Full Text of SB0357 95th General Assembly
SB0357eng 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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| AN ACT concerning regulation.
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| Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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| represented in the General Assembly:
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| Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the | 5 |
| Illinois Underground Aggregate Blasting Act. | 6 |
| Section 5. Statement of Policy. It is declared to be the | 7 |
| policy of this State to provide for the protection of lands | 8 |
| affected by underground aggregate mining operations by | 9 |
| regulating underground blasting to limit property damage to | 10 |
| surface landowners and to protect the general welfare. | 11 |
| Section 10. Definitions. In this Act: | 12 |
| "Aggregate mining industry" means producers, by | 13 |
| underground mining method, of all minerals other than coal, | 14 |
| including without limitation sand, gravel, silica sand, shale, | 15 |
| clay, limestone, and any other mineral which may be so mined | 16 |
| for the production of a commodity. | 17 |
| "Blasting operations" means the process of shot design, | 18 |
| layout, drilling, loading, detonation, and record keeping. | 19 |
| "Department" means the Department of Natural Resources. | 20 |
| "Operator" means any person, firm, partnership or | 21 |
| corporation engaged in and controlling an underground mining | 22 |
| operation. "Operator" includes political subdivisions and |
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| instrumentalities of this State. | 2 |
| "Underground mining" means extraction of all minerals, | 3 |
| other than coal, including without limitation sand, gravel, | 4 |
| silica sand, shale, clay, limestone, and any other mineral | 5 |
| which may be so mined from beneath the surface for the | 6 |
| production of a commodity. | 7 |
| Section 15. Blasting operations; regulation. | 8 |
| (a) Blasting operations at underground mining sites | 9 |
| operated by the aggregate mining industry shall be conducted | 10 |
| only in accordance with State and federal law and rules adopted | 11 |
| by the Department, with the advice of the aggregate mining | 12 |
| industry. | 13 |
| (b) Rules adopted pursuant to this Section shall be | 14 |
| consistent with the Department's rules governing other | 15 |
| blasting operations within the State to the extent applicable | 16 |
| to underground aggregate blasting and shall include provisions | 17 |
| requiring each of the following: | 18 |
| (1) The maintenance of blasting records for a period of | 19 |
| at least 3 years and that the records be made available for | 20 |
| Department inspection and copying; however, these on-site | 21 |
| blasting records, as they relate to detonation, are deemed | 22 |
| to be proprietary information. | 23 |
| (2) The control of blasting operations so as to prevent | 24 |
| injury to persons and damage to public and private property | 25 |
| outside the blasting site. |
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| (3) That all blasting operations be conducted or | 2 |
| supervised by trained and competent persons licensed by the | 3 |
| Department. | 4 |
| (4) That blasting operations be subject to ground | 5 |
| vibration monitoring, as necessary to limit property | 6 |
| damage and protect public safety. | 7 |
| (5) The issuance of notices of violation in the event | 8 |
| of a violation of the Department's blasting rules. | 9 |
| (6) The issuance of orders requiring the cessation of | 10 |
| blasting operations in the event of a violation of the | 11 |
| Department's blasting rules that may cause injury to | 12 |
| persons or damage to public and private property outside | 13 |
| the blasting site. | 14 |
| (7) The assessment of civil penalties and the | 15 |
| initiation of formal administrative hearings to resolve | 16 |
| violations of the Department's blasting rules. | 17 |
| (c) The Department shall adopt rules requiring the | 18 |
| training, examination, and licensing of persons engaging in or | 19 |
| responsible for the blasting operation or use of explosives in | 20 |
| underground aggregate mining operations. The rules shall | 21 |
| include an administrative enforcement process designed to | 22 |
| correct infractions of the terms of blasting licenses issued by | 23 |
| the Department. These rules may also include a fee schedule | 24 |
| designed to defray the costs associated with the Department's | 25 |
| examination and licensing of persons engaging in or responsible | 26 |
| for the blasting operation or use of explosives in aggregate |
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| mining operations. These rules shall be consistent with the | 2 |
| Department's existing rules governing other blasting | 3 |
| operations within the State. | 4 |
| (d) The initial rules adopted under this Section shall | 5 |
| become effective one year after the rules are adopted by the | 6 |
| Department. | 7 |
| Section 20. Entry upon land for inspection. A designated | 8 |
| representative of the Department may enter upon the lands of | 9 |
| the operator at all reasonable times for the purpose of | 10 |
| inspection in order to determine whether the provisions of this | 11 |
| Act have been complied with. | 12 |
| Section 25. New mine; notice. Any operator desiring to | 13 |
| open a new underground mining operation shall notify the | 14 |
| Department of his or her intention before any work is commenced | 15 |
| and furnish the Department with a legal description of the | 16 |
| proposed location of the mine and the post office address. | 17 |
| Section 30. Administration. | 18 |
| (a) In addition to the duties and powers of the Department | 19 |
| prescribed by the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois, | 20 |
| subject to appropriation, the Department shall have full power | 21 |
| and authority to carry out and administer the provisions of | 22 |
| this Act. These powers shall include without limitation the | 23 |
| imposition of the following fees to enable the Department to |
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| carry out the requirements of this Act: | 2 |
| (1) A registration fee of $300 assessed on July 1 of | 3 |
| each calendar year that is due from each operator engaged | 4 |
| in and controlling an underground mining operation. The | 5 |
| registration fee shall be accompanied by a registration | 6 |
| form, provided by the Department, which shall indicate the | 7 |
| mailing address and telephone number of the operator, the | 8 |
| location of all mining operations controlled by the | 9 |
| operator, the minerals being mined, and other information | 10 |
| deemed necessary by the Department. A $300 registration fee | 11 |
| is the maximum registration fee due from a single operator | 12 |
| each calendar year regardless of the number of sites under | 13 |
| the operator's control. | 14 |
| (2) An additional fee of $100 assessed on July 1 of | 15 |
| each calendar year for each site that was actively engaged | 16 |
| in underground mining during the preceding 12 months that | 17 |
| is due from the operator engaged in and controlling the | 18 |
| underground mining operation. | 19 |
| (3) An additional fee of $250 assessed on July 1 of | 20 |
| each calendar year that is due from each operator engaged | 21 |
| in and controlling an underground mining operation where | 22 |
| blasting operations occurred during the preceding 12 | 23 |
| months. | 24 |
| (b) Fees shall be assessed by the Department commencing | 25 |
| July 1, 2008 for every underground mine operator, active | 26 |
| underground mining site, and active underground aggregate |
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| blasting operation of record as of that date and on July 1 of | 2 |
| each year thereafter. The fees under this Section are in | 3 |
| addition to any other fees required by law and shall be | 4 |
| deposited into the Aggregate Operations Regulatory Fund. | 5 |
| (c) All fees assessed under this Section shall be submitted | 6 |
| to the Department no later than 30 days after the date listed | 7 |
| on the Department's annual fee assessment letter sent to the | 8 |
| underground mine operator. If the operator is delinquent in the | 9 |
| payment of the fees assessed under this Section, no further | 10 |
| documentation of compliance may be issued to the operator until | 11 |
| the delinquent fees have been paid. Moreover, if the operator | 12 |
| is delinquent for more than 60 days in the payment of fees | 13 |
| assessed under this Section, the Department shall take action | 14 |
| to enjoin further underground mining and aggregate blasting | 15 |
| operations until all delinquent fees are paid. No liability | 16 |
| whatsoever shall accrue to the Department in closing down any | 17 |
| operator pursuant to this Section. | 18 |
| Section 35. Illinois Administrative Procedure Act. The | 19 |
| Illinois Administrative Procedure Act is hereby expressly | 20 |
| adopted and shall apply to all administrative rules and | 21 |
| procedures of the Department under this Act. | 22 |
| Section 40. Severability clause. If any Section, | 23 |
| subdivision, clause, sentence, or paragraph in this Act shall | 24 |
| be held to be unconstitutional, the unconstitutionality |
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| thereof shall not affect the remaining parts of this Act.
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| Section 45. Home rule. The regulation of blasting | 3 |
| operations at underground aggregate mining operations is an | 4 |
| exclusive power and function of the State. A home rule unit may | 5 |
| not regulate blasting operations at underground aggregate | 6 |
| mining operations. This Section is a denial and limitation of | 7 |
| home rule powers and functions under subsection (h) of Section | 8 |
| 6 of Article VII of the Illinois Constitution. | 9 |
| Section 50. Local ordinances, resolutions, and agreements. | 10 |
| Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 45 of this Act, the | 11 |
| provisions of any ordinance or resolution adopted by a unit of | 12 |
| local government or any agreement entered into between the | 13 |
| operator of an underground aggregate mine and a unit of local | 14 |
| government before the effective date of this Act that concern | 15 |
| the times during which blasting operations are permitted within | 16 |
| the unit of local government shall remain in full force and | 17 |
| effect until such time as the ordinance or resolution is | 18 |
| repealed or the agreement is mutually rescinded by the parties.
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