Full Text of SB2193 97th General Assembly
SB2193sam001 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY | Sen. Toi W. Hutchinson Filed: 3/9/2011
| | 09700SB2193sam001 | | LRB097 08242 JDS 51981 a |
|
| 1 | | AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 2193
| 2 | | AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend Senate Bill 2193 by replacing | 3 | | everything after the enacting clause with the following:
| 4 | | "Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the | 5 | | "Environmental Justice Act". | 6 | | Section 5. Legislative findings and purpose. | 7 | | (a) The General Assembly finds: | 8 | | (i) that the principle of environmental justice | 9 | | requires that no segment of the population regardless of | 10 | | race, national origin, age, or income should bear | 11 | | disproportionately high or adverse effects of | 12 | | environmental pollution; | 13 | | (ii) that certain communities in the State may suffer | 14 | | disproportionately from environmental hazards related to | 15 | | facilities with permits approved by the State; and | 16 | | (iii) that these environmental hazards can cause |
| | | 09700SB2193sam001 | - 2 - | LRB097 08242 JDS 51981 a |
|
| 1 | | long-term health effects. | 2 | | (b) It is, therefore, the purpose of this Act to ensure | 3 | | public participation regarding the siting of sources of | 4 | | environmental pollution to minimize those risks in affected | 5 | | communities. | 6 | | Section 10. Definitions. As used in this Act, unless the | 7 | | context clearly indicates otherwise: | 8 | | "Agency" means the Illinois Environmental Protection | 9 | | Agency. | 10 | | "Board" means the Illinois Pollution Control Board. | 11 | | "Community environmental benefit agreement" means a | 12 | | written agreement entered into by a municipality and an owner | 13 | | or developer of real property through which the owner or | 14 | | developer agrees to develop real property that is to be used | 15 | | for a new or expanded regulated facility and to provide | 16 | | financial resources for the purpose of the mitigation, in whole | 17 | | or in part, of impacts reasonably related to that facility, | 18 | | including, but not limited to, impacts on the environment, | 19 | | traffic, parking, and noise. | 20 | | "Environmental justice community" means a United States | 21 | | census block group, as determined in accordance with the most | 22 | | recent United States census data, in which 30% or more of the | 23 | | population consists of low-income persons who are not | 24 | | institutionalized and have an income below 200% of the federal | 25 | | poverty level. |
| | | 09700SB2193sam001 | - 3 - | LRB097 08242 JDS 51981 a |
|
| 1 | | "Meaningful public participation" means (i) giving | 2 | | residents of an environmental justice community an appropriate | 3 | | opportunity to participate in decisions about a proposed | 4 | | regulated facility or the expansion of an existing regulated | 5 | | facility that may adversely affect the residents' environment | 6 | | or health; (ii) allowing the public's participation to | 7 | | influence the decisions of the Agency and Board; and (iii) | 8 | | facilitating the participation of potentially affected persons | 9 | | during the regulatory process. | 10 | | "Regulated facility" means any pollution control facility, | 11 | | as defined under Section 3.330 of the Environmental Protection | 12 | | Act; any fossil fuel fired electric generating plant of more | 13 | | than 10 megawatts; any waste incinerator; and any major source | 14 | | of air pollution, as defined by the federal Clean Air Act. | 15 | | "Regulated facility" does not include the portion of an | 16 | | electric generating facility that uses non-emitting and | 17 | | non-polluting renewable resources, such as wind, solar, and | 18 | | hydropower, or fuel cells. | 19 | | Section 15. Commission on Environmental Justice. | 20 | | (a) The Commission on Environmental Justice is established | 21 | | and consists of the following 13 voting members. | 22 | | (1) one member of the Senate appointed by the President | 23 | | of the Senate; | 24 | | (2) one member of the House of Representatives | 25 | | appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives; |
| | | 09700SB2193sam001 | - 4 - | LRB097 08242 JDS 51981 a |
|
| 1 | | (3) the Director of the Agency or his or her designee;
| 2 | | and
| 3 | | (4) 10 members appointed by the Governor who represent | 4 | | the following interests:
| 5 | | (i) affected communities concerned with | 6 | | environmental justice; | 7 | | (ii) business organizations; | 8 | | (iii) environmental organizations; | 9 | | (iv) experts on environmental health and | 10 | | environmental justice; | 11 | | (v) units of local government; and | 12 | | (vi) members of the general public who have an | 13 | | interest or expertise in environmental justice. | 14 | | (b) Of the initial members of the Commission, 7 shall serve | 15 | | for a 2-year term, 6 shall serve for a 1-year term, as | 16 | | designated by the Governor at the time of appointment. | 17 | | Thereafter, the members shall serve 2-year terms. Vacancies | 18 | | shall be filled in the same manner as appointments. Members of | 19 | | the Commission appointed by the Governor may not receive | 20 | | compensation for their service on the Commission and are not | 21 | | entitled to reimbursement for expenses. | 22 | | (c) The Governor shall designate a Chairperson from among | 23 | | the Commission's members. The Commission shall meet at the call | 24 | | of the Chairperson, but no later than 90 days after the | 25 | | effective date of this Act and at least quarterly thereafter. | 26 | | (d) The Commission shall: |
| | | 09700SB2193sam001 | - 5 - | LRB097 08242 JDS 51981 a |
|
| 1 | | (1) advise State entities on environmental justice and | 2 | | related community issues;
| 3 | | (2) review and analyze the impact of current State laws | 4 | | and policies on the issue of environmental justice and | 5 | | sustainable communities; | 6 | | (3) assess the adequacy of State and local laws to | 7 | | address the issue of environmental justice and sustainable | 8 | | communities; | 9 | | (4) develop criteria to assess whether communities in | 10 | | the State may be experiencing environmental justice | 11 | | issues; and | 12 | | (5) recommend options to the Governor for addressing | 13 | | issues, concerns, or problems related to environmental | 14 | | justice that surface after reviewing State laws and | 15 | | policies, including prioritizing areas of the State that | 16 | | need immediate attention.
| 17 | | (e) On or before October 1, 2011 and each October 1 | 18 | | thereafter, the Commission shall report its findings and | 19 | | recommendations to the Governor and General Assembly. | 20 | | (f) The Agency shall provide administrative and other | 21 | | support to the Commission.
| 22 | | Section 20. Public participation in decisions affecting | 23 | | environmental justice communities. | 24 | | (a) Before seeking either approval, renewal, or | 25 | | modification of a permit from the Agency for a regulated |
| | | 09700SB2193sam001 | - 6 - | LRB097 08242 JDS 51981 a |
|
| 1 | | facility that is located or proposed to be located in an | 2 | | environmental justice community or local siting approval from a | 3 | | unit of local government for a regulated facility that is | 4 | | located or proposed to be located in an environmental justice | 5 | | community, the person seeking that action must file a | 6 | | meaningful public participation plan with the Agency or local | 7 | | siting authority, as applicable, and obtain that governmental | 8 | | entity's approval of the plan. | 9 | | (b) Each meaningful public participation plan must contain | 10 | | measures to facilitate meaningful public participation in the | 11 | | regulatory process and a certification that the person seeking | 12 | | the governmental action will undertake the measures contained | 13 | | in the plan. The plan must identify a time and place where an | 14 | | informal public meeting will be held that is convenient for the | 15 | | residents of the affected environmental justice community. In | 16 | | addition, the plan must identify the methods by which the | 17 | | person seeking the governmental action will publicize the date, | 18 | | time, and nature of the informal public meeting in addition to | 19 | | the publication required by subsection (c) of this Section. | 20 | | Such methods may include, but are not limited to, (i) posting a | 21 | | reasonably visible sign on the proposed or existing facility | 22 | | property, printed in English, in accordance with any local | 23 | | regulations and ordinances, (ii) posting a reasonably visible | 24 | | sign, printed in all languages spoken by at least 20% of the | 25 | | population that resides within a half-mile radius of the | 26 | | proposed or existing facility, in accordance with local |
| | | 09700SB2193sam001 | - 7 - | LRB097 08242 JDS 51981 a |
|
| 1 | | regulations and ordinances, (iii) notifying neighborhood and | 2 | | environmental groups, in writing, in a language appropriate for | 3 | | the target audience, and (iv) notifying local and State elected | 4 | | officials, in writing. | 5 | | (c) Not less than 10 days before the informal public | 6 | | meeting and not more than 30 days before that meeting, the | 7 | | person seeking the governmental action must publish the date, | 8 | | time, and nature of the informal public meeting (i) in person | 9 | | or by mail to the members of the General Assembly from the | 10 | | legislative district in which the regulated facility is located | 11 | | or proposed to be located, (ii) by registered or certified mail | 12 | | to the owners of all real property located within 250 feet of | 13 | | the regulated facility or the proposed regulated facility, and | 14 | | (iii) to the general public by publication in a newspaper of | 15 | | general circulation in the county in which the regulated | 16 | | facility is located or the proposed regulated facility is to be | 17 | | located. The person seeking the governmental action shall post | 18 | | a similar notification of the informal public meeting on its | 19 | | website, if it maintains one. | 20 | | (d) At the informal public meeting, the person seeking the | 21 | | governmental action must make a reasonable and good faith | 22 | | effort to provide clear, accurate, and complete information | 23 | | about the activity to be undertaken at the regulated facility | 24 | | or proposed regulated facility that requires governmental | 25 | | approval and any potential environmental and health impacts of | 26 | | that activity. |
| | | 09700SB2193sam001 | - 8 - | LRB097 08242 JDS 51981 a |
|
| 1 | | (e) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, | 2 | | neither the Agency nor the local siting authority may take the | 3 | | requested governmental action earlier than 60 days after the | 4 | | informal public meeting. | 5 | | (f) In the event that the local siting authority has | 6 | | approved a meaningful public participation plan concerning a | 7 | | proposed or existing regulated facility and an informal public | 8 | | meeting has been held in accordance with this Section, the | 9 | | Agency may approve that plan and waive the requirement that an | 10 | | additional informal public meeting be held in accordance with | 11 | | this Section. | 12 | | (g) To the extent that the provisions of this Act conflict | 13 | | with any other Act, the provisions of this Act control. | 14 | | Section 25. Community environmental benefit agreements. A | 15 | | municipality, owner, or developer may enter into a community | 16 | | environmental benefit agreement in connection with a regulated | 17 | | facility. Mitigation may include both on-site and off-site | 18 | | improvements, activities and programs, including, but not | 19 | | limited to: funding for activities such as environmental | 20 | | education, diesel pollution reduction, construction of biking | 21 | | and walking trails, staffing for parks, urban forestry, support | 22 | | for community gardens or any other negotiated benefit to the | 23 | | environment in the environmental justice community. Before | 24 | | negotiating the terms of a community environmental benefit | 25 | | agreement, the municipality shall provide a reasonable and |
| | | 09700SB2193sam001 | - 9 - | LRB097 08242 JDS 51981 a |
|
| 1 | | public opportunity for residents of the potentially affected | 2 | | environmental justice community to be heard concerning the need | 3 | | for, and terms of, the agreement.
| 4 | | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | 5 | | becoming law.".
|
|