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.