SB3667 104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB104 19366 BDA 32814 b

104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2025 and 2026
SB3667

Introduced 2/5/2026, by Sen. Doris Turner

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

415 ILCS 5/57.11
415 ILCS 5/58.3
415 ILCS 5/58.13

Amends the Environmental Protection Act. Provides that, on July 1, 2026, and each July 1 thereafter, the State Comptroller shall direct and the State Treasurer shall transfer the sum of $5,000,000 from the Underground Storage Tank Fund to the Brownfields Redevelopment Fund. Provides that, among other things, moneys in the Brownfields Redevelopment Fund may be used for the issuance of grants or providing additional subsidization. Removes provisions limiting the size of grants to municipalities issued under the Municipal Brownfields Redevelopment Grant Program.

A BILL FOR

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 changing Sections 57.11, 58.3, and 58.13 as follows:

(415 ILCS 5/57.11)

Sec. 57.11. Underground Storage Tank Fund; creation.

(a) There is hereby created in the State Treasury a special fund to be known as the Underground Storage Tank Fund. There shall be deposited into the Underground Storage Tank Fund all moneys received by the Office of the State Fire Marshal as fees for underground storage tanks under Sections 4 and 5 of the Gasoline Storage Act, fees pursuant to the Motor Fuel Tax Law, and beginning July 1, 2013, payments pursuant to the Use Tax Act, the Service Use Tax Act, the Service Occupation Tax Act, and the Retailers' Occupation Tax Act. All amounts held in the Underground Storage Tank Fund shall be invested at interest by the State Treasurer. All income earned from the investments shall be deposited into the Underground Storage Tank Fund no less frequently than quarterly. In addition to any other transfers that may be provided for by law, beginning on July 1, 2018 and on the first day of each month thereafter during fiscal years 2019 through 2026 only, the State Comptroller shall direct and the State Treasurer shall transfer an amount equal to 1/12 of $10,000,000 from the Underground Storage Tank Fund to the General Revenue Fund. Moneys in the Underground Storage Tank Fund, pursuant to appropriation, may be used by the Agency and the Office of the State Fire Marshal for the following purposes:

(1) To take action authorized under Section 57.12 to recover costs under Section 57.12.

(2) To assist in the reduction and mitigation of damage caused by leaks from underground storage tanks, including, but not limited to, providing alternative water supplies to persons whose drinking water has become contaminated as a result of those leaks.

(3) To be used as a matching amount toward federal assistance relative to the release of petroleum from underground storage tanks.

(4) For the costs of administering activities of the Agency and the Office of the State Fire Marshal relative to the Underground Storage Tank Fund.

(5) For payment of costs of corrective action incurred by and indemnification to operators of underground storage tanks as provided in this Title.

(6) For a total of 2 demonstration projects in amounts in excess of a $10,000 deductible charge designed to assess the viability of corrective action projects at sites which have experienced contamination from petroleum releases. Such demonstration projects shall be conducted in accordance with the provision of this Title.

(7) Subject to appropriation, moneys in the Underground Storage Tank Fund may also be used by the Department of Revenue for the costs of administering its activities relative to the Fund and for refunds provided for in Section 13a.8 of the Motor Fuel Tax Law.

(b) Moneys in the Underground Storage Tank Fund may, pursuant to appropriation, be used by the Office of the State Fire Marshal or the Agency to take whatever emergency action is necessary or appropriate to assure that the public health or safety is not threatened whenever there is a release or substantial threat of a release of petroleum from an underground storage tank and for the costs of administering its activities relative to the Underground Storage Tank Fund.

(c) Beginning July 1, 1993, the Governor shall certify to the State Comptroller and State Treasurer the monthly amount necessary to pay debt service on State obligations issued pursuant to Section 6 of the General Obligation Bond Act. On the last day of each month, the Comptroller shall order transferred and the Treasurer shall transfer from the Underground Storage Tank Fund to the General Obligation Bond Retirement and Interest Fund the amount certified by the Governor, plus any cumulative deficiency in those transfers for prior months.

(d) Except as provided in subsection (c) of this Section, the Underground Storage Tank Fund is not subject to administrative charges authorized under Section 8h of the State Finance Act that would in any way transfer any funds from the Underground Storage Tank Fund into any other fund of the State.

(e) Each fiscal year, subject to appropriation, the Agency may commit up to $10,000,000 of the moneys in the Underground Storage Tank Fund to the payment of corrective action costs for legacy sites that meet one or more of the following criteria as a result of the underground storage tank release: (i) the presence of free product, (ii) contamination within a regulated recharge area, a wellhead protection area, or the setback zone of a potable water supply well, (iii) contamination extending beyond the boundaries of the site where the release occurred, or (iv) such other criteria as may be adopted in Agency rules.

(1) Fund moneys committed under this subsection (e) shall be held in the Fund for payment of the corrective action costs for which the moneys were committed.

(2) The Agency may adopt rules governing the commitment of Fund moneys under this subsection (e).

(3) This subsection (e) does not limit the use of Fund moneys at legacy sites as otherwise provided under this Title.

(4) For the purposes of this subsection (e), the term "legacy site" means a site for which (i) an underground storage tank release was reported prior to January 1, 2005, (ii) the owner or operator has been determined eligible to receive payment from the Fund for corrective action costs, and (iii) the Agency did not receive any applications for payment prior to January 1, 2010.

(f) Beginning July 1, 2013, if the amounts deposited into the Fund from moneys received by the Office of the State Fire Marshal as fees for underground storage tanks under Sections 4 and 5 of the Gasoline Storage Act and as fees pursuant to the Motor Fuel Tax Law during a State fiscal year are sufficient to pay all claims for payment by the fund received during that State fiscal year, then the amount of any payments into the fund pursuant to the Use Tax Act, the Service Use Tax Act, the Service Occupation Tax Act, and the Retailers' Occupation Tax Act during that State fiscal year shall be deposited as follows: 75% thereof shall be paid into the State treasury and 25% shall be reserved in a special account and used only for the transfer to the Common School Fund as part of the monthly transfer from the General Revenue Fund in accordance with Section 8a of the State Finance Act.

(g) Beginning July 1, 2026, and each July 1 thereafter, the State Comptroller shall direct and the State Treasurer shall transfer the sum of $5,000,000 from the Underground Storage Tank Fund to the Brownfields Redevelopment Fund.

(Source: P.A. 103-8, eff. 6-7-23; 103-588, eff. 6-5-24; 104-2, eff. 6-16-25.)

(415 ILCS 5/58.3)

Sec. 58.3. Site Investigation and Remedial Activities Program; Brownfields Redevelopment Fund.

(a) The General Assembly hereby establishes by this Title a Site Investigation and Remedial Activities Program for sites subject to this Title. This program shall be administered by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency under this Title XVII and rules adopted by the Illinois Pollution Control Board.

(b) (1) The General Assembly hereby creates within the State Treasury a special fund to be known as the Brownfields Redevelopment Fund, consisting of 2 programs to be known as the "Municipal Brownfields Redevelopment Grant Program" and the "Brownfields Redevelopment Loan Program", which shall be used and administered by the Agency as provided in Sections 58.13 and 58.15 of this Act and the rules adopted under those Sections. The Brownfields Redevelopment Fund ("Fund") shall contain moneys transferred from the Response Contractors Indemnification Fund and other moneys made available for deposit into the Fund.

(2) The State Treasurer, ex officio, shall be the custodian of the Fund, and the Comptroller shall direct payments from the Fund upon vouchers properly certified by the Agency. The Treasurer shall credit to the Fund interest earned on moneys contained in the Fund. The Agency shall have the authority to accept, receive, and administer on behalf of the State any grants, gifts, loans, reimbursements or payments for services, or other moneys made available to the State from any source for purposes of the Fund. Those moneys shall be deposited into the Fund, unless otherwise required by the Environmental Protection Act or by federal law.

(3) Pursuant to appropriation, all moneys in the Fund shall be used by the Agency for the purposes set forth in subdivision (b)(4) of this Section and Sections 58.13 and 58.15 of this Act and to cover the Agency's costs of program development and administration under those Sections.

(4) The Agency shall have the power to enter into intergovernmental agreements with the federal government or the State, or any instrumentality thereof, for purposes of capitalizing the Brownfields Redevelopment Fund. Moneys on deposit in the Brownfields Redevelopment Fund may be used for the issuance of grants or providing additional subsidization or for the creation of reserve funds or pledged funds that secure the obligations of repayment of loans made pursuant to Section 58.15 of this Act. For the purpose of obtaining capital for deposit into the Brownfields Redevelopment Fund, the Agency may also enter into agreements with financial institutions and other persons for the purpose of selling loans and developing a secondary market for such loans. The Agency shall have the power to create and establish such reserve funds and accounts as may be necessary or desirable to accomplish its purposes under this subsection and to allocate its available moneys into such funds and accounts. Investment earnings on moneys held in the Brownfields Redevelopment Fund, including any reserve fund or pledged fund, shall be deposited into the Brownfields Redevelopment Fund.

(5) The Agency is authorized to administer funds made available to the Agency under federal law, including but not limited to the Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act, related to brownfields cleanup and reuse in accordance with that law and this Title.

(Source: P.A. 95-331, eff. 8-21-07.)

(415 ILCS 5/58.13)

Sec. 58.13. Municipal Brownfields Redevelopment Grant Program.

(a) (1) The Agency shall establish and administer a program of grants, to be known as the Municipal Brownfields Redevelopment Grant Program, to provide municipalities in Illinois with financial assistance to be used for coordination of activities related to brownfields redevelopment, including but not limited to identification of brownfields sites, including those sites within River Edge Redevelopment Zones, site investigation and determination of remediation objectives and related plans and reports, development of remedial action plans, and implementation of remedial action plans and remedial action completion reports. The plans and reports shall be developed in accordance with Title XVII of this Act.

(2) Grants shall be awarded on a competitive basis subject to availability of funding. Criteria for awarding grants shall include, but shall not be limited to the following:

(A) problem statement and needs assessment;

(B) community-based planning and involvement;

(C) implementation planning; and

(D) long-term benefits and sustainability.

(3) The Agency may give weight to geographic location to enhance geographic distribution of grants across this State.

(4) (Blank). Except for grants to municipalities with designated River Edge Redevelopment Zones, grants shall be limited to a maximum of $240,000, and no municipality shall receive more than this amount under this Section. For grants to municipalities with designated River Edge Redevelopment Zones and grants to municipalities awarded from funds provided under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, grants shall be limited to a maximum of $2,000,000 and no municipality shall receive more than this amount under this Section. For grants to municipalities awarded from funds provided under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, grants shall be limited to a maximum of $1,000,000 and no municipality shall receive more than this amount under this Section.

(5) Except as otherwise provided by Agency rule, grant Grant amounts shall not exceed 70% of the project amount, with the remainder to be provided by the municipality as local matching funds.

(b) The Agency shall have the authority to enter into any contracts or agreements that may be necessary to carry out its duties or responsibilities under this Section. The Agency shall have the authority to adopt rules setting forth procedures and criteria for administering the Municipal Brownfields Redevelopment Grant Program. The rules adopted by the Agency may include but shall not be limited to the following:

(1) purposes for which grants are available;

(2) application periods and content of applications;

(3) procedures and criteria for Agency review of grant applications, grant approvals and denials, and grantee acceptance;

(4) grant payment schedules;

(5) grantee responsibilities for work schedules, work plans, reports, and record keeping;

(6) evaluation of grantee performance, including but not limited to auditing and access to sites and records;

(7) requirements applicable to contracting and subcontracting by the grantee;

(8) penalties for noncompliance with grant requirements and conditions, including stop-work orders, termination of grants, and recovery of grant funds;

(9) indemnification of this State and the Agency by the grantee; and

(10) manner of compliance with the Local Government Professional Services Selection Act.

(c) Moneys in the Brownfields Redevelopment Fund may be used by the Agency to take whatever preventive or corrective action, including but not limited to removal or remedial action, is necessary or appropriate in response to a release or substantial threat of a release of:

(1) a hazardous substance or pesticide; or

(2) petroleum from an underground storage tank.

The State, the Director, and any State employee shall be indemnified for any damages or injury arising out of or resulting from any action taken pursuant to this subsection (c) and subsection (d)(2) of Section 4 of this Act. The Agency has the authority to enter into such contracts and agreements as may be necessary, and as expeditiously as necessary, to carry out preventive or corrective action pursuant to this subsection (c) and subsection (d)(2) of Section 4 of this Act.

(Source: P.A. 96-45, eff. 7-15-09.)