SB0259 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB096 06190 AJO 16272 b

96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2009 and 2010
SB0259

Introduced 2/4/2009, by Sen. James F. Clayborne, Jr.

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

New Act
415 ILCS 5/7.6 new

Creates the Sport Shooting and Training Range Act. Contains legislative findings and intent. Provides that the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency shall make a good faith effort to provide U. S. Environmental Protection Agency publications to owners or operators of sport shooting or training ranges and provide environmental practices assistance. Provides for environmental stewardship plans at ranges and for Illinois EPA assistance with contamination. Sets forth procedures regarding contamination investigations and corrective actions. Provides for immunity from legal actions brought by the State, local governments, persons, or non-governmental entities based upon projectiles on the range or in the environment, if an operator made a good faith effort to comply with the Environmental Protection Act. Provides for withdrawal of claims by the State and local governments against ranges pending in a State court or administrative agency. Provides for criminal penalties when a State or local governmental employee while officially acting maliciously violates the Act. Provides that no municipality or county shall zone or rezone any property that includes a range if the zoning or rezoning would cause the range to be eliminated or to cease operation, unless the owner petitions for or consents to the zoning or rezoning. Contains provisions regarding: costs; preemption; conflicting laws; construction; and other matters. Amends the Environmental Protection Act to conform to the new Act.

CORRECTIONAL BUDGET AND IMPACT NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning sport shooting and training ranges.

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 Sport Shooting and Training Range Act.

Section 5. Findings; intent.

(a) The General Assembly finds that:

(1) Sport shooting and training ranges are widely used and enjoyed by the residents of this State and are a necessary component of the guarantees of the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution and of Section 22 of Article I of the Illinois Constitution.

(2) Projectiles are integral to sport shooting and training range activity and to the ownership and use of firearms.

(3) Over years of operation, projectiles have accumulated in the environment at many ranges. Whether this projectile accumulation has caused or will cause degradation of the environment or harm to human health depends on factors that are site-specific. Therefore, sport shooting and training ranges must be allowed flexibility to apply appropriate environmental management practices at ranges. The use of environmental management practices can be implemented to avoid or reduce any potential for adverse environmental impact or harm to human health.

(4) Appropriate environmental management practices, when implemented where applicable, can minimize or eliminate environmental impacts associated with projectiles. Environmental management practices to maintain or to improve the condition of ranges is evolving and will continue to evolve.

(5) Unnecessary litigation and unnecessary regulation by governmental agencies of sport shooting and training ranges impair the ability of residents of this State to ensure safe handling of firearms and to enjoy the recreational opportunities ranges provide. The cost of defending these actions is prohibitive and threatens to bankrupt and destroy the sport shooting and training range industry.

(6) The elimination of sport shooting ranges will unnecessarily impair the ability of residents of this State to exercise and practice their constitutional guarantees under the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution and under Section 22 of Article I of the Illinois Constitution.

(b) The General Assembly intends to protect public and private sport shooting or training range owners, operators, users, employees, agents, contractors, customers, lenders, insurers, and concessionaires from lawsuits and other legal actions by the State or political subdivisions and to promote maximum flexibility for effective implementation of environmental management practices. It is also the intent of the General Assembly that legal action against sport shooting and training ranges will only be a last-resort option and be available only to the Agency and only after all reasonable efforts to resolve disputes at shooting ranges, including compliance assistance, negotiations, and alternative dispute resolution, have been exhausted.

Section 10. Definitions. As used in this Act:

"Agency" means the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency.

"Environment" means the air, water, surface water, sediment, soil, and groundwater and other natural and manmade resources of this State.

"Environmental management practices" includes but is not limited to the 2001 edition, as revised in 2005, of Best Management Practices for Lead at Outdoor Shooting Ranges, EPA-902-B-01-001, published by the United States Environmental Protection Agency. Such practices include, but are not limited to, control and containment of projectiles, prevention of the migration of projectiles and their constituents to ground and surface water, periodic removal and recycling of projectiles, and documentation of actions taken.

"Operator" means any person who operates or has operated a sport shooting or training range.

"Owner" means any person who owns or has owned a sport shooting or training range or any interest therein.

"Projectile" means any object expelled, propelled, discharged, shot, or otherwise released from a firearm, BB gun, airgun, or similar device or a target releasing device, including, but not limited to, gunpowder, ammunition, lead, shot, sporting clays, skeet, and trap targets and associated chemicals, derivatives, and constituents thereof.

"Sport shooting and training range" or "range" means any area that has been designed, or operated for the use of, firearms, rifles, shotguns, pistols, silhouettes, sporting clays, skeet, trap, black powder, BB guns, airguns, or similar devices, or any other type of sport or training shooting; however, the term does not include any building that is used as an indoor shooting or firing range and is completely enclosed by walls, a floor, and a roof.

"User" means any person, partner, joint venture, business or social entity, or corporation, or any group of the foregoing, organized or united for a business, sport, or social purpose.

Section 15. Duties.

(a) No later than January 1, 2010, the Agency shall make a good faith effort to provide copies of the 2001 edition, as revised in 2005, of Best Management Practices for Lead at Outdoor Shooting Ranges, EPA-902-B-01-001, published by the United States Environmental Protection Agency to all owners or operators of sport shooting or training ranges. The Agency shall also provide technical assistance with implementing environmental management practices, which may include workshops, demonstrations, or other guidance, if any owner or operator of a sport shooting or training range requests such assistance.

(b) No later than January 1, 2011, sport shooting or training range owners, operators, tenants, and occupants shall initiate environmental stewardship plans with implementation of situation-appropriate environmental management practices.

(c) If contamination is suspected or identified by any owner, operator, tenant, or occupant of a sport shooting or training range, the owner, operator, tenant, or occupant of the sport shooting or training range may request that the Agency assist with or perform contamination assessment, including, but not limited to, assistance preparing and presenting a plan to confirm the presence and extent of contamination.

(d) If contamination is suspected or identified by a third-party complaint or by adjacent property sampling events, the Agency shall give 60 days' notice to the sport shooting or training range owner, operator, tenant, or occupant of the Agency's intent to enter the site for the purpose of investigating potential sources of contamination. The Agency may assist with or perform contamination assessment, including, but not limited to, assistance preparing and presenting a plan to confirm the presence and extent of contamination. The cost of an assessment shall be borne by the complaining party.

(e) If the Agency confirms contamination under subsection (c) or (d), principles of risk-based corrective action pursuant to Title XVII of the Environmental Protection Act and rules adopted under that Title shall be applied to the affected sport shooting or training ranges. Application of the minimum risk-based corrective action principles shall be the primary responsibility of the sport shooting range or training range owner or operator for implementation; however, the Agency may assist in these efforts. Risk-based corrective action plans used for these cleanups shall be based upon the presumption that the sport shooting or training range is an industrial, agricultural, conforming or non-conforming special use and not a residential use and will continue to be operated as a sport shooting or training range.

Section 20. Sport shooting and training range protection.

(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any public or private owner, operator, employee, agent, contractor, customer, lender, insurer, or user of any sport shooting or training range located in this State shall have immunity from lawsuits and other legal actions brought by the State or any of its agencies, non-governmental entity, or units, of local government for any claim of any kind associated with the use, release, placement, deposition, or accumulation of any projectile in the environment, on or under that sport shooting or training range, or any other property over which the range has an easement, leasehold, or other legal right of use, if the sport shooting or training range owner or operator has made a good faith effort to comply with Section 15.

(b) Notwithstanding any other provision, any public or private owner, operator, employee, agent, contractor, lender, or insurer of any sport shooting or training range located in this State shall have immunity from legal or administrative actions brought by a person or non-governmental entity for any claim of any kind associated with the use, release, placement, deposition, or accumulation of any projectile in the environment, on or under that sport shooting or training range, or any other property over which the range has an easement, leasehold, or other legal right of use, if the sport shooting or training range owner or operator has made a good faith effort to comply with Section 15.

(c) The sport shooting and training range protections provided by this Act are supplemental to any other protections provided by law.

Section 25. Withdrawal of claims and recovery of expenses and attorney's fees.

(a) Within 90 days after the effective date of this Act, all claims by the State and any of its agencies and units of local government against sport shooting or training ranges pending in any court of this State or before any administrative agency shall be withdrawn. The termination of such cases shall have no effect on the defendant's cause of action for damages, reasonable attorney's fees, and costs.

(b) In any action filed in violation of this Act after the effective date of this Act, the defendant shall recover all expenses resulting from such action from the governmental body, person, or entity bringing such unlawful action.

Section 30. Penalties. Any official, agent, or employee of a unit of local government or State agency, while he or she was acting in his or her official capacity and within the scope of his or her employment or office, who intentionally and maliciously violates the provisions of this Act or is party to bringing an action in violation of this Act commits a Class A misdemeanor.

Section 35. Zoning. Notwithstanding any provision of the Illinois Municipal Code or the Counties Code, after the effective date of this Amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly, no action shall be taken by a municipality or county to zone or rezone any real property on which there is then located a sport shooting and training range if the zoning or rezoning would cause the elimination of or the cessation of the operation of that sport shooting and training range, unless the owner of the real property on which the sport shooting and training range is located petitions for or consents to the zoning or rezoning.

Section 40. Preemption. Except as expressly provided by law, the General Assembly hereby declares that it is occupying the whole field of regulation of firearms and ammunition use at sport shooting and training ranges, including the environmental effects of projectile deposition at sport shooting and training ranges.

Section 45. Other laws. The provisions of this Act supersede any conflicting provisions of the Environmental Protection Act.

Section 50. Construction. This Act shall be liberally construed to effectuate its remedial and deterrent purposes.

Section 80. The Environmental Protection Act is amended by adding Section 7.6 as follows:

(415 ILCS 5/7.6 new)

Sec. 7.6. Sport Shooting and Training Range Act. The provisions of the Sport Shooting and Training Range Act supersede any conflicting provisions of this Act.