Public Act 094-0591
 
HB0918 Enrolled LRB094 04219 RSP 34243 b

    AN ACT concerning safety.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 5. The Environmental Protection Act is amended by
changing Section 39.2 as follows:
 
    (415 ILCS 5/39.2)  (from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 1039.2)
    Sec. 39.2. Local siting review.
    (a) The county board of the county or the governing body of
the municipality, as determined by paragraph (c) of Section 39
of this Act, shall approve or disapprove the request for local
siting approval for each pollution control facility which is
subject to such review. An applicant for local siting approval
shall submit sufficient details describing the proposed
facility to demonstrate compliance, and local siting approval
shall be granted only if the proposed facility meets the
following criteria:
        (i) the facility is necessary to accommodate the waste
    needs of the area it is intended to serve;
        (ii) the facility is so designed, located and proposed
    to be operated that the public health, safety and welfare
    will be protected;
        (iii) the facility is located so as to minimize
    incompatibility with the character of the surrounding area
    and to minimize the effect on the value of the surrounding
    property;
        (iv) (A) for a facility other than a sanitary landfill
    or waste disposal site, the facility is located outside the
    boundary of the 100 year flood plain or the site is
    flood-proofed; (B) for a facility that is a sanitary
    landfill or waste disposal site, the facility is located
    outside the boundary of the 100-year floodplain, or if the
    facility is a facility described in subsection (b)(3) of
    Section 22.19a, the site is flood-proofed;
        (v) the plan of operations for the facility is designed
    to minimize the danger to the surrounding area from fire,
    spills, or other operational accidents;
        (vi) the traffic patterns to or from the facility are
    so designed as to minimize the impact on existing traffic
    flows;
        (vii) if the facility will be treating, storing or
    disposing of hazardous waste, an emergency response plan
    exists for the facility which includes notification,
    containment and evacuation procedures to be used in case of
    an accidental release;
        (viii) if the facility is to be located in a county
    where the county board has adopted a solid waste management
    plan consistent with the planning requirements of the Local
    Solid Waste Disposal Act or the Solid Waste Planning and
    Recycling Act, the facility is consistent with that plan;
    for purposes of this criterion (viii), the "solid waste
    management plan" means the plan that is in effect as of the
    date the application for siting approval is filed; and
        (ix) if the facility will be located within a regulated
    recharge area, any applicable requirements specified by
    the Board for such areas have been met.
    The county board or the governing body of the municipality
may also consider as evidence the previous operating experience
and past record of convictions or admissions of violations of
the applicant (and any subsidiary or parent corporation) in the
field of solid waste management when considering criteria (ii)
and (v) under this Section.
    (b) No later than 14 days before the date on which the
county board or governing body of the municipality receives a
request for site approval, the applicant shall cause written
notice of such request to be served either in person or by
registered mail, return receipt requested, on the owners of all
property within the subject area not solely owned by the
applicant, and on the owners of all property within 250 feet in
each direction of the lot line of the subject property, said
owners being such persons or entities which appear from the
authentic tax records of the County in which such facility is
to be located; provided, that the number of all feet occupied
by all public roads, streets, alleys and other public ways
shall be excluded in computing the 250 feet requirement;
provided further, that in no event shall this requirement
exceed 400 feet, including public streets, alleys and other
public ways.
    Such written notice shall also be served upon members of
the General Assembly from the legislative district in which the
proposed facility is located and shall be published in a
newspaper of general circulation published in the county in
which the site is located.
    Such notice shall state the name and address of the
applicant, the location of the proposed site, the nature and
size of the development, the nature of the activity proposed,
the probable life of the proposed activity, the date when the
request for site approval will be submitted, and a description
of the right of persons to comment on such request as hereafter
provided.
    (c) An applicant shall file a copy of its request with the
county board of the county or the governing body of the
municipality in which the proposed site is located. The request
shall include (i) the substance of the applicant's proposal and
(ii) all documents, if any, submitted as of that date to the
Agency pertaining to the proposed facility, except trade
secrets as determined under Section 7.1 of this Act. All such
documents or other materials on file with the county board or
governing body of the municipality shall be made available for
public inspection at the office of the county board or the
governing body of the municipality and may be copied upon
payment of the actual cost of reproduction.
    Any person may file written comment with the county board
or governing body of the municipality concerning the
appropriateness of the proposed site for its intended purpose.
The county board or governing body of the municipality shall
consider any comment received or postmarked not later than 30
days after the date of the last public hearing.
    (d) At least one public hearing is to be held by the county
board or governing body of the municipality no sooner than 90
days but no later than 120 days after the date on which it
received the request for site approval. No later than 14 days
prior to such hearing, notice shall be published in a newspaper
of general circulation published in the county of the proposed
site, and delivered by certified mail to all members of the
General Assembly from the district in which the proposed site
is located, to the governing authority of every municipality
contiguous to the proposed site or contiguous to the
municipality in which the proposed site is to be located, to
the county board of the county where the proposed site is to be
located, if the proposed site is located within the boundaries
of a municipality, and to the Agency. Members or
representatives of the governing authority of a municipality
contiguous to the proposed site or contiguous to the
municipality in which the proposed site is to be located and,
if the proposed site is located in a municipality, members or
representatives of the county board of a county in which the
proposed site is to be located may appear at and participate in
public hearings held pursuant to this Section. The public
hearing shall develop a record sufficient to form the basis of
appeal of the decision in accordance with Section 40.1 of this
Act. The fact that a member of the county board or governing
body of the municipality has publicly expressed an opinion on
an issue related to a site review proceeding shall not preclude
the member from taking part in the proceeding and voting on the
issue.
    (e) Decisions of the county board or governing body of the
municipality are to be in writing, specifying the reasons for
the decision, such reasons to be in conformance with subsection
(a) of this Section. In granting approval for a site the county
board or governing body of the municipality may impose such
conditions as may be reasonable and necessary to accomplish the
purposes of this Section and as are not inconsistent with
regulations promulgated by the Board. Such decision shall be
available for public inspection at the office of the county
board or governing body of the municipality and may be copied
upon payment of the actual cost of reproduction. If there is no
final action by the county board or governing body of the
municipality within 180 days after the date on which it
received the request for site approval, the applicant may deem
the request approved.
    At any time prior to completion by the applicant of the
presentation of the applicant's factual evidence and an
opportunity for cross-questioning by the county board or
governing body of the municipality and any participants, the
applicant may file not more than one amended application upon
payment of additional fees pursuant to subsection (k); in which
case the time limitation for final action set forth in this
subsection (e) shall be extended for an additional period of 90
days.
    If, prior to making a final local siting decision, a county
board or governing body of a municipality has negotiated and
entered into a host agreement with the local siting applicant,
the terms and conditions of the host agreement, whether written
or oral, shall be disclosed and made a part of the hearing
record for that local siting proceeding. In the case of an oral
agreement, the disclosure shall be made in the form of a
written summary jointly prepared and submitted by the county
board or governing body of the municipality and the siting
applicant and shall describe the terms and conditions of the
oral agreement.
    (e-5) Siting approval obtained pursuant to this Section is
transferable and may be transferred to a subsequent owner or
operator. In the event that siting approval has been
transferred to a subsequent owner or operator, that subsequent
owner or operator assumes and takes subject to any and all
conditions imposed upon the prior owner or operator by the
county board of the county or governing body of the
municipality pursuant to subsection (e). However, any such
conditions imposed pursuant to this Section may be modified by
agreement between the subsequent owner or operator and the
appropriate county board or governing body. Further, in the
event that siting approval obtained pursuant to this Section
has been transferred to a subsequent owner or operator, that
subsequent owner or operator assumes all rights and obligations
and takes the facility subject to any and all terms and
conditions of any existing host agreement between the prior
owner or operator and the appropriate county board or governing
body.
    (f) A local siting approval granted under this Section
shall expire at the end of 2 calendar years from the date upon
which it was granted, unless the local siting approval granted
under this Section is for a sanitary landfill operation, in
which case the approval shall expire at the end of 3 calendar
years from the date upon which it was granted, and unless
within that period the applicant has made application to the
Agency for a permit to develop the site. In the event that the
local siting decision has been appealed, such expiration period
shall be deemed to begin on the date upon which the appeal
process is concluded.
    Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, upon the
expiration of a development permit under subsection (k) of
Section 39, any associated local siting approval granted for
the facility under this Section shall also expire.
    If a first development permit for a municipal waste
incineration facility expires under subsection (k) of Section
39 after September 30, 1989 due to circumstances beyond the
control of the applicant, any associated local siting approval
granted for the facility under this Section may be used to
fulfill the local siting approval requirement upon application
for a second development permit for the same site, provided
that the proposal in the new application is materially the
same, with respect to the criteria in subsection (a) of this
Section, as the proposal that received the original siting
approval, and application for the second development permit is
made before January 1, 1990.
    (g) The siting approval procedures, criteria and appeal
procedures provided for in this Act for new pollution control
facilities shall be the exclusive siting procedures and rules
and appeal procedures for facilities subject to such
procedures. Local zoning or other local land use requirements
shall not be applicable to such siting decisions.
    (h) Nothing in this Section shall apply to any existing or
new pollution control facility located within the corporate
limits of a municipality with a population of over 1,000,000.
    (i) (Blank.)
    The Board shall adopt regulations establishing the
geologic and hydrologic siting criteria necessary to protect
usable groundwater resources which are to be followed by the
Agency in its review of permit applications for new pollution
control facilities. Such regulations, insofar as they apply to
new pollution control facilities authorized to store, treat or
dispose of any hazardous waste, shall be at least as stringent
as the requirements of the Resource Conservation and Recovery
Act and any State or federal regulations adopted pursuant
thereto.
    (j) Any new pollution control facility which has never
obtained local siting approval under the provisions of this
Section shall be required to obtain such approval after a final
decision on an appeal of a permit denial.
    (k) A county board or governing body of a municipality may
charge applicants for siting review under this Section a
reasonable fee to cover the reasonable and necessary costs
incurred by such county or municipality in the siting review
process.
    (l) The governing Authority as determined by subsection (c)
of Section 39 of this Act may request the Department of
Transportation to perform traffic impact studies of proposed or
potential locations for required pollution control facilities.
    (m) An applicant may not file a request for local siting
approval which is substantially the same as a request which was
disapproved pursuant to a finding against the applicant under
any of criteria (i) through (ix) of subsection (a) of this
Section within the preceding 2 years.
    (n) In any review proceeding of a decision of the county
board or governing body of a municipality made pursuant to the
local siting review process, the petitioner in the review
proceeding shall pay to the county or municipality the cost of
preparing and certifying the record of proceedings. Should the
petitioner in the review proceeding fail to make payment, the
provisions of Section 3-109 of the Code of Civil Procedure
shall apply.
    In the event the petitioner is a citizens' group that
participated in the siting proceeding and is so located as to
be affected by the proposed facility, such petitioner shall be
exempt from paying the costs of preparing and certifying the
record.
    (o) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Section, a
transfer station used exclusively for landscape waste, where
landscape waste is held no longer than 24 hours from the time
it was received, is not subject to the requirements of local
siting approval under this Section, but is subject only to
local zoning approval.
(Source: P.A. 91-588, eff. 8-14-99; 92-574, eff. 6-26-02.)
 
    Section 98. Applicability. The change made to Section 39.2
of the Environmental Protection Act by this amendatory Act of
the 94th General Assembly applies only to siting applications
filed on or after the effective date of this amendatory Act.
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.

Effective Date: 8/15/2005