Full Text of HB1467 95th General Assembly
HB1467eng 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
|
|
|
HB1467 Engrossed |
|
LRB095 09436 CMK 29633 b |
|
| 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 Environmental Protection Act is amended by | 5 |
| changing Section 22.15a as follows: | 6 |
| (415 ILCS 5/22.15a)
| 7 |
| Sec. 22.15a. Open dumping cleanup program.
| 8 |
| (a) Upon making a finding that (i) open dumping , (ii) a | 9 |
| structure condemned by a unit of local government, or (iii) a | 10 |
| vacant piece of property condemned by a unit of local | 11 |
| government poses a threat to the public
health or to the | 12 |
| environment, the Agency may take whatever preventive or
| 13 |
| corrective action is necessary or appropriate to end that | 14 |
| threat. The
This
preventive or corrective action may consist of | 15 |
| any or all of the following:
| 16 |
| (1) Removing waste or structures from the site.
| 17 |
| (2) Removing soil and water contamination that is | 18 |
| related to waste at the
site.
| 19 |
| (3) Installing devices to monitor and control | 20 |
| groundwater and surface
water contamination that is | 21 |
| related to waste at the site.
| 22 |
| (4) Taking any other actions that are authorized by | 23 |
| Board regulations.
|
|
|
|
HB1467 Engrossed |
- 2 - |
LRB095 09436 CMK 29633 b |
|
| 1 |
| (b) Subject to the availability of appropriated funds, the | 2 |
| Agency may
undertake a consensual removal action for the | 3 |
| removal of up to 20 cubic yards
of waste , or, in the case of a | 4 |
| condemned structure, the entire mass of structural material | 5 |
| comprising the condemned structure, at no cost to the owner of | 6 |
| the property where the open dumping has occurred or on which | 7 |
| the condemned structure is located in accordance with the | 8 |
| following
requirements:
| 9 |
| (1) Actions under this subsection must be taken | 10 |
| pursuant to a written
agreement between the Agency and the | 11 |
| owner of the property unless the property is condemned by a | 12 |
| unit of local government .
| 13 |
| (2) The written agreement must at a minimum specify:
| 14 |
| (A) that the owner relinquishes any claim of an | 15 |
| ownership interest
in any waste that is removed and in | 16 |
| any proceeds from its sale;
| 17 |
| (B) that waste will no longer be allowed to | 18 |
| accumulate at the site
in a manner that constitutes | 19 |
| open dumping;
| 20 |
| (C) that the owner will hold harmless the Agency | 21 |
| and any employee
or contractor used by the Agency to | 22 |
| effect the removal for any damage to
property incurred | 23 |
| during the course of action under this subsection, | 24 |
| except
for damage incurred by gross negligence or | 25 |
| intentional misconduct; and
| 26 |
| (D) any conditions imposed upon or assistance |
|
|
|
HB1467 Engrossed |
- 3 - |
LRB095 09436 CMK 29633 b |
|
| 1 |
| required from the owner to
assure that the waste is so | 2 |
| located or arranged as to facilitate its removal.
| 3 |
| (3) The Agency may establish by rule the conditions and | 4 |
| priorities for the
removal of waste or structures under | 5 |
| this subsection (b).
| 6 |
| (4) The Agency must prescribe the form of written | 7 |
| agreements under this
subsection (b).
| 8 |
| (c) The Agency may provide notice to the owner of property | 9 |
| where open dumping or condemnation has occurred whenever the
| 10 |
| Agency finds that the open dumping or condemned structure poses | 11 |
| a threat to public health or the
environment. The notice | 12 |
| provided by the Agency must include the identified
preventive | 13 |
| or corrective action
and must provide an opportunity for the | 14 |
| owner to perform the action.
| 15 |
| (d) In accordance with constitutional limitations, the | 16 |
| Agency may enter, at
all reasonable times, upon any private or | 17 |
| public property for the purpose of
taking any preventive or | 18 |
| corrective action that is necessary and appropriate
under this | 19 |
| Section whenever the Agency finds that the open dumping or the | 20 |
| condemned structure poses a threat
to the public health or to | 21 |
| the environment.
| 22 |
| (e) Notwithstanding any other provision or rule of law and | 23 |
| subject only to
the defenses set forth in subsection (g) of | 24 |
| this Section, the following persons
shall be liable for all | 25 |
| costs of corrective or preventive action incurred by
the State | 26 |
| of Illinois as a result
of actions taken under this Section
|
|
|
|
HB1467 Engrossed |
- 4 - |
LRB095 09436 CMK 29633 b |
|
| 1 |
| open dumping , including the reasonable costs of collection:
| 2 |
| (1) any person with an ownership interest in property | 3 |
| where open dumping has occurred;
| 4 |
| (2) any person with an ownership or leasehold interest | 5 |
| in the property at
the time the open dumping occurred;
| 6 |
| (3) any person who transported waste that was open | 7 |
| dumped at the property; and
| 8 |
| (4) any person who open dumped at the property ; and .
| 9 |
| (5) any person who owns a condemned structure that is | 10 |
| treated under subsection (b) of this Section.
| 11 |
| Any moneys received by the Agency under this subsection (e) | 12 |
| must be deposited
into the Subtitle D Management Fund.
| 13 |
| (f) Any person liable to the Agency for costs incurred | 14 |
| under subsection (e)
of this Section may be liable to the State | 15 |
| of Illinois for punitive damages in
an amount at least equal to | 16 |
| and not more than 3 times the costs incurred by the
State if | 17 |
| that person failed, without sufficient cause, to take | 18 |
| preventive or
corrective action under the notice issued under | 19 |
| subsection (c) of this Section.
| 20 |
| (g) There shall be no liability under subsection (e) of | 21 |
| this Section for a
person otherwise liable who can establish by | 22 |
| a preponderance of the evidence
that the hazard created by the | 23 |
| open dumping or condemned structure was caused solely by:
| 24 |
| (1) an act of God;
| 25 |
| (2) an act of war; or
| 26 |
| (3) an act or omission of a third party other than an |
|
|
|
HB1467 Engrossed |
- 5 - |
LRB095 09436 CMK 29633 b |
|
| 1 |
| employee or agent
and
other than a person whose act or | 2 |
| omission occurs in connection with a
contractual | 3 |
| relationship with the person otherwise liable. For the | 4 |
| purposes of
this paragraph, "contractual relationship" | 5 |
| includes, but is not limited to,
land contracts, deeds, and | 6 |
| other instruments transferring title or possession,
unless | 7 |
| the real property upon which the open dumping occurred was | 8 |
| acquired by
the defendant after the open dumping or | 9 |
| condemnation occurred and one or more of the following | 10 |
| circumstances is also established by
a preponderance of the | 11 |
| evidence:
| 12 |
| (A) at the time the defendant acquired the | 13 |
| property, the defendant
did not know and had no reason | 14 |
| to know that any open dumping or condemnation had | 15 |
| occurred and the defendant undertook, at the
time of | 16 |
| acquisition, all appropriate inquiries into the | 17 |
| previous ownership
and uses of the property consistent | 18 |
| with good commercial or customary
practice in an effort | 19 |
| to minimize liability;
| 20 |
| (B) the defendant is a government entity that | 21 |
| acquired the property
by escheat or through any other | 22 |
| involuntary transfer or acquisition, or
through the | 23 |
| exercise of eminent domain authority by purchase or
| 24 |
| condemnation; or
| 25 |
| (C) the defendant acquired the property by | 26 |
| inheritance or bequest.
|
|
|
|
HB1467 Engrossed |
- 6 - |
LRB095 09436 CMK 29633 b |
|
| 1 |
| (h) Nothing in this Section shall affect or modify the | 2 |
| obligations or
liability of any person under any other | 3 |
| provision of this Act, federal law, or
State law, including the | 4 |
| common law, for injuries, damages, or losses resulting
from the | 5 |
| circumstances leading to Agency action under this Section.
| 6 |
| (i) The costs and damages provided for in this Section may | 7 |
| be imposed by the
Board in an action brought before the Board | 8 |
| in accordance with Title VIII of
this Act, except that | 9 |
| subsection (c) of Section 33 of this Act shall not apply
to any | 10 |
| such action.
| 11 |
| (j) Except for willful and wanton misconduct, neither the | 12 |
| State, the Director, nor any State employee shall be liable for | 13 |
| any damages or injuries arising out of or resulting from any | 14 |
| act or omission occurring under the provisions of Public Act | 15 |
| 94-272 or this amendatory Act of the 95th
94th General | 16 |
| Assembly.
| 17 |
| (k) Before taking preventive or corrective action under | 18 |
| this Section, the Agency shall consider whether the open | 19 |
| dumping or conditions giving rise to the condemnation : | 20 |
| (1) occurred on public land; | 21 |
| (2) occurred on a public right-of-way; | 22 |
| (3) occurred in a park or natural area; | 23 |
| (4) occurred in an environmental justice area; | 24 |
| (5) was caused or allowed by persons other than the | 25 |
| owner of the site; | 26 |
| (6) creates the potential for groundwater |
|
|
|
HB1467 Engrossed |
- 7 - |
LRB095 09436 CMK 29633 b |
|
| 1 |
| contamination; | 2 |
| (7) creates the potential for surface water | 3 |
| contamination; | 4 |
| (8) creates the potential for disease vectors; | 5 |
| (9) creates a fire hazard; or | 6 |
| (10) preventive or corrective action by the Agency has | 7 |
| been requested by a unit of local government. | 8 |
| In taking preventive or corrective action under this | 9 |
| Section, the Agency shall not expend more than $50,000 at any | 10 |
| single site in response to open dumping or a condemned | 11 |
| structure unless: (i) the Director determines that the open | 12 |
| dumping or condemned structure poses an imminent and | 13 |
| substantial endangerment to the public health or welfare or the | 14 |
| environment; or (ii) the General Assembly appropriates more | 15 |
| than $50,000 for preventive or corrective action in response to | 16 |
| the open dumping or condemned structure , in which case the | 17 |
| Agency may spend the appropriated amount.
| 18 |
| (Source: P.A. 94-272, eff. 7-19-05.)
| 19 |
| Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | 20 |
| becoming law. |
|