Public Act 90-0489 of the 90th General Assembly
Public Act 90-0489
SB778 Enrolled LRB9002445DPccA
AN ACT to amend the Environmental Protection Act by
changing Section 27.
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 Section 27 as follows:
(415 ILCS 5/27) (from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 1027)
Sec. 27. Rulemaking.
(a) The Board may adopt substantive regulations as
described in this Act. Any such regulations may make
different provisions as required by circumstances for
different contaminant sources and for different geographical
areas; may apply to sources outside this State causing,
contributing to, or threatening environmental damage in
Illinois; may make special provision for alert and abatement
standards and procedures respecting occurrences or
emergencies of pollution or on other short-term conditions
constituting an acute danger to health or to the environment;
and may include regulations specific to individual persons or
sites. In promulgating regulations under this Act, the Board
shall take into account the existing physical conditions, the
character of the area involved, including the character of
surrounding land uses, zoning classifications, the nature of
the existing air quality, or receiving body of water, as the
case may be, and the technical feasibility and economic
reasonableness of measuring or reducing the particular type
of pollution. The generality of this grant of authority
shall only be limited by the specifications of particular
classes of regulations elsewhere in this Act.
No charge shall be established or assessed by the Board
or Agency against any person for emission of air contaminants
from any source, for discharge of water contaminants from any
source, or for the sale, offer or use of any article.
Any person filing with the Board a written proposal for
the adoption, amendment, or repeal of regulations shall
provide information supporting the requested change and shall
at the same time file a copy of such proposal with the Agency
and the Department of Natural Resources. To aid the Board
and to assist the public in determining which facilities will
be affected, the person filing a proposal shall describe, to
the extent reasonably practicable, the universe of affected
sources and facilities and the economic impact of the
proposed rule.
(b) Except as provided below and in Section 28.2, before
the adoption of any proposed rules not relating to
administrative procedures within the Agency or the Board
regulations, or amendment to existing rules not relating to
administrative procedures within the Agency or the Board
regulations, the Board shall:
(1) request that the Department of Commerce and
Community Affairs conduct a study of the economic impact
of the proposed rules. The Department may within 30 to
45 days of such request produce a study of the economic
impact of the proposed rules. At a minimum, the economic
impact study shall address (A) economic, environmental,
and public health benefits that may be achieved through
compliance with the proposed rules, (B) the effects of
the proposed rules on employment levels, commercial
productivity, the economic growth of small businesses
with 100 or less employees, and the State's overall
economy, and (C) the cost per unit of pollution reduced
and the variability in cost based on the size of the
facility and the percentage of company revenues expected
to be used to implement the proposed rules; and
(2) conduct at least one public hearing on the
economic impact of those new rules. At least 20 days
before the hearing, the Board shall notify the public of
the hearing and make the economic impact study, or the
Department of Commerce and Community Affair's explanation
for not producing an economic impact study, available to
the public. regulations Such public hearing may be held
simultaneously or as a part of any Board hearing
considering such new rules.
In adopting any such new rule regulation, the Board
shall, in its written opinion, make a determination, based
upon the evidence in the public hearing record, including but
not limited to the economic impact study, as to whether the
proposed rule regulation has any adverse economic impact on
the people of the State of Illinois.
(c) On proclamation by the Governor, pursuant to Section
8 of the Illinois Emergency Services and Disaster Act of
1975, that a disaster emergency exists, or when the Board
finds that a severe public health emergency exists, the Board
may, in relation to any proposed regulation, order that such
regulation shall take effect without delay and the Board
shall proceed with the hearings and studies required by this
Section while the regulation continues in effect.
When the Board finds that a situation exists which
reasonably constitutes a threat to the public interest,
safety or welfare, the Board may adopt regulations pursuant
to and in accordance with Section 5-45 of the Illinois
Administrative Procedure Act.
(d) To the extent consistent with any deadline for
adoption of any regulations mandated by State or federal law,
prior to initiating any hearing on a regulatory proposal, the
Board may assign a qualified hearing officer who may schedule
a prehearing conference between the proponents and any or all
of the potentially affected persons. The notice requirements
of Section 28 shall not apply to such prehearing conferences.
The purposes of such conference shall be to maximize
understanding of the intent and application of the proposal,
to reach agreement on aspects of the proposal, if possible,
and to attempt to identify and limit the issues of
disagreement among the participants to promote efficient use
of time at hearing. No record need be kept of the prehearing
conference, nor shall any participant or the Board be bound
by any discussions conducted at the prehearing conference.
However, with the consent of all participants in the
prehearing conference, a prehearing order delineating issues
to be heard, agreed facts, and other matters may be entered
by the hearing officer. Such an order will not be binding on
nonparticipants in the prehearing conference.
(Source: P.A. 88-45; 89-445, eff. 2-7-96.)