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Public Act 92-0279
SB372 Enrolled LRB9205013LBgc
AN ACT concerning environmental protection.
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 9.9 and adding Section 9.10 as follows:
(415 ILCS 5/9.9)
Sec. 9.9. Nitrogen oxides trading system.
(a) The General Assembly finds:
(1) That USEPA has issued a Final Rule published in
the Federal Register on October 27, 1998, entitled
"Finding of Significant Contribution and Rulemaking for
Certain States in the Ozone Transport Assessment Group
Region for Purposes of Reducing Regional Transport of
Ozone", hereinafter referred to as the "NOx SIP Call",
compliance with which will require reducing emissions of
nitrogen oxides ("NOx");
(2) That reducing emissions of NOx in the State
helps the State to meet the national ambient air quality
standard for ozone;
(3) That emissions trading is a cost-effective
means of obtaining reductions of NOx emissions.
(b) The Agency shall propose and the Board shall adopt
regulations to implement an interstate NOx trading program
(hereinafter referred to as the "NOx Trading Program") as
provided for in 40 CFR Part 96, including incorporation by
reference of appropriate provisions of 40 CFR Part 96 and
regulations to address 40 CFR Section 96.4(b), Section
96.55(c), Subpart E, and Subpart I. In addition, the Agency
shall propose and the Board shall adopt regulations to
implement NOx emission reduction programs for cement kilns
and stationary internal combustion engines.
(c) Allocations of NOx allowances to large electric
generating units ("EGUs") and large non-electric generating
units ("non-EGUs"), as defined by 40 CFR Part 96.4(a), shall
not exceed the State's trading budget for those source
categories to be included in the State Implementation Plan
for NOx.
(d) In adopting regulations to implement the NOx Trading
Program, the Board shall:
(1) assure that the economic impact and technical
feasibility of NOx emissions reductions under the NOx
Trading Program are considered relative to the
traditional regulatory control requirements in the State
for EGUs and non-EGUs;
(2) provide that emission units, as defined in
Section 39.5(1) of this Act, may opt into the NOx Trading
Program;
(3) provide for voluntary reductions of NOx
emissions from emission units, as defined in Section
39.5(1) of this Act, not otherwise included under
paragraph (c) or (d)(2) of this Section to provide
additional allowances to EGUs and non-EGUs to be
allocated by the Agency. The regulations shall further
provide that such voluntary reductions are verifiable,
quantifiable, permanent, and federally enforceable;
(4) provide that the Agency allocate to non-EGUs
allowances that are designated in the rule, unless the
Agency has been directed to transfer the allocations to
another unit subject to the requirements of the NOx
Trading Program, and that upon shutdown of a non-EGU, the
unit may transfer or sell the NOx allowances that are
allocated to such unit; and
(5) provide that the Agency shall set aside
annually a number of allowances, not to exceed 5% of the
total EGU trading budget, to be made available to new
EGUs.
(A) Those EGUs that commence commercial
operation, as defined in 40 CFR Section 96.2, at a
time that is more than half way through the control
period in 2003 2002 shall return to the Agency any
allowances that were issued to it by the Agency and
were not used for compliance in 2004 2003.
(B) The Agency may charge EGUs that commence
commercial operation, as defined in 40 CFR Section
96.2, on or after January 1, 2003, for the
allowances it issues to them.
(e) The Agency may adopt procedural rules, as necessary,
to implement the regulations promulgated by the Board
pursuant to subsections (b) and (d) and to implement
subsection (i) of this Section.
(f) Notwithstanding any provisions in subparts T, U, and
W of Section 217 of Title 35 of the Illinois Administrative
Code to the contrary, compliance with the regulations
promulgated by the Board pursuant to subsections (b) and (d)
of this Section is required by May 31, 2004. The regulations
promulgated by the Board pursuant to subsections (b) and (d)
of this Section shall not be enforced until the later of May
1, 2003, or the first day of the control season subsequent to
the calendar year in which all of the other states subject to
the provisions of the NOx SIP Call that are located in USEPA
Region V or that are contiguous to Illinois have adopted
regulations to implement NOx trading programs and other
required reductions of NOx emissions pursuant to the NOx SIP
Call, and such regulations have received final approval by
USEPA as part of the respective states' SIPS for ozone, or a
final FIP for ozone promulgated by USEPA is effective for
such other states.
(g) To the extent that a court of competent jurisdiction
finds a provision of 40 CFR Part 96 invalid, the
corresponding Illinois provision shall be stayed until such
provision of 40 CFR Part 96 is found to be valid or is
re-promulgated. To the extent that USEPA or any court of
competent jurisdiction stays the applicability of any
provision of the NOx SIP Call to any person or circumstance
relating to Illinois, during the period of that stay, the
effectiveness of the corresponding Illinois provision shall
be stayed. To the extent that the invalidity of the
particular requirement or application does not affect other
provisions or applications of the NOx SIP Call pursuant to 40
CFR 51.121 or the NOx trading program pursuant to 40 CFR Part
96 or 40 CFR Part 97, this Section, and rules or regulations
promulgated hereunder, will be given effect without the
invalid provisions or applications.
(h) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, any
source or other authorized person that participates in the
NOx Trading Program shall be eligible to exchange NOx
allowances with other sources in accordance with this Section
and with regulations promulgated by the Board or the Agency.
(i) There is hereby created within the State Treasury an
interest-bearing special fund to be known as the NOx Trading
System Fund, which shall be used and administered by the
Agency for the purposes stated below:
(1) To accept funds from persons who purchase NOx
allowances from the Agency;
(2) To disburse the proceeds of the NOx allowances
sales pro-rata to the owners or operators of the EGUs
that received allowances from the Agency but not from the
Agency's set-aside, in accordance with regulations that
may be promulgated by the Agency; and
(3) To finance the reasonable costs incurred by the
Agency in the administration of the NOx Trading System.
(Source: P.A. 91-631, eff. 8-19-99.)
(415 ILCS 5/9.10 new)
Sec. 9.10. Fossil fuel-fired electric generating plants.
(a) The General Assembly finds and declares that:
(1) fossil fuel-fired electric generating plants
are a significant source of air emissions in this State
and have become the subject of a number of important new
studies of their effects on the public health;
(2) existing state and federal policies, that allow
older plants that meet federal standards to operate
without meeting the more stringent requirements
applicable to new plants, are being questioned on the
basis of their environmental impacts and the economic
distortions such policies cause in a deregulated energy
market;
(3) fossil fuel-fired electric generating plants
are, or may be, affected by a number of regulatory
programs, some of which are under review or development
on the state and national levels, and to a certain extent
the international level, including the federal acid rain
program, tropospheric ozone, mercury and other hazardous
pollutant control requirements, regional haze, and global
warming;
(4) scientific uncertainty regarding the formation
of certain components of regional haze and the air
quality modeling that predict impacts of control measures
requires careful consideration of the timing of the
control of some of the pollutants from these facilities,
particularly sulfur dioxides and nitrogen oxides that
each interact with ammonia and other substances in the
atmosphere;
(5) the development of energy policies to promote a
safe, sufficient, reliable, and affordable energy supply
on the state and national levels is being affected by the
on-going deregulation of the power generation industry
and the evolving energy markets;
(6) the Governor's formation of an Energy Cabinet
and the development of a State energy policy calls for
actions by the Agency and the Board that are in harmony
with the energy needs and policy of the State, while
protecting the public health and the environment;
(7) Illinois coal is an abundant resource and an
important component of Illinois' economy whose use should
be encouraged to the greatest extent possible consistent
with protecting the public health and the environment;
(8) renewable forms of energy should be promoted as
an important element of the energy and environmental
policies of the State and that it is a goal of the State
that at least 5% of the State's energy production and use
be derived from renewable forms of energy by 2010 and at
least 15% from renewable forms of energy by 2020;
(9) efforts on the state and federal levels are
underway to consider the multiple environmental
regulations affecting electric generating plants in order
to improve the ability of government and the affected
industry to engage in effective planning through the use
of multi-pollutant strategies; and
(10) these issues, taken together, call for a
comprehensive review of the impact of these facilities on
the public health, considering also the energy supply,
reliability, and costs, the role of renewable forms of
energy, and the developments in federal law and
regulations that may affect any state actions, prior to
making final decisions in Illinois.
(b) Taking into account the findings and declarations of
the General Assembly contained in subsection (a) of this
Section, the Agency shall, before September 30, 2004, but not
before September 30, 2003, issue to the House and Senate
Committees on Environment and Energy findings that address
the potential need for the control or reduction of emissions
from fossil fuel-fired electric generating plants, including
the following provisions:
(1) reduction of nitrogen oxide emissions, as
appropriate, with consideration of maximum annual
emissions rate limits or establishment of an emissions
trading program and with consideration of the
developments in federal law and regulations that may
affect any State action, prior to making final decisions
in Illinois;
(2) reduction of sulfur dioxide emissions, as
appropriate, with consideration of maximum annual
emissions rate limits or establishment of an emissions
trading program and with consideration of the
developments in federal law and regulations that may
affect any State action, prior to making final decisions
in Illinois;
(3) incentives to promote renewable sources of
energy consistent with item (8) of subsection (a) of
this Section;
(4) reduction of mercury as appropriate,
consideration of the availability of control technology,
industry practice requirements, or incentive programs, or
some combination of these approaches that are sufficient
to prevent unacceptable local impacts from individual
facilities and with consideration of the developments in
federal law and regulations that may affect any state
action, prior to making final decisions in Illinois; and
(5) establishment of a banking system, consistent
with the United States Department of Energy's voluntary
reporting system, for certifying credits for voluntary
offsets of emissions of greenhouse gases, as identified
by the United States Environmental Protection Agency, or
other voluntary reductions of greenhouse gases. Such
reduction efforts may include, but are not limited to,
carbon sequestration, technology-based control measures,
energy efficiency measures, and the use of renewable
energy sources.
The Agency shall consider the impact on the public
health, considering also energy supply, reliability and
costs, the role of renewable forms of energy, and
developments in federal law and regulations that may affect
any state actions, prior to making final decisions in
Illinois.
(c) Nothing in this Section is intended to or should be
interpreted in a manner to limit or restrict the authority of
the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency to propose, or
the Illinois Pollution Control Board to adopt, any
regulations applicable or that may become applicable to the
facilities covered by this Section that are required by
federal law.
(d) The Agency may file proposed rules with the Board to
effectuate its findings provided to the Senate Committee on
Environment and Energy and the House Committee on Environment
and Energy in accordance with subsection (b) of this Section.
Any such proposal shall not be submitted sooner than 90 days
after the issuance of the findings provided for in subsection
(b) of this Section. The Board shall take action on any such
proposal within one year of the Agency's filing of the
proposed rules.
(e) This Section shall apply only to those electrical
generating units that are subject to the provisions of
Subpart W of Part 217 of Title 35 of the Illinois
Administrative Code, as promulgated by the Illinois Pollution
Control Board on December 21, 2000.
Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect July
1, 2001.
Passed in the General Assembly May 31, 2001.
Approved August 07, 2001.
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