SB3732 104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB104 18135 BDA 31574 b

104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2025 and 2026
SB3732

Introduced 2/5/2026, by Sen. Rachel Ventura

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

New Act
30 ILCS 105/5.1038 new

Creates the Warehouse Pollution Reduction Act. Requires the Environmental Protection Agency to propose and the Pollution Control Board to adopt rules establishing a qualifying warehouse review program. Provides for reporting, recordkeeping, and notice requirements; annual emissions-reduction targets; and a system of points for air-pollution mitigation measures. Requires construction permits for new or modified qualifying warehouses and sets conditions for permit issuance, including zero-emission readiness and buffer requirements near sensitive receptors. Establishes a qualifying warehouse registry and requires public access to reports, notices, and permitting records. Provides for mitigation fees and directs their use in the same geographic area as the site of the qualifying warehouse. Requires the Agency to develop an air-quality modeling program and publish results annually. Creates the Warehouse Pollution Management Fund and provides for fee collection and deposit. Prohibits certain acts, provides civil penalties, authorizes enforcement and citizen suits, and allows recovery of attorney's fees. Limits home rule powers. Amends the State Finance Act to make a conforming change.

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning safety.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Warehouse Pollution Reduction Act.

Section 5. Definitions. In this Act:

"Agency" means the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency.

"Board" means the Illinois Pollution Control Board.

"Fulfillment center" means a facility whose primary purpose is storage and distribution of goods to businesses or end users, either directly or through a parcel hub.

"Overburdened community" has the same meaning as "environmental justice community" as defined by, and as may be updated in, the long-term renewable resources procurement plan of the Illinois Power Agency and its program administrator under the Illinois Solar for All Program.

"Owner or operator" means any person who owns, leases, operates, controls, or supervises a qualifying warehouse.

"Parcel hub" means a last-mile facility or similar facility whose primary purpose is processing or redistribution of goods for delivery directly to consumers or end users, by moving a shipment from one mode of transport to a vehicle with a rated capacity of less than 10,000 pounds.

"Parcel sorting facility" means a facility whose primary purpose is sorting or redistribution of goods from a fulfillment center to a parcel hub.

"Qualifying warehouse" means a fulfillment center, parcel hub, or parcel sorting facility that is 30,000 square feet or greater, whether as originally constructed or as modified; or a facility owned or operated by any person, including all affiliates of that person, who in the aggregate owns or operates 500,000 square feet or more of qualifying warehouse space in the State.

"Sensitive receptor" means a pre-existing:

(1) dwelling, including a private home or residence, apartment, condominium unit, group home, dormitory, nursing home, retirement home, care facility, or any building or structure where at least one natural person or family unit resides;

(2) school, including a preschool, prekindergarten, or school maintaining kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive;

(3) day care facility, including, but not limited to, in-home day care;

(4) public park, playground, recreational area, or facility primarily occupied or used by children;

(5) hospital, urgent care, reproductive health center, or any facility that provides health, medical, or senior services; or

(6) overburdened community.

"Truck trip" means the one-way trip a class 2b-8 truck or tractor makes to or from a facility, where a single truck's or tractor's entrance to and subsequent exit from the same facility counts as 2 trips (one inbound trip and one outbound trip).

"Warehouse modification" means a modification to a warehouse that adds additional warehouse floor space that may be used for warehousing activities, or a change in operations of a warehouse that is likely to result in a significant increase in air pollution.

"ZEV" means any on-road or off-road vehicle powered with a zero-emission powertrain that produces zero exhaust emissions of any criteria pollutant, precursor pollutant, or greenhouse gas in any mode of operation or condition, as determined by the Agency.

Section 10. Findings. The General Assembly finds that:

(1) The State has a longstanding policy to restore, protect, and enhance the environment, including the purity of the air of this State.

(2) The transportation sector accounts for a significant proportion of the State's air pollution, including emissions of particulate matter and nitrogen oxides that in turn generate ozone pollution, and this pollution is associated with serious health impacts for the State's residents.

(3) Air pollution is associated with increased health care costs and lost workdays, both of which increase financial burdens on Illinois households.

(4) Warehouses, logistics centers, and other freight facilities draw high volumes of trucks, heavy equipment, and other sources of diesel pollution, creating air pollution hot spots.

(5) Air quality in the State's major freight hubs is poor, and the State's existing policies have been inadequate to address this issue and ensure attainment of federal air quality standards.

(6) Air pollution levels may vary greatly from one end of a block to another, and data from standard monitoring practices does not capture these variances or air pollution hot spots.

(7) The number of warehouses and other freight facilities in the State is growing rapidly.

(8) Many communities living near or working at warehouses or other freight facilities are lower-income people and people of color, and these populations bear a disproportionate burden of harms from this activity.

(9) Those most at risk from the impacts of air pollution from the transportation sector include children, older adults, and warehouse workers.

(10) Air-quality data alone does not adequately reflect the impact of air pollution on the State's residents, and cumulative impact analyses that account for factors including age, race, socioeconomic status, and access to health care are needed.

(11) The State's residents, particularly communities living in air-pollution hot spots associated with freight activity, have a right to know about freight activities and related emissions in their communities to understand the health implications and meaningfully participate in decision-making related to these facilities.

(12) Meaningful participation of State residents is critical to ensuring that environmental laws and rules are implemented and enforced in a manner that protects and improves the well-being of communities most impacted by development or operation of warehouses and other freight facilities.

(13) The federal Clean Air Act expressly reserves state authority to regulate aggregate air pollution at indirect sources, or sites that attract or may attract mobile sources of pollution.

(14) It is in the public interest to fund, develop, implement, and enforce an indirect source review program for mitigating air pollution from freight activity.

Section 15. Purposes. This Act has the purposes to:

(1) increase transparency about warehouse information and ensure people have the right to meaningfully participate in decision-making related to these facilities;

(2) protect vulnerable communities from harmful warehouse impacts;

(3) restore, maintain, and enhance the air quality of this State in order to protect residents' health and welfare;

(4) regulate air quality and reduce air pollution from warehouses to achieve and maintain attainment with federal air quality standards;

(5) establish and fund an indirect source review program that will be developed and enforced with community input; and

(6) advance the State's commitment to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

Section 20. Prohibited acts. No person shall:

(1) fail to disclose, in a timely manner, any information required under Section 30 or rules adopted under this Act;

(2) make a false or misleading representation in connection with reporting under Section 30 or rules adopted under this Act;

(3) construct a new or modified qualifying warehouse without a construction permit; or

(4) fail or refuse to pay any fee or civil penalty imposed under this Act or rules adopted under this Act.

Section 25. Qualifying Warehouse Review Program.

(a) Within 12 months after the effective date of this Act, the Agency shall propose to the Board rules establishing a program for facility-by-facility review of qualifying warehouses. The program shall not be inconsistent with 42 U.S.C. 7410(a)(5) and shall include measures necessary to ensure, or assist in ensuring, that emissions from each qualifying warehouse in the State will not:

(1) cause or contribute to air-pollution concentrations exceeding any federal air-quality standard; or

(2) prevent maintenance of any such standard.

(b) No later than 6 months after receiving the Agency's program proposal, the Board shall adopt final rules after accepting public comment on the proposal and making any responsive revisions.

(c) The program proposed by the Agency and adopted by the Board under this Act shall:

(1) set reporting, recordkeeping, and notice requirements, including deadlines, for information regarding each qualifying warehouse, as provided under Section 30, where the initial reporting deadline for any qualifying warehouse in operation on the effective date of this Act is no later than 6 months after that date;

(2) establish a fee schedule for reports and permit applications submitted to the Agency under this Act and rules adopted under this Act, where:

(A) the fee amounts shall, in the aggregate, be adequate to ensure sufficient funding for development, implementation, maintenance, and enforcement of programs under this Act and rules adopted under this Act; and

(B) the schedule shall be updated at least once every 2 years to ensure sufficient funding for development, implementation, maintenance, and enforcement of programs under this Act and rules adopted under this Act;

(3) set annual emissions-reduction targets consistent with the State's goals of achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and achieving or maintaining compliance with federal air-quality standards, and require qualifying warehouses to meet the targets;

(4) establish a system assigning points corresponding to emissions-reduction targets and setting point designations for air-pollution mitigation measures, as provided under Section 45, with point designations updated at least annually;

(5) establish a system for collecting and distributing all mitigation fees collected from qualifying warehouses under Sections 45 and 50;

(6) establish a qualifying warehouse registry, as provided under Section 40, to make information regarding qualifying warehouses readily accessible to the public;

(7) establish a construction-permit program for relevant qualifying warehouses or facilities that may be qualifying warehouses, as provided under Section 35, requiring the owner or operator of each relevant qualifying warehouse to obtain and comply with the terms of any permit issued under this program; and

(8) require the Agency to report, at least annually and in a manner readily accessible to the public, the estimated air quality and greenhouse-gas emissions at each qualifying warehouse.

Section 30. Reporting; recordkeeping; notices.

(a) With an initial reporting deadline for any qualifying warehouse no later than 6 months after the effective date of this Act, the operator of each qualifying warehouse shall submit to the Agency, at least annually, a report certified in accordance with Section 1-109 of the Code of Civil Procedure that discloses:

(1) location information, including GPS coordinates, the street address, and property lines; and

(2) owner or operator information, including the name of the property owner, the name of any parent company, the name of any entity leasing the facility, 6-digit NAICS code, and contact information for any entity operating, controlling, or supervising the facility, including:

(A) contact information for the individual responsible for the facility's compliance with this Act and rules adopted under this Act;

(B) lease information, if applicable, including the parties and duration of any lease of facility space;

(C) facility's secured lender, if applicable;

(D) space information, including square footage, number of loading docks, and number of truck bays;

(E) any documented labor, health, and environmental violations of any municipal, State, or federal laws or rules;

(F) methods to be used for accurately and precisely collecting data necessary for complying with the requirements of this Section;

(G) number of electric-vehicle charging stations installed and actual usage;

(H) number of hydrogen fueling stations installed and actual usage;

(I) number of on-site renewable and non-renewable energy-generation systems installed at the facility and their generation;

(J) number of vehicles used to deliver goods or materials from the facility that are leased to a third party by the owner or operator; the proportion of vehicles that are leased; and the proportion that are owned by the operator;

(K) average daily number and annual average of inbound and outbound truck trips by vehicle weight, class, vehicle age, and fuel type; by time of day; and by day of the week;

(L) average duration of engine idling by vehicle weight, class, age, and fuel type, including a breakdown of vehicles equipped with a transportation refrigeration unit;

(M) average daily number of inbound and outbound truck trips associated with trucks with transportation refrigeration units, and the age and fuel type of transportation refrigeration units;

(N) GPS data for Class 2b through Class 8 trucks that make trips to and from a qualifying warehouse owned, leased, dispatched, or operationally controlled by a warehouse owner or operator, when such data is collected in the ordinary course of business;

(O) gross revenue attributable to Illinois facilities or operations;

(P) sum of State and federal tax incentives or subsidies received in the previous 5 tax years, if applicable;

(Q) number of jobs at the facility, including drivers and others employed by third-party contractors, with a breakdown of part-time and full-time employees, independent contractors, and union and non-union employees;

(R) percentage of vehicles used, specifying on-road vehicles and off-road vehicles as well as weight and vehicle class, that are zero-emission;

(S) contracts for services with any government body where the value of that contract equals or exceeds $1,000,000;

(T) air-pollution mitigation measures adopted and to be adopted to meet the facility's emissions-reduction requirements under this Act and rules adopted under this Act;

(U) points the facility has been credited for mitigation measures undertaken to meet its emissions-reduction requirements under this Act and rules adopted under this Act, including the number of points banked or carried over from another year;

(V) for any air-pollution mitigation measure adopted or to be adopted that may reduce the number of truck trips or change the terms of a collective bargaining agreement with the qualifying warehouse's employees, confirmation that the owner or operator has:

(i) consulted the representative of the exclusive bargaining unit or workers potentially impacted or displaced by implementation of the measure, including discussion of anticipated workforce-transition or retraining impacts; and

(ii) reached an agreement, in writing, with the bargaining-unit representative or a majority of the workers to proceed with the measure, including any commitments related to worker retention or retraining, if applicable; and

(W) any other information the Agency deems necessary to effectively implement and enforce this Act and rules adopted under this Act.

Nothing in this Section shall be construed as requiring any public disclosure prohibited by law.

Where multiple qualifying warehouses share access roads, loading docks, driveways, or parking facilities, reporting under this Section shall reflect cumulative activity at the shared facility unless the Agency determines that activity can be reasonably apportioned. When multiple operators occupy a single qualifying warehouse, the owner shall report shared-infrastructure activity and each operator shall report activity attributable to its operations, as specified by the Agency.

(b) The owner or operator of each qualifying warehouse shall maintain, for a minimum of 7 years, records sufficient to demonstrate the accuracy and validity of all information submitted to the Agency under this Section.

(c) The Agency shall assess and collect from the operator of each qualifying warehouse a fee for each report submitted under this Section:

(1) the fee amounts shall, in the aggregate, be adequate to ensure sufficient funding for development, implementation, maintenance, and enforcement of programs under this Act;

(2) the schedule shall be updated at least once every 2 years to ensure sufficient funding for development, implementation, maintenance, and enforcement of programs under this Act; and

(3) the Agency shall deposit all such fees into the Warehouse Pollution Management Fund.

Section 35. Permitting; home rule; fee.

(a) The Agency has authority to adopt procedural rules, in accordance with the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act, as the Agency deems necessary to implement this Section, including requirements that:

(1) not more than 15 days after the owner or operator of a facility that is, will be, or could become a qualifying warehouse applies for a construction permit to construct a new or modified qualifying warehouse or a facility that could become a qualifying warehouse, the owner or operator of the facility shall send, via first-class mail, written notice of the application to all residents and property owners within 900 feet of the subject facility and all municipal and county elected officials representing the area where the subject facility is located;

(2) not more than 30 days after receipt of a complete construction-permit application to build a new or modified qualifying warehouse, the Agency shall publicly disclose, including by posting on a publicly available website: (A) that the Agency has received a construction-permit application under this Act; and (B) all construction-permit application materials in full and unredacted form, as permitted by law;

(3) not more than 90 days after receipt of a complete construction-permit application under this Act, the Agency shall:

(A) give public notice, including by posting on a publicly available website, of its preliminary determination to either issue or deny the permit; and

(B) give notice of the opportunity for a public hearing on that preliminary determination and, upon request of the permit applicant or of any other person admitted as a party under rules adopted by the Agency, schedule a public hearing;

(4) within 60 days after the date of the Agency notice required under paragraph (3), any person who may be adversely affected by the Agency's decision on the construction-permit application may petition the Agency to intervene as a party; the petition to intervene shall contain a short and plain statement identifying the petitioner and stating the petitioner's interest; the petitioner shall serve the petition upon the applicant for the permit and upon any other persons who have petitioned to intervene; unless the Agency determines that the petition is duplicative or frivolous, it shall admit the petitioner as a party;

(5) not less than 60 days and not more than 180 days after the date of the Agency notice required under paragraph (3), the Agency shall commence the public hearing required by this Section; the public hearing and other proceedings under this Section shall be conducted in accordance with the provisions concerning contested cases of the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act; the Agency shall disclose, including by posting on a publicly available website, all documents submitted to the Agency in connection with the public hearing; and

(6) within 60 days after the close of the public-comment period or public hearing under this Section, whichever is later, the Agency shall render a final decision granting or denying the permit.

(b) Prior to construction of a new or modified qualifying warehouse or a facility that could become a qualifying warehouse, the owner or operator shall apply to the Agency for a construction permit, and the Agency may issue a permit authorizing construction only if it finds:

(1) the procedural requirements in subsection (a) have been met;

(2) any additional traffic resulting from construction and operation will not result in a violation of one or more national ambient air-quality standards established by the federal Environmental Protection Agency or, if a violation already exists, will not exacerbate such violation, as determined in a manner consistent with the State implementation plan;

(3) the facility will be ready for zero-emission operations and infrastructure upon completion of the proposed development, including:

(A) on-site solar power generation;

(B) battery storage; and

(C) managed electric-vehicle charging systems and infrastructure necessary to reduce electricity demand and associated emissions; and

(4) the facility will meet LEED Silver, Gold, or Platinum standards, or a functionally equivalent standard that demonstrably reduces energy consumption, greenhouse-gas emissions, or associated air pollutants upon completion of the proposed development.

(c) Any permit for construction of a new or modified qualifying warehouse or a facility that could become a qualifying warehouse, where the subject of the permit has a property line within 900 feet of a sensitive receptor, shall require:

(1) any new truck loading bay to be located outside a minimum 1,000-foot radius from the boundary of each sensitive receptor;

(2) the locations at which trucks enter and exit the property line of a qualifying warehouse to be at least 500 feet from each sensitive receptor;

(3) internal circulation of vehicles that are not ZEVs, including through placement of roads and loading docks, to limit or mitigate air-pollution exposure of the sensitive receptor;

(4) no diesel-truck aisles to be located adjacent to the boundary of any sensitive receptor; and

(5) construction of a buffer at least 100 feet wide, measured from the boundary of any adjacent sensitive receptor; the buffer shall include a solid decorative wall, landscaped berm and wall, or a landscaped berm 10 feet or more in height and solid-screen buffering trees planted in 2 rows along the length of the boundary adjacent to the sensitive receptor; trees used for this purpose shall be evergreen and, to the extent feasible, composed of native species with low biogenic emissions, of a minimum 36-inch box size at planting, and spaced at no greater distance than 40 feet on center.

(d) A unit of local government, including a home rule unit, may not enforce any ordinance that authorizes construction or modification of a qualifying warehouse that is less stringent than the requirements of this Section. This Section is a denial and limitation on the concurrent exercise by home rule units of powers and functions under subsection (i) of Section 6 of Article VII of the Illinois Constitution.

(e) The Agency shall assess and collect from the owner or operator of each qualifying warehouse a fee determined by the Agency for each permit application submitted under this Section. The Agency shall deposit all such fees into the Warehouse Pollution Management Fund.

Section 40. Qualifying warehouse registry.

(a) Within 12 months after the effective date of this Act, the Agency, in collaboration with the Department of Labor, the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, and other relevant agencies, shall establish a qualifying warehouse registry that makes the following information readily accessible to the public, including by posting on a publicly available website:

(1) information collected under Section 30;

(2) air-quality modeling information associated with each qualifying warehouse;

(3) full and unredacted reports and notices generated or collected under Section 30; and

(4) full and unredacted permitting records generated or collected under Section 35, including all notices, permit applications, and preliminary and final decisions of the Agency.

(b) The Agency shall ensure that any report received by the Agency after the initial establishment of the registry is added to the registry and made readily accessible to the public within 5 days after receipt by the Agency.

(c) The registry shall be searchable for all records associated with a specific qualifying warehouse using any one of the following search terms: street address, zip code, name of the locality in which the qualifying warehouse is located, or name of the owner or operator.

(d) Nothing in this Section shall be construed as requiring any public disclosure prohibited by law.

Section 45. Point designations and administration.

(a) The Agency shall assign annual points requirements corresponding to emissions-reduction targets; set point designations for air-pollution mitigation measures; award and administer points; and take any other actions necessary to track points earned by each qualifying warehouse and to ensure compliance with annual points requirements.

(b) A qualifying warehouse that manages truck trips to or from an overburdened community shall have an annual points requirement that is 25% higher than that of a comparable facility that does not meet these conditions.

(c) A qualifying warehouse may receive points for mitigation measures including:

(1) acquisition of ZEVs;

(2) using zero-emission trucks at the regulated facility or for truck trips to and from the regulated facility;

(3) installing, or contracting with a third party to install, light-duty, medium-duty, and heavy-duty electric-charging infrastructure on-site or within one-half mile;

(4) using electric-charging infrastructure;

(5) requiring use of zero-emission vehicles on-site;

(6) reducing stationary-source pollution beyond what is required for facilities defined as stationary sources under 35 Ill. Adm. Code 203.136 or successor rules;

(7) using electric transportation-refrigeration units;

(8) acquiring electric transportation-refrigeration units;

(9) using alternatives to truck trips for incoming or outgoing trips, such as e-cargo bikes or light-duty battery-electric vehicles;

(10) installing on-site solar power generation, electricity storage, and managed-charging systems;

(11) installing and maintaining MERV-16 or greater filtration systems in schools, day cares, hospitals, community centers, or residences within one-half mile of a regulated facility;

(12) eliminating combustion emissions from cooking, heating, hot water, or generators at the regulated facility, or at buildings within one-half mile of a regulated facility, by replacing appliances and equipment;

(13) reducing transport emissions for regulated facilities and surrounding areas by contributing to and maintaining bicycle-share or electric-vehicle-share programs or public transportation;

(14) hiring locally to reduce employee-commute emissions, using a local State-certified apprenticeship program or a skilled and trained workforce with a local-hire component, or implementing workforce-transition or retraining strategies intended to retain existing workers while reducing pollution; or

(15) paying a mitigation fee, the price of which shall be set 1.5 times higher per point than the next most expensive option.

(d) No points shall be designated or awarded under the program for:

(1) any actions required for compliance with any federal, State, or municipal law other than this Act and rules adopted under this Act; or

(2) mitigation measures undertaken but not reported to the Agency as required under this Section.

(e) If a qualifying warehouse earns more points than its annual points requirement in a given reporting period, the excess points may be banked and used by the same qualifying warehouse to satisfy its annual points requirement in any of the following 3 years, provided that the qualifying warehouse demonstrates that any improvements or equipment installations for which the banked points were awarded are still operational in the year in which they are used to meet the annual points requirement.

(f) The Agency shall update point designations at least annually.

Section 50. Mitigation fees. Whenever a qualifying warehouse pays a mitigation fee to receive points toward emissions-reduction requirements under Section 45, the fee shall be spent on measures that will mitigate air pollution in the same geographic area as the site of the qualifying warehouse.

Section 55. Air quality modeling.

(a) Within 6 months after the effective date of this Act, the Agency shall publish and solicit public comment on a draft methodology for an air-quality and greenhouse-gas emissions modeling program that accurately models and reports speciated PM2.5, ozone, and NOx emissions volume and resulting concentrations generated by each qualifying warehouse.

(b) Within 9 months after the effective date of this Act, the Agency shall finalize its air-quality modeling-program methodology.

(c) Within 12 months after the effective date of this Act, the Agency shall publish, under the qualifying-warehouse registry established under Section 40, results from its air-quality modeling program, and shall publish results annually thereafter.

(d) The air-quality modeling program under this Section may include qualifying-warehouse report information, vehicle telematics, driveway sensors, video monitoring, air-pollution monitoring data, and other advanced sensing and monitoring equipment.

Section 60. Warehouse Pollution Management Fund. There is created in the State treasury a special fund to be known as the Warehouse Pollution Management Fund. Fees collected by the Agency under this Act, except for mitigation fees paid for the purpose of earning points for compliance with emissions-reduction requirements, shall be deposited into the Warehouse Pollution Management Fund. In addition to any moneys appropriated from the General Revenue Fund, moneys in the Warehouse Pollution Management Fund may be appropriated to:

(1) the Agency exclusively for activities necessary to execute its obligations and duties under this Act; and

(2) the Board for regulatory and adjudicatory proceedings under this Act.

Section 65. Enforcement; penalties; rulemaking.

(a) The Agency shall administer and enforce this Act. The Agency is authorized to investigate violations of this Act or rules adopted under this Act.

(b) Any person who violates this Act or any rules adopted under this Act is liable for a civil penalty of $10,000. The Attorney General is authorized to bring a civil action to recover penalties under this Act. Nothing in this Act limits any damages, equitable relief, or other remedies available under common law or statute.

(c) The Agency shall propose and the Board shall adopt rules to implement and administer this Act. These rules may include procedures for administrative citations and adjudications that are substantially similar to those under the Environmental Protection Act. These rules may also include penalties for violations of this Act or rules adopted under this Act, except that any monetary penalties established by rule may not exceed the penalties under subsection (b) for a violation.

Section 70. Citizen suits; attorney's fees.

(a) Any person adversely affected by a violation of this Act, any rule adopted under this Act, any permit decision or term or condition of a permit under this Act, or any Board order under this Act may commence a civil action for injunctive and other relief.

(b) A court in an action under this Act may exercise all powers necessary to grant relief, including injunctive relief and money damages.

(c) Without limiting any authority that may otherwise exist for awarding attorney's fees and costs, the Board or a court of competent jurisdiction may award costs and reasonable attorney's fees, including the reasonable costs of expert witnesses and consultants, to the prevailing party in an action under this Act.

Section 800. The State Finance Act is amended by adding Section 5.1038 as follows:

(30 ILCS 105/5.1038 new)

Sec. 5.1038. The Warehouse Pollution Management Fund.

Section 997. Severability. The provisions of this Act are severable under Section 1.31 of the Statute on Statutes.