415 ILCS 5/58.10

(415 ILCS 5/58.10)

Sec. 58.10. Effect of completed remediation; liability releases.

(a) The Agency's issuance of the No Further Remediation Letter signifies a release from further responsibilities under this Act in performing the approved remedial action and shall be considered prima facie evidence that the site does not constitute a threat to human health and the environment and does not require further remediation under this Act, so long as the site is utilized in accordance with the terms of the No Further Remediation Letter.

(b) Within 30 days of the Agency's approval of a Remedial Action Completion Report, the Agency shall issue a No Further Remediation Letter applicable to the site. In the event that the Agency fails to issue the No Further Remediation Letter within 30 days after approval of the Remedial Action Completion Report, the No Further Remediation Letter shall issue by operation of law. A No Further Remediation Letter issued pursuant to this Section shall be limited to and shall include all of the following:

(1) An acknowledgment that the requirements of the Remedial Action Plan and the Remedial Action Completion Report were satisfied;

(2) A description of the location of the affected property by adequate legal description or by reference to a plat showing its boundaries;

(3) The level of the remediation objectives, specifying, as appropriate, any land use limitation imposed as a result of such remediation efforts;

(4) A statement that the Agency's issuance of the No Further Remediation Letter signifies a release from further responsibilities under this Act in performing the approved remedial action and shall be considered prima facie evidence that the site does not constitute a threat to human health and the environment and does not require further remediation under the Act, so long as the site is utilized in accordance with the terms of the No Further Remediation Letter;

(5) The prohibition against the use of any site in a manner inconsistent with any land use limitation imposed as a result of such remediation efforts without additional appropriate remedial activities;

(6) A description of any preventive, engineering, and institutional controls required in the approved Remedial Action Plan and notification that failure to manage the controls in full compliance with the terms of the Remedial Action Plan may result in voidance of the No Further Remediation Letter;

(7) The recording obligations pursuant to Section 58.8;

(8) The opportunity to request a change in the recorded land use pursuant to Section 58.8;

(9) Notification that further information regarding the site can be obtained from the Agency through a request under the Freedom of Information Act (5 ILCS 140); and

(10) If only a portion of the site or only selected regulated substances at a site were the subject of corrective action, any other provisions agreed to by the Agency and the RA.

(c) The Agency may deny a No Further Remediation Letter if fees applicable under the review and evaluation services agreement have not been paid in full.

(d) The No Further Remediation Letter shall apply in favor of the following persons:

(1) The RA or other person to whom the letter was issued.

(2) The owner and operator of the site.

(3) Any parent corporation or subsidiary of the owner of the site.

(4) Any co-owner, either by joint-tenancy, right of survivorship, or any other party sharing a legal relationship with the owner of the site.

(5) Any holder of a beneficial interest of a land trust or inter vivos trust, whether revocable or irrevocable, involving the site.

(6) Any mortgagee or trustee of a deed of trust of the owner of the site or any assignee, transferee, or any successor-in-interest thereto.

(7) Any successor-in-interest of the owner of the site.

(8) Any transferee of the owner of the site whether the transfer was by sale, bankruptcy proceeding, partition, dissolution of marriage, settlement or adjudication of any civil action, charitable gift, or bequest.

(9) Any heir or devisee of the owner of the site.

(10) Any financial institution, as that term is defined in Section 2 of the Illinois Banking Act and to include the Illinois Housing Development Authority, that has acquired the ownership, operation, management, or control of a site through foreclosure or under the terms of a security interest held by the financial institution, under the terms of an extension of credit made by the financial institution, or any successor in interest thereto.

(11) In the case of a fiduciary (other than a land trustee), the estate, trust estate, or other interest in property held in a fiduciary capacity, and a trustee, executor, administrator, guardian, receiver, conservator, or other person who holds the remediated site in a fiduciary capacity, or a transferee of such party.

(e) The No Further Remediation Letter shall be voidable if the site activities are not managed in full compliance with the provisions of this Title, any rules adopted under it, or the approved Remedial Action Plan or remediation objectives upon which the issuance of the No Further Remediation Letter was based. Specific acts or omissions that may result in voidance of the No Further Remediation Letter include, but shall not be limited to:

(1) Any violation of institutional controls or land use restrictions, if applicable;

(2) The failure of the owner, operator, RA, or any subsequent transferee to operate and maintain preventive or engineering controls or comply with a groundwater monitoring plan, if applicable;

(3) The disturbance or removal of contamination that has been left in place in accordance with the Remedial Action Plan;

(4) The failure to comply with the recording requirements of Section 58.8;

(5) Obtaining the No Further Remediation Letter by fraud or misrepresentation;

(6) Subsequent discovery of contaminants, not identified as part of the investigative or remedial activities upon which the issuance of the No Further Remediation Letter was based, that pose a threat to human health or the environment; or

(7) The failure to pay the No Further Remediation Assessment required under subsection (g) of this Section.

(f) If the Agency seeks to void a No Further Remediation Letter, it shall provide notice by certified letter to the current title holder of the site and to the RA at his or her last known address. The notice shall specify the cause for the voidance and describe facts in support of that cause.

(1) Within 35 days of the receipt of the notice of voidance, the RA or current title holder may appeal the Agency's decision to the Board in the manner provided for the review of permits in Section 40 of this Act. If the Board fails to take final action on the petition within 120 days, unless such time period is waived by the petitioner, the petition shall be deemed denied and the petitioner shall be entitled to an Appellate Court order pursuant to subsection (d) of Section 41 of this Act. The Agency shall have the burden of proof in any such action.

(2) If the Agency's action is not appealed, the Agency shall submit the notice of voidance to the Office of the Recorder or the Registrar of Titles for the county in which the site is located. The notice shall be filed in accordance with Illinois law so that it forms a permanent part of the chain of title for the site.

(3) If the Agency's action is appealed, the action shall not become effective until the appeal process has been exhausted and a final decision reached by the Board or courts.

(4) Upon receiving notice of appeal, the Agency shall file a notice of lis pendens with the Office of the Recorder or the Registrar of Titles for the county in which the site is located. The notice shall be filed in accordance with Illinois law so that it becomes a part of the chain of title for the site. However, if the Agency's action is not upheld on appeal, the notice of lis pendens shall be removed in accordance with Illinois law within 45 days of receipt of the final decision of the Board or the courts.

(g) Within 30 days after the receipt of a No Further Remediation Letter issued by the Agency or by operation of law pursuant to this Section, the recipient of the letter shall forward to the Agency a No Further Remediation Assessment in the amount of the lesser of $2,500 or an amount equal to the costs incurred for the site by the Agency under Section 58.7. The assessment shall be made payable to the State of Illinois, for deposit in the Hazardous Waste Fund. The No Further Remediation Assessment is in addition to any other costs that may be incurred by the Agency pursuant to Section 58.7.

(Source: P.A. 89-431, eff. 12-15-95; 89-443, eff. 7-1-96; 89-626, eff. 8-9-96.)