Rep. Karen May

Filed: 4/6/2005

 

 


 

 


 
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1
AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 1628

2     AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 1628 by replacing
3 everything after the enacting clause with the following:
 
4     "Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
5 Mercury-Free Vehicle Act.
 
6     Section 5. Legislative findings. The General Assembly
7 finds:
8         (1) That mercury is a persistent and toxic pollutant
9     that bioaccumulates in the environment.
10         (2) That 41 states, including Illinois, have issued
11     fish advisories that warn certain individuals to restrict
12     or avoid consuming fish from bodies of water contaminated
13     with mercury.
14         (3) That the United States Food and Drug Administration
15     has advised pregnant women and women of childbearing age
16     who may become pregnant not to eat shark, swordfish, king
17     mackerel, and tilefish due to methyl mercury
18     contamination.
19         (4) That according to estimates of the National
20     Research Council, over 600,000 babies are born annually at
21     risk for adverse neurodevelopment effects from in utero
22     exposure to methyl mercury resulting from the consumption
23     of mercury contaminated fish. These children will have to
24     struggle to keep up in school and might require remedial

 

 

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1     classes or special education.
2         (5) That automobile manufacturers ended their use of
3     mercury switches in new vehicles with the model year 2003,
4     but that a significant number of mercury switches still
5     exist in U. S. motor vehicles currently on the road.
6         (6) That mercury switches in vehicles are vaporized and
7     released into the environment when scrap metal, which
8     includes shredded end-of-life vehicles, is melted in
9     furnaces to make new steel. Recent findings show that
10     current use of mercury in automobiles can cause the release
11     of as much as 10 tons of mercury into the environment each
12     year.
13         (7) That pollution prevention is more desirable than
14     controlling pollution after the fact, and that removing
15     mercury switches from vehicles before they are crushed or
16     shredded is an effective way of preventing mercury from
17     entering steel making furnaces, thereby reducing emissions
18     into the environment.
19         (8) That manufacturers of mercury-added products
20     appear to be in the best position to ensure that
21     appropriate, practical, and cost-effective systems are
22     available for end-of-life management of their products.
23         (9) That statewide mercury switch collection programs,
24     in which mercury switches are removed before discarded
25     vehicles are reused as scrap metal, are being established
26     across the country to protect human health and the
27     environment.
28         (10) That auto recyclers and dismantling facilities
29     exist because many parts and other items have resale value,
30     but that such facilities have limited ability to pass on
31     the costs of removing mercury switches because the switches
32     have no resale value. Monetary incentives are therefore
33     needed to ensure significant recycling of mercury
34     switches.

 

 

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1         (11) That it is in the public interest of the residents
2     of Illinois to reduce the quantity of mercury in the
3     environment by removing switches from vehicles before they
4     are scrapped.
 
5     Section 10. Purpose. The purpose of this Act is to reduce
6 the quantity of mercury in the environment by (i) removing
7 mercury from end-of-life vehicles in Illinois; (ii) creating a
8 collection and recovery program for mercury switches removed
9 from vehicles in Illinois; (iii) establishing a system to store
10 the mercury collected and recovered from vehicle components in
11 the event that environmentally appropriate management
12 technologies are not available; and (iv) designing future
13 vehicles for maximum environmental protection and
14 recyclability at the end of their useful lives by implementing
15 a design for recycling that includes phasing out the use of
16 mercury in future vehicle models.
 
17     Section 15. Definitions. For the purposes of this Act:
18     "Agency" means the Illinois Environmental Protection
19 Agency.
20     "Mercury-added component" means a component that contains
21 mercury that was intentionally added to a vehicle in order to
22 provide a specific characteristic, appearance, or quality, to
23 perform a specific function, or for any other reason. Such
24 components may include, but are not limited to, switches,
25 sensors, lights, and navigational systems.
26     "Manufacturer" means any person, firm, association,
27 partnership, corporation, governmental entity, organization,
28 combination, or joint venture that is the last person to
29 produce or assemble a new vehicle that uses mercury-added
30 components or, in the case of an imported vehicle, the importer
31 or domestic distributor of such vehicle.
32     "Mercury-added switch" means a light switch or an ABS brake

 

 

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1 system switch installed by an automotive manufacturer in a
2 motor vehicle.
3     "Scrap recycling facility" means a fixed location where
4 machinery and equipment are used for processing and
5 manufacturing scrap metal into prepared grades and whose
6 principal product is scrap iron, scrap steel, or nonferrous
7 metallic scrap that is for sale for remelting purposes.
8     "Vehicle recycler" means any individual or entity engaged
9 in the business of acquiring, dismantling, or destroying 6 or
10 more vehicles in a calendar year for the primary purpose of
11 resale of the parts.
12     "End-of-life vehicle" means any vehicle that is sold,
13 given, or otherwise conveyed to a vehicle recycler or scrap
14 recycling facility for the purpose of recycling.
15     "Capture rate" means removal, collection, and recovery of
16 mercury switches as a percentage of the total number of mercury
17 switches available for removal from end-of-life vehicles
18 annually.
19     "Manufacturer-dealer warranty program" means an
20 arrangement between a manufacturer and its franchisee, whereby
21 the manufacturer agrees to reimburse the franchisee at
22 established rates for labor or parts necessary to repair a
23 vehicle pursuant to the manufacturer's original equipment
24 warranty to the original purchaser of the vehicle.
25     "Voluntary incentivized recycling program" means a
26 recycling program for the collection of mercury-added
27 components that provides compensation for the removal and
28 collection of these components from end-of-life vehicles. The
29 program shall provide a minimum compensation of $3 for each
30 mercury switch and $15 for each ABS brake system switch
31 removed.
 
32     Section 20. Removal, replacement, collection, and
33 recovery.

 

 

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1     (a) Within 180 days after the effective date of this Act,
2 every manufacturer of vehicles sold in Illinois shall,
3 individually or as part of a group, submit to the Agency for
4 review and approval a plan to remove, collect, and recover
5 mercury switches in end-of-life vehicles.
6     (b) Vehicle manufacturers shall be financially responsible
7 for the development and implementation of a voluntary
8 incentivized recycling program, as defined in Section 15, to
9 remove, collect, and recover mercury switches from end-of-life
10 vehicles and to provide for the removal, collection, and
11 recovery of mercury switches from end-of-life vehicles. The
12 removal, collection, and recovery system for end-of-life
13 vehicles shall include, at a minimum, the following:
14         (1) an education program to inform the public and other
15     stakeholders about the purposes of the collection program
16     and how to participate in it;
17         (2) a plan for implementing the system in accordance
18     with Section 25 of this Act;
19         (3) documentation of the willingness of all necessary
20     parties to implement the proposed system;
21         (4) information identifying the make, model, and year
22     of vehicles containing mercury switches, a description of
23     the component, the location of the component, and a safe,
24     cost-effective, and environmentally sound method for their
25     removal from vehicles in commerce and from end-of-life
26     vehicles;
27         (5) a mercury switch capture rate of at least 90%,
28     which is consistent with the principle that mercury
29     switches shall be recovered unless the part is inaccessible
30     due to significant damage to the vehicle in the area
31     surrounding the location of the mercury switch;
32         (6) a description of the performance measurers to be
33     used and reported upon by the manufacturer to demonstrate
34     that the system is meeting the capture rate identified in

 

 

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1     paragraph (5) of this subsection (b) and other measures of
2     program effectiveness, including, but not limited to, the
3     number of switches collected from end-of-life vehicles,
4     the amount of mercury collected, the number of vehicles
5     containing mercury switches, and the number of vehicles
6     processed for recycling;
7         (7) a description of additional or alternative actions
8     that shall be implemented to improve the system and its
9     operation in the event that the program targets established
10     under paragraph (5) of this subsection (b) are not met;
11         (8) a proposal for the storage of the mercury collected
12     and recovered from vehicle components in the event that
13     environmentally appropriate management technologies are
14     not available; and
15         (9) Educational materials to assist a facility in
16     undertaking a safe and environmentally sound method for the
17     removal of the mercury switches from end-of-life vehicles,
18     including information on the hazards related to mercury and
19     the proper handling of mercury.
20     (c) In developing a removal, collection, and recovery
21 program for end-of-life vehicles manufacturers shall, to the
22 extent practicable, use the existing recycling infrastructure
23 available for end-of-life vehicles including, but not limited
24 to, vehicle recyclers and scrap metal recyclers.
 
25     Section 25. Cost of removal, replacement, collection, and
26 recovery. The total cost of the removal, replacement,
27 collection, and recovery system for mercury switches shall be
28 borne by the manufacturer. This cost shall include, but not be
29 limited to, the following:
30         (1) training;
31         (2) packaging of mercury switches for the purpose of
32     transportation to recycling, storage, or disposal
33     facilities;

 

 

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1         (3) shipping of mercury switches to recycling,
2     storage, or disposal facilities;
3         (4) recycling, storage, or disposal of the mercury
4     switches;
5         (5) public education materials and presentations; and
6         (6) maintenance of all appropriate systems and
7     procedures to protect the environment from mercury
8     contamination.
 
9     Section 30. Plan approval.
10     (a) Within 30 days after receipt of a manufacturer's plan,
11 the Agency shall issue public notice and solicit public comment
12 on the manufacturer's plan.
13     (b) Within 120 days after receipt of a manufacturer's plan,
14 the Agency shall do either of the following:
15         (1) Determine whether the entire plan complies with
16     this Section. If the entire plan is approved, the
17     manufacturer shall begin implementation within 30 days
18     after receipt of approval. If the entire plan is rejected,
19     the Agency shall inform the manufacturer as to the reasons
20     for the rejection. The manufacturer shall have 30 days
21     thereafter to submit a new plan.
22         (2) Determine whether any part of the plan meets the
23     requirements of this Section and approve such compliant
24     parts and disapprove such others that do not comply with
25     the requirements of this Section. The manufacturer shall
26     immediately implement the approved parts and submit a
27     revised plan respecting the remaining parts within 30 days
28     after receipt of notification of the Agency's disapproval.
29     The Agency shall review a manufacturer's revised plan
30     within 30 days after receipt.
31     (c) Two hundred and forty days after the effective date of
32 this Act, the Agency shall prescribe any portion of the plan
33 that has not been approved and the manufacturers shall

 

 

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1 immediately implement the parts of the plan prescribed by the
2 Agency.
3     (d) The Agency shall review the plan 3 years after the
4 original date of approval of the plan and every 3 years
5 thereafter, and shall require modifications to the plan as
6 appropriate.
 
7     Section 55. General compliance with other provisions.
8 Except as expressly provided in this Act, compliance with this
9 Act shall not exempt a person from compliance with any other
10 law.
 
11     Section 60. Rulemaking. The Agency may adopt rules
12 concerning this Act.
 
13     Section 70. Reporting. One year after the implementation of
14 the removal, replacement, collection, and recovery system, and
15 annually thereafter, a manufacturer subject to Section 20 of
16 this Act shall report to the Agency concerning the performance
17 of the manufacturer's plan. The report shall include, but not
18 be limited to, the following:
19         (1) a detailed description and documentation of the
20     capture rate achieved, including, but not limited to, the
21     number of mercury switches collected, the number of
22     end-of-life vehicles containing mercury switches, the
23     number of end-of-life vehicles processed for recycling,
24     and a description of how the mercury switches were managed;
25         (2) a plan to implement additional or alternative
26     actions, if necessary, to improve the capture rate;
27         (3) a listing of the public educational initiative
28     implemented, including the size of the audience reached;
29         (4) any changes in the participation of the necessary
30     parties for the plan to be effectively implemented; and
31         (5) A description of the amounts paid to cover the

 

 

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1     removal, collection, replacement, and recovery of mercury
2     switches.
 
3     Section 75. Civil enforcement. Any person required to
4 submit a plan pursuant to Section 20 of this Act who violates
5 any provision of this Act or rule thereunder shall be liable
6 and subject to a civil penalty of not more than $10,000 for the
7 violation and an additional civil penalty of not more than
8 $1,000 for each day during which the violation continues.
 
9     Section 80. Universal waste. The Agency shall modify its
10 rules governing universal hazardous waste as appropriate to
11 promote the collection, transport, recovery, and proper
12 management of mercury-added vehicle components.".