103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2023 and 2024
SB2008

 

Introduced 2/9/2023, by Sen. Adriane Johnson

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
415 ILCS 5/42  from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 1042
415 ILCS 5/52.15 new

    Amends the Environmental Protection Act. Provides that no person or organization shall organize a gathering that causes the release of balloons into the air unless the balloons are (1) used by an institution of higher education or a governmental agency, or pursuant to a governmental contract, for bona fide scientific or meteorological purposes, (2) released indoors and remain indoors, or (3) are helium balloons used for the safe operation of a hot air balloon. Provides that persons who violate the amendatory Act's provisions shall be subject to civil penalties in specified amounts and that the release of 50 balloons or fewer at one time is a single offense. Effective January 1, 2024.


LRB103 29360 CPF 55748 b

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

SB2008LRB103 29360 CPF 55748 b

1    AN ACT concerning safety.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Environmental Protection Act is amended by
5changing Section 42 and by adding Section 52.15 as follows:
 
6    (415 ILCS 5/42)  (from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 1042)
7    Sec. 42. Civil penalties.
8    (a) Except as provided in this Section, any person that
9violates any provision of this Act or any regulation adopted
10by the Board, or any permit or term or condition thereof, or
11that violates any order of the Board pursuant to this Act,
12shall be liable for a civil penalty of not to exceed $50,000
13for the violation and an additional civil penalty of not to
14exceed $10,000 for each day during which the violation
15continues; such penalties may, upon order of the Board or a
16court of competent jurisdiction, be made payable to the
17Environmental Protection Trust Fund, to be used in accordance
18with the provisions of the Environmental Protection Trust Fund
19Act.
20    (b) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of
21this Section:
22        (1) Any person that violates Section 12(f) of this Act
23    or any NPDES permit or term or condition thereof, or any

 

 

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1    filing requirement, regulation or order relating to the
2    NPDES permit program, shall be liable to a civil penalty
3    of not to exceed $10,000 per day of violation.
4        (2) Any person that violates Section 12(g) of this Act
5    or any UIC permit or term or condition thereof, or any
6    filing requirement, regulation or order relating to the
7    State UIC program for all wells, except Class II wells as
8    defined by the Board under this Act, shall be liable to a
9    civil penalty not to exceed $2,500 per day of violation;
10    provided, however, that any person who commits such
11    violations relating to the State UIC program for Class II
12    wells, as defined by the Board under this Act, shall be
13    liable to a civil penalty of not to exceed $10,000 for the
14    violation and an additional civil penalty of not to exceed
15    $1,000 for each day during which the violation continues.
16        (3) Any person that violates Sections 21(f), 21(g),
17    21(h) or 21(i) of this Act, or any RCRA permit or term or
18    condition thereof, or any filing requirement, regulation
19    or order relating to the State RCRA program, shall be
20    liable to a civil penalty of not to exceed $25,000 per day
21    of violation.
22        (4) In an administrative citation action under Section
23    31.1 of this Act, any person found to have violated any
24    provision of subsection (o) of Section 21 of this Act
25    shall pay a civil penalty of $500 for each violation of
26    each such provision, plus any hearing costs incurred by

 

 

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1    the Board and the Agency. Such penalties shall be made
2    payable to the Environmental Protection Trust Fund, to be
3    used in accordance with the provisions of the
4    Environmental Protection Trust Fund Act; except that if a
5    unit of local government issued the administrative
6    citation, 50% of the civil penalty shall be payable to the
7    unit of local government.
8        (4-5) In an administrative citation action under
9    Section 31.1 of this Act, any person found to have
10    violated any provision of subsection (p) of Section 21,
11    Section 22.38, Section 22.51, Section 22.51a, or
12    subsection (k) of Section 55 of this Act shall pay a civil
13    penalty of $1,500 for each violation of each such
14    provision, plus any hearing costs incurred by the Board
15    and the Agency, except that the civil penalty amount shall
16    be $3,000 for each violation of any provision of
17    subsection (p) of Section 21, Section 22.38, Section
18    22.51, Section 22.51a, or subsection (k) of Section 55
19    that is the person's second or subsequent adjudication
20    violation of that provision. The penalties shall be
21    deposited into the Environmental Protection Trust Fund, to
22    be used in accordance with the provisions of the
23    Environmental Protection Trust Fund Act; except that if a
24    unit of local government issued the administrative
25    citation, 50% of the civil penalty shall be payable to the
26    unit of local government.

 

 

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1        (5) Any person who violates subsection 6 of Section
2    39.5 of this Act or any CAAPP permit, or term or condition
3    thereof, or any fee or filing requirement, or any duty to
4    allow or carry out inspection, entry or monitoring
5    activities, or any regulation or order relating to the
6    CAAPP shall be liable for a civil penalty not to exceed
7    $10,000 per day of violation.
8        (6) Any owner or operator of a community water system
9    that violates subsection (b) of Section 18.1 or subsection
10    (a) of Section 25d-3 of this Act shall, for each day of
11    violation, be liable for a civil penalty not to exceed $5
12    for each of the premises connected to the affected
13    community water system.
14        (7) Any person who violates Section 52.5 of this Act
15    shall be liable for a civil penalty of up to $1,000 for the
16    first violation of that Section and a civil penalty of up
17    to $2,500 for a second or subsequent violation of that
18    Section.
19        (8) Any person who violates Section 52.15 of this Act
20    shall receive a warning from the Agency for the first
21    violation of that Section and shall be liable for a civil
22    penalty of up to $500 for the second violation of that
23    Section and a civil penalty of up to $1,000 for a third or
24    subsequent violation of that Section. The release of up to
25    50 balloons shall be considered a single offense under
26    that Section. The release of more than 50 balloons shall

 

 

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1    constitute a separate violation for every 50 balloons
2    released.
3    (b.5) In lieu of the penalties set forth in subsections
4(a) and (b) of this Section, any person who fails to file, in a
5timely manner, toxic chemical release forms with the Agency
6pursuant to Section 25b-2 of this Act shall be liable for a
7civil penalty of $100 per day for each day the forms are late,
8not to exceed a maximum total penalty of $6,000. This daily
9penalty shall begin accruing on the thirty-first day after the
10date that the person receives the warning notice issued by the
11Agency pursuant to Section 25b-6 of this Act; and the penalty
12shall be paid to the Agency. The daily accrual of penalties
13shall cease as of January 1 of the following year. All
14penalties collected by the Agency pursuant to this subsection
15shall be deposited into the Environmental Protection Permit
16and Inspection Fund.
17    (c) Any person that violates this Act, any rule or
18regulation adopted under this Act, any permit or term or
19condition of a permit, or any Board order and causes the death
20of fish or aquatic life shall, in addition to the other
21penalties provided by this Act, be liable to pay to the State
22an additional sum for the reasonable value of the fish or
23aquatic life destroyed. Any money so recovered shall be placed
24in the Wildlife and Fish Fund in the State Treasury.
25    (d) The penalties provided for in this Section may be
26recovered in a civil action.

 

 

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1    (e) The State's Attorney of the county in which the
2violation occurred, or the Attorney General, may, at the
3request of the Agency or on his own motion, institute a civil
4action for an injunction, prohibitory or mandatory, to
5restrain violations of this Act, any rule or regulation
6adopted under this Act, any permit or term or condition of a
7permit, or any Board order, or to require such other actions as
8may be necessary to address violations of this Act, any rule or
9regulation adopted under this Act, any permit or term or
10condition of a permit, or any Board order.
11    (f) The State's Attorney of the county in which the
12violation occurred, or the Attorney General, shall bring such
13actions in the name of the people of the State of Illinois.
14Without limiting any other authority which may exist for the
15awarding of attorney's fees and costs, the Board or a court of
16competent jurisdiction may award costs and reasonable
17attorney's fees, including the reasonable costs of expert
18witnesses and consultants, to the State's Attorney or the
19Attorney General in a case where he has prevailed against a
20person who has committed a willful, knowing, or repeated
21violation of this Act, any rule or regulation adopted under
22this Act, any permit or term or condition of a permit, or any
23Board order.
24    Any funds collected under this subsection (f) in which the
25Attorney General has prevailed shall be deposited in the
26Hazardous Waste Fund created in Section 22.2 of this Act. Any

 

 

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1funds collected under this subsection (f) in which a State's
2Attorney has prevailed shall be retained by the county in
3which he serves.
4    (g) All final orders imposing civil penalties pursuant to
5this Section shall prescribe the time for payment of such
6penalties. If any such penalty is not paid within the time
7prescribed, interest on such penalty at the rate set forth in
8subsection (a) of Section 1003 of the Illinois Income Tax Act,
9shall be paid for the period from the date payment is due until
10the date payment is received. However, if the time for payment
11is stayed during the pendency of an appeal, interest shall not
12accrue during such stay.
13    (h) In determining the appropriate civil penalty to be
14imposed under subdivisions (a), (b)(1), (b)(2), (b)(3),
15(b)(5), (b)(6), or (b)(7) of this Section, the Board is
16authorized to consider any matters of record in mitigation or
17aggravation of penalty, including, but not limited to, the
18following factors:
19        (1) the duration and gravity of the violation;
20        (2) the presence or absence of due diligence on the
21    part of the respondent in attempting to comply with
22    requirements of this Act and regulations thereunder or to
23    secure relief therefrom as provided by this Act;
24        (3) any economic benefits accrued by the respondent
25    because of delay in compliance with requirements, in which
26    case the economic benefits shall be determined by the

 

 

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1    lowest cost alternative for achieving compliance;
2        (4) the amount of monetary penalty which will serve to
3    deter further violations by the respondent and to
4    otherwise aid in enhancing voluntary compliance with this
5    Act by the respondent and other persons similarly subject
6    to the Act;
7        (5) the number, proximity in time, and gravity of
8    previously adjudicated violations of this Act by the
9    respondent;
10        (6) whether the respondent voluntarily self-disclosed,
11    in accordance with subsection (i) of this Section, the
12    non-compliance to the Agency;
13        (7) whether the respondent has agreed to undertake a
14    "supplemental environmental project", which means an
15    environmentally beneficial project that a respondent
16    agrees to undertake in settlement of an enforcement action
17    brought under this Act, but which the respondent is not
18    otherwise legally required to perform; and
19        (8) whether the respondent has successfully completed
20    a Compliance Commitment Agreement under subsection (a) of
21    Section 31 of this Act to remedy the violations that are
22    the subject of the complaint.
23    In determining the appropriate civil penalty to be imposed
24under subsection (a) or paragraph (1), (2), (3), (5), (6), or
25(7) of subsection (b) of this Section, the Board shall ensure,
26in all cases, that the penalty is at least as great as the

 

 

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1economic benefits, if any, accrued by the respondent as a
2result of the violation, unless the Board finds that
3imposition of such penalty would result in an arbitrary or
4unreasonable financial hardship. However, such civil penalty
5may be off-set in whole or in part pursuant to a supplemental
6environmental project agreed to by the complainant and the
7respondent.
8    (i) A person who voluntarily self-discloses non-compliance
9to the Agency, of which the Agency had been unaware, is
10entitled to a 100% reduction in the portion of the penalty that
11is not based on the economic benefit of non-compliance if the
12person can establish the following:
13        (1) that either the regulated entity is a small entity
14    or the non-compliance was discovered through an
15    environmental audit or a compliance management system
16    documented by the regulated entity as reflecting the
17    regulated entity's due diligence in preventing, detecting,
18    and correcting violations;
19        (2) that the non-compliance was disclosed in writing
20    within 30 days of the date on which the person discovered
21    it;
22        (3) that the non-compliance was discovered and
23    disclosed prior to:
24            (i) the commencement of an Agency inspection,
25        investigation, or request for information;
26            (ii) notice of a citizen suit;

 

 

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1            (iii) the filing of a complaint by a citizen, the
2        Illinois Attorney General, or the State's Attorney of
3        the county in which the violation occurred;
4            (iv) the reporting of the non-compliance by an
5        employee of the person without that person's
6        knowledge; or
7            (v) imminent discovery of the non-compliance by
8        the Agency;
9        (4) that the non-compliance is being corrected and any
10    environmental harm is being remediated in a timely
11    fashion;
12        (5) that the person agrees to prevent a recurrence of
13    the non-compliance;
14        (6) that no related non-compliance events have
15    occurred in the past 3 years at the same facility or in the
16    past 5 years as part of a pattern at multiple facilities
17    owned or operated by the person;
18        (7) that the non-compliance did not result in serious
19    actual harm or present an imminent and substantial
20    endangerment to human health or the environment or violate
21    the specific terms of any judicial or administrative order
22    or consent agreement;
23        (8) that the person cooperates as reasonably requested
24    by the Agency after the disclosure; and
25        (9) that the non-compliance was identified voluntarily
26    and not through a monitoring, sampling, or auditing

 

 

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1    procedure that is required by statute, rule, permit,
2    judicial or administrative order, or consent agreement.
3    If a person can establish all of the elements under this
4subsection except the element set forth in paragraph (1) of
5this subsection, the person is entitled to a 75% reduction in
6the portion of the penalty that is not based upon the economic
7benefit of non-compliance.
8    For the purposes of this subsection (i), "small entity"
9has the same meaning as in Section 221 of the federal Small
10Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996 (5 U.S.C.
11601).
12    (j) In addition to any other remedy or penalty that may
13apply, whether civil or criminal, any person who violates
14Section 22.52 of this Act shall be liable for an additional
15civil penalty of up to 3 times the gross amount of any
16pecuniary gain resulting from the violation.
17    (k) In addition to any other remedy or penalty that may
18apply, whether civil or criminal, any person who violates
19subdivision (a)(7.6) of Section 31 of this Act shall be liable
20for an additional civil penalty of $2,000.
21(Source: P.A. 102-310, eff. 8-6-21.)
 
22    (415 ILCS 5/52.15 new)
23    Sec. 52.15. Release of balloons.
24    (a) In this Section:
25    "Balloon" means any inflatable object manufactured from

 

 

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1plastic, latex, rubber, or mylar that is filled with a
2lighter-than-air gas, such as helium. "Balloon" does not
3include hot air balloons used to carry human passengers.
4    "Institution of higher education" means a nonpublic
5institution of higher education or a public institution of
6higher education, as those terms are defined in Section 2 of
7the Higher Education Cooperation Act.
8    (b) No person or organization shall organize a gathering
9that causes the release of balloons into the air.
10    (c) This Section does not apply to the following:
11        (1) Balloons used by an institution of higher
12    education or a governmental agency, or pursuant to a
13    governmental contract, for bona fide scientific or
14    meteorological purposes.
15        (2) Balloons that are released indoors and remain
16    indoors.
17        (3) The release of a helium balloon used for the safe
18    operation of a hot air balloon.
 
19    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect January
201, 2024.