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| [ Engrossed ] | [ Enrolled ] | [ House Amendment 001 ] |
| [ Senate Amendment 001 ] |
90_SB0778
415 ILCS 5/27 from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 1027
Amends the Environmental Protection Act to require the
Pollution Control Board or the Department of Natural
Resources to study the economic impact of proposed Board
rules before their adoption. Provides for publication of the
economic impact study in the Illinois Register.
LRB9002445DPccA
LRB9002445DPccA
1 AN ACT to amend the Environmental Protection Act by
2 changing Section 27.
3 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
4 represented in the General Assembly:
5 Section 5. The Environmental Protection Act is amended
6 by changing Section 27 as follows:
7 (415 ILCS 5/27) (from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 1027)
8 Sec. 27. Rulemaking.
9 (a) The Board may adopt substantive regulations as
10 described in this Act. Any such regulations may make
11 different provisions as required by circumstances for
12 different contaminant sources and for different geographical
13 areas; may apply to sources outside this State causing,
14 contributing to, or threatening environmental damage in
15 Illinois; may make special provision for alert and abatement
16 standards and procedures respecting occurrences or
17 emergencies of pollution or on other short-term conditions
18 constituting an acute danger to health or to the environment;
19 and may include regulations specific to individual persons or
20 sites. In promulgating regulations under this Act, the Board
21 shall take into account the existing physical conditions, the
22 character of the area involved, including the character of
23 surrounding land uses, zoning classifications, the nature of
24 the existing air quality, or receiving body of water, as the
25 case may be, and the technical feasibility and economic
26 reasonableness of measuring or reducing the particular type
27 of pollution. The generality of this grant of authority
28 shall only be limited by the specifications of particular
29 classes of regulations elsewhere in this Act.
30 No charge shall be established or assessed by the Board
31 or Agency against any person for emission of air contaminants
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1 from any source, for discharge of water contaminants from any
2 source, or for the sale, offer or use of any article.
3 Any person filing with the Board a written proposal for
4 the adoption, amendment, or repeal of regulations shall
5 provide information supporting the requested change and shall
6 at the same time file a copy of such proposal with the Agency
7 and the Department of Natural Resources. To aid the Board
8 and to assist the public in determining which facilities will
9 be affected, the person filing a proposal shall describe, to
10 the extent reasonably practicable, the universe of affected
11 sources and facilities and the economic impact of the
12 proposed rule.
13 (b) Except as provided below and in Section 28.2, before
14 the adoption of any proposed rules not relating to
15 administrative procedures within the Agency or the Board
16 regulations, or amendment to existing rules not relating to
17 administrative procedures within the Agency or the Board
18 regulations, the Board shall:
19 (1) conduct, or request that the Department of
20 Natural Resources conduct, a study of the economic impact
21 of the proposed rules, a summary of which shall be
22 publicized in the Illinois Register with the first notice
23 of the proposed rulemaking. At a minimum, the economic
24 impact study shall address (A) economic, environmental,
25 and public health benefits that may be achieved through
26 compliance with the proposed rules and (B) the effects of
27 the proposed rules on employment levels, commercial
28 productivity, the cost of living, the economic growth of
29 small businesses with 100 or less employees, and the
30 State's overall economy; and
31 (2) conduct at least one hearing on the economic
32 impact of those new rules regulations.
33 In adopting any such new rule regulation, the Board
34 shall, in its written opinion, make a determination, based
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1 upon the evidence in the public hearing record, including but
2 not limited to the economic impact study, as to whether the
3 proposed rule regulation has any adverse economic impact on
4 the people of the State of Illinois.
5 (c) On proclamation by the Governor, pursuant to Section
6 8 of the Illinois Emergency Services and Disaster Act of
7 1975, that a disaster emergency exists, or when the Board
8 finds that a severe public health emergency exists, the Board
9 may, in relation to any proposed regulation, order that such
10 regulation shall take effect without delay and the Board
11 shall proceed with the hearings and studies required by this
12 Section while the regulation continues in effect.
13 When the Board finds that a situation exists which
14 reasonably constitutes a threat to the public interest,
15 safety or welfare, the Board may adopt regulations pursuant
16 to and in accordance with Section 5-45 of the Illinois
17 Administrative Procedure Act.
18 (d) To the extent consistent with any deadline for
19 adoption of any regulations mandated by State or federal law,
20 prior to initiating any hearing on a regulatory proposal, the
21 Board may assign a qualified hearing officer who may schedule
22 a prehearing conference between the proponents and any or all
23 of the potentially affected persons. The notice requirements
24 of Section 28 shall not apply to such prehearing conferences.
25 The purposes of such conference shall be to maximize
26 understanding of the intent and application of the proposal,
27 to reach agreement on aspects of the proposal, if possible,
28 and to attempt to identify and limit the issues of
29 disagreement among the participants to promote efficient use
30 of time at hearing. No record need be kept of the prehearing
31 conference, nor shall any participant or the Board be bound
32 by any discussions conducted at the prehearing conference.
33 However, with the consent of all participants in the
34 prehearing conference, a prehearing order delineating issues
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1 to be heard, agreed facts, and other matters may be entered
2 by the hearing officer. Such an order will not be binding on
3 nonparticipants in the prehearing conference.
4 (Source: P.A. 88-45; 89-445, eff. 2-7-96.)