HB6120 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB096 20354 JDS 35990 b

96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2009 and 2010
HB6120

Introduced 2/11/2010, by Rep. Elaine Nekritz

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

415 ILCS 5/12	from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 1012
415 ILCS 5/18	from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 1018
415 ILCS 5/31.1	from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 1031.1
415 ILCS 5/42	from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 1042

Amends the Environmental Protection Act. Makes it a violation of the Act to fail to (1) submit to the Agency a discharge monitoring report as required under an NPDES permit, (2) perform monitoring as required under an NPDES permit, (3) obtain a stormwater NPDES permit for a construction site, (4) renew an NPDES permit, and (5) maintain at a construction site a stormwater pollution prevention plan as required under an NPDES permit. Authorizes certain violations of the Act and rules adopted under its authority to be enforced by administrative citation. Effective immediately.

CORRECTIONAL BUDGET AND IMPACT NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

A BILL FOR

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 12, 18, 31.1, and 42 as follows:

(415 ILCS 5/12) (from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 1012)

Sec. 12. Actions prohibited. No person shall:

(a) Cause or threaten or allow the discharge of any contaminants into the environment in any State so as to cause or tend to cause water pollution in Illinois, either alone or in combination with matter from other sources, or so as to violate regulations or standards adopted by the Pollution Control Board under this Act.

(b) Construct, install, or operate any equipment, facility, vessel, or aircraft capable of causing or contributing to water pollution, or designed to prevent water pollution, of any type designated by Board regulations, without a permit granted by the Agency, or in violation of any conditions imposed by such permit.

(c) Increase the quantity or strength of any discharge of contaminants into the waters, or construct or install any sewer or sewage treatment facility or any new outlet for contaminants into the waters of this State, without a permit granted by the Agency.

(d) Deposit any contaminants upon the land in such place and manner so as to create a water pollution hazard.

(e) Sell, offer, or use any article in any area in which the Board has by regulation forbidden its sale, offer, or use for reasons of water pollution control.

(f) Cause, threaten or allow the discharge of any contaminant into the waters of the State, as defined herein, including but not limited to, waters to any sewage works, or into any well or from any point source within the State, without an NPDES permit for point source discharges issued by the Agency under Section 39(b) of this Act, or in violation of any term or condition imposed by such permit, or in violation of any NPDES permit filing requirement established under Section 39(b), or in violation of any regulations adopted by the Board or of any order adopted by the Board with respect to the NPDES program.

No permit shall be required under this subsection and under Section 39(b) of this Act for any discharge for which a permit is not required under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, as now or hereafter amended, and regulations pursuant thereto.

For all purposes of this Act, a permit issued by the Administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency under Section 402 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, as now or hereafter amended, shall be deemed to be a permit issued by the Agency pursuant to Section 39(b) of this Act. However, this shall not apply to the exclusion from the requirement of an operating permit provided under Section 13(b)(i).

Compliance with the terms and conditions of any permit issued under Section 39(b) of this Act shall be deemed compliance with this subsection except that it shall not be deemed compliance with any standard or effluent limitation imposed for a toxic pollutant injurious to human health.

In any case where a permit has been timely applied for pursuant to Section 39(b) of this Act but final administrative disposition of such application has not been made, it shall not be a violation of this subsection to discharge without such permit unless the complainant proves that final administrative disposition has not been made because of the failure of the applicant to furnish information reasonably required or requested in order to process the application.

(g) Cause, threaten or allow the underground injection of contaminants without a UIC permit issued by the Agency under Section 39(d) of this Act, or in violation of any term or condition imposed by such permit, or in violation of any regulations or standards adopted by the Board or of any order adopted by the Board with respect to the UIC program.

No permit shall be required under this subsection and under Section 39(d) of this Act for any underground injection of contaminants for which a permit is not required under Part C of the Safe Drinking Water Act (P.L. 93-523), as amended, unless a permit is authorized or required under regulations adopted by the Board pursuant to Section 13 of this Act.

(h) Introduce contaminants into a sewage works from any nondomestic source except in compliance with the regulations and standards adopted by the Board under this Act.

(i) On and after January 1, 2013, construct or install a surface discharging private sewage disposal system that discharges into the waters of the United States, as that term is used in the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, unless he or she has a coverage letter under a NPDES permit issued by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency or he or she is constructing or installing the surface discharging private sewage disposal system in a jurisdiction in which the local public health department has a general NPDES permit issued by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency and the surface discharging private sewage disposal system is covered under the general NPDES permit.

(j) In violation of this Act, rules adopted under this Act, or a permit or condition of a permit issued by the Agency, fail to do any of the following:

(1) Submit to the Agency a discharge monitoring report as required under an NPDES permit.

(2) Perform monitoring as required under an NPDES permit.

(3) Obtain a stormwater NPDES permit for a construction site.

(4) Renew an NPDES permit.

(5) Maintain at a construction site a stormwater pollution prevention plan as required under an NPDES permit.

The prohibitions specified in this subsection (j) shall be enforceable by the Agency either by administrative citation under Section 31.1 of this Act or as otherwise provided by the Act. The specific prohibitions in this subsection do not limit the power of the Board to establish regulations or standards applicable to the activities that are the subject of the prohibitions.

(Source: P.A. 96-801, eff. 1-1-10.)

(415 ILCS 5/18) (from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 1018)

Sec. 18. Prohibitions; plugging requirements.

(a) No person shall:

(1) Knowingly cause, threaten or allow the distribution of water from any public water supply of such quality or quantity as to be injurious to human health; or

(2) Violate regulations or standards adopted by the Agency pursuant to Section 15(b) of this Act or by the Board under this Act; or

(3) Construct, install or operate any public water supply without a permit granted by the Agency, or in violation of any condition imposed by such a permit.

(b) Borings, water monitoring wells, and wells subject to this Act shall, at a minimum, be abandoned and plugged in accordance with the requirements of Sections 16 and 19 of "An Act in relation to oil, gas, coal and other surface and underground resources and to repeal an Act herein named", filed July 29, 1941, as amended, and such rules as are promulgated thereunder. Nothing herein shall preclude the Board from adopting plugging and abandonment requirements which are more stringent than the rules of the Department of Natural Resources where necessary to protect the public health and environment.

(c) No person shall fail to do any of the following in violation of this Act, rules adopted under this Act, or a permit or condition of a permit issued by the Agency:

(1) Provide public notice of a drinking water violation.

(2) Submit to the Agency a monthly operating report.

(3) Submit to the Agency a consumer confidence report.

(4) Perform monitoring.

The prohibitions specified in this subsection (c) shall be enforceable by the Agency either by administrative citation under Section 31.1 of this Act or as otherwise provided by the Act. The specific prohibitions in this subsection do not limit the power of the Board to establish regulations or standards applicable to the activities that are the subject of the prohibitions.

(Source: P.A. 89-445, eff. 2-7-96; 90-773, eff. 8-14-98.)

(415 ILCS 5/31.1) (from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 1031.1)

Sec. 31.1. Administrative citation.

(a) The prohibitions specified in subsection (j) of Section 12, subsection (c) of Section 18, 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 (j) of Section 12, subsection (c) of Section 18, 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 (j) of Section 12, subsection (c) of Section 18, 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 or other report in which the Agency or local government recorded the violation, and any inspection 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. 96-737, eff. 8-25-09.)

(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 (j) of Section 12, subsection (c) of Section 18, 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 (j) of Section 12, subsection (c) of Section 18, 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.

(6) Any owner or operator of a community water system that violates subsection (b) of Section 18.1 or subsection (a) of Section 25d-3 of this Act shall, for each day of violation, be liable for a civil penalty not to exceed $5 for each of the premises connected to the affected community water system.

(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. 95-331, eff. 8-21-07; 96-603, eff. 8-24-09; 96-737, eff. 8-25-09; revised 9-15-09.)

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon becoming law.