| |||||||
| |||||||
| |||||||
| 1 | AN ACT concerning State government.
| ||||||
| 2 | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
| ||||||
| 3 | represented in the General Assembly:
| ||||||
| 4 | Section 5. The Abandoned Mined Lands and Water Reclamation | ||||||
| 5 | Act is amended by changing Section 2.11 as follows:
| ||||||
| 6 | (20 ILCS 1920/2.11) (from Ch. 96 1/2, par. 8002.11)
| ||||||
| 7 | Sec. 2.11. Non-coal reclamation.
| ||||||
| 8 | (a) It is hereby declared that open and abandoned tunnels, | ||||||
| 9 | shafts, and
entryways and abandoned and deteriorating | ||||||
| 10 | equipment, structures, and facilities
resulting from any | ||||||
| 11 | previous non-coal mining operations constitute a hazard to
the | ||||||
| 12 | public health and safety. The Department is authorized and
| ||||||
| 13 | empowered to fill
or seal such abandoned tunnels, shafts, and | ||||||
| 14 | entryways and remove equipment,
structures, and facilities | ||||||
| 15 | which it determines could endanger life and property
and | ||||||
| 16 | constitute a hazard to the public health and safety.
| ||||||
| 17 | (b) The Department may make expenditures and carry out the
| ||||||
| 18 | purposes of this Section for lands mined for substances other | ||||||
| 19 | than coal;
provided, however, that annual expenditures for | ||||||
| 20 | non-coal reclamation do not
exceed 2% of the Department's | ||||||
| 21 | annual budget for mine land
reclamation through August 31, | ||||||
| 22 | 1999; and provided further,
that all obligations for such | ||||||
| 23 | expenditures shall be made by August 31, 2001.
Except for those | ||||||
| |||||||
| |||||||
| 1 | non-coal reclamation projects relating to the protection of
the | ||||||
| 2 | public health or safety which shall be accorded a high | ||||||
| 3 | priority, non-coal
reclamation expenditures shall be made only | ||||||
| 4 | after all reclamation with respect
to abandoned coal lands or | ||||||
| 5 | coal development impacts has been accomplished.
| ||||||
| 6 | (c) In those instances where coal mine waste piles are | ||||||
| 7 | being reworked
for conservation purposes, the Department may | ||||||
| 8 | make additional
incremental
expenditures to dispose of the | ||||||
| 9 | wastes from such operations by filling voids
and sealing | ||||||
| 10 | tunnels if the disposal of these wastes is in accordance with
| ||||||
| 11 | the purposes of this Section.
| ||||||
| 12 | (d) The Department shall acquire, by purchase, exchange,
| ||||||
| 13 | gifts, condemnation or otherwise, the fee simple title or any | ||||||
| 14 | lesser interest
in and to such land rights or other property as | ||||||
| 15 | the Department
considers necessary to carry out the provisions | ||||||
| 16 | of this Section. Transfers and
dispositions of such land shall | ||||||
| 17 | be made in the same manner as prescribed by
Section 2.07 of | ||||||
| 18 | this Act.
| ||||||
| 19 | (e) Consistent with this Section, the Department may enter
| ||||||
| 20 | and reclaim abandoned non-coal mined lands in the same manner | ||||||
| 21 | as prescribed in
Section 2.04 of this Act.
| ||||||
| 22 | (Source: P.A. 91-727, eff. 6-2-00.)
| ||||||
| 23 | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | ||||||
| 24 | becoming law.
| ||||||