Full Text of SB3346 96th General Assembly
SB3346sam002 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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Sen. Heather Steans
Filed: 3/24/2010
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| AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 3346
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| AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend Senate Bill 3346, AS AMENDED, | 3 |
| by replacing everything after the enacting clause with the | 4 |
| following:
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| "Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the | 6 |
| Mercury Thermostat Collection Act. | 7 |
| Section 5. Legislative findings. The General Assembly | 8 |
| finds that: | 9 |
| (1) many older thermostats used to activate heating and | 10 |
| cooling equipment contain mercury as part of a tilt switch | 11 |
| component in the thermostat; | 12 |
| (2) the total amount of mercury used in each of those | 13 |
| thermostats averages about 4 grams; | 14 |
| (3) millions of mercury-containing thermostats are still | 15 |
| in use in homes and businesses in the United States; | 16 |
| (4) mercury in those thermostats poses a risk to human |
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| health and the environment if those thermostats are not | 2 |
| properly managed at the end of their useful life;
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| (5) the major thermostat manufacturers have established a | 4 |
| voluntary program to facilitate the collection and proper | 5 |
| management of mercury thermostats taken out of service;
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| (6) the annual average of mercury-containing thermostats | 7 |
| collected for recycling in Illinois under the existing | 8 |
| voluntary collection program from 2006 to 2008 was 4,433;
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| (7) thousands of mercury-containing thermostats are taken | 10 |
| out of service annually in the State;
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| (8) it is in the public interest to achieve a significant | 12 |
| increase in the collection and proper management of mercury | 13 |
| thermostats taken out of service in the State.
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| Section 10. Definitions. | 15 |
| "Agency" means the Illinois Environmental Protection | 16 |
| Agency. | 17 |
| "Board" means the Illinois Pollution Control Board. | 18 |
| "Collection program" means a system for the collection, | 19 |
| transportation, recycling, and disposal of out-of-service | 20 |
| mercury thermostats that is financed and managed or provided by | 21 |
| a thermostat manufacturer individually or collectively with | 22 |
| other thermostat manufacturers in accordance with this Act. | 23 |
| "Contractor" means a person engaged in the business of | 24 |
| installation, service, or removal of heating, ventilation, and | 25 |
| air-conditioning components. |
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| "Mercury thermostat" means a thermostat that meets the | 2 |
| definition of a "mercury thermostat" under subsection (f) of | 3 |
| Section 22.23b of the Environmental Protection Act. | 4 |
| "Out-of-service mercury thermostat" means a mercury | 5 |
| thermostat that is removed, replaced, or otherwise taken out of | 6 |
| service. | 7 |
| "Person" means any individual, partnership, | 8 |
| co-partnership, firm, company, limited liability company, | 9 |
| corporation, association, joint stock company, trust, estate, | 10 |
| political subdivision, State agency, or any other legal entity, | 11 |
| or its legal representatives, agents, or assigns. | 12 |
| "Qualified contractor" means a person engaged in the | 13 |
| business of installation, service, or removal of heating, | 14 |
| ventilation, and air-conditioning components who employs 7 or | 15 |
| more service technicians or installers or who is located in an | 16 |
| area outside of an urban area, as defined by the United States | 17 |
| Bureau of the Census. | 18 |
| "Qualified local government authorities" means household | 19 |
| hazardous waste facilities, solid waste management agencies, | 20 |
| environmental management agencies, or departments of public | 21 |
| health. | 22 |
| "Thermostat manufacturer" means a person who owns or owned | 23 |
| a name brand of one or more mercury thermostats sold in the | 24 |
| State. | 25 |
| "Thermostat retailer" means a person who sells thermostats | 26 |
| of any kind primarily to homeowners or other nonprofessionals |
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| through any sale or distribution mechanism, including, but not | 2 |
| limited to, sales using the Internet or catalogs. A thermostat | 3 |
| retailer that meets the definition of thermostat wholesaler | 4 |
| shall be considered a thermostat wholesaler. | 5 |
| "Thermostat wholesaler" means a person who is engaged in | 6 |
| the distribution and wholesale selling of heating, | 7 |
| ventilation, and air-conditioning components, including, but | 8 |
| not limited to, thermostats, to contractors, and whose total | 9 |
| wholesale sales account for 80% or more of its total sales. A | 10 |
| thermostat manufacturer, as defined in this Section, is not a | 11 |
| thermostat wholesaler. | 12 |
| Section 15. Mercury thermostat collection programs. | 13 |
| (a) Each thermostat manufacturer shall, individually or | 14 |
| collectively with other thermostat manufacturers, establish | 15 |
| and maintain a collection program for the collection, | 16 |
| transportation, and proper management of out-of-service | 17 |
| mercury thermostats in accordance with the provisions of this | 18 |
| Act.
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| (b) Each thermostat manufacturer shall, individually or | 20 |
| collectively with other thermostat manufacturers through a | 21 |
| collection program, do the following:
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| (1) On and after January 1, 2011, compile a list of | 23 |
| thermostat wholesalers in the State and offer each | 24 |
| thermostat wholesaler containers for the collection of | 25 |
| out-of-service mercury thermostats.
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| (2) On and after January 1, 2011, make collection | 2 |
| containers available to all qualified contractors, | 3 |
| thermostat wholesalers, thermostat retailers, and units of | 4 |
| local government in this State that request a container. | 5 |
| Each thermostat manufacturer shall with each container | 6 |
| include information regarding the proper management of | 7 |
| out-of-service mercury thermostats as universal waste in | 8 |
| accordance with the collection program and Board's rules.
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| (3) Establish a system to collect, transport, and | 10 |
| properly manage out-of-service mercury thermostats from | 11 |
| all collection sites established under this Section. | 12 |
| (4) Not include any fees or other charges to persons | 13 |
| participating in the program, except that each thermostat | 14 |
| wholesaler, qualified contractor, unit of local | 15 |
| government, or thermostat retailer that is provided with | 16 |
| one or more collection containers may be charged a one-time | 17 |
| program administration fee not to exceed $75 per collection | 18 |
| container.
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| (5) From January 1, 2011, through December 31, 2013, | 20 |
| conduct education and outreach efforts, including, but not | 21 |
| limited to the following:
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| (A) create a public service announcement promoting | 23 |
| collection and proper management of out-of-service | 24 |
| mercury thermostats, copies of which shall be provided | 25 |
| to the Agency;
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| (B) establish and maintain a publicly accessible |
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| website for the dissemination of educational materials | 2 |
| to promote the collection of out-of-service mercury | 3 |
| thermostats. This website shall include templates of | 4 |
| the educational materials on the Internet website in a | 5 |
| form and format that can be easily downloaded and | 6 |
| printed. The link to this website shall be provided to | 7 |
| the Agency;
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| (C) contact thermostat wholesalers at least once a | 9 |
| year to encourage their support and participation in | 10 |
| educating their customers on the importance of and | 11 |
| statutory requirements for the collection and proper | 12 |
| management of out-of-service mercury thermostats;
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| (D) develop and implement strategies to encourage | 14 |
| participating thermostat retailers to educate their | 15 |
| customers on the importance of and opportunities for | 16 |
| collecting and recycling out-of-service mercury | 17 |
| thermostats;
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| (E) create and maintain a web-based program that | 19 |
| allows contractors and consumers to identify | 20 |
| collection sites for out-of-service mercury | 21 |
| thermostats by zip code in the State;
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| (F) prepare and mail to contractor associations a | 23 |
| postcard or other notice that provides information on | 24 |
| the collection program for out-of-service mercury | 25 |
| thermostats; and
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| (G) develop informational articles, press |
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| releases, and news stories pertaining to the | 2 |
| importance of and opportunities for collecting and | 3 |
| recycling out-of-service mercury thermostats and | 4 |
| distribute those materials to trade publications, | 5 |
| local media, and stakeholder groups.
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| (6) On or before January 1, 2011, develop and update as | 7 |
| necessary educational and other outreach materials for | 8 |
| distribution to contractors, contractor associations, and | 9 |
| consumers. Those materials shall be made available for use | 10 |
| by participating thermostat wholesalers, thermostat | 11 |
| retailers, contractors, and units of local government. The | 12 |
| materials shall include, but not be limited to, the | 13 |
| following: | 14 |
| (A) signage, such as posters and cling signage, | 15 |
| that can be prominently displayed to promote the | 16 |
| collection of out-of-service mercury thermostats to | 17 |
| contractors and consumers; and
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| (B) written materials or templates of materials | 19 |
| for reproduction by thermostat wholesalers and | 20 |
| thermostat retailers to be provided to customers at the | 21 |
| time of purchase or delivery of a thermostat. The | 22 |
| materials shall include, but not be limited to, | 23 |
| information on the importance of properly managing | 24 |
| out-of-service mercury thermostats and opportunities | 25 |
| for the collection of those thermostats.
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| (7) Provide an opportunity for the Agency and other |
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| interested stakeholders to offer feedback and suggestions | 2 |
| on the collection program. | 3 |
| (c) If the collection programs do not collectively achieve | 4 |
| the collection goals provided for in Section 25 of this Act for | 5 |
| calendar year 2013, 2015 or 2017, thermostat manufacturers | 6 |
| shall, individually or collectively, submit to the Agency for | 7 |
| review and approval proposed revisions to the collection | 8 |
| programs that are designed to achieve the goals in subsequent | 9 |
| calendar years. The proposed revisions shall be submitted to | 10 |
| the Agency with the annual report required in Section 20 of | 11 |
| this Act. | 12 |
| (d) Within 90 days after receipt of the proposed collection | 13 |
| program revisions required under subsection (c) of this | 14 |
| Section, the Agency shall review and (i) approve, (ii) | 15 |
| disapprove, or (iii) approve with modifications the proposed | 16 |
| collection program revisions. | 17 |
| (1) The Agency shall approve proposed revisions if the | 18 |
| Agency determines that the revised collection programs | 19 |
| will collectively achieve the collection goals set forth in | 20 |
| Section 25 of this Act.
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| (2) If the Agency determines the revised collection | 22 |
| programs will not collectively achieve the collection | 23 |
| goals set forth in Section 25 of this Act, the Agency may | 24 |
| require modifications to one or more collection programs | 25 |
| that the Agency determines are necessary to achieve the | 26 |
| collection goals. Modifications required by the Agency may |
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| include improvements to outreach and education conducted | 2 |
| under the collection program, expansion of the number and | 3 |
| location of collection sites established under the | 4 |
| program, modification of the roles of participants, and a | 5 |
| $5 financial incentive in the form of either cash or a | 6 |
| coupon offered by the manufacturer to contractors and | 7 |
| consumers for each out of service mercury thermostat | 8 |
| returned to a collection site.
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| (3) Prior to issuing any decision under this subsection | 10 |
| (d) the Agency shall consult with thermostat manufacturers | 11 |
| and other interested groups.
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| (4) Thermostat manufacturers shall begin the process | 13 |
| to implement collection program revisions approved by the | 14 |
| Agency, with or without modifications, within 90 days after | 15 |
| approval.
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| (5) If the program revisions are disapproved, the | 17 |
| Agency shall notify the thermostat manufacturers in | 18 |
| writing as to the reasons for the disapproval. The | 19 |
| thermostat manufacturers shall have 35 days to submit a new | 20 |
| collection program revision.
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| (6) Any action by the Agency to disapprove or modify | 22 |
| proposed collection program revisions under this | 23 |
| subsection (d) shall be subject to appeal to the Board in | 24 |
| the same manner as provided for a permit decision under | 25 |
| Section 40 of the Environmental Protection Act.
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| Section 20. Reporting on collection efforts. | 2 |
| (a) No later than September 1, 2011, and no later than | 3 |
| September 1 of each year thereafter, each thermostat | 4 |
| manufacturer shall, individually or collectively with other | 5 |
| thermostat manufacturers, submit a mid-term report on its | 6 |
| collection program to the Agency covering the six month period | 7 |
| beginning on January 1st of the year in which the report is | 8 |
| due. The mid-term report shall identify the number of | 9 |
| out-of-service mercury thermostats collected under the program | 10 |
| and a listing of all collection sites in the State.
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| (b) No later than April 1, 2012, and no later than April 1 | 12 |
| of each year thereafter, each thermostat manufacturer shall, | 13 |
| individually or collectively with other thermostat | 14 |
| manufacturers, submit an annual report on its collection | 15 |
| program to the Agency covering the one-year period ending | 16 |
| December 31st of the previous year. Each report shall be posted | 17 |
| on the manufacturer's or program operator's respective | 18 |
| internet website. The annual report shall include, but not be | 19 |
| limited to, the following:
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| (1) the number of out-of-service mercury thermostats | 21 |
| collected and managed under this Act during the previous | 22 |
| calendar year;
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| (2) the estimated total amount of mercury contained in | 24 |
| the out-of-service mercury thermostats collected under | 25 |
| this Act during the previous calendar year;
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| (3) an evaluation of the effectiveness of the |
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| collection program;
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| (4) a list of all thermostat wholesalers, contractors, | 3 |
| units of local government, and thermostat retailers | 4 |
| participating in the program as mercury thermostat | 5 |
| collection sites and the number of out-of-service mercury | 6 |
| thermostats returned by each;
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| (5) an accounting of the program's administrative | 8 |
| costs;
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| (6) a description of outreach strategies employed | 10 |
| under item (5) of subsection (b) of Section 15 of this Act;
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| (7) examples of outreach and educational materials | 12 |
| used under item (6) of subsection (b) of Section 15 of this | 13 |
| Act;
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| (8) the Internet website address or addresses where the | 15 |
| annual report may be viewed online;
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| (9) a description of how the out-of-service mercury | 17 |
| thermostats were managed;
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| (10) any modifications that the thermostat | 19 |
| manufacturer has made or is planning to make in its | 20 |
| collection program; and
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| (11) the identification of a collection program | 22 |
| contact and the business phone number, mailing address, and | 23 |
| e-mail address for the contact.
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| Section 25. Collection goals. The collection programs | 25 |
| established by thermostat manufacturers under this Act shall be |
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| designed to collectively achieve the following statewide | 2 |
| goals: | 3 |
| (a) For calendar year 2011, the collection of least 5,000 | 4 |
| mercury thermostats taken out-of-service in the State during | 5 |
| the calendar year.
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| (b) For calendar years 2012, 2013, and 2014, the collection | 7 |
| of at least 15,000 mercury thermostats taken out-of-service in | 8 |
| the State during each calendar year.
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| (c) For calendar years 2015 through 2020, the collection | 10 |
| goals shall be established by the Agency. The Agency shall | 11 |
| establish collection goals no later than November 1, 2014. The | 12 |
| collection goals established by the Agency shall maximize the | 13 |
| annual collection of out-of-service mercury thermostats in the | 14 |
| State. In developing the collection goals, the Agency shall | 15 |
| take into account, at a minimum, (i) the effectiveness of | 16 |
| collection programs for out-of-service mercury thermostats in | 17 |
| the State and other states, including education and outreach | 18 |
| efforts, (ii) collection requirements in other states, (iii) | 19 |
| any reports or studies on the number of out-of-service mercury | 20 |
| thermostats that are available for collection in this State, | 21 |
| other states, and nationally, and (iv) other factors. Prior to | 22 |
| establishing the collection goals, the Agency shall consult | 23 |
| with stakeholder groups that include, at a minimum, | 24 |
| representatives of thermostat manufacturers, environmental | 25 |
| groups, thermostat wholesalers, contractors and thermostat | 26 |
| retailers.
Any action by the Agency under this subsection (c) |
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| shall be subject to appeal to the Board in the same manner as | 2 |
| provided for a permit decision under Section 40 of the | 3 |
| Environmental Protection Act. Pending the appeal provided | 4 |
| here, the goals set by the Agency under this subsection (c) | 5 |
| shall remain in effect during the appeal.
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| Section 30. Management of out-of-service mercury | 7 |
| thermostats. All contractors, thermostat wholesalers, | 8 |
| thermostat manufacturers, and thermostat retailers | 9 |
| participating in the program shall handle and manage the | 10 |
| out-of-service mercury thermostats in a manner that is | 11 |
| consistent with the provisions of the universal waste | 12 |
| regulations adopted by the Board. | 13 |
| Section 35. Thermostat wholesaler and contractor | 14 |
| responsibilities. | 15 |
| (a) On and after July 1, 2011, no thermostat wholesaler | 16 |
| shall sell, offer to sell, distribute, or offer to distribute | 17 |
| thermostats unless the wholesaler: | 18 |
| (1) participates as a collection site for | 19 |
| out-of-service mercury thermostats;
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| (2) uses the containers provided by the collection | 21 |
| program to facilitate collection of out-of-service mercury | 22 |
| thermostats by contractors;
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| (3) complies with the requirements of the collection | 24 |
| program related to the acceptance of out-of-service |
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| mercury thermostats; and
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| (4) distributes to its customers the educational | 3 |
| outreach materials developed under item (6) of subsection | 4 |
| (b) of Section 15.
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| (b) On or after July 1, 2011, no contractor or person shall | 6 |
| remove, replace, or otherwise take out of service a mercury | 7 |
| thermostat unless the contractor or person delivers it to a | 8 |
| collection site established under this Act. | 9 |
| Section 40. Agency responsibilities. | 10 |
| (a) No later than June 1, 2011, the Agency shall maintain | 11 |
| on its website information regarding the collection and proper | 12 |
| management of out-of-service mercury thermostats in the State. | 13 |
| The information shall include, but is not limited to, the | 14 |
| following: | 15 |
| (1) a description of the collection programs | 16 |
| established under this Act;
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| (2) a report on the progress towards achieving the | 18 |
| statewide collection goals set forth in Section 25 of this | 19 |
| Act; and
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| (3) a list of all thermostat wholesalers, contractors, | 21 |
| unit of local government household hazardous waste | 22 |
| collection facilities, and thermostat retailers | 23 |
| participating in the program as collection sites.
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| (b) No later than November 1, 2019, the Agency shall submit | 25 |
| a written report to the Governor and General Assembly regarding |
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| the effectiveness of the collection programs established under | 2 |
| this Act, information on the number of out-of-service | 3 |
| thermostats collected, how the out-of-service thermostats were | 4 |
| managed, and an estimate of the number of thermostats that are | 5 |
| available for collection. The Agency shall use this information | 6 |
| to recommend whether the sunset date specified in Section 55 | 7 |
| for this Act should be extended, along with any other statutory | 8 |
| changes. In preparing the report, the Agency shall consult with | 9 |
| mercury thermostat manufacturers, environmental organizations, | 10 |
| and other interest groups.
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| (c) In conjunction with the educational and outreach | 12 |
| programs implemented by the thermostat manufacturers under | 13 |
| this Act, the Agency shall conduct outreach to promote the | 14 |
| collection and proper management of out-of-service mercury | 15 |
| thermostats.
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| Section 45. Penalties. | 17 |
| (a) Any thermostat manufacturer that violates any | 18 |
| provision of this Act or any rule adopted by the Agency | 19 |
| pursuant to this Act, or that fails to perform any duty imposed | 20 |
| by this Act shall be liable for a civil penalty not to exceed | 21 |
| $2,500 per day for each violation. Each violation of this Act | 22 |
| shall constitute a separate offense and violation.
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| (b) Any person, thermostat wholesaler, or contractor that | 24 |
| violates any provision of this Act, or any rule adopted by the | 25 |
| Agency pursuant to this Act, or that fails to perform any duty |
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| imposed by this Act shall be liable for a civil penalty not to | 2 |
| exceed $500 per day for each violation. Each violation of this | 3 |
| Act shall constitute a separate offense and violation.
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| (c) The penalties provided for in this Section may be | 5 |
| recovered in a civil action brought in the name of the people | 6 |
| of the State of Illinois by the State's Attorney of the county | 7 |
| in which the violation occurred or by the Attorney General. Any | 8 |
| funds collected under this Section in an action in which the | 9 |
| Attorney General has prevailed shall be deposited in the | 10 |
| Environmental Protection Trust Fund, to be used in accordance | 11 |
| with the provisions of the Environmental Trust Fund Act.
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| (d) There shall be no penalty under this Section for a | 13 |
| thermostat manufacturer's failure to achieve the statewide | 14 |
| collection goals set forth in Section 25 of this Act.
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| Section 50. Disposal prohibition. | 16 |
| (a) Beginning January 1, 2011, no person may knowingly | 17 |
| cause or allow the mixing of an out-of-service mercury | 18 |
| thermostat with any other municipal waste that is intended for | 19 |
| disposal at a sanitary landfill.
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| (b) Beginning January 1, 2011, no person may knowingly | 21 |
| cause or allow the disposal of an out-of-service mercury | 22 |
| thermostat in a sanitary landfill.
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| Section 55. Repealer. This Act is repealed on January 1, | 24 |
| 2021.
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| Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | 2 |
| becoming law.".
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