SB2959eng 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SB2959 Engrossed LRB097 14452 JDS 59301 b

AN ACT concerning safety.

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

Section 5. The Hazardous Material Emergency Response Reimbursement Act is amended by changing Sections 3 and 5 as follows:

(430 ILCS 55/3) (from Ch. 127 1/2, par. 1003)

Sec. 3. Definitions. As used in this Act:

(a) "Emergency action" means any action taken at or near the scene of a hazardous materials emergency incident to prevent or minimize harm to human health, to property, or to the environments from the unintentional release of a hazardous material.

(b) "Emergency response agency" means a unit of local government, volunteer fire protection organization, or the American Red Cross that provides:

(1) firefighting services;

(2) emergency rescue services;

(3) emergency medical services;

(4) hazardous materials response teams;

(5) civil defense;

(6) technical rescue teams; or

(7) mass care or assistance to displaced persons.

(c) "Responsible party" means a person who:

(1) owns or has custody of hazardous material that is involved in an incident requiring emergency action by an emergency response agency; or

(2) owns or has custody of bulk or non-bulk packaging or a transport vehicle that contains hazardous material that is involved in an incident requiring emergency action by an emergency response agency; and

(3) who causes or substantially contributed to the cause of the incident.

(d) "Person" means an individual, a corporation, a partnership, an unincorporated association, or any unit of federal, State or local government.

(e) "Annual budget" means the cost to operate an emergency response agency excluding personnel costs, which include salary, benefits and training expenses; and costs to acquire capital equipment including buildings, vehicles and other such major capital cost items.

(f) "Hazardous material" means a substance or material in a quantity and form determined by the United States Department of Transportation to be capable of posing an unreasonable risk to health and safety or property when transported in commerce.

(g) "Panel" means administrative panel.

(Source: P.A. 93-159, eff. 1-1-04; 94-96, eff. 1-1-06.)

(430 ILCS 55/5) (from Ch. 127 1/2, par. 1005)

Sec. 5. Reimbursement to agencies.

(a) It shall be the duty of the responsible party to reimburse, within 60 days after the receipt of a bill for the hazardous material emergency incident, the emergency response agencies responding to a hazardous material emergency incident, and any private contractor responding to the incident at the request of an emergency response agency, for the costs incurred in the course of providing emergency action.

(b) In the event that the emergency response agencies are not reimbursed by a responsible party as required under subsection (a), monies in the Fund shall be used to reimburse the emergency response agencies providing emergency action at or near the scene of a hazardous materials emergency incident subject to the following limitations:

(1) Cost recovery from the Fund is limited to replacement of expended materials including, but not limited to, specialized firefighting foam, damaged hose or other reasonable and necessary supplies.

(2) The applicable cost of supplies must exceed 2% of the emergency response agency's annual budget.

(3) A minimum of $500 must have been expended.

(4) A maximum of $10,000 may be requested per incident.

(5) The response was made to an incident involving hazardous materials facilities such as rolling stock which are not in a terminal and which are not included on the property tax roles for the jurisdiction where the incident occurred.

(c) Application for reimbursement from the Fund shall be made to the State Fire Marshal or his designee. The State Fire Marshal shall, through rulemaking, promulgate a standard form for such application. The State Fire Marshal shall adopt rules for the administration of this Act.

(d) Claims against the Fund shall be reviewed by the Illinois Fire Advisory Commission at its normally scheduled meetings, as the claims are received. The Commission shall be responsible for:

(1) reviewing claims made against the Fund and determining reasonable and necessary expenses to be reimbursed for an emergency response agency;

(2) affirming that the emergency response agency has made a reasonable effort to recover expended costs from involved parties; and

(3) advising the State Fire Marshal as to those claims against the fund which merit reimbursement.

(e) The State Fire Marshal shall either accept or reject the Commission's recommendations as to a claim's eligibility. Any person aggrieved by the State Fire Marshal's eligibility decision may, within 10 days after receiving notice of the decision, appeal the decision to the State Fire Marshal.

(Source: P.A. 93-989, eff. 1-1-05.)

(430 ILCS 55/7 rep.)

Section 10. The Hazardous Material Emergency Response Reimbursement Act is amended by repealing Section 7.