Public Act 0276 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SB2040 Enrolled LRB094 11530 RSP 42497 b

Public Act 094-0276

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 Section 57.10 as follows:

(415 ILCS 5/57.10)

Sec. 57.10. Professional Engineer or Professional Geologist certification; presumptions against liability.

(a) Within 120 days of the Agency's receipt of a corrective action completion report, the Agency shall issue to the owner or operator a "no further remediation letter" unless the Agency has requested a modification, issued a rejection under subsection (d) of this Section, or the report has been rejected by operation of law.

(b) By certifying such a statement, a Licensed Professional Engineer or Licensed Professional Geologist shall in no way be liable thereon, unless the engineer or geologist gave such certification despite his or her actual knowledge that the performed measures were not in compliance with applicable statutory or regulatory requirements or any plan submitted to the Agency.

(c) The Agency's issuance of a no further remediation letter shall signify, based on the certification of the Licensed Professional Engineer, that:

(1) all statutory and regulatory corrective action requirements applicable to the occurrence have been complied with;

(2) all corrective action concerning the remediation of the occurrence has been completed; and

(3) no further corrective action concerning the occurrence is necessary for the protection of human health, safety and the environment. This subsection (c) does not apply to off-site contamination related to the occurrence that has not been remediated due to denial of access to the off-site property.

(d) The no further remediation letter issued under this Section shall apply in favor of the following parties:

(1) The owner or operator to whom the letter was issued.

(2) Any parent corporation or subsidiary of such owner or operator.

(3) Any co-owner or co-operator, either by joint tenancy, right-of-survivorship, or any other party sharing a legal relationship with the owner or operator to whom the letter is issued.

(4) Any holder of a beneficial interest of a land trust or inter vivos trust whether revocable or irrevocable.

(5) Any mortgagee or trustee of a deed of trust of such owner or operator.

(6) Any successor-in-interest of such owner or operator.

(7) Any transferee of such owner or operator whether the transfer was by sale, bankruptcy proceeding, partition, dissolution of marriage, settlement or adjudication of any civil action, charitable gift, or bequest.

(8) Any heir or devisee or such owner or operator.

(9) An owner of a parcel of real property to the extent that the no further remediation letter under subsection (c) of this Section applies to the occurrence on that parcel.

(e) If the Agency notifies the owner or operator that the "no further remediation" letter has been rejected, the grounds for such rejection shall be described in the notice. Such a decision shall be a final determination which may be appealed by the owner or operator.

(f) The Board shall adopt rules setting forth the criteria under which the Agency may require an owner or operator to conduct further investigation or remediation related to a release for which a no further remediation letter has been issued.

(g) Holders of security interests in sites subject to the requirements of this Title XVI shall be entitled to the same protections and subject to the same responsibilities provided under general regulations promulgated under Subtitle I of the Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments of 1984 (P.L. 98-616) of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976 (P.L. 94-580).

(Source: P.A. 92-554, eff. 6-24-02; 92-735, eff. 7-25-02; revised 9-25-03.)