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| [ Introduced ] | [ Enrolled ] | [ House Amendment 001 ] |
| [ Senate Amendment 001 ] |
90_SB0778eng
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
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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) request that the Department of Commerce and
20 Community Affairs conduct a study of the economic impact
21 of the proposed rules. The Department may within 30 to
22 45 days of such request produce a study of the economic
23 impact of the proposed rules. If the Department decides
24 not to complete an economic impact study, it shall submit
25 to the Board a written explanation for the decision,
26 which shall become part of the public record. At a
27 minimum, the economic impact study shall address (A)
28 economic, environmental, and public health benefits that
29 may be achieved through compliance with the proposed
30 rules, (B) the effects of the proposed rules on
31 employment levels, commercial productivity, the economic
32 growth of small businesses with 100 or less employees,
33 and the State's overall economy, and (C) the cost per
34 unit of pollution reduced and the variability in cost
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1 based on the size of the facility and the percentage of
2 company revenues expected to be used to implement the
3 proposed rules; and
4 (2) conduct at least one public hearing on the
5 economic impact of those new rules. At least 20 days
6 before the hearing, the Board shall notify the public of
7 the hearing and make the economic impact study, or the
8 Department of Commerce and Community Affair's explanation
9 for not producing an economic impact study, available to
10 the public. regulations Such public hearing may be held
11 simultaneously or as a part of any Board hearing
12 considering such new rules.
13 In adopting any such new rule regulation, the Board
14 shall, in its written opinion, make a determination, based
15 upon the evidence in the public hearing record, including but
16 not limited to the economic impact study, as to whether the
17 proposed rule regulation has any adverse economic impact on
18 the people of the State of Illinois.
19 (c) On proclamation by the Governor, pursuant to Section
20 8 of the Illinois Emergency Services and Disaster Act of
21 1975, that a disaster emergency exists, or when the Board
22 finds that a severe public health emergency exists, the Board
23 may, in relation to any proposed regulation, order that such
24 regulation shall take effect without delay and the Board
25 shall proceed with the hearings and studies required by this
26 Section while the regulation continues in effect.
27 When the Board finds that a situation exists which
28 reasonably constitutes a threat to the public interest,
29 safety or welfare, the Board may adopt regulations pursuant
30 to and in accordance with Section 5-45 of the Illinois
31 Administrative Procedure Act.
32 (d) To the extent consistent with any deadline for
33 adoption of any regulations mandated by State or federal law,
34 prior to initiating any hearing on a regulatory proposal, the
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1 Board may assign a qualified hearing officer who may schedule
2 a prehearing conference between the proponents and any or all
3 of the potentially affected persons. The notice requirements
4 of Section 28 shall not apply to such prehearing conferences.
5 The purposes of such conference shall be to maximize
6 understanding of the intent and application of the proposal,
7 to reach agreement on aspects of the proposal, if possible,
8 and to attempt to identify and limit the issues of
9 disagreement among the participants to promote efficient use
10 of time at hearing. No record need be kept of the prehearing
11 conference, nor shall any participant or the Board be bound
12 by any discussions conducted at the prehearing conference.
13 However, with the consent of all participants in the
14 prehearing conference, a prehearing order delineating issues
15 to be heard, agreed facts, and other matters may be entered
16 by the hearing officer. Such an order will not be binding on
17 nonparticipants in the prehearing conference.
18 (Source: P.A. 88-45; 89-445, eff. 2-7-96.)