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Public Act 098-0526
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| SB1458 Enrolled | LRB098 02584 AMC 32589 b |
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AN ACT concerning utilities.
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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 5. The Illinois Gas Pipeline Safety Act is amended |
by adding Sections 2.08, 2.09, 2.10, 2.11, and 7.5 and by |
changing Section 7 as follows:
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(220 ILCS 20/2.08 new) |
Sec. 2.08. Notice of probable violation. "Notice of |
probable violation" or "NOPV" means a written notice, |
satisfying the criteria set forth in Section 7.5 of this Act, |
given by the pipeline safety manager to a person who engages in |
the transportation of gas or who owns or operates pipeline |
facilities that identifies a failure of such person to comply |
with the provisions of this Act, the federal Natural Gas |
Pipeline Safety Act of 1968, or any Commission order or rule |
issued under this Act and may recommend a penalty in connection |
therewith, subject to the terms of this Act.
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(220 ILCS 20/2.09 new) |
Sec. 2.09. Pipeline safety manager. "Pipeline safety |
manager" means the manager of the Commission's Pipeline Safety |
Program or other staff of the Commission assigned to gas |
pipeline safety issues.
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(220 ILCS 20/7) (from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 557)
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Sec. 7. Penalties; action for penalties; Commission |
approval of penalties.
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(a) Any person violating paragraph (a) of Section 6 of this |
Act or
any
rule or order issued under this Act is subject to a |
civil penalty not to
exceed the maximum penalties established |
by Section 60122(a)(1) of Title 49 of
the United States Code |
for each day the violation
persists. Such civil penalties do |
not apply to a violation with respect
to a pipeline facility in |
existence on the effective date of this Act
unless such |
violation persists one year from the effective date.
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(b) Any civil penalty may be compromised by the Commission |
or, subject to this Act, by the pipeline safety manager. In
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determining the amount of the penalty, or the amount agreed |
upon in
compromise, the Commission or, subject to this Act, the |
pipeline safety manager, as the case may be, shall consider the |
appropriateness of the
penalty to the size of the business of |
the person charged, the gravity of
the violation, and the good |
faith of the person charged in attempting to
achieve |
compliance, after notification of a violation. The amount of |
the
penalty when finally determined, or the amount agreed upon |
in compromise,
shall be paid or may be deducted from any sums |
owing by the State of Illinois to the person
charged pursuant |
to the terms and conditions of the NOPV or the agreed |
compromise or Commission order, as the case may be, or may be |
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recovered in a civil action in accordance with paragraph
(c) of |
this Section 7. Unless specifically stated otherwise in the |
terms and conditions of any compromise agreement, any |
compromise of a penalty recommended in an NOPV by the person |
charged shall not be deemed to be an admission of liability.
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(c) Actions to recover penalties under this Act shall be |
brought in the
name of the People of the State of Illinois in |
the circuit court in and for
the county in which the cause or |
some part thereof, arose or in which the
corporation complained |
of, if any, has its principal place of business or
in which the |
person, if any, complained of, resides. All penalties
recovered |
by the State in any action shall be paid into the general
fund |
of the State Treasury. The action shall be commenced and |
prosecuted
to final judgment by the Attorney General on behalf |
of the Commission. In
all such actions, the procedure and rules |
of evidence shall conform with
the Civil Practice Law and other |
rules of court governing civil
trials.
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(d) In addition the Commission may proceed under Section |
4-202 of the
Public Utilities Act, either by mandamus or |
injunction, to secure
compliance with its rules, regulations |
and orders issued under this Act.
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(e) Any person penalized under this Section is not subject, |
for the same
cause, to any other penalty provided in the Public |
Utilities Act.
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(f) In the event any penalty recommended by the pipeline |
safety manager is paid by the person charged in the applicable |
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NOPV in accordance with subsection (b) of this Section or in |
accordance with the terms and conditions of a compromise, |
agreed upon by such person and the pipeline safety manager, |
then the pipeline safety manager shall report, and request |
approval of, each such payment of a recommended penalty or |
agreed compromise, as the case may be, to the Commission at a |
public meeting of the Commission and shall also post such |
report on the Commission's website as a public document subject |
to the requirements of Section 4-404 of the Public Utilities |
Act. Whenever such report and request for approval shall be |
made to the Commission, the Commission shall have the power, |
and it is hereby given authority, either upon complaint or upon |
its own motion, upon reasonable notice given within 45 days |
after such report and request for approval was made at a public |
meeting of the Commission, to enter upon a hearing concerning |
the propriety of the applicable NOPV, payment, or compromise. |
In the event the Commission does not exercise this power within |
the 45-day period, the payment or agreed compromise referenced |
in the report shall be deemed approved by the Commission by |
operation of law at the expiration of the 45-day period and the |
NOPV and related investigation shall be deemed closed. |
(Source: P.A. 91-814, eff. 6-13-00.)
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(220 ILCS 20/7.5 new) |
Sec. 7.5. NOPV; Commission hearing. |
(a) For the purposes of this Section, "violation" means a |
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failure to comply with any provision of this Act or any |
Commission order or rule issued under this Act. |
(b) After investigation and determination of a probable |
violation, the pipeline safety manager may issue and deposit in |
the United States mail an NOPV. Any NOPV so issued and mailed |
may also be posted on the Commission's website as a public |
document, subject to the requirements of Section 4-404 of the |
Public Utilities Act. |
(c) An NOPV shall set forth, at a minimum, the following: |
(1) the date the NOPV was issued and deposited in the United |
States mail; (2) a description of the violation or violations |
alleged; (3) the date and location of the safety incident, if |
applicable, related to each alleged violation; (4) a detailed |
description of the circumstances that support the |
determination of each proposed violation; (5) a detailed |
description of the corrective action required with respect to |
each proposed violation; (6) the amount of the penalty, if any, |
recommended with respect to each proposed violation; (7) the |
applicable recommended deadline for payment of each proposed |
penalty and for completion of each proposed corrective action |
(in no event shall any recommended deadline be less than 30 |
days after the date of the NOPV); (8) notification that any |
such recommended deadline may be extended by mutual agreement |
of the parties for the purpose of facilitating settlement or |
compromise; and (9) a brief description of the procedures by |
which any recommended penalty or proposed corrective action may |
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be challenged at the Commission or approved pursuant to |
subsection (f) of Section 7. |
(d) Payment in full of each of the recommended penalties |
and full completion of each of the proposed corrective actions, |
as identified in the NOPV and in accordance with the terms and |
conditions set forth in the NOPV, including without limitation |
the respective recommended deadlines set forth in the NOPV for |
such payment or completion, shall constitute a final resolution |
of the NOPV, subject to the approval by the Commission of the |
recommended penalty and payment in accordance with subsection |
(f) of Section 7. |
(e) If one or more of the alleged violations set forth in |
an NOPV is contested, then the Commission shall have the power |
and it is hereby given authority, either upon complaint or upon |
its own motion, upon reasonable notice, to enter upon a hearing |
under this Act concerning the incident referenced in the NOPV, |
in accordance with Article X of the Public Utilities Act. If a |
recommended penalty is not paid prior to the deadline |
recommended in the NOPV or other mutually agreed upon date, or |
if one or more of the proposed corrective actions set forth in |
an NOPV is not fully and timely completed in accordance with |
the terms and conditions set forth in the NOPV, the NOPV shall |
be deemed contested. |
(f) The Commission shall have the power to adopt rules to |
implement this Section to the extent the Commission deems such |
rules necessary or desirable.
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