Public Act 097-0519
 
SB1357 EnrolledLRB097 00021 JDS 40022 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 Sections 31 and 42 as follows:
 



    (415 ILCS 5/31)  (from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 1031)



    Sec. 31. Notice; complaint; hearing. 


    (a)(1) Within 180 days after of becoming aware of an 
    alleged violation of the
Act, or any rule adopted under the 
    Act, or of a permit granted by the Agency, or
a condition 
    of such a the permit, the Agency shall issue and serve, by 
    certified mail,
upon the person complained against a 
    written notice informing that person that
the Agency has 
    evidence of the alleged violation.  At a minimum, the 
    written
notice shall contain:


            (A) a notification to the person complained 
        against of the requirement to
submit a written response 
        addressing the violations alleged and the option to

        meet with appropriate agency personnel to resolve any 
        alleged violations that
could lead to the filing of a 
        formal complaint;


            (B) a detailed explanation by the Agency of the 
        violations alleged;


            (C) an explanation by the Agency of the actions 
        that the Agency
believes may resolve the alleged 
        violations, including an estimate of a
reasonable time 
        period for the person complained against to complete 
        the
suggested resolution; and


            (D) an explanation of any alleged violation that 
        the Agency believes
cannot be resolved without the 
        involvement of the Office of the Illinois
Attorney 
        General or the State's Attorney of the county in which 
        the alleged
violation occurred and the basis for the 
        Agency's belief.


        (2) A written response to the violations alleged shall 
    be submitted to
the Agency, by certified mail, within 45 
    days after of receipt of notice by the
person complained 
    against, unless the Agency agrees to an extension.  The

    written response shall include:


            (A) information in rebuttal, explanation or 
        justification of each
alleged violation;


            (B) if the person complained against desires to 
        enter into a Compliance Commitment Agreement, proposed 
        terms for a proposed Compliance Commitment Agreement 
        that includes specified
times for achieving each 
        commitment and which may consist of a statement

        indicating that the person complained against believes 
        that compliance has
been achieved; and


            (C) a request for a meeting with appropriate Agency 
        personnel if a
meeting is desired by the person 
        complained against.


        (3) If the person complained against fails to respond 
    in accordance with
the requirements of subdivision (2) of 
    this subsection (a), the failure to
respond shall be 
    considered a waiver of the requirements of this subsection

    (a) and nothing in this Section shall preclude the Agency 
    from proceeding
pursuant to subsection (b) of this Section.


        (4) A meeting requested pursuant to subdivision (2) of 
    this subsection
(a) shall be held without a representative 
    of the Office of the Illinois
Attorney General or the 
    State's Attorney of the county in which the alleged

    violation occurred, within 60 days after of receipt of 
    notice by the person
complained against, unless the Agency 
    agrees to a postponement.  At the
meeting, the Agency shall 
    provide an opportunity for the person complained
against to 
    respond to each alleged violation, suggested resolution, 
    and
suggested implementation time frame, and to suggest 
    alternate resolutions.


        (5) If a meeting requested pursuant to subdivision (2) 
    of this subsection
(a) is held, the person complained 
    against shall, within 21 days following the
meeting or 
    within an extended time period as agreed to by the Agency, 
    submit
by certified mail to the Agency a written response 
    to the alleged violations.
The written response shall 
    include:


            (A) additional information in rebuttal, 
        explanation, or justification
of each alleged 
        violation;


            (B) if the person complained against desires to 
        enter into a Compliance Commitment Agreement, proposed 
        terms for a proposed Compliance Commitment Agreement 
        that includes specified
times for achieving each 
        commitment and which may consist of a statement

        indicating that the person complained against believes 
        that compliance has
been achieved; and


            (C) a statement indicating that, should the person 
        complained against
so wish, the person complained 
        against chooses to rely upon the initial written

        response submitted pursuant to subdivision (2) of this 
        subsection (a).


        (6) If the person complained against fails to respond 
    in accordance with
the requirements of subdivision (5) of 
    this subsection (a), the failure to
respond shall be 
    considered a waiver of the requirements of this subsection 
    (a)
and nothing in this Section shall preclude the Agency 
    from proceeding pursuant
to subsection (b) of this Section.


        (7) Within  30 days after of the Agency's receipt of a 
    written response submitted
by the person complained 
    against pursuant to subdivision (2) of this
subsection (a), 
    if a meeting is not requested, or pursuant to subdivision 
    (5) of this
subsection (a), if a meeting is held, or within 
    a later time period as agreed
to by the Agency and the 
    person complained against, the Agency shall issue and

    serve, by certified mail, upon the person complained 
    against (i) a written notice
informing the person of its 
    acceptance, rejection, or proposed modification to
the 
    proposed Compliance Commitment Agreement or (ii) a notice 
    that one or more violations cannot be resolved without the 
    involvement of the Office of the Attorney General or the 
    State's Attorney of the county in which the alleged 
    violation occurred and that no proposed Compliance 
    Commitment Agreement will be issued by the Agency for those 
    violations. The Agency shall include terms and conditions 
    in the proposed Compliance Commitment Agreement that are, 
    in its discretion, necessary to bring the person complained 
    against into compliance with the Act, any rule adopted 
    under the Act, any permit granted by the Agency, or any 
    condition of such a  permit. The Agency shall take into 
    consideration the proposed terms for the proposed 
    Compliance Commitment Agreement that were provided under 
    subdivision (a)(2)(B) or (a)(5)(B) of this Section by the 
    person complained against as contained within the written

    response.

        (7.5) Within 30 days after the receipt of the Agency's 
    proposed Compliance Commitment Agreement by the person 
    complained against, the person shall either (i) agree to 
    and sign the proposed Compliance Commitment Agreement 
    provided by the Agency and submit the signed Compliance 
    Commitment Agreement to the Agency by certified mail or 
    (ii) notify the Agency in writing by certified mail of the 
    person's rejection of the proposed Compliance Commitment 
    Agreement. If the person complained against fails to 
    respond to the proposed Compliance Commitment Agreement 
    within 30 days as required under this paragraph, the 
    proposed Compliance Commitment Agreement is deemed 
    rejected by operation of law. Any Compliance Commitment 
    Agreement entered into under item (i) of this paragraph may 
    be amended subsequently in writing by mutual agreement 
    between the Agency and the signatory to the Compliance 
    Commitment Agreement, the signatory's legal 
    representative, or the signatory's agent.
        (7.6) No person shall violate the terms or conditions 
    of a Compliance Commitment Agreement entered into under 
    subdivision (a)(7.5)  of this Section. Successful 
    completion of a Compliance Commitment Agreement or an 
    amended Compliance Commitment Agreement shall be a factor 
    to be weighed, in favor of the person completing the 
    Agreement, by the Office of the Illinois Attorney General 
    in determining whether to file a complaint for the 
    violations that were the subject of the Agreement. 

        (8) Nothing in this subsection (a) is intended to 
    require the Agency to
enter into Compliance Commitment 
    Agreements for any alleged violation that the
Agency 
    believes cannot be resolved without the involvement of the 
    Office of the
Attorney General or the State's Attorney of 
    the county in which the alleged
violation occurred, for, 
    among other purposes, the imposition of statutory

    penalties.


        (9) The Agency's failure to respond within 30 days to a 
    written response submitted
pursuant to subdivision (2) of 
    this subsection (a), if a meeting is not
requested, or 
    pursuant to subdivision (5) of this subsection (a), if a 
    meeting is held,
within 30 days, or within the time period 
    otherwise agreed to in writing by
the Agency and the person 
    complained against, shall be deemed an acceptance by
the 
    Agency of the proposed terms of the Compliance Commitment 
    Agreement for the violations
alleged in the written notice 
    issued under subdivision (1) of this subsection
(a) as 
    contained within the written response.


        (10) If the person complained against complies with the 
    terms of a
Compliance
Commitment Agreement accepted 
    pursuant to this subsection (a), the Agency
shall not refer 
    the alleged violations which are the subject of the 
    Compliance
Commitment Agreement to the Office of the 
    Illinois Attorney General or the
State's Attorney of the 
    county in which the alleged violation occurred.
However, 
    nothing in this subsection is intended to preclude the 
    Agency from
continuing negotiations with the person 
    complained against or from proceeding
pursuant to the 
    provisions of subsection (b) of this Section for alleged

    violations that which remain the subject of disagreement 
    between the Agency and the
person complained against 
    following fulfillment of the requirements of this

    subsection (a).


        (11) Nothing in this subsection (a) is intended to 
    preclude the person
complained against from submitting to 
    the Agency, by certified mail, at any
time, notification 
    that the person complained against consents to waiver of

    the requirements of subsections (a) and (b) of this 
    Section.

        (12) The Agency shall have the authority to adopt rules 
    for the administration of subsection (a) of this Section. 
    The rules shall be adopted in accordance with the 
    provisions of the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act. 
    (b) For alleged violations that remain the subject of 
disagreement
between the Agency and the person complained 
against following fulfillment of
the requirements of 
subsection (a) of this Section, and for alleged violations of 
the terms or conditions of a Compliance Commitment Agreement 
entered into under subdivision (a)(7.5) of this Section as well 
as the alleged violations that are the subject of the 
Compliance Commitment Agreement, and as a precondition to
the 
Agency's referral or request to the Office of the Illinois 
Attorney General
or the State's Attorney of the county in which 
the alleged violation occurred
for legal representation 
regarding an alleged violation that may be addressed
pursuant 
to subsection (c) or (d) of this Section or pursuant to Section 
42 of
this Act, the Agency shall issue and serve, by certified 
mail, upon the person
complained against a written notice 
informing that person that the Agency
intends to pursue legal 
action.   Such notice shall notify the person
complained against 
of the violations to be alleged and offer the person an

opportunity to meet with appropriate Agency personnel in an 
effort to resolve
any alleged violations that could lead to the 
filing of a formal complaint.
The meeting with Agency personnel 
shall be held within 30 days after of receipt of
notice served 
pursuant to this subsection upon the person complained against,

unless the Agency agrees to a postponement or the person 
notifies the Agency
that he or she will not appear at a meeting 
within the 30-day time period.
Nothing in this subsection is 
intended to preclude the Agency from following
the provisions 
of subsection (c) or (d) of this Section or from requesting the

legal representation of the Office of the Illinois Attorney 
General or the
State's Attorney of the county in which the 
alleged violations occurred for
alleged violations which 
remain the subject of disagreement between the Agency
and the 
person complained against after the provisions of this 
subsection are
fulfilled.


     (c)(1) For alleged violations which remain the subject of 
    disagreement
between the Agency and the person complained 
    against following waiver, pursuant
to subdivision (10) of 
    subsection (a) of this Section, or fulfillment of
the 
    requirements of subsections (a) and (b) of this Section, 
    the Office of the
Illinois Attorney General or the State's 
    Attorney of the county in which the
alleged violation 
    occurred shall issue and serve upon the person complained

    against a written notice, together with a formal complaint, 
    which shall
specify the provision of the Act, or the rule, 
    or regulation, or permit, or term
or condition thereof 
    under which such person is said to be in violation, and
a 
    statement of the manner in, and the extent to which such 
    person is said to
violate the Act, or such rule, or 
    regulation, or permit, or term or condition
 thereof and 
    shall require the person so complained
against to answer 
    the charges of such formal complaint at a hearing before

    the Board at a time not less than 21 days after the date of 
    notice by the
Board, except as provided in Section 34 of 
    this Act. Such complaint shall
be accompanied by a 
    notification to the defendant that financing may be

    available, through the Illinois Environmental Facilities 
    Financing Act, to
correct such violation.  A copy of such 
    notice of such
hearings shall also be sent to any person 
    that has complained to the
Agency respecting the respondent 
    within the six months preceding the
date of the complaint, 
    and to any person in the county in which the
offending 
    activity occurred that has requested notice of enforcement

    proceedings; 21 days notice of such hearings shall also be 
    published in
a newspaper of general circulation in such 
    county.  The respondent may
file a written answer, and at 
    such hearing the rules prescribed in
Sections 32 and 33 of 
    this Act shall apply.  In the case of actual or
threatened 
    acts outside Illinois contributing to environmental damage 
    in
Illinois, the extraterritorial service-of-process 
    provisions of Sections
2-208 and 2-209 of the Code of Civil 
    Procedure shall apply.


        With respect to notices served pursuant to this 
    subsection (c)(1) that which
involve hazardous material or 
    wastes in any manner, the Agency shall
annually publish a 
    list of all such notices served.  The list shall include
the 
    date the investigation commenced, the date notice was sent, 
    the date
the matter was referred to the Attorney General, 
    if applicable, and the
current status of the matter.


        (2) Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision (1) 
    of this subsection
(c), whenever a complaint has been filed 
    on behalf of the Agency or by the
People of the State of 
    Illinois, the parties may file with the Board a
stipulation 
    and proposal for settlement accompanied by a request for 
    relief
from the requirement of a hearing pursuant to 
    subdivision (1). Unless the
Board, in its discretion, 
    concludes that a hearing will be held, the Board
shall 
    cause notice of the stipulation, proposal and request for 
    relief to
be published and sent in the same manner as is 
    required for hearing
pursuant to subdivision (1) of this 
    subsection. The notice shall include a
statement that any 
    person may file a written demand for hearing within 21
days 
    after receiving the notice. If any person files a timely 
    written
demand for hearing, the Board shall deny the 
    request for relief from a
hearing and shall hold a hearing 
    in accordance with the provisions of
subdivision (1).


        (3) Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision (1) 
    of this subsection
(c), if the Agency becomes aware of a 
    violation of this Act arising from, or
as a result of, 
    voluntary pollution prevention activities, the Agency 
    shall not
proceed with the written notice required by 
    subsection (a) of this Section
unless:


            (A) the person fails to take corrective action or 
        eliminate the reported
violation within a reasonable 
        time; or


            (B) the Agency believes that the violation poses a 
        substantial and
imminent danger to the public health or 
        welfare or the environment.  For the
purposes of this 
        item (B), "substantial and imminent danger" means a 
        danger
with a likelihood of serious or irreversible 
        harm.


        (d)(1) Any person may file with the Board a complaint, 
    meeting
the requirements of subsection (c) of this Section, 
    against any person
allegedly violating this Act, any rule 
    or regulation adopted under this
Act, any permit or term or 
    condition of a permit, or any Board order.  The complainant 
    shall immediately serve a copy of such complaint
upon the 
    person or persons named therein.  Unless the Board 
    determines that
such complaint is duplicative or 
    frivolous, it shall schedule a hearing and
serve written 
    notice thereof upon the person or persons named therein, in

    accord with subsection (c) of this Section.


        (2) Whenever a complaint has been filed by a person 
    other than the
Attorney General or the State's Attorney, 
    the parties may file with the Board
a stipulation and 
    proposal for settlement accompanied by a request for relief

    from the hearing requirement of subdivision (c)(1) of this 
    Section.  Unless
the Board, in its discretion, concludes 
    that a hearing should be held, no
hearing on the 
    stipulation and proposal for settlement is required.

    (e) In hearings before the Board under this Title the 
burden shall
be on the Agency or other complainant to show 
either that the respondent
has caused or threatened to cause 
air or water pollution or that the
respondent has violated or 
threatens to violate any provision of this
Act or any rule or 
regulation of the Board or permit or term or
condition thereof.  
If such proof has been made, the burden shall be on
the 
respondent to show that compliance with the Board's regulations

would impose an arbitrary or unreasonable hardship.

    (f) The provisions of this Section shall not apply to 
administrative
citation actions commenced under Section 31.1 
of this Act.

(Source: P.A. 92-574, eff. 6-26-02; 93-152, eff. 7-10-03.)

 
    (415 ILCS 5/42)  (from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 1042)
    Sec. 42. Civil penalties. 
    (a) Except as provided in this Section, any person that 
violates any
provision of this Act or any regulation adopted by 
the Board, or any permit
or term or condition thereof, or that 
violates any order of the Board pursuant
to this Act, shall be 
liable for a civil penalty of not to exceed
$50,000 for the 
violation and an additional civil penalty of not to exceed

$10,000 for each day during which the violation continues; such 
penalties may,
upon order of the Board or a court of competent 
jurisdiction, be made payable
to the Environmental Protection 
Trust Fund, to be used in accordance with the
provisions of the 
Environmental Protection Trust Fund Act.
    (b) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of 
this Section:
        (1) Any person that violates Section 12(f) of this Act 
    or any
NPDES permit or term or condition thereof, or any 
    filing requirement,
regulation or order relating to the 
    NPDES permit program, shall be liable
to a civil penalty of 
    not to exceed $10,000 per day of violation.
        (2) Any person that violates Section 12(g) of this Act 
    or any UIC permit
or term or condition thereof, or any 
    filing requirement, regulation or order
relating to the 
    State UIC program for all wells, except Class II wells as

    defined by the Board under this Act, shall be liable to a 
    civil penalty
not to exceed $2,500 per day of violation; 
    provided, however, that any person
who commits such 
    violations relating to the State UIC program for Class
II 
    wells, as defined by the Board under this Act, shall be 
    liable to a civil
penalty of not to exceed $10,000 for the 
    violation and an additional civil
penalty of not to exceed 
    $1,000 for each day during which the violation
continues.
        (3) Any person that violates Sections 21(f), 21(g), 
    21(h) or 21(i) of
this Act, or any RCRA permit or term or 
    condition thereof, or any filing
requirement, regulation 
    or order relating to the State RCRA program, shall
be 
    liable to a civil penalty of not to exceed $25,000 per day 
    of violation.
        (4)
In an administrative citation action under Section 
    31.1 of this Act,
any person found to have violated any 
    provision of subsection (o) of
Section 21 of this Act shall 
    pay a civil penalty of $500 for each
violation of each such 
    provision, plus any hearing costs incurred by the Board
and 
    the Agency.  Such penalties shall be made payable to the 
    Environmental
Protection Trust Fund, to be used in 
    accordance with the provisions of the
Environmental 
    Protection Trust Fund Act; except that if a unit of local

    government issued the administrative citation, 50% of the 
    civil penalty shall
be payable to the unit of local 
    government.
        (4-5) In an administrative citation action under 
    Section 31.1 of this
Act, any person found to have violated 
    any
provision of subsection (p) of
 Section 21, Section 
    22.51, Section 22.51a, or subsection (k) of Section 55 of 
    this Act shall pay a civil penalty of $1,500 for each 
    violation
of
each such provision, plus any hearing costs 
    incurred by the Board and the
Agency, except that the civil 
    penalty amount shall be $3,000 for
each violation of any 
    provision of subsection (p) of Section 21, Section 22.51, 
    Section 22.51a, or subsection (k) of Section 55 that is the

    person's second or subsequent adjudication violation of 
    that
provision.  The penalties shall be deposited into the

    Environmental Protection Trust Fund, to be used in 
    accordance with the
provisions of the Environmental 
    Protection Trust Fund Act; except that if a
unit of local 
    government issued the administrative citation, 50% of the 
    civil
penalty shall be payable to the unit of local 
    government.
        (5) Any person who violates subsection 6 of Section 
    39.5 of this Act
or any CAAPP permit, or term or condition 
    thereof, or any fee or filing
requirement, or any duty to 
    allow or carry out inspection, entry or
monitoring 
    activities, or any regulation or order relating to the 
    CAAPP
shall be liable for a civil penalty not to exceed 
    $10,000 per day of violation.
        (6) Any owner or operator of a community water system 
    that violates subsection (b) of Section 18.1 or subsection 
    (a) of Section 25d-3 of this Act shall, for each day of 
    violation, be liable for a civil penalty not to exceed $5 
    for each of the premises  connected to the affected 
    community water system.
    (b.5) In lieu of the penalties set forth in subsections (a) 
and (b) of
this Section, any person who fails to file, in a 
timely manner, toxic
chemical release forms with the Agency 
pursuant to Section 25b-2
of this Act
shall be liable for a 
civil penalty of $100 per day for
each day the forms are
late, 
not to exceed a maximum total penalty of $6,000. This daily 
penalty
shall begin accruing on the thirty-first day after the

date that the person receives the warning notice issued by the 
Agency pursuant
to Section 25b-6 of this Act; and the penalty 
shall be paid to the Agency. The
daily accrual of penalties 
shall cease as of January 1 of the following year.
All 
penalties collected by the Agency pursuant to this subsection 
shall be
deposited into the Environmental Protection Permit and 
Inspection Fund.
    (c) Any person that violates this Act, any rule or 
regulation adopted under
this Act, any permit or term or 
condition of a permit, or any Board order and
causes the death 
of fish
or aquatic life shall, in addition to the other 
penalties provided by
this Act, be liable to pay to the State 
an additional sum for the
reasonable value of the fish or 
aquatic life destroyed. Any money so
recovered shall be placed 
in the Wildlife and Fish Fund in the State
Treasury.
    (d) The penalties provided for in this Section may be 
recovered in a
civil action.
    (e) The State's Attorney of the county in which the 
violation
occurred, or the Attorney General, may, at the 
request of the Agency or
on his own motion, institute a civil 
action for an injunction, prohibitory or mandatory, to
restrain 
violations of this Act, any rule or regulation adopted under 
this Act,
any permit or term or condition of a permit, or any 
Board order, or to require such other actions as may be 
necessary to address violations of this Act, any rule or 
regulation adopted under this Act, any permit or term or 
condition of a permit, or any Board order.
    (f) The State's Attorney of the county in which the 
violation
occurred, or the Attorney General, shall bring such 
actions in the name
of the people of the State of Illinois.

Without limiting any other authority which may exist for the 
awarding
of attorney's fees and costs, the Board or a court of 
competent
jurisdiction may award costs and reasonable 
attorney's fees, including the
reasonable costs of expert 
witnesses and consultants, to the State's
Attorney or the 
Attorney General in a case where he has prevailed against a

person who has committed a wilful, knowing or repeated 
violation of this Act,
any rule or regulation adopted under 
this Act, any permit or term or condition
of a permit, or any 
Board order.
    Any funds collected under this subsection (f) in which the 
Attorney
General has prevailed shall be deposited in the

Hazardous Waste Fund created in Section 22.2 of this Act. Any 
funds
collected under this subsection (f) in which a State's 
Attorney has
prevailed shall be retained by the county in which 
he serves.
    (g) All final orders imposing civil penalties pursuant to 
this Section
shall prescribe the time for payment of such 
penalties.  If any such
penalty is not paid within the time 
prescribed, interest on such penalty
at the rate set forth in 
subsection (a) of Section 1003 of the Illinois Income
Tax Act, 
shall be paid for the period from the date payment is due until 
the
date payment is received.  However, if the time for payment 
is stayed during
the pendency of an appeal, interest shall not 
accrue during such stay.
    (h) In determining the appropriate civil penalty to be 
imposed  under
subdivisions  (a), (b)(1), (b)(2),  (b)(3), or 
(b)(5) of this
Section, the Board is authorized to consider any 
matters of record in
mitigation or aggravation of penalty, 
including but not limited to the
following factors:
        (1) the duration and gravity of the violation;
        (2) the presence or absence of due diligence on the 
    part of the
respondent in attempting to comply with 
    requirements of this
Act and regulations thereunder or to 
    secure relief therefrom as provided by
this Act;
        (3) any economic benefits accrued by the respondent

    because of delay in compliance with requirements, in which 
    case the economic
benefits shall be determined by the 
    lowest cost alternative for achieving
compliance;
        (4) the amount of monetary penalty which will serve to 
    deter further
violations by the respondent and to otherwise 
    aid in enhancing
voluntary
compliance with this Act by the 
    respondent and other persons
similarly
subject to the Act;
        (5) the number, proximity in time, and gravity of 
    previously
adjudicated violations of this Act by the 
    respondent;
        (6) whether the respondent voluntarily self-disclosed, 
    in accordance
with subsection (i) of this Section, the 
    non-compliance to the Agency; and
        (7) whether the respondent has agreed to undertake a 
    "supplemental
environmental project," which means an 
    environmentally beneficial project that
a respondent 
    agrees to undertake in settlement of an enforcement action 
    brought
under this Act, but which the respondent is not 
    otherwise legally required to
perform; and .
        (8) whether the respondent has successfully completed 
    a Compliance Commitment Agreement under subsection (a) of 
    Section 31 of this Act to remedy the violations that are 
    the subject of the complaint. 
    In determining the appropriate civil penalty to be imposed 
under subsection
(a) or paragraph (1), (2), (3), or (5) of 
subsection (b) of this Section, the
Board shall ensure, in all 
cases, that the penalty is at least as great as the
economic 
benefits, if any, accrued by the respondent as a result of the

violation, unless the Board finds that imposition of such 
penalty would result
in an arbitrary or unreasonable financial 
hardship. However, such civil
penalty
may be off-set in whole 
or in part pursuant to a supplemental
environmental project 
agreed to by the complainant and the respondent.
    (i) A person who voluntarily self-discloses non-compliance 
to the Agency,
of which the Agency had been unaware, is 
entitled to a 100% reduction in the
portion of the penalty that 
is not based on the economic benefit of
non-compliance if the 
person can
establish the following:
        (1) that the non-compliance was discovered through an 
    environmental
audit or a compliance management system 
    documented by the regulated entity as
reflecting the 
    regulated entity's due diligence in preventing, detecting, 
    and
correcting violations;
        (2) that the non-compliance was disclosed in writing 
    within 30 days of
the date on which the person discovered 
    it;
        (3) that the non-compliance was discovered and 
    disclosed prior to:
            (i) the commencement of an Agency inspection, 
        investigation, or request
for information;
            (ii) notice of a citizen suit;
            (iii) the filing of a complaint by a citizen, the 
        Illinois Attorney
General, or the State's Attorney of 
        the county in which the violation occurred;
            (iv) the reporting of the non-compliance by an 
        employee of the person
without that person's 
        knowledge; or
            (v) imminent discovery of the non-compliance by 
        the Agency;
        (4) that the non-compliance is being corrected and any 
    environmental
harm is being remediated in a timely fashion;
        (5) that the person agrees to prevent a recurrence of 
    the non-compliance;
        (6) that no related non-compliance events have 
    occurred in the
past 3 years at the same facility or in the 
    past 5 years as part of a
pattern at multiple facilities 
    owned or operated by the person;
        (7) that the non-compliance did not result in serious 
    actual
harm or present an imminent and substantial 
    endangerment to human
health or the environment or violate 
    the specific terms of any judicial or
administrative order 
    or consent agreement;
        (8) that the person cooperates as reasonably requested 
    by the Agency
after the disclosure; and
        (9) that the non-compliance was identified voluntarily 
    and not through a
monitoring, sampling, or auditing 
    procedure that is required by statute, rule,
permit, 
    judicial or administrative order, or consent agreement.
    If a person can establish all of the elements under this 
subsection except
the element set forth in paragraph (1) of 
this subsection, the person is
entitled to a 75% reduction in 
the portion of the penalty that is not based
upon the economic 
benefit of non-compliance.
    (j) In addition to any an other remedy or penalty that may

apply, whether civil or criminal, any person who violates 
Section 22.52 of this Act shall be liable for an additional 
civil penalty of up to 3 times the gross amount of any 
pecuniary gain resulting from the violation.

    (k) In addition to any other remedy or penalty that may 
apply, whether civil or criminal, any person who violates 
subdivision (a)(7.6) of Section 31 of this Act shall be liable 
for an additional civil penalty of $2,000. 
(Source: P.A. 95-331, eff. 8-21-07; 96-603, eff. 8-24-09; 
96-737, eff. 8-25-09; 96-1000, eff. 7-2-10; 96-1416, eff. 
7-30-10.)
 
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon 
becoming law. 
  

Effective Date:  8/23/2011