97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2011 and 2012
HB1441

 

Introduced , by Rep. Frank J. Mautino

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
65 ILCS 5/1-2-1  from Ch. 24, par. 1-2-1
415 ILCS 5/42  from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 1042

    Amends the Environmental Protection Act. Provides that a municipality may impose a penalty against any person or organization owning or leasing property that releases a hazardous substance or any other contaminant that the unit of local government finds injures the public health and the safety of the community. Provides that the penalty may not exceed $50,000 for the violation and an additional $10,000 for each day during which the violation continues. Amends the Illinois Municipal Code to make conforming changes. Effective immediately.


LRB097 07058 JDS 47151 b

FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

HB1441LRB097 07058 JDS 47151 b

1    AN ACT concerning safety.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Illinois Municipal Code is amended by
5changing Section 1-2-1 as follows:
 
6    (65 ILCS 5/1-2-1)  (from Ch. 24, par. 1-2-1)
7    Sec. 1-2-1. The corporate authorities of each municipality
8may pass all ordinances and make all rules and regulations
9proper or necessary, to carry into effect the powers granted to
10municipalities, with such fines or penalties as may be deemed
11proper. No fine or penalty, however, except civil penalties
12provided for failure to make returns or to pay any taxes levied
13by the municipality and penalties imposed under subsection (k)
14of Section 42 of the Environmental Protection Act, shall exceed
15$750 and no imprisonment authorized in Section 1-2-9 for
16failure to pay any fine, penalty or cost shall exceed 6 months
17for one offense.
18    A penalty imposed for violation of an ordinance may
19include, or consist of, a requirement that the defendant do one
20or both of the following:
21        (1) Complete an education program, except that a holder
22    of a valid commercial driver's license who commits a
23    vehicle weight or size restriction violation shall not be

 

 

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1    required to complete an education program under this
2    Section.
3        (2) Perform some reasonable public service work such as
4    but not limited to the picking up of litter in public parks
5    or along public highways or the maintenance of public
6    facilities.
7    A default in the payment of a fine or penalty or any
8installment of a fine or penalty may be collected by any means
9authorized for the collection of monetary judgments. The
10municipal attorney of the municipality in which the fine or
11penalty was imposed may retain attorneys and private collection
12agents for the purpose of collecting any default in payment of
13any fine or penalty or installment of that fine or penalty. Any
14fees or costs incurred by the municipality with respect to
15attorneys or private collection agents retained by the
16municipal attorney under this Section shall be charged to the
17offender.
18    A low-income individual required to complete an education
19program under this Section who provides proof of eligibility
20for the federal earned income tax credit under Section 32 of
21the Internal Revenue Code or the Illinois earned income tax
22credit under Section 212 of the Illinois Income Tax Act shall
23not be required to pay any fee for participating in a required
24education program.
25(Source: P.A. 95-389, eff. 1-1-08; 96-288, eff. 8-11-09.)
 

 

 

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1    Section 10. The Environmental Protection Act is amended by
2changing Section 42 as follows:
 
3    (415 ILCS 5/42)  (from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 1042)
4    Sec. 42. Civil penalties.
5    (a) Except as provided in this Section, any person that
6violates any provision of this Act or any regulation adopted by
7the Board, or any permit or term or condition thereof, or that
8violates any order of the Board pursuant to this Act, shall be
9liable for a civil penalty of not to exceed $50,000 for the
10violation and an additional civil penalty of not to exceed
11$10,000 for each day during which the violation continues; such
12penalties may, upon order of the Board or a court of competent
13jurisdiction, be made payable to the Environmental Protection
14Trust Fund, to be used in accordance with the provisions of the
15Environmental Protection Trust Fund Act.
16    (b) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of
17this Section:
18        (1) Any person that violates Section 12(f) of this Act
19    or any NPDES permit or term or condition thereof, or any
20    filing requirement, regulation or order relating to the
21    NPDES permit program, shall be liable to a civil penalty of
22    not to exceed $10,000 per day of violation.
23        (2) Any person that violates Section 12(g) of this Act
24    or any UIC permit or term or condition thereof, or any
25    filing requirement, regulation or order relating to the

 

 

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1    State UIC program for all wells, except Class II wells as
2    defined by the Board under this Act, shall be liable to a
3    civil penalty not to exceed $2,500 per day of violation;
4    provided, however, that any person who commits such
5    violations relating to the State UIC program for Class II
6    wells, as defined by the Board under this Act, shall be
7    liable to a civil penalty of not to exceed $10,000 for the
8    violation and an additional civil penalty of not to exceed
9    $1,000 for each day during which the violation continues.
10        (3) Any person that violates Sections 21(f), 21(g),
11    21(h) or 21(i) of this Act, or any RCRA permit or term or
12    condition thereof, or any filing requirement, regulation
13    or order relating to the State RCRA program, shall be
14    liable to a civil penalty of not to exceed $25,000 per day
15    of violation.
16        (4) In an administrative citation action under Section
17    31.1 of this Act, any person found to have violated any
18    provision of subsection (o) of Section 21 of this Act shall
19    pay a civil penalty of $500 for each violation of each such
20    provision, plus any hearing costs incurred by the Board and
21    the Agency. Such penalties shall be made payable to the
22    Environmental Protection Trust Fund, to be used in
23    accordance with the provisions of the Environmental
24    Protection Trust Fund Act; except that if a unit of local
25    government issued the administrative citation, 50% of the
26    civil penalty shall be payable to the unit of local

 

 

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1    government.
2        (4-5) In an administrative citation action under
3    Section 31.1 of this Act, any person found to have violated
4    any provision of subsection (p) of Section 21, Section
5    22.51, Section 22.51a, or subsection (k) of Section 55 of
6    this Act shall pay a civil penalty of $1,500 for each
7    violation of each such provision, plus any hearing costs
8    incurred by the Board and the Agency, except that the civil
9    penalty amount shall be $3,000 for each violation of any
10    provision of subsection (p) of Section 21, Section 22.51,
11    Section 22.51a, or subsection (k) of Section 55 that is the
12    person's second or subsequent adjudication violation of
13    that provision. The penalties shall be deposited into the
14    Environmental Protection Trust Fund, to be used in
15    accordance with the provisions of the Environmental
16    Protection Trust Fund Act; except that if a unit of local
17    government issued the administrative citation, 50% of the
18    civil penalty shall be payable to the unit of local
19    government.
20        (5) Any person who violates subsection 6 of Section
21    39.5 of this Act or any CAAPP permit, or term or condition
22    thereof, or any fee or filing requirement, or any duty to
23    allow or carry out inspection, entry or monitoring
24    activities, or any regulation or order relating to the
25    CAAPP shall be liable for a civil penalty not to exceed
26    $10,000 per day of violation.

 

 

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1        (6) Any owner or operator of a community water system
2    that violates subsection (b) of Section 18.1 or subsection
3    (a) of Section 25d-3 of this Act shall, for each day of
4    violation, be liable for a civil penalty not to exceed $5
5    for each of the premises connected to the affected
6    community water system.
7    (b.5) In lieu of the penalties set forth in subsections (a)
8and (b) of this Section, any person who fails to file, in a
9timely manner, toxic chemical release forms with the Agency
10pursuant to Section 25b-2 of this Act shall be liable for a
11civil penalty of $100 per day for each day the forms are late,
12not to exceed a maximum total penalty of $6,000. This daily
13penalty shall begin accruing on the thirty-first day after the
14date that the person receives the warning notice issued by the
15Agency pursuant to Section 25b-6 of this Act; and the penalty
16shall be paid to the Agency. The daily accrual of penalties
17shall cease as of January 1 of the following year. All
18penalties collected by the Agency pursuant to this subsection
19shall be deposited into the Environmental Protection Permit and
20Inspection Fund.
21    (c) Any person that violates this Act, any rule or
22regulation adopted under this Act, any permit or term or
23condition of a permit, or any Board order and causes the death
24of fish or aquatic life shall, in addition to the other
25penalties provided by this Act, be liable to pay to the State
26an additional sum for the reasonable value of the fish or

 

 

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1aquatic life destroyed. Any money so recovered shall be placed
2in the Wildlife and Fish Fund in the State Treasury.
3    (d) The penalties provided for in this Section may be
4recovered in a civil action.
5    (e) The State's Attorney of the county in which the
6violation occurred, or the Attorney General, may, at the
7request of the Agency or on his own motion, institute a civil
8action for an injunction, prohibitory or mandatory, to restrain
9violations of this Act, any rule or regulation adopted under
10this Act, any permit or term or condition of a permit, or any
11Board order, or to require such other actions as may be
12necessary to address violations of this Act, any rule or
13regulation adopted under this Act, any permit or term or
14condition of a permit, or any Board order.
15    (f) The State's Attorney of the county in which the
16violation occurred, or the Attorney General, shall bring such
17actions in the name of the people of the State of Illinois.
18Without limiting any other authority which may exist for the
19awarding of attorney's fees and costs, the Board or a court of
20competent jurisdiction may award costs and reasonable
21attorney's fees, including the reasonable costs of expert
22witnesses and consultants, to the State's Attorney or the
23Attorney General in a case where he has prevailed against a
24person who has committed a wilful, knowing or repeated
25violation of this Act, any rule or regulation adopted under
26this Act, any permit or term or condition of a permit, or any

 

 

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1Board order.
2    Any funds collected under this subsection (f) in which the
3Attorney General has prevailed shall be deposited in the
4Hazardous Waste Fund created in Section 22.2 of this Act. Any
5funds collected under this subsection (f) in which a State's
6Attorney has prevailed shall be retained by the county in which
7he serves.
8    (g) All final orders imposing civil penalties pursuant to
9this Section shall prescribe the time for payment of such
10penalties. If any such penalty is not paid within the time
11prescribed, interest on such penalty at the rate set forth in
12subsection (a) of Section 1003 of the Illinois Income Tax Act,
13shall be paid for the period from the date payment is due until
14the date payment is received. However, if the time for payment
15is stayed during the pendency of an appeal, interest shall not
16accrue during such stay.
17    (h) In determining the appropriate civil penalty to be
18imposed under subdivisions (a), (b)(1), (b)(2), (b)(3), or
19(b)(5) of this Section, the Board is authorized to consider any
20matters of record in mitigation or aggravation of penalty,
21including but not limited to the following factors:
22        (1) the duration and gravity of the violation;
23        (2) the presence or absence of due diligence on the
24    part of the respondent in attempting to comply with
25    requirements of this Act and regulations thereunder or to
26    secure relief therefrom as provided by this Act;

 

 

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1        (3) any economic benefits accrued by the respondent
2    because of delay in compliance with requirements, in which
3    case the economic benefits shall be determined by the
4    lowest cost alternative for achieving compliance;
5        (4) the amount of monetary penalty which will serve to
6    deter further violations by the respondent and to otherwise
7    aid in enhancing voluntary compliance with this Act by the
8    respondent and other persons similarly subject to the Act;
9        (5) the number, proximity in time, and gravity of
10    previously adjudicated violations of this Act by the
11    respondent;
12        (6) whether the respondent voluntarily self-disclosed,
13    in accordance with subsection (i) of this Section, the
14    non-compliance to the Agency; and
15        (7) whether the respondent has agreed to undertake a
16    "supplemental environmental project," which means an
17    environmentally beneficial project that a respondent
18    agrees to undertake in settlement of an enforcement action
19    brought under this Act, but which the respondent is not
20    otherwise legally required to perform.
21    In determining the appropriate civil penalty to be imposed
22under subsection (a) or paragraph (1), (2), (3), or (5) of
23subsection (b) of this Section, the Board shall ensure, in all
24cases, that the penalty is at least as great as the economic
25benefits, if any, accrued by the respondent as a result of the
26violation, unless the Board finds that imposition of such

 

 

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1penalty would result in an arbitrary or unreasonable financial
2hardship. However, such civil penalty may be off-set in whole
3or in part pursuant to a supplemental environmental project
4agreed to by the complainant and the respondent.
5    (i) A person who voluntarily self-discloses non-compliance
6to the Agency, of which the Agency had been unaware, is
7entitled to a 100% reduction in the portion of the penalty that
8is not based on the economic benefit of non-compliance if the
9person can establish the following:
10        (1) that the non-compliance was discovered through an
11    environmental audit or a compliance management system
12    documented by the regulated entity as reflecting the
13    regulated entity's due diligence in preventing, detecting,
14    and correcting violations;
15        (2) that the non-compliance was disclosed in writing
16    within 30 days of the date on which the person discovered
17    it;
18        (3) that the non-compliance was discovered and
19    disclosed prior to:
20            (i) the commencement of an Agency inspection,
21        investigation, or request for information;
22            (ii) notice of a citizen suit;
23            (iii) the filing of a complaint by a citizen, the
24        Illinois Attorney General, or the State's Attorney of
25        the county in which the violation occurred;
26            (iv) the reporting of the non-compliance by an

 

 

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1        employee of the person without that person's
2        knowledge; or
3            (v) imminent discovery of the non-compliance by
4        the Agency;
5        (4) that the non-compliance is being corrected and any
6    environmental harm is being remediated in a timely fashion;
7        (5) that the person agrees to prevent a recurrence of
8    the non-compliance;
9        (6) that no related non-compliance events have
10    occurred in the past 3 years at the same facility or in the
11    past 5 years as part of a pattern at multiple facilities
12    owned or operated by the person;
13        (7) that the non-compliance did not result in serious
14    actual harm or present an imminent and substantial
15    endangerment to human health or the environment or violate
16    the specific terms of any judicial or administrative order
17    or consent agreement;
18        (8) that the person cooperates as reasonably requested
19    by the Agency after the disclosure; and
20        (9) that the non-compliance was identified voluntarily
21    and not through a monitoring, sampling, or auditing
22    procedure that is required by statute, rule, permit,
23    judicial or administrative order, or consent agreement.
24    If a person can establish all of the elements under this
25subsection except the element set forth in paragraph (1) of
26this subsection, the person is entitled to a 75% reduction in

 

 

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1the portion of the penalty that is not based upon the economic
2benefit of non-compliance.
3    (j) In addition to an other remedy or penalty that may
4apply, whether civil or criminal, any person who violates
5Section 22.52 of this Act shall be liable for an additional
6civil penalty of up to 3 times the gross amount of any
7pecuniary gain resulting from the violation.
8    (k) In addition to remedies afforded the State of Illinois
9under this Act, a unit of local government is specifically
10authorized to adopt an ordinance imposing a civil penalty
11against any person or organization owning or leasing property
12that releases any hazardous substance, as defined in Section
133.215 of this Act, or any other contaminant that the unit of
14local government finds injures the public health and the safety
15of the community. The penalty may not exceed $50,000 for the
16violation and an additional $10,000 for each day during which
17the violation continues.
18(Source: P.A. 95-331, eff. 8-21-07; 96-603, eff. 8-24-09;
1996-737, eff. 8-25-09; 96-1000, eff. 7-2-10; 96-1416, eff.
207-30-10.)
 
21    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
22becoming law.