While CICI and many other groups and businesses are waiting to see if the measure to ban BPA receives a third deadline extension for passage, members of the Senate Environment Committee this week sent its amendment, which would have become the bill, to a subcommittee for further study. The bill itself still awaits further action on the Senate Floor where its future or any other amendments are uncertain.

The amendment to SB 3750 (Kotowski, D-Park Ridge), would ban the use of Bisphenol A (BPA) in many different applications, most notably baby bottles, sippy-cups, canned infant formula and baby food.

In the House, a companion bill, HB 6088 (Nekritz, D-Northbrook), has already been sent back to the House Rules Committee.

While your company may not make or even use BPA, this issue is important to the entire chemical industry. It’s been CICI’s contention that if the environmental community can use junk science to ban such a benign, ubiquitous, and useful product, they can ban anything. Your products could be next.

 

Metro-East Floodplains
This measure, SB 2556 (Haine, D-Alton), is just one of many efforts aimed at addressing an unfortunate situation in the Metro-East area of St. Louis, namely parts of Madison and St. Clair Counties, that have come under increased federal pressure to be mapped into a 100-year floodplain. Adding to this problem is little-known Executive Order (EO) 2006-5 from the Blagojevich era, which prohibited many types of construction and other permitting within a 100-year floodplain, a term which has never been defined in Illinois statute.

The bill defines "100-year floodplain" as the lowland and relatively flat areas adjoining inland and coastal waters, including flood-prone areas of offshore islands, that are inundated by a flood that has a 1% or greater chance of recurring in any given year or a flood of a magnitude equaled or exceeded once in 100 years on the average over a significantly long period. However, areas that lie within an area protected by a levee or levees located in a flood prevention district established by the Flood Prevention District Act (Metro-East St. Louis area) are deemed by operation of law not to be within the 100-year floodplain. The bill further provides that to the extent that EO 2006-5 is inconsistent with the provisions of this amendatory act, then the provisions of this amendatory act will govern.

This bill passed the Senate unanimously this week and now heads to the House for further consideration.

Mercury Thermostat "Take-Back" Program
This is an issue which has been debated in the General Assembly for the past few years. An agreement has finally been reached between the environmental community and manufacturers of thermostats to initiate a collection and management program for out-of-service mercury thermostats. The measure, SB 3346 (Steans, D-Chicago), which passed unanimously over to the House this week, sets up statewide goals for the collection of mercury thermostats taken out of service in the state. The measure authorizes the IEPA to reduce, beginning in calendar year 2018, these statewide goals if it, in consultation with mercury thermostat manufacturers, thermostat wholesalers, contractors, environmental organizations, and other stakeholders, determines that mercury thermostats no longer pose a threat to the environment and public health in Illinois. Further, if the statewide goals are not met by the manufacturers, then the manufacturers must provide a specified financial incentive to achieve these goals.

The bill also provides that contractors, thermostat wholesalers, thermostat manufacturers, and thermostat retailers participating in the program must handle and manage out-of-service mercury thermostats in a manner that is consistent with the provisions of IPCB rules regarding the disposal of universal waste.

The measure also prohibits, on and after July 1, 2011, a thermostat wholesaler from selling, offering to sell, distributing, or offering to distribute thermostats unless the wholesaler participates in the collection program. It also prohibits, beginning July 1, 2011, the mixing of out-of-service mercury thermostats with municipal waste that is intended for disposal at a sanitary landfill. Finally, if this bill becomes law, it will be repealed January 1, 2021.

TACO – Underground Storage Tanks Cleanup
This proposal, SB 3320 (Jones, J., R-Mt. Vernon), is an initiative of the IEPA and provides, for the purpose of payment from the Underground Storage Tank Fund, that corrective action activities required to meet minimum requirements include compliance with certain provisions related to the Tiered Approach to Corrective Action Objective (TACO) rules. The bill requires that the bidding process adopted under IPCB rules to determine the reasonableness of costs of corrective action also provide for a publicly-notified, competitive, and sealed bidding process that is, among other things, optional and allows bidding only if the owner or operator demonstrates that corrective action cannot be performed for less than a certain amount. The legislation also decreases the deductible that must be applied before an owner or operator may access moneys in the fund. It also authorizes the IEPA each fiscal year, subject to appropriation, to commit up to $10 million of the moneys in the fund, which have been appropriated for the payment of corrective action costs, to the payment of corrective action costs for legacy sites that meet certain criteria.

The bill also provides that the Petroleum Underground Storage Tank Title of the Environmental Protection Act applies to all underground storage tank releases for which a NFR letter is issued on or after the effective date of this bill but that (1) costs incurred prior to this effective date will be payable from the Underground Storage Tank Fund in the same manner currently allowed and (2) releases for which corrective action was completed prior to this effective date be eligible for a NFR in the same manner currently allowed at the time the corrective action was completed. Further, if a change in state or federal law requires additional remedial action in response to releases for which NFR letters have been issued, then the IEPA will propose legislation to allow owners and operators to perform the additional remedial action and seek payment from the fund for the costs of the action. Finally, the bill also authorizes payment from the fund of certain costs incurred after the issuance of a NFR letter.

This bill passed the Senate unanimously this week and now heads to the House for further consideration.

Green Special Service Areas – “Berkeley Plan”
This measure, SB 2505 (Frerichs, D-Gifford), also known as the Berkeley Plan, provides that the Illinois Finance Authority has the power to purchase special service area bonds and to accept assignments or pledges, or both, of special service area bonds or agreements relating to public and private green special service area projects. Any unit of local government with the authority in connection with green special service area projects can provide special service area financing under specified provisions, including bonds. Corporate authorities of a county or a municipality may establish a green special service area and specifies the criteria for the creation of the areas, including energy efficiency improvements, renewable energy improvements, or water use improvements. Each county or municipality will have the authority to engage in specified activities, including energy efficiency improvements, renewable energy improvements, and water use improvements that relate to green special service areas. The bill further provides energy conservation projects must achieve energy cost savings sufficient to cover debt service and other project costs within 20 years after the date of project installation.

This bill managed to pass the Senate this week on a roll call of 37 “YES”, 11 “NO”, and 1 “present and now heads to the House for their consideration.




Please note that the Chemical Industry Council of Illinois Legislator is not intended to convey legal advice or set forth all legal requirements applicable to particular circumstances.


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