SB3346 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB096 15744 HLH 30983 b

96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2009 and 2010
SB3346

Introduced 2/10/2010, by Sen. Heather Steans

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

New Act

Creates the Mercury Thermostat Collection Act. Requires thermostat manufacturers to establish an out-of-service mercury thermostat collection program that meets certain requirements. Requires thermostat manufacturers to submit certain reports on their collection programs to the Agency. Sets goals for the collection of out-of-service mercury thermostats. Provides that if those goals are not met, then the manufacturers must revise their collection programs as necessary to achieve the applicable goal. Requires contractors, service technicians, thermostat wholesalers, thermostat manufacturers, and thermostat retailers to handle and manage out-of-service mercury thermostats in a manner that is consistent with the provisions of the universal waste regulations adopted by the Illinois Pollution Control Board. On and after January 1, 2011, prohibits (i) thermostat wholesalers from selling, offering to sell, distributing, or offering to distribute thermostats unless certain requirements are met and (ii) contractors from removing, replacing, or otherwise taking mercury thermostats out of service unless the contractors deliver those thermostats to a collection site. On and after January 1, 2011, prohibits thermostat manufacturers that are in violation of the Act from selling, offering to sell, distributing, or offering to distribute thermostats in the State. Requires the Agency to post certain information on its website and to report certain information to the General Assembly. Provides for prosecution by the Attorney General or the State's Attorney of the county in which a violation occurs. Requires the Agency to make certain recommendations to the Governor and General Assembly by January 1, 2012. Effective immediately.

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 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Mercury Thermostat Collection Act.

Section 5. Legislative findings. The General Assembly finds that it is in the public interest to substantially increase the scope and effectiveness of programs that collect and handle out-of-service mercury thermostats for end-of-life management.

Section 10. Definitions.

"Agency" means the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency.

"Board" means the Illinois Pollution Control Board.

"Contractor" means a person who installs or services heating, ventilation, or air-conditioning components.

"Mercury thermostat" means a thermostat that meets the definition of a "mercury thermostat" under subsection (f) of Section 22.23b of the Environmental Protection Act.

"Out-of-service mercury thermostat" means a mercury thermostat that is removed, replaced, or otherwise taken out of service.

"Person" means any individual, partnership, co-partnership, firm, company, limited liability company, corporation, association, joint stock company, trust, estate, political subdivision, State agency, or any other legal entity, or its legal representative, agent, or assigns.

"Thermostat manufacturer" means a person that owns or owned a name brand of one or more mercury thermostats sold in the State.

"Thermostat retailer" means a person who sells thermostats of any kind primarily to homeowners or other nonprofessionals through any selling or distribution mechanism, including, but not limited to, sales using the Internet or catalogs. A thermostat retailer that meets the definition of thermostat wholesaler shall be considered a thermostat wholesaler.

"Thermostat wholesaler" means a person who is engaged in the distribution and wholesale selling of heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning components, including, but not limited to, thermostats, to contractors.

Section 15. Mercury thermostat collection programs. Thermostat manufacturers must, individually or collectively, establish and maintain a program for the collection, transportation, and proper management of out-of-service mercury thermostats in accordance with the provisions of this Act. The program must do all of the following:

(1) On and after January 1, 2011, provide containers for the collection of out-of-service mercury thermostats to all thermostat wholesalers, along with information regarding the proper management of mercury thermostats as universal waste in accordance with the Board's regulations.

(2) On and after January 1, 2011, make collection containers available to any local government agency that requests a container for use at a household hazardous waste collection facility; collection containers shall also be provided to thermostat retailers and contractors that request a container.

(3) Either arrange for pick up of the collection containers that are provided under items (1) and (2) or pay for the costs of shipping those containers from the collection site to a facility for proper end-of-life management.

(4) Include incentives to encourage contractors to participate in the collection programs.

(5) Not include any fees or other charges to persons participating in the program, except that each thermostat wholesaler, contractor, or thermostat retailer that is provided with one or more collection containers may be charged an initial, one-time program administration fee not to exceed $75 per collection container.

(6) From January 1, 2011, to December 31, 2015, inclusive, conduct education and outreach efforts, including, but not limited to, all of the following:

(A) creating a public service announcement promoting collection and proper management of out-of-service mercury thermostats; and providing copies of the public service announcement to the Agency;

(B) establishing and maintaining a publicly accessible website for the dissemination of educational materials; posting templates of the educational materials on the Internet website in a form and format that can be easily downloaded and printed; and providing the Agency with a link to the website;

(C) contacting and working with thermostat wholesalers to secure their support and participation in educating their customers on the collection and proper management of out-of-service mercury thermostats; and

(D) encouraging support and participation by thermostat retailers in educating their customers on collection and proper management of out-of-service mercury thermostats.

(7) On or before January 1, 2011, develop, and update as necessary, educational and other outreach materials aimed at contractors, contractor associations, and homeowners. Those materials shall be made available for use by participating thermostat wholesalers, thermostat retailers, and local government hazardous waste collection facilities. The materials shall include, but not be limited to, the following:

(A) signage that is prominently displayed and easily visible to contractors and consumers;

(B) written materials and templates of materials for reproduction by thermostat wholesalers and retailers to be provided to customers at the time of purchase or delivery of a thermostat; the materials shall include, but not be limited to, information on the proper management of out-of-service mercury thermostats and opportunities for their collection; and

(C) advertising, other promotional materials, or both that include references to the collection opportunities.

Section 20. Reporting on collection efforts.

(a) No later than September 1, 2011, and no later than September 1 of each year thereafter, thermostat manufacturers must individually or collectively submit a mid-term report on their collection program to the Agency covering the period beginning on January 1st of the year in which the report is due and ending on June 30th of that year. The mid-term report shall identify the number of out-of-service mercury thermostats collected under the program.

(b) No later than April 1, 2012, and no later than April 1 of each year thereafter, thermostat manufacturers must, individually or collectively, submit an annual report on their collection program to the Agency covering the one-year period ending December 31st of the previous year. Each report shall be posted on the manufacturer's or program's Internet website. The annual report shall include, but not be limited to, all of the following:

(1) the number of out-of-service mercury thermostats collected under the program during the previous calendar year;

(2) the estimated total amount of mercury contained in the out-of-service mercury thermostats collected under the program during the previous calendar year;

(3) an evaluation of the effectiveness of the program;

(4) a list of all thermostat wholesalers, contractors, local government household waste collection facilities, and thermostat retailers participating in the program as mercury thermostat collection sites and the number of out-of-service mercury thermostats returned by each;

(5) an accounting of the program administrative costs;

(6) commencing with the report due April 1, 2013, a comparison to the statewide collection goals set forth in Section 25 of this Act;

(7) a description of outreach strategies employed under item (6) of Section 15 of this Act to increase participation and collection rates;

(8) examples of outreach and educational materials used under item (7) of Section 15 of this Act;

(9) the Internet website address where the annual report may be viewed online;

(10) a description of how the collected out-of-service mercury thermostats were managed; and

(11) modifications that the manufacturer is planning to make in its collection program.

Section 25. Collection goals.

(a) The mercury thermostat collection programs required under this Act shall be designed to collectively achieve the following statewide collection goals:

(1) for calendar years 2012 and 2013, the collection goal for each year is 15% of the estimated number of out-of-service mercury thermostats generated in the State;

(2) for calendar years 2014 and 2015, the collection goal for each year is 30% of the estimated number of out-of-service mercury thermostats generated in the State;

(3) for calendar years 2016 and 2017, the collection goal for each year is 50% of the estimated number of out-of-service mercury thermostats generated in the State; and

(4) for calendar year 2018 and each calendar year thereafter, the collection goal for each year is 80% of the estimated number of out-of-service mercury thermostats generated in the State.

(b) No later than June 1, 2012, the Agency shall, in consultation with thermostat manufacturers and other stakeholder groups, estimate the number of out-of-service mercury thermostats generated in the State each year.

(c) If the collection goals set forth in subsection (a) of this Section are not met for the calendar year 2013, 2015, 2017, or 2018, thermostat manufacturers must, individually or collectively, revise their mercury thermostat collection program and undertake other actions as necessary to achieve the applicable collection goals in subsequent years.

Section 30. Management of out-of-service mercury thermostats. All contractors, thermostat wholesalers, thermostat manufacturers, and thermostat retailers participating in the program must handle and manage the out-of-service mercury thermostats in a manner that is consistent with the provisions of the universal waste regulations adopted by the Board.

Section 35. Thermostat wholesaler and contractor responsibilities. On and after January 1, 2011:

(1) No thermostat wholesaler shall sell, offer to sell, distribute, or offer to distribute thermostats unless the wholesaler:

(A) participates in one or more collection programs required under this Act as a collection site for out-of-service mercury thermostats;

(B) uses the containers provided by the thermostat manufacturer to facilitate collection of out-of-service mercury thermostats by contractors; and

(C) distributes to its customers the educational outreach materials developed under paragraph (8) of Section 15.

(2) No contractor shall remove, replace, or otherwise take out of service a mercury thermostat unless the contractor delivers it to a collection site established under this Act.

Section 40. Certain prohibited activities. On and after January 1, 2011, no thermostat manufacturer that is in violation of this Act shall sell, offer to sell, distribute, or offer to distribute a thermostat in this State.

Section 45. Information regarding the collection and recycling of mercury thermostats.

(a) No later than June 1, 2012, and no later than September 1 of each year thereafter, the Agency must post on its website information regarding the collection and proper management of out-of-service mercury thermostats in the State. The information must include, but is not limited to, the following:

(1) a description of the collection programs established under this Act;

(2) a report on the progress towards achieving the statewide collection goals set forth in subsection (a) of Section 25 of this Act; and

(3) a list of all thermostat wholesalers, contractors, local government household hazardous waste collection facilities, and thermostat retailers participating in the program as collection sites.

(b) No later than December 31, 2015, the Agency shall report to the Governor and General Assembly regarding the effectiveness of the thermostat collection and recycling program and, if necessary, shall make recommendations for any statutory changes.

Section 50. Enforcement. Prosecutions for violations of this Act may be conducted by the Attorney General or the State's Attorney of the county in which the violation occurred.

Section 55. Recommendations to the Governor and the General Assembly. On or before January 1, 2012, the Agency shall investigate and make recommendations to the Governor and the General Assembly regarding strategies for improving the collection and proper management of out-of-service mercury thermostats generated by homeowners and other nonprofessionals. In developing its recommendations, the Agency shall consult with thermostat manufacturers, thermostat retailers, local governments, recycling associations, environmental interest groups, and other appropriate stakeholder groups. The Agency shall identify the best available options for collecting out-of-service mercury thermostats from homeowners and other nonprofessionals, taking into account such considerations as cost and convenience, safety, education and outreach needs, and shared responsibilities for implementing the collection program.

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