Full Text of SB1291 96th General Assembly
SB1291sam001 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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Sen. Michael W. Frerichs
Filed: 3/9/2009
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| AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 1291
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| AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend Senate Bill 1291 by replacing | 3 |
| everything after the enacting clause with the following:
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| "Section 5. The Environmental Protection Act is amended by | 5 |
| adding Section 22.55 as follows: | 6 |
| (415 ILCS 5/22.55 new) | 7 |
| Sec. 22.55. Coal Waste Study. | 8 |
| (a) The General Assembly finds that: | 9 |
| (1) poorly managed coal waste poses a threat to the | 10 |
| Illinois environment and the health of the people of | 11 |
| Illinois; | 12 |
| (2) the National Research Council of the National | 13 |
| Academies of Science, responding to a request by Congress | 14 |
| and given responsibility by the U.S. Environmental | 15 |
| Protection Agency, found, after substantial research, that | 16 |
| coal wastes can adversely impact water supplies and |
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| ecosystems if those wastes are not managed adequately; | 2 |
| (3) reports published by the U.S. Environmental | 3 |
| Protection Agency's Office of Research and Development | 4 |
| indicate that coal waste leaches hazardous constituents, | 5 |
| such as arsenic cadmium, antimony, selenium, and other | 6 |
| pollutants in much greater quantities than had been | 7 |
| recognized previously; and | 8 |
| (4) U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reports | 9 |
| published in 2005 and 2006 document that the majority of | 10 |
| states still lack regulations mandating basic safeguards | 11 |
| at coal waste disposal sites. | 12 |
| (b) To take an initial step toward rectifying this | 13 |
| situation in Illinois, the Agency, in consultation with the | 14 |
| Illinois Department of Natural Resources and the Illinois | 15 |
| Department of Transportation, shall submit all of the following | 16 |
| to the General Assembly and the Governor by December 31, 2009: | 17 |
| (1) A report that reviews the latest available | 18 |
| scientific research and institutional regarding the | 19 |
| current status of coal waste disposal in Illinois, | 20 |
| including: | 21 |
| (A) the current annual amount of coal waste | 22 |
| disposed or used in Illinois, by waste type; | 23 |
| (B) the location and characterization of all coal | 24 |
| waste disposal sites in the State, including, but not | 25 |
| limited to, surface impoundments, landfills, and | 26 |
| active and abandoned mine sites; |
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| (C) the location and characterization of all | 2 |
| active and inactive coal slurry waste impoundments in | 3 |
| the State; | 4 |
| (D) the location and characterization of all | 5 |
| applications of coal combustion by-products in the | 6 |
| State; | 7 |
| (E) the proximity of each of the sites identified | 8 |
| under subdivisions (b)(1)(A) through (b)(1)(C) of this | 9 |
| Section to vulnerable resources, including | 10 |
| floodplains; wetlands, as defined by the presence of | 11 |
| hydric soils and hydrophilic vegetation; sandy or | 12 |
| gravel soils; shallow groundwater tables; public water | 13 |
| supplies; groundwater; surface waters; active seismic | 14 |
| fault lines; karst-containing areas; and sensitive | 15 |
| wildlife habitat, including biologically significant | 16 |
| streams, Illinois Natural Area Inventory sites, | 17 |
| Illinois Resource Rich Areas, Important Bird Areas, | 18 |
| and essential habitat for threatened and endangered | 19 |
| species; | 20 |
| (F) an overall assessment of the structural | 21 |
| stability of all impoundments and landfills with and | 22 |
| without liners containing coal waste in the State; | 23 |
| (G) the current coal waste-related regulatory | 24 |
| requirements of sites identified in subdivisions | 25 |
| (b)(1)(A) through (b)(1)(C) of this Section; | 26 |
| (H) the holding capacity of all impoundments in the |
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| State containing coal waste in response to a 10-year, | 2 |
| 24-hour precipitation event. | 3 |
| (2) A summary and assessment of the effectiveness of | 4 |
| current regulations governing coal waste disposal and | 5 |
| reuse in Illinois, including: | 6 |
| (A) the potential risks posed to communities, | 7 |
| farmland, and drinking water supplies by current coal | 8 |
| waste sites; | 9 |
| (B) the adequacy of current closure requirements | 10 |
| for surface wet coal waste storage and disposal sites | 11 |
| and of current requirements for conversion of those | 12 |
| sites to dry storage and disposal sites; | 13 |
| (C) the adequacy of current protections against | 14 |
| groundwater contamination due to coal waste storage, | 15 |
| coal waste disposal, or both; | 16 |
| (D) a description of the siting requirements for | 17 |
| the dry disposal of coal waste; | 18 |
| (E) the groundwater and surface water monitoring | 19 |
| requirements necessary to fully characterize water | 20 |
| quality before or during the storage and disposal of | 21 |
| coal waste; | 22 |
| (F) the financial assurance requirements for site | 23 |
| owners and operators; and | 24 |
| (G) current standards for reuse of coal waste, | 25 |
| including the disposal of coal waste in active, | 26 |
| inactive, or abandoned mines. |
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| (3) Recommendations, if any, for administrative and | 2 |
| legislative actions to improve the
regulation of coal | 3 |
| wastes, including: | 4 |
| (A) proposed changes in regulatory requirements, | 5 |
| if any, pertaining to coal waste in Illinois; | 6 |
| (B) proposed changes, if any, in the delineation of | 7 |
| agency responsibilities for the regulation of coal | 8 |
| waste in Illinois; | 9 |
| (C) proposed changes, if any, in the funding and | 10 |
| staffing levels of agencies with a role in the | 11 |
| regulation of coal wastes; | 12 |
| (D) the steps needed to close and empty active | 13 |
| surface wet coal waste storage and disposal sites and | 14 |
| convert those sites to dry storage and disposal. | 15 |
| (c) For the purposes of this Section and notwithstanding | 16 |
| any other definitions in this Act: | 17 |
| "Coal combustion by-products" means coal combustion | 18 |
| waste used beneficially. | 19 |
| "Coal combustion waste" means the noncombustible | 20 |
| portion of the coal itself and residues from various air | 21 |
| pollution control technologies, including fly ash, bottom | 22 |
| ash, boiler slag, flue gas desulfurization sludge, or any | 23 |
| combination of those substances. | 24 |
| "Coal waste" means coal combustion waste, mine refuse, | 25 |
| coal combustion by-products, or any combination of those | 26 |
| substances. |
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| "Mine refuse" means gob, coal, rock, slate, shale, mill | 2 |
| tailings, boney, clay, pyrites, and other unmerchantable | 3 |
| solid or slurry materials intended to be discarded and | 4 |
| connected with the cleaning and preparation of mined | 5 |
| materials at a preparation plant or washery; sludge or | 6 |
| other precipitated matter produced by the treatment of acid | 7 |
| mine drainage; and acid-producing spoil.
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| Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | 9 |
| becoming law.".
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