Full Text of SB0679 99th General Assembly
SB0679eng 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | AN ACT concerning safety.
| 2 | | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
| 3 | | represented in the General Assembly:
| 4 | | Section 5. The Mercury Thermostat Collection Act is amended | 5 | | by changing Sections 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, and 40 as follows: | 6 | | (415 ILCS 98/5) | 7 | | (Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2021)
| 8 | | Sec. 5. Legislative findings. The General Assembly finds | 9 | | that: | 10 | | (1) many older thermostats used to activate heating and | 11 | | cooling equipment contain mercury as part of a tilt switch | 12 | | component in the thermostat; | 13 | | (2) the total amount of mercury used in each of those | 14 | | thermostats averages about 4 grams; | 15 | | (3) millions of mercury-containing thermostats are still | 16 | | in use in homes and businesses in the United States; | 17 | | (4) mercury in those thermostats poses a risk to human | 18 | | health and the environment if those thermostats are not | 19 | | properly managed at the end of their useful life;
| 20 | | (5) the major thermostat manufacturers have established a | 21 | | voluntary program to facilitate the collection and proper | 22 | | management of mercury thermostats taken out of service;
| 23 | | (6) the annual average of mercury-containing thermostats |
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| 1 | | collected for recycling in Illinois under the existing | 2 | | voluntary collection program from 2006 to 2008 was 4,433;
| 3 | | (7) thousands of mercury-containing thermostats are taken | 4 | | out of service annually in the State;
| 5 | | (8) it is in the public interest to achieve a significant | 6 | | increase in the collection and proper management of mercury | 7 | | thermostats taken out of service in the State ; .
| 8 | | (9) the manufacturers' program collects whole, intact | 9 | | mercury thermostats and warns against including loose mercury | 10 | | ampoules in collection bins, but participants frequently | 11 | | include loose mercury ampoules in collection bins. | 12 | | (Source: P.A. 96-1295, eff. 7-26-10.) | 13 | | (415 ILCS 98/10) | 14 | | (Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2021)
| 15 | | Sec. 10. Definitions. | 16 | | "Agency" means the Illinois Environmental Protection | 17 | | Agency. | 18 | | "Board" means the Illinois Pollution Control Board. | 19 | | "Collection program" means a system for the collection, | 20 | | transportation, recycling, and disposal of out-of-service | 21 | | mercury thermostats that is financed and managed or provided by | 22 | | a thermostat manufacturer individually or collectively with | 23 | | other thermostat manufacturers in accordance with this Act. | 24 | | "Contractor" means a person engaged in the business of | 25 | | installation, service, or removal of heating, ventilation, and |
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| 1 | | air-conditioning components. | 2 | | "Loose mercury ampoule" means an enclosed glass vessel that | 3 | | contains liquid mercury and has been removed intact from a | 4 | | mercury thermostat. | 5 | | "Mercury thermostat" means a thermostat that meets the | 6 | | definition of a "mercury thermostat" under subsection (f) of | 7 | | Section 22.23b of the Environmental Protection Act. | 8 | | "Out-of-service mercury thermostat" means a mercury | 9 | | thermostat that is removed, replaced, or otherwise taken out of | 10 | | service. | 11 | | "Person" means any individual, partnership, | 12 | | co-partnership, firm, company, limited liability company, | 13 | | corporation, association, joint stock company, trust, estate, | 14 | | political subdivision, State agency, or any other legal entity, | 15 | | or its legal representatives, agents, or assigns. | 16 | | "Qualified contractor" means a person engaged in the | 17 | | business of installation, service, or removal of heating, | 18 | | ventilation, and air-conditioning components who employs 7 or | 19 | | more service technicians or installers or who is located in an | 20 | | area outside of an urban area, as defined by the United States | 21 | | Bureau of the Census. | 22 | | "Qualified local government authorities" means household | 23 | | hazardous waste facilities, solid waste management agencies, | 24 | | environmental management agencies, or departments of public | 25 | | health. | 26 | | "Thermostat manufacturer" means a person who owns or owned |
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| 1 | | a name brand of one or more mercury thermostats sold in the | 2 | | State. | 3 | | "Thermostat retailer" means a person who sells thermostats | 4 | | of any kind primarily to homeowners or other nonprofessionals | 5 | | through any sale or distribution mechanism, including, but not | 6 | | limited to, sales using the Internet or catalogs. A thermostat | 7 | | retailer that meets the definition of thermostat wholesaler | 8 | | shall be considered a thermostat wholesaler. | 9 | | "Thermostat wholesaler" means a person who is engaged in | 10 | | the distribution and wholesale selling of heating, | 11 | | ventilation, and air-conditioning components, including, but | 12 | | not limited to, thermostats, to contractors, and whose total | 13 | | wholesale sales account for 80% or more of its total sales. A | 14 | | thermostat manufacturer, as defined in this Section, is not a | 15 | | thermostat wholesaler.
| 16 | | (Source: P.A. 96-1295, eff. 7-26-10.) | 17 | | (415 ILCS 98/15) | 18 | | (Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2021)
| 19 | | Sec. 15. Mercury thermostat collection programs. | 20 | | (a) Each thermostat manufacturer shall, individually or | 21 | | collectively with other thermostat manufacturers, establish | 22 | | and maintain a collection program for the collection, | 23 | | transportation, and proper management of out-of-service | 24 | | mercury thermostats and loose mercury ampoules in accordance | 25 | | with the provisions of this Act.
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| 1 | | (b) Each thermostat manufacturer shall, individually or | 2 | | collectively with other thermostat manufacturers through a | 3 | | collection program, do the following:
| 4 | | (1) Compile On and after January 1, 2011, compile a | 5 | | list of thermostat wholesalers in the State and offer each | 6 | | thermostat wholesaler containers for the collection of | 7 | | out-of-service mercury thermostats.
| 8 | | (2) Make On and after January 1, 2011, make collection | 9 | | containers available to all qualified contractors, | 10 | | thermostat wholesalers, thermostat retailers, and | 11 | | qualified local government authorities in this State that | 12 | | request a container. Each thermostat manufacturer shall | 13 | | with each container include information regarding the | 14 | | proper management of out-of-service mercury thermostats | 15 | | and loose mercury ampoules as universal waste in accordance | 16 | | with the collection program and Board's rules.
| 17 | | (3) Establish a system to collect, transport, and | 18 | | properly manage out-of-service mercury thermostats and | 19 | | loose mercury ampoules from all collection sites | 20 | | established under this Section. | 21 | | (4) Not include any fees or other charges to persons | 22 | | participating in the program, except that each thermostat | 23 | | wholesaler, qualified contractor, qualified local | 24 | | government authority, or thermostat retailer that is | 25 | | provided with one or more collection containers may be | 26 | | charged a one-time program administration fee not to exceed |
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| 1 | | $75 per collection container.
| 2 | | (5) From January 1, 2011, through December 31, 2013, | 3 | | conduct education and outreach efforts, including, but not | 4 | | limited to the following:
| 5 | | (A) create a public service announcement promoting | 6 | | collection and proper management of out-of-service | 7 | | mercury thermostats, copies of which shall be provided | 8 | | to the Agency;
| 9 | | (B) establish and maintain a publicly accessible | 10 | | website for the dissemination of educational materials | 11 | | to promote the collection of out-of-service mercury | 12 | | thermostats. This website shall include templates of | 13 | | the educational materials on the Internet website in a | 14 | | form and format that can be easily downloaded and | 15 | | printed. The link to this website shall be provided to | 16 | | the Agency;
| 17 | | (C) contact thermostat wholesalers at least once a | 18 | | year to encourage their support and participation in | 19 | | educating their customers on the importance of and | 20 | | statutory requirements for the collection and proper | 21 | | management of out-of-service mercury thermostats;
| 22 | | (D) develop and implement strategies to encourage | 23 | | participating thermostat retailers to educate their | 24 | | customers on the importance of and opportunities for | 25 | | collecting and recycling out-of-service mercury | 26 | | thermostats;
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| 1 | | (E) create and maintain a web-based program that | 2 | | allows contractors and consumers to identify | 3 | | collection sites for out-of-service mercury | 4 | | thermostats by zip code in the State;
| 5 | | (F) prepare and mail to contractor associations a | 6 | | postcard or other notice that provides information on | 7 | | the collection program for out-of-service mercury | 8 | | thermostats; and
| 9 | | (G) develop informational articles, press | 10 | | releases, and news stories pertaining to the | 11 | | importance of and opportunities for collecting and | 12 | | recycling out-of-service mercury thermostats and | 13 | | distribute those materials to trade publications, | 14 | | local media, and stakeholder groups.
| 15 | | (6) Develop On or before January 1, 2011, develop and | 16 | | update as necessary educational and other outreach | 17 | | materials for distribution to contractors, contractor | 18 | | associations, and consumers. Those materials shall be made | 19 | | available for use by participating thermostat wholesalers, | 20 | | thermostat retailers, contractors, and qualified local | 21 | | government authorities. The materials shall include, but | 22 | | not be limited to, the following: | 23 | | (A) signage, such as posters and cling signage, | 24 | | that can be prominently displayed to promote the | 25 | | collection of out-of-service mercury thermostats to | 26 | | contractors and consumers; and
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| 1 | | (B) written materials or templates of materials | 2 | | for reproduction by thermostat wholesalers and | 3 | | thermostat retailers to be provided to customers at the | 4 | | time of purchase or delivery of a thermostat. The | 5 | | materials shall include, but not be limited to, | 6 | | information on the importance of properly managing | 7 | | out-of-service mercury thermostats and opportunities | 8 | | for the collection of those thermostats.
| 9 | | (7) Provide an opportunity for the Agency and other | 10 | | interested stakeholders to offer feedback and suggestions | 11 | | on the collection program. | 12 | | (c) If the collection programs do not collectively achieve | 13 | | the collection goals provided for in Section 25 of this Act for | 14 | | calendar year 2013, 2015 or 2017, thermostat manufacturers | 15 | | shall, individually or collectively, submit to the Agency for | 16 | | review and approval proposed revisions to the collection | 17 | | programs that are designed to achieve the goals in subsequent | 18 | | calendar years. The proposed revisions shall be submitted to | 19 | | the Agency with the annual report required in Section 20 of | 20 | | this Act. | 21 | | (d) Within 90 days after receipt of the proposed collection | 22 | | program revisions required under subsection (c) of this | 23 | | Section, the Agency shall review and (i) approve, (ii) | 24 | | disapprove, or (iii) approve with modifications the proposed | 25 | | collection program revisions. | 26 | | (1) The Agency shall approve proposed revisions if the |
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| 1 | | Agency determines that the revised collection programs | 2 | | will collectively achieve the collection goals set forth in | 3 | | Section 25 of this Act.
| 4 | | (2) If the Agency determines the revised collection | 5 | | programs will not collectively achieve the collection | 6 | | goals set forth in Section 25 of this Act, the Agency may | 7 | | require modifications to one or more collection programs | 8 | | that the Agency determines are necessary to achieve the | 9 | | collection goals. Modifications required by the Agency may | 10 | | include improvements to outreach and education conducted | 11 | | under the collection program, expansion of the number and | 12 | | location of collection sites established under the | 13 | | program, modification of the roles of participants, and a | 14 | | $5 financial incentive in the form of either cash or a | 15 | | coupon offered by the manufacturer to contractors and | 16 | | consumers for each out-of-service mercury thermostat | 17 | | returned to a collection site.
| 18 | | (3) Prior to issuing any decision under this subsection | 19 | | (d) the Agency shall consult with thermostat manufacturers | 20 | | and other interested groups.
| 21 | | (4) Thermostat manufacturers shall begin the process | 22 | | to implement collection program revisions approved by the | 23 | | Agency, with or without modifications, within 90 days after | 24 | | approval.
| 25 | | (5) If the program revisions are disapproved, the | 26 | | Agency shall notify the thermostat manufacturers in |
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| 1 | | writing as to the reasons for the disapproval. The | 2 | | thermostat manufacturers shall have 35 days to submit a new | 3 | | collection program revision.
| 4 | | (6) Any action by the Agency to disapprove or modify | 5 | | proposed collection program revisions under this | 6 | | subsection (d) shall be subject to appeal to the Board in | 7 | | the same manner as provided for a permit decision under | 8 | | Section 40 of the Environmental Protection Act.
| 9 | | (Source: P.A. 96-1295, eff. 7-26-10.) | 10 | | (415 ILCS 98/20) | 11 | | (Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2021)
| 12 | | Sec. 20. Reporting on collection efforts. | 13 | | (a) No later than September 1, 2011, and no later than | 14 | | September 1 of each year thereafter , each thermostat | 15 | | manufacturer shall, individually or collectively with other | 16 | | thermostat manufacturers, submit a mid-term report on its | 17 | | collection program to the Agency covering the six-month period | 18 | | beginning on January 1st of the year in which the report is | 19 | | due. The mid-term report shall identify the number of | 20 | | out-of-service mercury thermostats and the number of loose | 21 | | mercury ampoules collected under the program and a listing of | 22 | | all collection sites in the State.
| 23 | | (b) No later than April 1, 2012, and no later than April 1 | 24 | | of each year thereafter , each thermostat manufacturer shall, | 25 | | individually or collectively with other thermostat |
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| 1 | | manufacturers, submit an annual report on its collection | 2 | | program to the Agency covering the one-year period ending | 3 | | December 31st of the previous year. Each report shall be posted | 4 | | on the manufacturer's or program operator's respective | 5 | | internet website. The annual report shall include, but not be | 6 | | limited to, the following:
| 7 | | (1) the number of out-of-service mercury thermostats | 8 | | collected and managed under this Act during the previous | 9 | | calendar year;
| 10 | | (1.1) for the annual report due on April 1, 2016, and | 11 | | for each annual report due thereafter, the number of loose | 12 | | mercury ampoules collected and managed under this Act | 13 | | during the previous calendar year; | 14 | | (2) the estimated total amount of mercury contained in | 15 | | the out-of-service mercury thermostats collected under | 16 | | this Act during the previous calendar year;
| 17 | | (2.1) for the annual report due on April 1, 2016, and | 18 | | for each annual report due thereafter, the estimated total | 19 | | amount of mercury contained in the loose mercury ampoules | 20 | | collected under this Act during the previous calendar year; | 21 | | (3) an evaluation of the effectiveness of the | 22 | | collection program;
| 23 | | (4) a list of all thermostat wholesalers, contractors, | 24 | | qualified local government authorities, and thermostat | 25 | | retailers participating in the program as mercury | 26 | | thermostat collection sites and the number of |
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| 1 | | out-of-service mercury thermostats returned by each;
| 2 | | (5) an accounting of the program's administrative | 3 | | costs;
| 4 | | (6) a description of outreach strategies employed | 5 | | under item (5) of subsection (b) of Section 15 of this Act;
| 6 | | (7) examples of outreach and educational materials | 7 | | used under item (6) of subsection (b) of Section 15 of this | 8 | | Act;
| 9 | | (8) the Internet website address or addresses where the | 10 | | annual report may be viewed online;
| 11 | | (9) a description of how the out-of-service mercury | 12 | | thermostats and loose mercury ampoules were managed;
| 13 | | (10) any modifications that the thermostat | 14 | | manufacturer has made or is planning to make in its | 15 | | collection program; and
| 16 | | (11) the identification of a collection program | 17 | | contact and the business phone number, mailing address, and | 18 | | e-mail address for the contact.
| 19 | | (Source: P.A. 96-1295, eff. 7-26-10.) | 20 | | (415 ILCS 98/25) | 21 | | (Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2021)
| 22 | | Sec. 25. Collection goals. The collection programs | 23 | | established by thermostat manufacturers under this Act shall be | 24 | | designed to collectively achieve the following statewide | 25 | | goals: |
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| 1 | | (a) For calendar year 2011, the collection of least 5,000 | 2 | | mercury thermostats taken out of service in the State during | 3 | | the calendar year.
| 4 | | (b) For calendar years 2012, 2013, and 2014, the collection | 5 | | of at least 15,000 mercury thermostats taken out of service in | 6 | | the State during each calendar year.
| 7 | | (c) For calendar years 2015 through 2020, the collection | 8 | | goals shall be established by the Agency. The Agency shall | 9 | | establish collection goals no later than November 1, 2014. The | 10 | | collection goals established by the Agency shall maximize the | 11 | | annual collection of out-of-service mercury thermostats in the | 12 | | State. In developing the collection goals, the Agency shall | 13 | | take into account, at a minimum, (i) the effectiveness of | 14 | | collection programs for out-of-service mercury thermostats in | 15 | | the State and other states, including education and outreach | 16 | | efforts, (ii) collection requirements in other states, (iii) | 17 | | any reports or studies on the number of out-of-service mercury | 18 | | thermostats that are available for collection in this State, | 19 | | other states, and nationally, and (iv) other factors. Prior to | 20 | | establishing the collection goals, the Agency shall consult | 21 | | with stakeholder groups that include, at a minimum, | 22 | | representatives of thermostat manufacturers, environmental | 23 | | groups, thermostat wholesalers, contractors, and thermostat | 24 | | retailers. | 25 | | (d) The collection goals established by the Agency under | 26 | | subsection (c) of this Section are statements of general |
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| 1 | | applicability under Section 1-70 of the Illinois | 2 | | Administrative Procedure Act and shall be adopted in accordance | 3 | | with the procedures of that Act. Any person adversely affected | 4 | | by a goal established by the Agency under subsection (c) of | 5 | | this Section may obtain a determination of the validity or | 6 | | application of the goal by filing a petition for review within | 7 | | 35 days after the date the adopted goal is published in the | 8 | | Illinois Register pursuant to subsection (d) of Section 40 of | 9 | | the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act. Review shall be | 10 | | afforded directly in the Appellate Court for the District in | 11 | | which the cause of action arose and not the Circuit Court. | 12 | | During the pendency of the review, the goal under review shall | 13 | | remain in effect.
| 14 | | (e) For the purposes of determining compliance with the | 15 | | collection goals established under this Section, for calendar | 16 | | year 2015 and for each calendar year thereafter, the number of | 17 | | out-of-service mercury thermostats represented by loose | 18 | | ampoules shall be calculated: | 19 | | (1) using a conversion factor such that each loose | 20 | | mercury ampoule collected shall be deemed the equivalent of | 21 | | 0.85 mercury thermostats; or | 22 | | (2) using an alternative conversion factor determined | 23 | | by the manufacturer or group of manufacturers. | 24 | | A manufacturer or group of manufacturers shall include data | 25 | | and calculations to support its use of an alternative | 26 | | conversion factor. |
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| 1 | | (Source: P.A. 96-1295, eff. 7-26-10; 97-333, eff. 8-12-11.) | 2 | | (415 ILCS 98/30) | 3 | | (Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2021)
| 4 | | Sec. 30. Management of out-of-service mercury thermostats | 5 | | and loose mercury ampoules . All contractors, thermostat | 6 | | wholesalers, thermostat manufacturers, and thermostat | 7 | | retailers participating in the program shall handle and manage | 8 | | the out-of-service mercury thermostats and loose mercury | 9 | | ampoules in a manner that is consistent with the provisions of | 10 | | the universal waste regulations adopted by the Board.
| 11 | | (Source: P.A. 96-1295, eff. 7-26-10.) | 12 | | (415 ILCS 98/40) | 13 | | (Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2021)
| 14 | | Sec. 40. Agency responsibilities. | 15 | | (a) The No later than June 1, 2011, the Agency shall | 16 | | maintain on its website information regarding the collection | 17 | | and proper management of out-of-service mercury thermostats | 18 | | and loose mercury ampoules in the State. The information shall | 19 | | include, but is not limited to, the following: | 20 | | (1) a description of the collection programs | 21 | | established under this Act;
| 22 | | (2) a report on the progress towards achieving the | 23 | | statewide collection goals set forth in Section 25 of this | 24 | | Act; and
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| 1 | | (3) a list of all thermostat wholesalers, contractors, | 2 | | qualified local government authorities, and thermostat | 3 | | retailers participating in the program as collection | 4 | | sites.
| 5 | | (b) No later than November 1, 2019, the Agency shall submit | 6 | | a written report to the Governor and General Assembly regarding | 7 | | the effectiveness of the collection programs established under | 8 | | this Act, information on the number of out-of-service | 9 | | thermostats and loose mercury ampoules collected, how the | 10 | | out-of-service thermostats and loose mercury ampoules were | 11 | | managed, and an estimate of the number of thermostats that are | 12 | | available for collection. The Agency shall use this information | 13 | | to recommend whether the sunset date specified in Section 55 | 14 | | for this Act should be extended, along with any other statutory | 15 | | changes. In preparing the report, the Agency shall consult with | 16 | | mercury thermostat manufacturers, environmental organizations, | 17 | | and other interest groups.
| 18 | | (c) In conjunction with the educational and outreach | 19 | | programs implemented by the thermostat manufacturers under | 20 | | this Act, the Agency shall conduct outreach to promote the | 21 | | collection and proper management of out-of-service mercury | 22 | | thermostats and loose mercury ampoules .
| 23 | | (Source: P.A. 96-1295, eff. 7-26-10.)
| 24 | | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | 25 | | becoming law.
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