HB3068 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB101 10128 CPF 55231 b

101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2019 and 2020
HB3068

Introduced , by Rep. Terra Costa Howard

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

415 ILCS 20/2	from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 7052
415 ILCS 20/4.5 new

Amends the Illinois Solid Waste Management Act. Provides that it is the policy of the State to establish a comprehensive statewide program for solid waste management which will preserve or enhance the quality of air, water, and land resources. Modifies the State preferences for solid waste management. Provides that the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center of the Prairie Research Institute at the University of Illinois shall publish, on or before December 1, 2020, a statewide Illinois Resource Management Plan and shall update the plan every 5 years. Includes State and local requirements for the Plan.

FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning health.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The Illinois Solid Waste Management Act is amended by changing Section 2 and by adding Section 4.5 as follows:

(415 ILCS 20/2) (from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 7052)

Sec. 2. Public Policy. (a) The General Assembly finds:

(1) that current solid waste disposal practices are not adequate to address the needs of many metropolitan areas in Illinois;

(2) that the generation of solid waste is increasing while landfill capacity is decreasing;

(3) that siting of new landfills, transfer stations, incinerators, recycling facilities, or other solid waste management facilities and the expansion of existing facilities is very difficult due to the public concern and competition with other land uses for suitable sites;

(4) that more effective and efficient management of solid waste is needed in a manner that promotes economic development, protects the environment and public health and safety, and allows the most practical and beneficial use of the material and energy values of solid waste;

(5) that state government policy and programs should be developed to assist local governments and private industry in seeking solutions to solid waste management problems;

(6) that the purchase of products or supplies made from recycled materials by public agencies in the State will divert significant quantities of waste from landfills, reduce disposal costs and stimulate recycling markets, thereby encouraging the further use of recycled materials and educating the public about the utility and availability of such materials;

(7) that there are wastes for which combustion would not provide practical energy recovery or practical volume reduction, which cannot be reasonably recycled or reused and which have reduced environmental threat because they are non-putrescible, homogeneous and do not contain free liquids. Such wastes bear a real and substantial difference under the purposes of the Illinois Solid Waste Management Act from solid wastes for which combustion would provide practical energy recovery or practical volume reduction, which can be reasonably recycled or reused, or which are putrescible, non-homogeneous or contain free liquids;

(8) since it is the policy of the State as set forth in the Environmental Protection Act to assure that contaminants discharged into the atmosphere or waters of the State are given the degree of treatment or control necessary to prevent pollution, that wastes generated as a result of removing contaminants from the air, water or land bear a real and substantial difference from other wastes in that the generation of wastes containing pollution treatment residuals can improve the environment in Illinois and should be encouraged;

(9) since it is the policy of the State as set forth in the Environmental Protection Act to promote conservation of natural resources and minimize environmental damage by encouraging and effecting recycling and reuse of waste materials, that wastes from recycling, reclamation or reuse processes designed to remove contaminants so as to render such wastes reusable or wastes received at a landfill and recycled through an Agency permitted process bear a real and substantial difference from wastes not resulting from or subject to such recycling, reclamation, or reuse and that encouraging such recycling, reclamation or reuse furthers the purposes of the Illinois Solid Waste Management Act;

(10) that there are over 300 landfills in Illinois which are permitted to accept only demolition or construction debris or landscape waste, the vast majority of which accept less than 10,000 cubic yards per year. By themselves these wastes pose only a minimal hazard to the environment when landfilled in compliance with regulatory requirements in an Agency-permitted site without commingling with other wastes and, as such, landfills receiving only such wastes bear a real and substantial difference from landfills receiving wastes which are commingled. Disposal of these wastes in landfills permitted for municipal wastes uses up increasingly scarce capacity for garbage, general household and commercial waste. It is the policy of the State to encourage disposal of these wastes in separate landfills.

(b) It is the purpose of this Act to reduce reliance on land disposal of solid waste, to encourage and promote alternative means of managing solid waste, and to assist local governments with solid waste planning and management. In the interest of the public health, safety and welfare, in order to conserve energy and natural resources and to maintain and/or enhance job creation, and after consideration of the technical and economic feasibility, it is the policy of the State of Illinois to establish a comprehensive statewide program for solid waste management which will preserve or enhance the quality of air, water and land resources in accordance with the following preferred In furtherance of those aims, while recognizing that landfills will continue to be necessary, this Act establishes the following waste management hierarchy, in descending order of preference, as State policy:

(1) volume reduction at the source;

(2) recycling and reuse;

(3) recycling combustion with energy recovery;

(4) compost or biological treatment combustion for volume reduction; and

(5) disposal in landfill facilities or other approved disposal method.

(Source: P.A. 85-1440.)

(415 ILCS 20/4.5 new)

Sec. 4.5. State Resource Management Plan. The Illinois Sustainable Technology Center of the Prairie Research Institute at the University of Illinois shall publish, on or before December 1, 2020, a statewide Illinois Resource Management Plan and shall update the Plan every 5 years. The Illinois Sustainable Technology Center may obtain assistance from outside experts to assist in the preparation of the Plan. The Plan shall be developed with the assistance of a broad based advisory committee. Funding for the Plan shall be taken from the Solid Waste Management Fund. The Plan shall include the following information:

(1) An estimate, with 2014 as a base year, of the amount and composition of waste disposed on a statewide and per capita basis, and development of a database of permitted facilities and non-permitted facilities that must notify the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, including landfills, garbage transfer stations, landscape waste transfer stations, composting sites, landscape waste land application sites, construction and demolition debris recycling facilities, and recycling facilities that process recyclables from residential or commercial generators. In addition, an estimate of the overall waste generation rate and how that waste is managed after generation (amount reused, recycled, composted and disposed) as of 2014. The Department's waste characterization study conducted in 2014 will form the basis for the Plan. The results of the 2014 Department study should be compared to the 2009 study to evaluate trends in composition of waste and material being disposed. This comparison should lead to conclusions regarding recommendations for diversion programs. It is also recommended that the 2014 study be used by counties when preparing their 5-year updates to develop or enhance local programs to capture and divert materials identified in the 2014 study.

(2) A common methodology for counties to use in determining their annual recycling and composting rate. Included will be a recommendation that county plans include identification of facilities (at a minimum, the name of facility, geographic location, and type of facility) that accept recyclables and organic material for recycling, composting or digestion from the county, and that this information be used to update and augment the database of facilities developed as part of the Plan.

(3) A common methodology for counties to use in determining their annual waste disposal rate. Included will be a recommendation that county plans include identification of facilities (at a minimum, the name of the facility, geographic location, and type of facility) that accept for transfer or final disposal municipal waste from the county, and that this information be used to update and augment the database of facilities developed as part of the Plan.

(4) Source reduction, reuse, recycling, and composting programs that are applicable to counties with a population of 200,000 or more. Specific recommendations should be developed for residential programs (single family and multi-family), commercial programs, and construction and demolition debris programs. Each recommendation must include an estimate of the cost to implement the program, how it will be funded, and an estimated timeframe for implementation.

(5) Source reduction, reuse, recycling, and composting programs that are applicable to counties with a population of less than 200,000. Specific recommendations should be developed for residential programs (single and multi-family), commercial programs, and construction and demolition debris programs. Each recommendation must include an estimate of the cost to implement the program, how it will be funded, and an estimated timeframe for implementation. Programs may also be created to subdivide the counties with less than 200,000 in population by population.

(6) A template for a 5-year plan update that can be used by counties when submitting their 5-year updates to the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency.

(7) Education and public outreach programs that are applicable to all counties. This should include, but is not limited to, an overall education campaign strategy for counties (how to define the target audience, what media to use, and how to allocate resources), and development of an updated education toolkit with sample flyers, press releases, radio ads, recycling guidelines for recyclables, composting guidelines for food scrap collection, and website banners.

(8) An assessment of the Department's waste characterization study conducted in 2014 to form the basis of setting realistic diversion goals over specified periods of time through implementation of the methods and programs identified in the Plan where diversion goals will be determined based on: (a) landfill disposal volumes to account for source reduction and reuse; and (b) economically viable commodity markets available to account for recyclable materials.

(9) The State goal is to meet diversion rates of 40% by 2020, 45% diversion by 2025, and 50% diversion by 2030 in counties with a population over 200,000 (as of the 2010 federal decennial census); 30%, 35%, and 40%, respectively, in counties with a population of 200,000 or less.

(10) The Plan should also detail the specific responsibilities of the counties regarding implementation of the Plan, and identify the future role the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, the Department, and other State agencies assisting counties and the State to achieve the goals outlined in the Plan. The Plan should also provide a vision with recommended practices that may include residential curbside programs, voluntary industry initiatives, public or private partnerships, consumer education, product stewardship and extended producer responsibility, disposal bans, mandatory recycling, zero waste approaches, and State government procurement, from which policy makers may consider what proposed programs may have merit for implementation in Illinois. The evaluation of which programs or practices have merit should be conducted pursuant to paragraph (4) of subsection (c) of Section 4 of the Solid Waste Planning and Recycling Act. In addition, the Plan may include recommendations to Congress, such as product labeling, that will benefit State diversion plans.