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90_SB0778sam001
SRS90SB0778JJsaam01
1 AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 778
2 AMENDMENT NO. . Amend Senate Bill 778 by replacing
3 everything after the enacting clause with the following:
4 "Section 5. The Environmental Protection Act is amended
5 by changing Section 27 as follows:
6 (415 ILCS 5/27) (from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 1027)
7 Sec. 27. Rulemaking.
8 (a) The Board may adopt substantive regulations as
9 described in this Act. Any such regulations may make
10 different provisions as required by circumstances for
11 different contaminant sources and for different geographical
12 areas; may apply to sources outside this State causing,
13 contributing to, or threatening environmental damage in
14 Illinois; may make special provision for alert and abatement
15 standards and procedures respecting occurrences or
16 emergencies of pollution or on other short-term conditions
17 constituting an acute danger to health or to the environment;
18 and may include regulations specific to individual persons or
19 sites. In promulgating regulations under this Act, the Board
20 shall take into account the existing physical conditions, the
21 character of the area involved, including the character of
22 surrounding land uses, zoning classifications, the nature of
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1 the existing air quality, or receiving body of water, as the
2 case may be, and the technical feasibility and economic
3 reasonableness of measuring or reducing the particular type
4 of pollution. The generality of this grant of authority
5 shall only be limited by the specifications of particular
6 classes of regulations elsewhere in this Act.
7 No charge shall be established or assessed by the Board
8 or Agency against any person for emission of air contaminants
9 from any source, for discharge of water contaminants from any
10 source, or for the sale, offer or use of any article.
11 Any person filing with the Board a written proposal for
12 the adoption, amendment, or repeal of regulations shall
13 provide information supporting the requested change and shall
14 at the same time file a copy of such proposal with the Agency
15 and the Department of Natural Resources. To aid the Board
16 and to assist the public in determining which facilities will
17 be affected, the person filing a proposal shall describe, to
18 the extent reasonably practicable, the universe of affected
19 sources and facilities and the economic impact of the
20 proposed rule.
21 (b) Except as provided below and in Section 28.2, before
22 the adoption of any proposed rules not relating to
23 administrative procedures within the Agency or the Board
24 regulations, or amendment to existing rules not relating to
25 administrative procedures within the Agency or the Board
26 regulations, the Board shall:
27 (1) request that the Department of Commerce and
28 Community Affairs conduct a study of the economic impact
29 of the proposed rules. The Department may within 30 to
30 45 days of such request produce a study of the economic
31 impact of the proposed rules. If the Department decides
32 not to complete an economic impact study, it shall submit
33 to the Board a written explanation for the decision,
34 which shall become part of the public record. At a
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1 minimum, the economic impact study shall address (A)
2 economic, environmental, and public health benefits that
3 may be achieved through compliance with the proposed
4 rules, (B) the effects of the proposed rules on
5 employment levels, commercial productivity, the economic
6 growth of small businesses with 100 or less employees,
7 and the State's overall economy, and (C) the cost per
8 unit of pollution reduced and the variability in cost
9 based on the size of the facility and the percentage of
10 company revenues expected to be used to implement the
11 proposed rules; and
12 (2) conduct at least one public hearing on the
13 economic impact of those new rules. At least 20 days
14 before the hearing, the Board shall notify the public of
15 the hearing and make the economic impact study, or the
16 Department of Commerce and Community Affair's explanation
17 for not producing an economic impact study, available to
18 the public. regulations Such public hearing may be held
19 simultaneously or as a part of any Board hearing
20 considering such new rules.
21 In adopting any such new rule regulation, the Board
22 shall, in its written opinion, make a determination, based
23 upon the evidence in the public hearing record, including but
24 not limited to the economic impact study, as to whether the
25 proposed rule regulation has any adverse economic impact on
26 the people of the State of Illinois.
27 (c) On proclamation by the Governor, pursuant to Section
28 8 of the Illinois Emergency Services and Disaster Act of
29 1975, that a disaster emergency exists, or when the Board
30 finds that a severe public health emergency exists, the Board
31 may, in relation to any proposed regulation, order that such
32 regulation shall take effect without delay and the Board
33 shall proceed with the hearings and studies required by this
34 Section while the regulation continues in effect.
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1 When the Board finds that a situation exists which
2 reasonably constitutes a threat to the public interest,
3 safety or welfare, the Board may adopt regulations pursuant
4 to and in accordance with Section 5-45 of the Illinois
5 Administrative Procedure Act.
6 (d) To the extent consistent with any deadline for
7 adoption of any regulations mandated by State or federal law,
8 prior to initiating any hearing on a regulatory proposal, the
9 Board may assign a qualified hearing officer who may schedule
10 a prehearing conference between the proponents and any or all
11 of the potentially affected persons. The notice requirements
12 of Section 28 shall not apply to such prehearing conferences.
13 The purposes of such conference shall be to maximize
14 understanding of the intent and application of the proposal,
15 to reach agreement on aspects of the proposal, if possible,
16 and to attempt to identify and limit the issues of
17 disagreement among the participants to promote efficient use
18 of time at hearing. No record need be kept of the prehearing
19 conference, nor shall any participant or the Board be bound
20 by any discussions conducted at the prehearing conference.
21 However, with the consent of all participants in the
22 prehearing conference, a prehearing order delineating issues
23 to be heard, agreed facts, and other matters may be entered
24 by the hearing officer. Such an order will not be binding on
25 nonparticipants in the prehearing conference.
26 (Source: P.A. 88-45; 89-445, eff. 2-7-96.)".
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