    respondent and other persons similarly subject to the Act;
        (5) the number, proximity in time, and gravity of
    previously adjudicated violations of this Act by the
    respondent;
        (6) whether the respondent voluntarily self-disclosed,
    in accordance with subsection (i) of this Section, the
    non-compliance to the Agency; and
        (7) whether the respondent has agreed to undertake a
    "supplemental environmental project," which means an
    environmentally beneficial project that a respondent
    agrees to undertake in settlement of an enforcement action
    brought under this Act, but which the respondent is not
    otherwise legally required to perform.
    In determining the appropriate civil penalty to be imposed
under subsection (a) or paragraph (1), (2), (3), or (5) of
subsection (b) of this Section, the Board shall ensure, in all
cases, that the penalty is at least as great as the economic
benefits, if any, accrued by the respondent as a result of the
violation, unless the Board finds that imposition of such
penalty would result in an arbitrary or unreasonable financial
hardship. However, such civil penalty may be off-set in whole
or in part pursuant to a supplemental environmental project
agreed to by the complainant and the respondent.
    (i) A person who voluntarily self-discloses non-compliance
to the Agency, of which the Agency had been unaware, is
entitled to a 100% reduction in the portion of the penalty that
is not based on the economic benefit of non-compliance if the
person can establish the following:
        (1) that the non-compliance was discovered through an
    environmental audit or a compliance management system
    documented by the regulated entity as reflecting the
    regulated entity's due diligence in preventing, detecting,
    and correcting violations;
        (2) that the non-compliance was disclosed in writing
    within 30 days of the date on which the person discovered
    it;
        (3) that the non-compliance was discovered and
    disclosed prior to:
            (i) the commencement of an Agency inspection,
        investigation, or request for information;
            (ii) notice of a citizen suit;
            (iii) the filing of a complaint by a citizen, the
        Illinois Attorney General, or the State's Attorney of
        the county in which the violation occurred;
            (iv) the reporting of the non-compliance by an
        employee of the person without that person's
        knowledge; or
            (v) imminent discovery of the non-compliance by
        the Agency;
        (4) that the non-compliance is being corrected and any
    environmental harm is being remediated in a timely fashion;
        (5) that the person agrees to prevent a recurrence of
    the non-compliance;
        (6) that no related non-compliance events have
    occurred in the past 3 years at the same facility or in the
    past 5 years as part of a pattern at multiple facilities
    owned or operated by the person;
        (7) that the non-compliance did not result in serious
    actual harm or present an imminent and substantial
    endangerment to human health or the environment or violate
    the specific terms of any judicial or administrative order
    or consent agreement;
        (8) that the person cooperates as reasonably requested
    by the Agency after the disclosure; and
        (9) that the non-compliance was identified voluntarily
    and not through a monitoring, sampling, or auditing
    procedure that is required by statute, rule, permit,
    judicial or administrative order, or consent agreement.
    If a person can establish all of the elements under this
subsection except the element set forth in paragraph (1) of
this subsection, the person is entitled to a 75% reduction in
the portion of the penalty that is not based upon the economic
benefit of non-compliance.
    (j) In addition to an other remedy or penalty that may
apply, whether civil or criminal, any person who violates
Section 22.52 of this Act shall be liable for an additional
civil penalty of up to 3 times the gross amount of any
pecuniary gain resulting from the violation.
(Source: P.A. 94-272, eff. 7-19-05; 94-580, eff. 8-12-05;
95-331, eff. 8-21-07.)
 
    (415 ILCS 5/55)  (from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 1055)
    Sec. 55. Prohibited activities.
    (a) No person shall:
        (1) Cause or allow the open dumping of any used or
    waste tire.
        (2) Cause or allow the open burning of any used or
    waste tire.
        (3) Except at a tire storage site which contains more
    than 50 used tires, cause or allow the storage of any used
    tire unless the tire is altered, reprocessed, converted,
    covered, or otherwise prevented from accumulating water.
        (4) Cause or allow the operation of a tire storage site
    except in compliance with Board regulations.
        (5) Abandon, dump or dispose of any used or waste tire
    on private or public property, except in a sanitary
    landfill approved by the Agency pursuant to regulations
    adopted by the Board.
        (6) Fail to submit required reports, tire removal
    agreements, or Board regulations.
    (b) (Blank.)
    (b-1) Beginning January 1, 1995, no person shall knowingly
mix any used or waste tire, either whole or cut, with municipal
waste, and no owner or operator of a sanitary landfill shall
accept any used or waste tire for final disposal; except that
used or waste tires, when separated from other waste, may be
accepted if: (1) the sanitary landfill provides and maintains a
means for shredding, slitting, or chopping whole tires and so
treats whole tires and, if approved by the Agency in a permit
issued under this Act, uses the used or waste tires for
alternative uses, which may include on-site practices such as
lining of roadways with tire scraps, alternative daily cover,
or use in a leachate collection system or (2) the sanitary
landfill, by its notification to the Illinois Industrial
Materials Exchange Service, makes available the used or waste
tire to an appropriate facility for reuse, reprocessing, or
converting, including use as an alternate energy fuel. If,
within 30 days after notification to the Illinois Industrial
Materials Exchange Service of the availability of waste tires,
no specific request for the used or waste tires is received by
the sanitary landfill, and the sanitary landfill determines it
has no alternative use for those used or waste tires, the
sanitary landfill may dispose of slit, chopped, or shredded
used or waste tires in the sanitary landfill. In the event the
physical condition of a used or waste tire makes shredding,
slitting, chopping, reuse, reprocessing, or other alternative
use of the used or waste tire impractical or infeasible, then
the sanitary landfill, after authorization by the Agency, may
accept the used or waste tire for disposal.
    Sanitary landfills and facilities for reuse, reprocessing,
or converting, including use as alternative fuel, shall (i)
notify the Illinois Industrial Materials Exchange Service of
the availability of and demand for used or waste tires and (ii)
consult with the Department of Commerce and Economic
Opportunity regarding the status of marketing of waste tires to
facilities for reuse.
    (c) Any person who sells new or used tires at retail or
operates a tire storage site or a tire disposal site which
contains more than 50 used or waste tires shall give notice of
such activity to the Agency. Any person engaging in such
activity for the first time after January 1, 1990, shall give
notice to the Agency within 30 days after the date of
commencement of the activity. The form of such notice shall be
specified by the Agency and shall be limited to information
regarding the following:
        (1) the name and address of the owner and operator;
        (2) the name, address and location of the operation;
        (3) the type of operations involving used and waste
    tires (storage, disposal, conversion or processing); and
        (4) the number of used and waste tires present at the
    location.
    (d) Beginning January 1, 1992, no person shall cause or
allow the operation of:
        (1) a tire storage site which contains more than 50
    used tires, unless the owner or operator, by January 1,
    1992 (or the January 1 following commencement of operation,
    whichever is later) and January 1 of each year thereafter,
    (i) registers the site with the Agency, (ii) certifies to
    the Agency that the site complies with any applicable
    standards adopted by the Board pursuant to Section 55.2,
    (iii) reports to the Agency the number of tires
    accumulated, the status of vector controls, and the actions
    taken to handle and process the tires, and (iv) pays the
    fee required under subsection (b) of Section 55.6; or
        (2) a tire disposal site, unless the owner or operator
    (i) has received approval from the Agency after filing a
    tire removal agreement pursuant to Section 55.4, or (ii)
    has entered into a written agreement to participate in a
    consensual removal action under Section 55.3.
    The Agency shall provide written forms for the annual
registration and certification required under this subsection
(d).
    (e) No person shall cause or allow the storage, disposal,
treatment or processing of any used or waste tire in violation
of any regulation or standard adopted by the Board.
    (f) No person shall arrange for the transportation of used
or waste tires away from the site of generation with a person
known to openly dump such tires.
    (g) No person shall engage in any operation as a used or
waste tire transporter except in compliance with Board
regulations.
    (h) No person shall cause or allow the combustion of any
used or waste tire in an enclosed device unless a permit has
been issued by the Agency authorizing such combustion pursuant
to regulations adopted by the Board for the control of air
pollution and consistent with the provisions of Section 9.4 of
this Act.
    (i) No person shall cause or allow the use of pesticides to
treat tires except as prescribed by Board regulations.
    (j) No person shall fail to comply with the terms of a tire
removal agreement approved by the Agency pursuant to Section
55.4.
    (k) No person shall:
        (1) Cause or allow water to accumulate in used or waste
    tires. The prohibition set forth in this paragraph (1) of
    subsection (k) shall not apply to used or waste tires
    located at a residential household, as long as not more
    than 12 used or waste tires are located at the site.
        (2) Fail to collect a fee required under Section 55.8
    of this Title.
        (3) Fail to file a return required under Section 55.10
    of this Title.
        (4) Transport used or waste tires in violation of the
    registration and vehicle placarding requirements adopted
    by the Board.
(Source: P.A. 93-32, eff. 6-20-03; 93-52, eff. 6-30-03; 94-793,
eff. 5-19-06.)
 
    (415 ILCS 5/55.1)  (from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 1055.1)
    Sec. 55.1. (a) The prohibitions set forth in subdivision
(a)(3) of Section 55 of this Act shall not apply to used tires:
        (1) generated and located at a site as a result of the
    growing and harvesting of agricultural crops or the raising
    of animals, as long as not more than 20 used tires are
    located at the site;
        (2) located at a residential household, as long as not
    more than 12 used tires are located at the site; or
        (3) which were placed in service for recreational
    purposes prior to January 1, 1990 at a school, park or
    playground, provided that the used tires are altered by
    January 1, 1992.
    (b) The prohibitions set forth in subdivisions (a)(3),
(a)(4), (c), (d), (e), and (g), and (k)(4) of Section 55 of
this Act shall not apply to used or waste tires collected by a
not-for-profit corporation if:
        (1) the collection location has been approved by the
    applicable general purpose unit of local government;
        (2) the collected tires are transported to a facility
    permitted by the Agency to store, process or dispose of
    used or waste tires within 7 days after collection; and
        (3) the collection does not occur as a continuous
    business operation.
    (c) The prohibitions set forth in subdivisions (a)(3),
(a)(4), (c), (d), (e), and (g), and (k)(4) of Section 55 of
this Act shall not apply to used or waste tires collected by
the State or a unit of local government, provided that:
        (1) the collection is part of an established program to
    take preventive or corrective action regarding such tires;
        (2) any staging sites for handling such tires are
    reasonably secure and regularly maintained in a safe
    manner; and
        (3) the Agency is notified in writing during January of
    each calendar year regarding the location of the staging
    sites, the number of such tires accumulated, the status of
    vector controls, and actions taken to process such tires.
    The Agency shall provide written confirmation to a State
agency or unit of local government regarding the applicability
of this subsection upon receipt of a written description of its
established program, and each January following receipt of the
annual report required under subdivision (c)(3) of this
subsection.
    For purposes of determining the applicability of this
subsection, any municipality with a population over 1,000,000
may certify to the Agency by January 1, 1990 that it operates
an established program. Upon the filing of such a
certification, the established program shall be deemed to
satisfy the provisions of subdivisions (1) and (2) of this
subsection.
    (d) The prohibitions set forth in subdivision (a)(5) of
Section 55 of this Act shall not apply to used tires that are
generated and located at a permitted coal mining site after use
on specialized coal hauling and extraction vehicles.
(Source: P.A. 86-452.)
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.

Effective Date: 8/25/2009