[ Search ] [ PDF text ] [ Legislation ]
[ Home ] [ Back ] [ Bottom ]
| [ Introduced ] | [ Enrolled ] |
92_SB0861eng SB861 Engrossed LRB9201356LDtm 1 AN ACT in relation to environmental matters. 2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, 3 represented in the General Assembly: 4 Section 5. The Environmental Protection Act is amended 5 by changing Sections 52.3-1 and 52.3-2 as follows: 6 (415 ILCS 5/52.3-1) 7 Sec. 52.3-1. Findings; purpose. 8 (a) The General Assembly finds that: 9 (1) During the last decade, considerable expertise 10 in pollution prevention, sophisticated emissions 11 monitoring and tracking techniques, compliance auditing 12 methods, stakeholder involvement, and innovative 13 approaches to control pollution have been developed. 14 (2) Substantial opportunities exist to reduce the 15 amount of or prevent adverse impacts from emissions or 16 discharges of pollutants or wastes through the use of 17 innovative and cost effective measures not currently 18 recognized by or allowed under existing environmental 19 laws, rules, and regulations. 20 (3) There are persons regulated under this Act who 21 have demonstrated excellence and leadership in 22 environmental compliance or stewardship or pollution 23 prevention and, through the implementation of innovative 24 measures, who can achieve further reductions in emissions 25 or discharges of pollutants or wastes or continued 26 environmental stewardship. 27 (4) Current environmental laws and regulations 28 have, in some instances, resulted in burdensome 29 transactional requirements that are unnecessarily costly 30 and complex for regulated entities and have proven to be 31 frustrating to the public that is concerned about SB861 Engrossed -2- LRB9201356LDtm 1 environmental protection. 2 (5) The goals of environmental protection will be 3 best served by promoting and evaluating the efforts of 4 those persons who are ready to achieve measurable and 5 verifiable pollution reductions in excess of the 6 otherwise applicable statutory and regulatory 7 requirements or who can demonstrate real environmental 8 risk reduction, promote pollution prevention, foster 9 superior environmental compliance by other persons 10 regulated under this Act, and who can improve stakeholder 11 involvement in environmental decision making. 12 (6) The United States Environmental Protection 13 Agency is operating a pilot program entitled "Regulatory 14 Reinvention (XL) Pilot Project," 60 Federal Register 15 27282 (May 23, 1995) (Federal XL Program), to allow 16 members of the regulated community the flexibility to 17 develop alternative strategies that will replace specific 18 regulatory requirements on the condition that they 19 produce greater environmental benefits, reduce 20 administrative burdens, and enhance public participation. 21 There should be a process that allows a proposal accepted 22 under the Federal XL Program to be implemented at the 23 State level if the proposal achieves one or more of the 24 purposes of this Section and is acceptable to the Agency. 25 (7) A process for implementing and evaluating 26 innovative environmental measures on a pilot project 27 basis should be developed and implemented in this State. 28 (b) It is the purpose of this Section to create a 29 voluntary pilot program by which the Agency may enter into 30 Environmental Management System Agreements with persons 31 regulated under this Act to implement innovative 32 environmental measures not otherwise recognized or allowed 33 under existing laws and regulations of this State if those 34 measures: SB861 Engrossed -3- LRB9201356LDtm 1 (1) achieve emissions reductions or reductions in 2 discharges or wastes beyond the otherwise applicable 3 statutory and regulatory requirements through pollution 4 prevention or other suitable means; or 5 (2) achieve real environmental risk reduction or 6 foster environmental compliance by other persons 7 regulated under this Act in a manner that is clearly 8 superior to the existing regulatory system. 9 These Agreements may include proposals accepted under the 10 Federal XL Program, provided the proposals achieve one or 11 more purposes of subsection (b)(1) or (2) of this Section and 12 are acceptable to the Agency. 13 (c) This program is a voluntary pilot program. 14 Participation is at the discretion of the Agency, and any 15 decision by the Agency to reject an initial proposal under 16 this Section is not appealable.The Agency's authority to17execute initial Agreements under this Section shall terminate18on December 31, 2001.An initial Agreement may be renewed for 19 appropriate time5 yearperiodsafter December 31, 2001if 20 the Agency finds the Agreement continues to meet applicable 21 requirements and the purposes of this Section. 22 (d) The Agency shall develop and make publicly available 23 a program guidance document regarding participation in the 24 pilot program. A draft document shall be distributed for 25 review and comment by interested parties and a final document 26 shall be completed by December 1, 1996. At a minimum, this 27 document shall include the following: 28 (1) The approximate number of projects that the 29 Agency envisions being part of the pilot program. 30 (2) The types of projects and facilities that the 31 Agency believes would be most useful to be a part of the 32 pilot program. 33 (3) A description of potentially useful 34 environmental management systems, such as ISO 14000. SB861 Engrossed -4- LRB9201356LDtm 1 (4) A description of suitable Environmental 2 Performance Plans, including appropriate provisions or 3 opportunities for promoting pollution prevention and 4 sustainable development. 5 (5) A description of practices and procedures to 6 ensure that performance is measurable and verifiable. 7 (6) A characterization of less-preferred practices 8 that can generate adverse consequences such as 9 multi-media pollutant transfers. 10 (7) A description of suitable practices for 11 productive stakeholder involvement in project development 12 and implementation that may include, but need not be 13 limited to, consensus-based decision making and 14 appropriate technical assistance. 15 (e) The Agency has the authority to develop and 16 distribute written guidance, fact sheets, or other documents 17 that explain, summarize, or describe programs operated under 18 this Act or regulations. The written guidance, fact sheets, 19 or other documents shall not be considered rules and shall 20 not be subject to the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act. 21 (Source: P.A. 89-465, eff. 6-13-96.) 22 (415 ILCS 5/52.3-2) 23 Sec. 52.3-2. Agency authority; scope of agreement. 24 (a)On or before December 31, 2001,The Agency may enter 25 into an initial Environmental Management System Agreement 26Agreementswith any person regulated under this Act to 27 implement innovative environmental measures that relate to or 28 involve provisions of this Act, even if one or more of the 29 terms of such an Agreement would be inconsistent with an 30 otherwise applicable statute or regulation of this State. 31 Participation in this program is limited to those persons who 32 have submitted an Environmental Management System Agreement 33 that is acceptable to the Agency and who are not currently SB861 Engrossed -5- LRB9201356LDtm 1 subject to enforcement action under this Act. 2 (b) The Agency may adopt rules to implement this Section 3 if less than 6 Agreements are executed, but shall adopt rules 4 to implement this Section if 6 or more Agreements are 5 executed. Without limiting the generality of this authority, 6 those regulations may, among other things: 7 (1) Specify the criteria an applicant must meet to 8 participate in this program. 9 (2) Specify the minimum contents of a proposed 10 Environmental Management System Agreement, including, 11 without limitation, the following: 12 (A) requiring identification of all State and 13 federal statutes, rules, and regulations applicable 14 to the facility; 15 (B) requiring identification of all statutes, 16 rules, and regulations that are inconsistent with 17 one or more terms of the proposed Environmental 18 Management System Agreement; 19 (C) requiring a statement of how the proposed 20 Environmental Management System Agreement will 21 achieve one or more of the purposes of this Section; 22 (D) requiring identification of those members 23 of the general public, representatives of local 24 communities, and environmental groups who may have 25 an interest in the Environmental Management System 26 Agreement; and 27 (E) requiring identification of how a 28 participant will demonstrate ongoing compliance with 29 the terms of its Environmental Management System 30 Agreement, which may include an evaluation of a 31 participant's performance under the Environmental 32 Management System Agreement by a third party 33 acceptable to the Agency. Compliance with the 34 Agreement shall be determined not less than SB861 Engrossed -6- LRB9201356LDtm 1 annually. 2 (3) Specify the procedures for review by the Agency 3 of Environmental Management System Agreements. 4 (4) Specify the procedures for public participation 5 in, including notice of and comment on, Environmental 6 Management System Agreements and stakeholder involvement 7 in design and implementation of specific projects that 8 are undertaken. 9 (5) Specify the procedures for voluntary 10 termination of an Environmental Management System 11 Agreement. 12 (6) Specify the type of performance guarantee to be 13 provided by an applicant for participation in this 14 program. The nature of the performance guarantee shall 15 be directly related to the complexity of and 16 environmental risk associated with the proposed 17 Environmental Management System Agreement. 18 (c) The Agency shall propose by December 31, 1996, and 19 the Board shall promulgate, criteria and procedures for 20 involuntary termination of Environmental Management System 21 Agreements. The Board shall complete such rulemaking no later 22 than 180 days after receipt of the Agency's proposal. 23 (d) On or before December 31, 2001, the Agency may enter 24 into initial Environmental Management System Agreements prior 25 to adopting rules under this Section, if the proposals for 26 the Agreements have been accepted under the Federal XL 27 Program, in accordance with the following: 28 (1) An applicant shall submit, in writing, a 29 proposed Environmental Management System Agreement to the 30 Director of the Agency. 31 (2) The Agency shall have 120 days to review a 32 proposed Environmental Management System Agreement. 33 (3) The Agency's failure to notify an applicant in 34 writing that it has accepted a proposal shall be deemed a SB861 Engrossed -7- LRB9201356LDtm 1 rejection. 2 (4) A rejection of a proposed Environmental 3 Management System Agreement by the Agency shall not be 4 appealable. 5 (5) The Agency shall provide notice to the public, 6 including an opportunity for public comment and hearing 7 in accordance with the procedures set forth in 35 Ill. 8 Adm. Code Part 164, on each proposal accepted by the 9 Agency under this subsection (d). The Agency shall 10 provide such notice, including an opportunity for public 11 comment and hearing, prior to executing an Environmental 12 Management System Agreement. 13 (6) Prior to promulgation of rules under Section 14 52.3-2(c), each Agreement shall specify the terms and 15 conditions under which the Agency may terminate the 16 Agreement. 17 (7) Each Agreement shall provide for appropriate 18 stakeholder involvement in a manner that is conducive to 19 productive participation, equitable decision making and 20 open exchange of information in developing and 21 implementing the Agreement. 22 (Source: P.A. 89-465, eff. 6-13-96.)