Public Act 101-0573
 
SB2027 EnrolledLRB101 10220 CPF 55324 b

    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
adding Sections 13.9 and 21.7 as follows:
 
    (415 ILCS 5/13.9 new)
    Sec. 13.9. Mahomet Aquifer natural gas storage study.
    (a) Subject to appropriation, the Prairie Research
Institute shall:
        (1) use remote sensing technologies, such as
    helicopter-based time domain electromagnetics,
    post-processing methods, and geologic modeling software,
    to examine, characterize, and prepare three-dimensional
    models of the unconsolidated geologic materials overlying
    any underground natural gas storage facility located
    within the boundaries of the Mahomet Aquifer; and
        (2) to the extent possible, identify within those
    unconsolidated geologic materials potential structures and
    migration pathways for natural gas that may be released
    from the underground natural gas storage facility.
    (b) For purposes of this Section, "underground natural gas
storage facility" has the meaning provided in Section 5 of the
Illinois Underground Natural Gas Storage Safety Act.
 
    (415 ILCS 5/21.7 new)
    Sec. 21.7. Landfills.
    (a) The purpose of this Section is to enact legislative
recommendations provided by the Mahomet Aquifer Task Force,
established under Public Act 100-403. The Task Force identified
capped but unregulated or underregulated landfills that
overlie the Mahomet Aquifer as potentially hazardous to
valuable groundwater resources. These unregulated or
underregulated landfills generally began accepting waste for
disposal sometime prior to 1973.
    (b) The Agency shall prioritize unregulated or
underregulated landfills that overlie the Mahomet Aquifer for
inspection. The following factors shall be considered:
        (1) the presence of, and depth to, any aquifer with
    potential potable use;
        (2) whether the landfill has an engineered liner
    system;
        (3) whether the landfill has an active groundwater
    monitoring system;
        (4) whether waste disposal occurred within the
    100-year floodplain; and
        (5) landfills within the setback zone of any potable
    water supply well.
    (c) Subject to appropriation, the Agency shall use existing
information available from State and federal agencies, such as
the Prairie Research Institute, the Department of Natural
Resources, the Illinois Emergency Management Agency, the
Federal Emergency Management Agency, and the Natural Resources
Conservation Service, to identify unknown, unregulated, or
underregulated waste disposal sites that overlie the Mahomet
Aquifer that may pose a threat to surface water or groundwater
resources.
    (d) Subject to appropriation, for those landfills
prioritized for response action following inspection and
investigation, the Agency shall use its own data, along with
data from municipalities, counties, solid waste management
associations, companies, corporations, and individuals, to
archive information about the landfills, including their
ownership, operational details, and waste disposal history.
 
    Section 10. The Illinois Groundwater Protection Act is
amended by adding Section 10 as follows:
 
    (415 ILCS 55/10 new)
    Sec. 10. Pekin Metro Landfill; pilot projects.
    (a) Subject to appropriation, the Agency shall design and
implement up to 2 pilot studies of landfills that overlie the
Mahomet Aquifer to identify threats to surface and groundwater
resources that are posed by the landfills. One of the pilot
projects shall be conducted at the Pekin Metro Landfill in
Tazewell County. In conducting the pilot projects, the Agency
shall:
        (1) inspect and identify potential and current
    contamination threats to the water quality of aquifers in
    the same watershed as the landfill (for the Pekin Metro
    Landfill, the Mahomet Aquifer);
        (2) use geographic information systems and remote
    sensing technology to track defects, structures,
    appliances, and wells for routine inspection and
    sustainable management;
        (3) install or repair groundwater monitoring
    mechanisms necessary to identify whether contaminants from
    the landfill are affecting water quality in the Mahomet
    Aquifer; and
        (4) identify and provide cost estimates for any
    additional response actions necessary or appropriate to
    reduce or minimize potential threats to human health and
    the environment resulting from current landfill
    conditions.
    (b) Following the completion of the pilot project response
actions, the Agency shall:
        (1) evaluate, in consultation with the Prairie
    Research Institute, the use of aerial photography and other
    remote sensing technologies, such as Light Detection and
    Ranging (LiDAR), to identify land erosion, landslides,
    barren areas, leachate seeps, vegetation, and other
    relevant surface and subsurface features of landfills to
    aid in the inspection and investigation of landfills; and
        (2) identify additional procedures, requirements, or
    authorities that may be appropriate or necessary to address
    threats to human health and the environment from other
    unregulated or underregulated landfills throughout the
    State.