415 ILCS 130/ Interstate Ozone Transport Oversight Act. - Illinois Statutes

(415 ILCS 130/1)     Sec. 1. Short title. This Act shall be known and may be cited as the Interstate Ozone Transport Oversight Act. (Source: P.A. 89‑566, eff. 7‑26‑96.)

(415 ILCS 130/5)     Sec. 5. Findings. The General Assembly finds:     (a) The Federal Clean Air Act, as amended, contains a comprehensive regulatory scheme for the control of emissions from mobile, stationary and area sources, which will improve ambient air quality and health and welfare in all parts of the nation.     (b) The number of areas unable to meet national ambient air quality standards for ozone has been declining steadily and will continue to decline with air quality improvements resulting from implementation of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990, and the mobile, stationary and area source emission controls specified in the Amendments.     (c) Scientific research on the transport of atmospheric ozone across state boundaries is proceeding under the auspices of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), state agencies, and private entities, which will lead to improved scientific understanding of the causes and nature of ozone transport, and potentially applicable emission control strategies.     (d) The Northeast Ozone Transport Commission established by the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 has proposed emission control requirements for stationary and mobile sources in certain northeastern states and the District of Columbia in addition to those requirements specified by Titles I, II and IV of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990.     (e) Membership of the Northeast Ozone Transport Commission includes, by statute, representatives of state environmental agencies and governors' offices; similar representation is required in the case of other ozone transport commissions established by the Administrator of the United States EPA pursuant to Section 176A of the Clean Air Act, as amended.     (f) The Northeast Ozone Transport Commission neither sought nor obtained state legislative oversight or approval prior to reaching its decisions on mobile and stationary source requirements for states included within the Northeast Ozone Transport Region.     (g) The Commonwealth of Virginia and other parties have challenged the constitutionality of the Ozone Transport Commission and its regulatory proposals under the Guarantee, Compact, and Joinder Clauses of the United States Constitution; various state legislatures in the Northeast United States have expressed their desire to be fully involved in the formulation of policies and regulations by the Ozone Transport Commission.     (h) The United States EPA, acting outside of the aforementioned statutory requirements for the establishment of new interstate transport commissions, is encouraging the State of Illinois and twenty‑four other states outside of the Northeast to participate in multistate negotiations through the Ozone Transport Assessment Group; those negotiations are intended to provide the basis for an interstate memorandum of understanding or other agreement on ozone transport requiring reductions of emissions of nitrogen oxides or volatile organic compounds in addition to those emission reductions specified by the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990; membership of the Ozone Transport Assessment Group consists of state and federal air quality officials, without state legislative or gubernatorial representation or participation.     (i) Emission control requirements exceeding those specified by the federal law can adversely affect state economic development, competitiveness, employment, and income without corresponding environmental benefits; in the case of electric utility emissions of nitrogen oxides, it is estimated that control costs in addition to those specified by the Clean Air Act could amount to $4 to $5.5 billion annually in a 37‑state region of the Eastern United States.     (j) Requiring certain eastern states to meet emission control requirements more stringent than those otherwise applicable in western states would unfairly affect interstate competition for new industrial development and employment opportunities. (Source: P.A. 89‑566, eff. 7‑26‑96.)

(415 ILCS 130/10)     Sec. 10. Definitions. As used in this Act:     "Act" means the Interstate Ozone Transport Oversight Act.     "Alternate strategies" means any alternate strategies which could reasonably be utilized by the State of Illinois, in lieu of or in combination with the strategies identified in any proposed memorandum of understanding or other agreement developed by the Ozone Transport Assessment Group, in its efforts to achieve the national ambient air quality standard for ozone.     "Board" means the Pollution Control Board.     "Director" means the Director of the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency.     "House Committee" means the Illinois House of Representatives Committee on Energy and the Environment.     "House of Representatives" means the Illinois House of Representatives.     "Memorandum of understanding" means a memorandum of understanding or any other agreement by the Ozone Transport Assessment Group potentially requiring the State of Illinois to undertake emission reductions in addition to those specified in the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990.     "Ozone Transport Assessment Group" means the national work group formed to conduct a national assessment of and develop a consensus solution to the ozone formation and transport phenomena, including a proposal for national and regional control strategies aimed at achieving reductions of ozone and ozone precursor concentrations.     "Senate" means the Illinois Senate.     "Senate Committee" means the Illinois Senate Committee on Energy and the Environment.     "Senate President" means the President of the Illinois Senate.     "Speaker of the House" means the Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives.     "State Implementation Plan" means an Illinois state implementation plan for ozone attainment prepared pursuant to Section 110 of the federal Clean Air Act. (Source: P.A. 89‑566, eff. 7‑26‑96; 90‑500, eff. 8‑19‑97.)

(415 ILCS 130/15)     Sec. 15. Applicability.     (a) Nothing in this Act is intended to preclude the Senate or the House or Representatives from taking any other action with respect to any proposed memorandum of understanding or with respect to alternate strategies as either body deems appropriate.     (b) Nothing in this Act is intended to circumvent the authority of the Board to adopt regulations pursuant to Title VII of the Environmental Protection Act. (Source: P.A. 89‑566, eff. 7‑26‑96.)

    (415 ILCS 130/20)
    Sec. 20. Legislative referral and public hearings.
    (a) Not later than 10 days after the development of any proposed memorandum of understanding by the Ozone Transport Assessment Group potentially requiring the State of Illinois to undertake emission reductions in addition to those specified by the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990, or subsequent to the issuance of a request made by the United States Environmental Protection Agency on or after June 1, 1997 for submission of a State Implementation Plan for Illinois relating to ozone attainment and before submission of the Plan, the Director shall submit the proposed memorandum of understanding or State Implementation Plan to the House Committee and the Senate Committee for their consideration. At that time, the Director shall also submit information detailing any alternate strategies.
    (b) To assist the legislative review required by this Act, the Department of Natural Resources and the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity shall conduct a joint study of the impacts on the State's economy which may result from implementation of the emission reduction strategies contained within any proposed memorandum of understanding or State Implementation Plan relating to ozone and from implementation of any alternate strategies. The study shall include, but not be limited to, the impacts on economic development, employment, utility costs and rates, personal income, and industrial competitiveness which may result from implementation of the emission reduction strategies contained within any proposed memorandum of agreement or State Implementation Plan relating to ozone and from implementation of any alternate strategies. The study shall be submitted to the House Committee and Senate Committee not less than 10 days prior to any scheduled hearing conducted pursuant to subsection (c) of this Section.
    (c) Upon receipt of the information required by subsections (a) and (b) of this Section, the House Committee and Senate Committee shall each convene one or more public hearings to receive comments from agencies of government and other interested parties on the memorandum of understanding's or State Implementation Plan's prospective economic and environmental impacts, including its impacts on energy use, economic development, utility costs and rates, and competitiveness. Additionally, comments shall be received on the prospective economic and environmental impacts, including impacts on energy use, economic development, utility costs and rates, and competitiveness, which may result from implementation of any alternate strategies.
(Source: P.A. 94‑793, eff. 5‑19‑06.)

(415 ILCS 130/25)     Sec. 25. Findings and recommendations to the Governor.     (a) Upon completion of the public hearings conducted pursuant to subsection (c) of Section 20, the House Committee and Senate Committee shall each prepare a report containing its findings and recommendations concerning the proposed memorandum of understanding or State Implementation Plan and alternate strategies. The reports shall also contain findings and recommendations concerning the relative net costs and net benefits which might result from implementation of the emission reduction strategies identified in the memorandum of understanding or State Implementation Plan, contrasted with those that might result from implementation of the alternate strategies. The recommendations may include suggested modifications to the terms or applicability of the memorandum of understanding or State Implementation Plan.     (b) Upon completion of the reports, the House Committee and Senate Committee shall forward the reports to the Speaker of the House and the Senate President, respectively.     (c) Upon receipt of the reports submitted pursuant to subsection (b) of this Section, the Speaker of the House and the Senate President shall forward the reports to the Governor for his or her further consideration or action that may be warranted.     (d) In the absence of a resolution or other act of the Illinois General Assembly approving a State Implementation Plan for Illinois relating to ozone, the Director of the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency shall not submit to the United States Environmental Protection Agency a State Implementation Plan relating to ozone attainment that would impose emission controls in Illinois more stringent than necessary for Illinois to demonstrate attainment with a national ambient air quality standard for ozone, unless it can be shown (i) that man‑made emissions from man‑made sources located within Illinois contribute significantly to nonattainment or inability to maintain an ozone standard in another nonattaining state and (ii) that feasible emission reductions in the other nonattaining state, absent the more stringent emission controls in Illinois, would not permit that state to demonstrate attainment and maintenance of the national ambient air quality standard for ozone. (Source: P.A. 89‑566, eff. 7‑26‑96; 90‑500, eff. 8‑19‑97.)

(415 ILCS 130/99)     Sec. 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon becoming law. (Source: P.A. 89‑566, eff. 7‑26‑96.)