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1 | AN ACT concerning safety.
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2 | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, | |||||||||||||||||||
3 | represented in the General Assembly:
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4 | Section 5. The Environmental Protection Act is amended by | |||||||||||||||||||
5 | changing Section 42 as follows:
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6 | (415 ILCS 5/42) (from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 1042)
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7 | Sec. 42. Civil penalties.
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8 | (a) Except as provided in this Section, any person that | |||||||||||||||||||
9 | that violates any
provision of this Act or any regulation | |||||||||||||||||||
10 | adopted by the Board, or any permit
or term or condition | |||||||||||||||||||
11 | thereof, or that violates any order of the Board pursuant
to | |||||||||||||||||||
12 | this Act, shall be liable for a civil penalty of not to exceed
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13 | $50,000 for the violation and an additional civil penalty of | |||||||||||||||||||
14 | not to exceed
$10,000 for each day during which the violation | |||||||||||||||||||
15 | continues; such penalties may,
upon order of the Board or a | |||||||||||||||||||
16 | court of competent jurisdiction, be made payable
to the | |||||||||||||||||||
17 | Environmental Protection Trust Fund, to be used in accordance | |||||||||||||||||||
18 | with the
provisions of the Environmental Protection Trust Fund | |||||||||||||||||||
19 | Act.
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20 | (b) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of | |||||||||||||||||||
21 | this Section:
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22 | (1) Any person that violates Section 12(f) of this Act | |||||||||||||||||||
23 | or any
NPDES permit or term or condition thereof, or any |
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1 | filing requirement,
regulation or order relating to the | ||||||
2 | NPDES permit program, shall be liable
to a civil penalty of | ||||||
3 | not to exceed $10,000 per day of violation.
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4 | (2) Any person that violates Section 12(g) of this Act | ||||||
5 | or any UIC permit
or term or condition thereof, or any | ||||||
6 | filing requirement, regulation or order
relating to the | ||||||
7 | State UIC program for all wells, except Class II wells as
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8 | defined by the Board under this Act, shall be liable to a | ||||||
9 | civil penalty
not to exceed $2,500 per day of violation; | ||||||
10 | provided, however, that any person
who commits such | ||||||
11 | violations relating to the State UIC program for Class
II | ||||||
12 | wells, as defined by the Board under this Act, shall be | ||||||
13 | liable to a civil
penalty of not to exceed $10,000 for the | ||||||
14 | violation and an additional civil
penalty of not to exceed | ||||||
15 | $1,000 for each day during which the violation
continues.
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16 | (3) Any person that violates Sections 21(f), 21(g), | ||||||
17 | 21(h) or 21(i) of
this Act, or any RCRA permit or term or | ||||||
18 | condition thereof, or any filing
requirement, regulation | ||||||
19 | or order relating to the State RCRA program, shall
be | ||||||
20 | liable to a civil penalty of not to exceed $25,000 per day | ||||||
21 | of violation.
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22 | (4)
In an administrative citation action under Section | ||||||
23 | 31.1 of this Act,
any person found to have violated any | ||||||
24 | provision of subsection (o) of
Section 21 of this Act shall | ||||||
25 | pay a civil penalty of $500 for each
violation of each such | ||||||
26 | provision, plus any hearing costs incurred by the Board
and |
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1 | the Agency. Such penalties shall be made payable to the | ||||||
2 | Environmental
Protection Trust Fund, to be used in | ||||||
3 | accordance with the provisions of the
Environmental | ||||||
4 | Protection Trust Fund Act; except that if a unit of local
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5 | government issued the administrative citation, 50% of the | ||||||
6 | civil penalty shall
be payable to the unit of local | ||||||
7 | government.
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8 | (4-5) In an administrative citation action under | ||||||
9 | Section 31.1 of this
Act, any person found to have violated | ||||||
10 | any
provision of subsection (p) of
Section 21 or subsection | ||||||
11 | (k) of Section 55 of this Act shall pay a civil penalty of | ||||||
12 | $1,500 for each violation
of
each such provision, plus any | ||||||
13 | hearing costs incurred by the Board and the
Agency, except | ||||||
14 | that the civil penalty amount shall be $3,000 for
each | ||||||
15 | violation of any provision of subsection (p) of Section 21 | ||||||
16 | or subsection (k) of Section 55 that is the
person's second | ||||||
17 | or subsequent adjudication violation of that
provision. | ||||||
18 | The penalties shall be deposited into the
Environmental | ||||||
19 | Protection Trust Fund, to be used in accordance with the
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20 | provisions of the Environmental Protection Trust Fund Act; | ||||||
21 | except that if a
unit of local government issued the | ||||||
22 | administrative citation, 50% of the civil
penalty shall be | ||||||
23 | payable to the unit of local government.
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24 | (5) Any person who violates subsection 6 of Section | ||||||
25 | 39.5 of this Act
or any CAAPP permit, or term or condition | ||||||
26 | thereof, or any fee or filing
requirement, or any duty to |
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1 | allow or carry out inspection, entry or
monitoring | ||||||
2 | activities, or any regulation or order relating to the | ||||||
3 | CAAPP
shall be liable for a civil penalty not to exceed | ||||||
4 | $10,000 per day of violation.
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5 | (6) Any owner or operator of a community water system | ||||||
6 | that violates subsection (b) of Section 18.1 or subsection | ||||||
7 | (a) of Section 25d-3 of this Act shall, for each day of | ||||||
8 | violation, be liable for a civil penalty not to exceed $5 | ||||||
9 | for each of the premises connected to the affected | ||||||
10 | community water system. | ||||||
11 | (b.5) In lieu of the penalties set forth in subsections (a) | ||||||
12 | and (b) of
this Section, any person who fails to file, in a | ||||||
13 | timely manner, toxic
chemical release forms with the Agency | ||||||
14 | pursuant to Section 25b-2
of this Act
shall be liable for a | ||||||
15 | civil penalty of $100 per day for
each day the forms are
late, | ||||||
16 | not to exceed a maximum total penalty of $6,000. This daily | ||||||
17 | penalty
shall begin accruing on the thirty-first day after the
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18 | date that the person receives the warning notice issued by the | ||||||
19 | Agency pursuant
to Section 25b-6 of this Act; and the penalty | ||||||
20 | shall be paid to the Agency. The
daily accrual of penalties | ||||||
21 | shall cease as of January 1 of the following year.
All | ||||||
22 | penalties collected by the Agency pursuant to this subsection | ||||||
23 | shall be
deposited into the Environmental Protection Permit and | ||||||
24 | Inspection Fund.
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25 | (c) Any person that violates this Act, any rule or | ||||||
26 | regulation adopted under
this Act, any permit or term or |
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1 | condition of a permit, or any Board order and
causes the death | ||||||
2 | of fish
or aquatic life shall, in addition to the other | ||||||
3 | penalties provided by
this Act, be liable to pay to the State | ||||||
4 | an additional sum for the
reasonable value of the fish or | ||||||
5 | aquatic life destroyed. Any money so
recovered shall be placed | ||||||
6 | in the Wildlife and Fish Fund in the State
Treasury.
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7 | (d) The penalties provided for in this Section may be | ||||||
8 | recovered in a
civil action.
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9 | (e) The State's Attorney of the county in which the | ||||||
10 | violation
occurred, or the Attorney General, may, at the | ||||||
11 | request of the Agency or
on his own motion, institute a civil | ||||||
12 | action for an injunction, prohibitory or mandatory, to
restrain | ||||||
13 | violations of this Act, any rule or regulation adopted under | ||||||
14 | this Act,
any permit or term or condition of a permit, or any | ||||||
15 | Board order, or to require such other actions as may be | ||||||
16 | necessary to address violations of this Act, any rule or | ||||||
17 | regulation adopted under this Act, any permit or term or | ||||||
18 | condition of a permit, or any Board order.
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19 | (f) The State's Attorney of the county in which the | ||||||
20 | violation
occurred, or the Attorney General, shall bring such | ||||||
21 | actions in the name
of the people of the State of Illinois.
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22 | Without limiting any other authority which may exist for the | ||||||
23 | awarding
of attorney's fees and costs, the Board or a court of | ||||||
24 | competent
jurisdiction may award costs and reasonable | ||||||
25 | attorney's fees, including the
reasonable costs of expert | ||||||
26 | witnesses and consultants, to the State's
Attorney or the |
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1 | Attorney General in a case where he has prevailed against a
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2 | person who has committed a wilful, knowing or repeated | ||||||
3 | violation of this Act,
any rule or regulation adopted under | ||||||
4 | this Act, any permit or term or condition
of a permit, or any | ||||||
5 | Board order.
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6 | Any funds collected under this subsection (f) in which the | ||||||
7 | Attorney
General has prevailed shall be deposited in the
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8 | Hazardous Waste Fund created in Section 22.2 of this Act. Any | ||||||
9 | funds
collected under this subsection (f) in which a State's | ||||||
10 | Attorney has
prevailed shall be retained by the county in which | ||||||
11 | he serves.
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12 | (g) All final orders imposing civil penalties pursuant to | ||||||
13 | this Section
shall prescribe the time for payment of such | ||||||
14 | penalties. If any such
penalty is not paid within the time | ||||||
15 | prescribed, interest on such penalty
at the rate set forth in | ||||||
16 | subsection (a) of Section 1003 of the Illinois Income
Tax Act, | ||||||
17 | shall be paid for the period from the date payment is due until | ||||||
18 | the
date payment is received. However, if the time for payment | ||||||
19 | is stayed during
the pendency of an appeal, interest shall not | ||||||
20 | accrue during such stay.
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21 | (h) In determining the appropriate civil penalty to be | ||||||
22 | imposed under
subdivisions (a), (b)(1), (b)(2), (b)(3), or | ||||||
23 | (b)(5) of this
Section, the Board is authorized to consider any | ||||||
24 | matters of record in
mitigation or aggravation of penalty, | ||||||
25 | including but not limited to the
following factors:
| ||||||
26 | (1) the duration and gravity of the violation;
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1 | (2) the presence or absence of due diligence on the | ||||||
2 | part of the
respondent in attempting to comply with | ||||||
3 | requirements of this
Act and regulations thereunder or to | ||||||
4 | secure relief therefrom as provided by
this Act;
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5 | (3) any economic benefits accrued by the respondent
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6 | because of delay in compliance with requirements, in which | ||||||
7 | case the economic
benefits shall be determined by the | ||||||
8 | lowest cost alternative for achieving
compliance;
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9 | (4) the amount of monetary penalty which will serve to | ||||||
10 | deter further
violations by the respondent and to otherwise | ||||||
11 | aid in enhancing
voluntary
compliance with this Act by the | ||||||
12 | respondent and other persons
similarly
subject to the Act;
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13 | (5) the number, proximity in time, and gravity of | ||||||
14 | previously
adjudicated violations of this Act by the | ||||||
15 | respondent;
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16 | (6) whether the respondent voluntarily self-disclosed, | ||||||
17 | in accordance
with subsection (i) of this Section, the | ||||||
18 | non-compliance to the Agency; and
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19 | (7) whether the respondent has agreed to undertake a | ||||||
20 | "supplemental
environmental project," which means an | ||||||
21 | environmentally beneficial project that
a respondent | ||||||
22 | agrees to undertake in settlement of an enforcement action | ||||||
23 | brought
under this Act, but which the respondent is not | ||||||
24 | otherwise legally required to
perform.
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25 | In determining the appropriate civil penalty to be imposed | ||||||
26 | under subsection
(a) or paragraph (1), (2), (3), or (5) of |
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1 | subsection (b) of this Section, the
Board shall ensure, in all | ||||||
2 | cases, that the penalty is at least as great as the
economic | ||||||
3 | benefits, if any, accrued by the respondent as a result of the
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4 | violation, unless the Board finds that imposition of such | ||||||
5 | penalty would result
in an arbitrary or unreasonable financial | ||||||
6 | hardship. However, such civil
penalty
may be off-set in whole | ||||||
7 | or in part pursuant to a supplemental
environmental project | ||||||
8 | agreed to by the complainant and the respondent.
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9 | (i) A person who voluntarily self-discloses non-compliance | ||||||
10 | to the Agency,
of which the Agency had been unaware, is | ||||||
11 | entitled to a 100% reduction in the
portion of the penalty that | ||||||
12 | is not based on the economic benefit of
non-compliance if the | ||||||
13 | person can
establish the following:
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14 | (1) that the non-compliance was discovered through an | ||||||
15 | environmental
audit or a compliance management system | ||||||
16 | documented by the regulated entity as
reflecting the | ||||||
17 | regulated entity's due diligence in preventing, detecting, | ||||||
18 | and
correcting violations;
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19 | (2) that the non-compliance was disclosed in writing | ||||||
20 | within 30 days of
the date on which the person discovered | ||||||
21 | it;
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22 | (3) that the non-compliance was discovered and | ||||||
23 | disclosed prior to:
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24 | (i) the commencement of an Agency inspection, | ||||||
25 | investigation, or request
for information;
| ||||||
26 | (ii) notice of a citizen suit;
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1 | (iii) the filing of a complaint by a citizen, the | ||||||
2 | Illinois Attorney
General, or the State's Attorney of | ||||||
3 | the county in which the violation occurred;
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4 | (iv) the reporting of the non-compliance by an | ||||||
5 | employee of the person
without that person's | ||||||
6 | knowledge; or
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7 | (v) imminent discovery of the non-compliance by | ||||||
8 | the Agency;
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9 | (4) that the non-compliance is being corrected and any | ||||||
10 | environmental
harm is being remediated in a timely fashion;
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11 | (5) that the person agrees to prevent a recurrence of | ||||||
12 | the non-compliance;
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13 | (6) that no related non-compliance events have | ||||||
14 | occurred in the
past 3 years at the same facility or in the | ||||||
15 | past 5 years as part of a
pattern at multiple facilities | ||||||
16 | owned or operated by the person;
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17 | (7) that the non-compliance did not result in serious | ||||||
18 | actual
harm or present an imminent and substantial | ||||||
19 | endangerment to human
health or the environment or violate | ||||||
20 | the specific terms of any judicial or
administrative order | ||||||
21 | or consent agreement;
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22 | (8) that the person cooperates as reasonably requested | ||||||
23 | by the Agency
after the disclosure; and
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24 | (9) that the non-compliance was identified voluntarily | ||||||
25 | and not through a
monitoring, sampling, or auditing | ||||||
26 | procedure that is required by statute, rule,
permit, |
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1 | judicial or administrative order, or consent agreement.
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2 | If a person can establish all of the elements under this | ||||||
3 | subsection except
the element set forth in paragraph (1) of | ||||||
4 | this subsection, the person is
entitled to a 75% reduction in | ||||||
5 | the portion of the penalty that is not based
upon the economic | ||||||
6 | benefit of non-compliance.
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7 | (j) In addition to an other remedy or penalty that may
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8 | apply, whether civil or criminal, any person who violates | ||||||
9 | Section 22.52 of this Act shall be liable for an additional | ||||||
10 | civil penalty of up to 3 times the gross amount of any | ||||||
11 | pecuniary gain resulting from the violation.
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12 | (Source: P.A. 95-331, eff. 8-21-07; 96-603, eff. 8-24-09; | ||||||
13 | 96-737, eff. 8-25-09; revised 9-15-09.)
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