State Codes and Statutes

Statutes > Illinois > Chapter420 > 1617

    (420 ILCS 20/1) (from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 241‑1)
    Sec. 1. This Act shall be known and may be cited as the "Illinois Low‑Level Radioactive Waste Management Act".
(Source: P.A. 83‑991.)

    (420 ILCS 20/2)(from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 241‑2)
    Sec. 2. (a) The General Assembly finds:
        (1) that low‑level radioactive wastes are produced
     in this State with even greater volumes to be produced in the future;
        (2) that such radioactive wastes pose a significant
     risk to the public health, safety and welfare of the people of Illinois; and
        (3) that it is the obligation of the State of
     Illinois to its citizens to provide for the safe management of the low‑level radioactive wastes produced within its borders.
    (b) The Illinois Emergency Management Agency has attained federal agreement state status and thereby has assumed regulatory authority over low‑level radioactive waste from the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission under Section 274b of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2014). It is the purpose of this Act to establish a comprehensive program for the storage, treatment, and disposal of low‑level radioactive wastes in Illinois. It is the intent of the General Assembly that the program provide for the management of these wastes in the safest manner possible and in a manner that creates the least risk to human health and the environment of Illinois and that the program encourage to the fullest extent possible the use of environmentally sound waste management practices alternative to land disposal including waste recycling, compaction, incineration and other methods to reduce the amount of wastes produced, and to ensure public participation in all phases of the development of this radioactive waste management program.
(Source: P.A. 95‑777, eff. 8‑4‑08.)

    (420 ILCS 20/3)(from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 241‑3)
    Sec. 3. Definitions.
    "Agency" means the Illinois Emergency Management Agency.
    "Broker" means any person who takes possession of low‑level waste for purposes of consolidation and shipment.
    "Compact" means the Central Midwest Interstate Low‑Level Radioactive Waste Compact.
    "Decommissioning" means the measures taken at the end of a facility's operating life to assure the continued protection of the public from any residual radioactivity or other potential hazards present at a facility.
    "Director" means the Director of the Illinois Emergency Management Agency.
    "Disposal" means the isolation of waste from the biosphere in a permanent facility designed for that purpose.
    "Facility" means a parcel of land or site, together with structures, equipment and improvements on or appurtenant to the land or site, which is used or is being developed for the treatment, storage or disposal of low‑level radioactive waste. "Facility" does not include lands, sites, structures or equipment used by a generator in the generation of low‑level radioactive wastes.
    "Generator" means any person who produces or possesses low‑level radioactive waste in the course of or incident to manufacturing, power generation, processing, medical diagnosis and treatment, research, education or other activity.
    "Hazardous waste" means a waste, or combination of wastes, which because of its quantity, concentration, or physical, chemical, or infectious characteristics may cause or significantly contribute to an increase in mortality or an increase in serious, irreversible, or incapacitating reversible, illness; or pose a substantial present or potential hazard to human health or the environment when improperly treated, stored, transported, or disposed of, or otherwise managed, and which has been identified, by characteristics or listing, as hazardous under Section 3001 of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976, P.L. 94‑580 or under regulations of the Pollution Control Board.
    "High‑level radioactive waste" means:
        (1) the highly radioactive material resulting from
     the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel including liquid waste produced directly in reprocessing and any solid material derived from the liquid waste that contains fission products in sufficient concentrations; and
        (2) the highly radioactive material that the Nuclear
     Regulatory Commission has determined, on the effective date of this Amendatory Act of 1988, to be high‑level radioactive waste requiring permanent isolation.
    "Low‑level radioactive waste" or "waste" means radioactive waste not classified as high‑level radioactive waste, transuranic waste, spent nuclear fuel or byproduct material as defined in Section 11e(2) of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2014).
    "Mixed waste" means waste that is both "hazardous waste" and "low‑level radioactive waste" as defined in this Act.
    "Person" means an individual, corporation, business enterprise or other legal entity either public or private and any legal successor, representative, agent or agency of that individual, corporation, business enterprise, or legal entity.
    "Post‑closure care" means the continued monitoring of the regional disposal facility after closure for the purposes of detecting a need for maintenance, ensuring environmental safety, and determining compliance with applicable licensure and regulatory requirements, and includes undertaking any remedial actions necessary to protect public health and the environment from radioactive releases from the facility.
    "Regional disposal facility" or "disposal facility" means the facility established by the State of Illinois under this Act for disposal away from the point of generation of waste generated in the region of the Compact.
    "Release" means any spilling, leaking, pumping, pouring, emitting, emptying, discharging, injecting, escaping, leaching, dumping or disposing into the environment of low‑level radioactive waste.
    "Remedial action" means those actions taken in the event of a release or threatened release of low‑level radioactive waste into the environment, to prevent or minimize the release of the waste so that it does not migrate to cause substantial danger to present or future public health or welfare or the environment. The term includes, but is not limited to, actions at the location of the release such as storage, confinement, perimeter protection using dikes, trenches or ditches, clay cover, neutralization, cleanup of released low‑level radioactive wastes, recycling or reuse, dredging or excavations, repair or replacement of leaking containers, collection of leachate and runoff, onsite treatment or incineration, provision of alternative water supplies and any monitoring reasonably required to assure that these actions protect human health and the environment.
    "Scientific Surveys" means, collectively, the State Geological Survey and the State Water Survey of the University of Illinois.
    "Shallow land burial" means a land disposal facility in which radioactive waste is disposed of in or within the upper 30 meters of the earth's surface. However, this definition shall not include an enclosed, engineered, structurally re‑enforced and solidified bunker that extends below the earth's surface.
    "Storage" means the temporary holding of waste for treatment or disposal for a period determined by Agency regulations.
    "Treatment" means any method, technique or process, including storage for radioactive decay, designed to change the physical, chemical or biological characteristics or composition of any waste in order to render the waste safer for transport, storage or disposal, amenable to recovery, convertible to another usable material or reduced in volume.
    "Waste management" means the storage, transportation, treatment or disposal of waste.
(Source: P.A. 95‑728, eff. date ‑ See Sec. 999; 95‑777, eff. 8‑4‑08; 96‑328, eff. 8‑11‑09.)

    (420 ILCS 20/4)(from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 241‑4)
    Sec. 4. Generator and broker registration.
    (a) All generators and brokers of any amount of low‑level radioactive waste in Illinois shall register with the Agency. Generators shall register within 60 days of the commencement of generating any low‑level radioactive wastes. Brokers shall register within 60 days of taking possession of any low‑level radioactive waste. Such registration shall be on a form developed by the Agency and shall contain the name, address and officers of the generator or broker, information on the types and amounts of wastes produced or possessed and any other information required by the Agency.
    (b) All registered generators and brokers of any amount of low‑level radioactive waste in Illinois shall file an annual report with the Agency. The annual report for generators shall contain information on the types and quantities of low‑level wastes produced in the previous year and expected to be produced in the future, the methods used to manage these wastes, the technological feasibility, economic reasonableness and environmental soundness of alternative treatment, storage and disposal methods and any other information required by the Agency. The annual report for brokers shall contain information on the types and quantities of low‑level radioactive wastes received and shipped, identification of the generators from whom such wastes were received, and the destination of shipments of such wastes.
    (c) All registration forms and annual reports required to be filed with the Agency shall be made available to the public for inspection and copying.
(Source: P.A. 95‑777, eff. 8‑4‑08.)

    (420 ILCS 20/5)(from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 241‑5)
    Sec. 5. Requirements for disposal facility contractors; operating agreements.
    (a) The Agency shall promulgate rules and regulations establishing standards applicable to the selection of a contractor or contractors for the design, development, construction, and operation of a low‑level radioactive waste disposal facility away from the point of generation necessary to protect human health and the environment. The regulations shall establish, but need not be limited to, the following:
        (1) The number of contractors to design, develop,
     and operate a low‑level radioactive waste disposal facility;
        (2) Requirements and standards relating to the
     financial integrity of the firm;
        (3) Requirements and standards relating to the
     experience and performance history of the firm in the design, development, construction and operation of low‑level radioactive waste disposal facilities; and
        (4) Requirements and standards for the
     qualifications of the employees of the firm.
    The Agency shall hold at least one public hearing before promulgating the regulations.
    (b) The Agency may enter into one or more operating agreements with a qualified operator of the regional disposal facility, which agreement may contain such provisions with respect to the construction, operation, closure, and post‑closure maintenance of the regional disposal facility by the operator as the Agency shall determine, including, without limitation, (i) provisions leasing, or providing for the lease of, the site to the operator and authorizing the operator to construct, own and operate the facility and to transfer the facility to the Agency following closure and any additional years of post‑closure maintenance that the Agency shall determine; (ii) provisions granting exclusive rights to the operator with respect to the disposal of low‑level radioactive waste in this State during the term of the operating agreement; (iii) provisions authorizing the operator to impose fees upon all persons using the facility as provided in this Act and providing for the Agency to audit the charges of the operator under the operating agreement; and (iv) provisions relating to the obligations of the operator and the Agency in the event of any closure of the facility or any termination of the operating agreement.
(Source: P.A. 95‑777, eff. 8‑4‑08.)

    (420 ILCS 20/6)(from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 241‑6)
    Sec. 6. Requirements for disposal facility.
    (a) The Agency shall as it deems necessary to protect human health and the environment, promulgate rules and regulations establishing standards applicable to the regional disposal facility. The rules and regulations shall reflect the best available management technologies which are economically reasonable, technologically feasible and environmentally sound for the disposal of the wastes and shall establish, but need not be limited to the establishment of:
        (1) requirements and performance standards for the
     design, construction, operation, maintenance and monitoring of the low‑level radioactive waste disposal facility;
        (2) requirements and standards for the keeping of
     records and the reporting and retaining of data collected by the contractor selected to operate the disposal facility;
        (3) requirements and standards for the technical
     qualifications of the personnel of the contractor selected to develop and operate the disposal facility;
        (4) requirements and standards for establishing the
     financial responsibility of the contractor selected to operate the disposal facility;
        (5) requirements and standards for the emergency
     closure of the disposal facility; and
        (6) requirements and standards for the closure,
     decommissioning and post‑closure care, monitoring, maintenance and use of the disposal facility.
    (b) The regulations shall include provisions requiring that the contractor selected to operate the disposal facility post a performance bond with the Agency or show evidence of liability insurance or other means of establishing financial responsibility in an amount sufficient to adequately provide for any necessary remedial actions or liabilities that might be incurred by the operation of the disposal facility during the operating period and during a reasonable period of post‑closure care.
    (c) The regulations adopted for the requirements and performance standards of a disposal facility shall not provide for the shallow land burial of low‑level radioactive wastes.
    (d) The Agency shall hold at least one public hearing before adopting rules under this Section.
    (e) All rules adopted under this Section shall be at least as stringent as those promulgated by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission under the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2014) and any other applicable federal laws.
    (f) The State of Illinois shall have no liability to any person or entity by reason of a failure, delay, or cessation in the operation of the disposal facility.
(Source: P.A. 95‑777, eff. 8‑4‑08.)

    (420 ILCS 20/7)(from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 241‑7)
    Sec. 7. Requirements for waste treatment. The Agency shall promulgate rules and regulations establishing standards applicable to the treatment of low‑level radioactive wastes disposed of in any facility in Illinois necessary to protect human health and the environment. Such rules and regulations shall reflect the best available treatment technologies that are economically reasonable, technologically feasible and environmentally sound for reducing the quantity and radioactive quality of such wastes prior to land burial and shall establish, but need not be limited to, requirements respecting:
        (1) the form in which low‑level radioactive wastes
     may be disposed;
        (2) the use of treatment technologies for recycling,
     compacting, solidifying or otherwise treating low‑level radioactive wastes prior to disposal; and
        (3) the use of technologies for the treatment of such
     wastes to minimize the radioactive characteristics of the waste disposed of or to reduce the tendency of the waste to migrate in geologic and hydrologic formations.
    The Agency shall hold at least one public hearing prior to promulgating such regulations.
(Source: P.A. 95‑777, eff. 8‑4‑08.)

    (420 ILCS 20/8)(from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 241‑8)
    Sec. 8. Requirements for waste facility licensing.
    (a) No person shall operate any facility for the storage, treatment, or disposal of low‑level radioactive wastes away from the point of generation in Illinois without a license granted by the Agency.
    (b) Each application for a license under this Section shall contain such information as may be required by the Agency, including, but not limited to, information respecting:
        (1) estimates of the quantities and types of wastes
     to be stored, treated or disposed of at the facility;
        (2) the design specifications and proposed operating
     procedures of the facility necessary to assure compliance with the rules adopted under Sections 6 and 7;
        (3) financial and personnel information necessary to
     assure the integrity and qualifications of the contractor selected to operate the facility;
        (4) a closure plan to ensure the proper closure,
     decommissioning, and post‑closure care of the disposal facility; and
        (5) a contingency plan to establish the procedures
     to be followed in the event of unanticipated radioactive releases.
    (c) The Director may issue a license for the construction and operation of a facility authorized by this Act, provided the applicant for the license has complied with applicable provisions of this Act and regulations of the Agency. No license issued by the Director shall authorize the disposal of mixed waste at any regional disposal facility. In the event that an applicant or licensee proposes modifications to a facility, or in the event that the Director determines that modifications are necessary to conform to the requirements of this Act, the Director may issue any license modifications necessary to protect human health and the environment and may specify the time allowed to complete the modifications.
    (d) Upon a determination by the Director of substantial noncompliance with any license granted under this Act or upon a determination that an emergency exists posing a significant hazard to public health and the environment, the Director may revoke a license issued under this Act. Before revoking any license, the Director shall serve notice upon the alleged violator setting forth the Sections of this Act, or the rules adopted under this Act, that are alleged to have been violated. The Director shall hold at least one public hearing not later than 30 days following the notice.
    (e) No person shall operate and the Director shall not issue any license under this Section to operate any disposal facility for the shallow land burial of low‑level radioactive wastes in Illinois.
    (f) (Blank).
    (g) Notwithstanding subsection (d) of Section 10.3 of this Act, a license issued by the Agency to operate any regional disposal facility shall be revoked as a matter of law to the extent that the license authorizes disposal if:
        (1) the facility accepts for disposal byproduct
     material as defined in Section 11e(2) of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2014), high‑level radioactive waste or mixed waste, and
        (2) (A) if the facility is located more than 1 1/2
     miles from the boundary of a municipality and the county in which the facility is located passes an ordinance ordering the license revoked, or
        (B) if the facility is located within a municipality
     or within 1 1/2 miles of the boundary of a municipality and that municipality passes an ordinance ordering the license revoked.
(Source: P.A. 95‑777, eff. 8‑4‑08.)

    (420 ILCS 20/9)(from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 241‑9)
    Sec. 9. Requirements for waste transporters.
    (a) No person shall transport any low‑level radioactive waste to a storage, treatment or disposal facility in Illinois licensed under Section 8 without a permit granted by the Agency.
    (b) No person shall transport any low‑level radioactive waste to a storage, treatment or disposal facility licensed under Section 8 without a manifest document. The Agency shall develop the form for such manifests and shall promulgate rules and regulations establishing a system of tracking wastes from their point of generation to storage, treatment, and ultimate disposal.
    (c) Each application for a permit under this Section shall contain any information as may be required under regulations promulgated by the Agency, including, but not limited to, information respecting:
        (1) The estimated quantities and types of wastes to
     be transported to a facility located in Illinois;
        (2) The procedures and methods used to monitor and
     inspect the shipments to ensure that leakage or spills do not occur;
        (3) The timetables according to which the wastes are
     to be shipped.
        (4) The qualifications and training of personnel
     handling low‑level radioactive waste; and
        (5) The use of interim storage and transshipment
     facilities.
    (d) The Director may issue a permit to any applicant who has met and whom he believes will comply with the requirements of the Illinois Hazardous Materials Transportation Act and any other applicable State or federal laws or regulations. In the event that an applicant or permittee proposes modifications of a permit, or in the event that the Director determines that modifications are necessary to conform with the requirements of the Act, the Director may issue any permit modifications necessary to protect human health and the environment and may specify the time allowed to complete the modifications.
    (e) The Agency shall inspect each shipment of low‑level radioactive wastes received at the regional disposal facility for compliance with the packaging, placarding and other requirements established by rules and regulations promulgated by the Illinois Department of Transportation under the Illinois Hazardous Materials Transportation Act and any other applicable State or federal regulations. The Agency shall notify the Attorney General of any apparent violations for possible prosecution under Sections 11 and 12 of that Act.
(Source: P.A. 95‑777, eff. 8‑4‑08.)

    (420 ILCS 20/10)(from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 241‑10)
    Sec. 10. Disposal facility contractor selection. Upon adopting the regulations establishing requirements for waste disposal facilities provided for in Section 6, the Agency shall solicit proposals for the selection of one or more contractors to site, design, develop, construct, operate, close, provide post‑closure care for, and decommission the disposal facility. Not later than 6 months after the solicitation of proposals, the Director shall select the applicant who has submitted the proposal that best conforms to the requirements of this Act and to the rules adopted under this Act.
(Source: P.A. 95‑777, eff. 8‑4‑08.)

    (420 ILCS 20/10.2)(from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 241‑10.2)
    Sec. 10.2. Creation of Low‑Level Radioactive Waste Task Group; adoption of criteria; selection of site for characterization.
    (a) There is hereby created the Low‑Level Radioactive Waste Task Group consisting of the Directors of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Natural Resources, and the Illinois Emergency Management Agency (or their designees) and 6 additional members designated by the Governor. The 6 additional members shall:
        (1) be confirmed by the Senate; and
        (2) receive compensation of $300 per day for their
     services on the Task Group unless they are officers or employees of the State, in which case they shall receive no additional compensation.
    Four of the additional members shall have expertise in the field of geology, hydrogeology, or hydrology. Of the 2 remaining additional members, one shall be a member of the public with experience in environmental matters and one shall have at least 5 years experience in local government. The Directors of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Natural Resources, and the Illinois Emergency Management Agency (or their designees) shall receive no additional compensation for their service on the Task Group. All members of the Task Group shall be compensated for their expenses. The Governor shall designate the chairman of the Task Group. Upon adoption of the criteria under subsection (b) of this Section, the Directors of the Illinois Emergency Management Agency and the Environmental Protection Agency shall be replaced on the Task Group by members designated by the Governor and confirmed by the Senate. The members designated to replace the Directors of the Illinois Emergency Management Agency and the Environmental Protection Agency shall have such expertise as the Governor may determine. The members of the Task Group shall be members until they resign, are replaced by the Governor, or the Task Group is abolished. Except as provided in this Act, the Task Group shall be subject to the Open Meetings Act and the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act. Any action required to be taken by the Task Group under this Act shall be taken by a majority vote of its members. An identical vote by 5 members of the Task Group shall constitute a majority vote.
    (b) To protect the public health, safety and welfare, the Task Group shall develop proposed criteria for selection of a site for a regional disposal facility. Principal criteria shall relate to the geographic, geologic, seismologic, tectonic, hydrologic, and other scientific conditions best suited for a regional disposal facility. Supplemental criteria may relate to land use (including (i) the location of existing underground mines and (ii) the exclusion of State parks, State conservation areas, and other State owned lands identified by the Task Group), economics, transportation, meteorology, and any other matter identified by the Task Group as relating to desirable conditions for a regional disposal facility. All of the criteria shall be as specific as possible.
    The chairman of the Task Group shall publish a notice of availability of the proposed criteria in the State newspaper, make copies of the proposed criteria available without charge to the public, and hold public hearings to receive comments on the proposed criteria. Written comments on the proposed criteria may be submitted to the chairman of the Task Group within a time period to be determined by the Task Group. Upon completion of the review of timely submitted comments on the proposed criteria, the Task Group shall adopt criteria for selection of a site for a regional disposal facility. Adoption of the criteria is not subject to the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act. The chairman of the Task Group shall provide copies of the criteria to the Governor, the President and Minority Leader of the Senate, the Speaker and Minority Leader of the House, and all county boards in the State of Illinois and shall make copies of the criteria available without charge to the public.
    (c) Upon adoption of the criteria, the Director of Natural Resources shall direct the Scientific Surveys to screen the State of Illinois. By September 30, 1997, the Scientific Surveys shall (i) complete a Statewide screening of the State using available information and the Surveys' geography‑based information system to produce individual and composite maps showing the application of individual criteria; (ii) complete the evaluation of all land volunteered before the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1997 to determine whether any of the volunteered land appears likely to satisfy the criteria; (iii) document the results of the screening and volunteer site evaluations in a written report and submit the report to the chairman of the Task Group and to the Director; and (iv) transmit to the Task Group and to the Agency, in a form specified by the Task Group and the Agency, all information and documents assembled by the Scientific Surveys in performing the obligations of the Scientific Surveys under this Act. Upon completion of the screening and volunteer site evaluation process, the Director of the Department of Natural Resources shall be replaced on the Task Group by a member appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Senate. The member appointed to replace the Director of the Department of Natural Resources shall have expertise that the Governor determines to be appropriate.
    (c‑3) By December 1, 2000, the Department of Nuclear Safety (now the Illinois Emergency Management Agency), in consultation with the Task Group, waste generators, and any interested counties and municipalities and after holding 3 public hearings throughout the State, shall prepare a report regarding, at a minimum, the impact and ramifications, if any, of the following factors and circumstances on the siting, design, licensure, development, construction, operation, closure, and post‑closure care of a regional disposal facility:
        (1) the federal, state, and regional programs for
<

State Codes and Statutes

Statutes > Illinois > Chapter420 > 1617

     the siting, development, and operation of disposal facilities for low‑level radioactive wastes and the nature, extent, and likelihood of any legislative or administrative changes to those programs;

    (420 ILCS 20/1) (from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 241‑1)
    Sec. 1. This Act shall be known and may be cited as the "Illinois Low‑Level Radioactive Waste Management Act".
(Source: P.A. 83‑991.)

    (420 ILCS 20/2)(from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 241‑2)
    Sec. 2. (a) The General Assembly finds:
        (1) that low‑level radioactive wastes are produced
     in this State with even greater volumes to be produced in the future;
        (2) that such radioactive wastes pose a significant
     risk to the public health, safety and welfare of the people of Illinois; and
        (3) that it is the obligation of the State of
     Illinois to its citizens to provide for the safe management of the low‑level radioactive wastes produced within its borders.
    (b) The Illinois Emergency Management Agency has attained federal agreement state status and thereby has assumed regulatory authority over low‑level radioactive waste from the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission under Section 274b of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2014). It is the purpose of this Act to establish a comprehensive program for the storage, treatment, and disposal of low‑level radioactive wastes in Illinois. It is the intent of the General Assembly that the program provide for the management of these wastes in the safest manner possible and in a manner that creates the least risk to human health and the environment of Illinois and that the program encourage to the fullest extent possible the use of environmentally sound waste management practices alternative to land disposal including waste recycling, compaction, incineration and other methods to reduce the amount of wastes produced, and to ensure public participation in all phases of the development of this radioactive waste management program.
(Source: P.A. 95‑777, eff. 8‑4‑08.)

    (420 ILCS 20/3)(from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 241‑3)
    Sec. 3. Definitions.
    "Agency" means the Illinois Emergency Management Agency.
    "Broker" means any person who takes possession of low‑level waste for purposes of consolidation and shipment.
    "Compact" means the Central Midwest Interstate Low‑Level Radioactive Waste Compact.
    "Decommissioning" means the measures taken at the end of a facility's operating life to assure the continued protection of the public from any residual radioactivity or other potential hazards present at a facility.
    "Director" means the Director of the Illinois Emergency Management Agency.
    "Disposal" means the isolation of waste from the biosphere in a permanent facility designed for that purpose.
    "Facility" means a parcel of land or site, together with structures, equipment and improvements on or appurtenant to the land or site, which is used or is being developed for the treatment, storage or disposal of low‑level radioactive waste. "Facility" does not include lands, sites, structures or equipment used by a generator in the generation of low‑level radioactive wastes.
    "Generator" means any person who produces or possesses low‑level radioactive waste in the course of or incident to manufacturing, power generation, processing, medical diagnosis and treatment, research, education or other activity.
    "Hazardous waste" means a waste, or combination of wastes, which because of its quantity, concentration, or physical, chemical, or infectious characteristics may cause or significantly contribute to an increase in mortality or an increase in serious, irreversible, or incapacitating reversible, illness; or pose a substantial present or potential hazard to human health or the environment when improperly treated, stored, transported, or disposed of, or otherwise managed, and which has been identified, by characteristics or listing, as hazardous under Section 3001 of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976, P.L. 94‑580 or under regulations of the Pollution Control Board.
    "High‑level radioactive waste" means:
        (1) the highly radioactive material resulting from
     the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel including liquid waste produced directly in reprocessing and any solid material derived from the liquid waste that contains fission products in sufficient concentrations; and
        (2) the highly radioactive material that the Nuclear
     Regulatory Commission has determined, on the effective date of this Amendatory Act of 1988, to be high‑level radioactive waste requiring permanent isolation.
    "Low‑level radioactive waste" or "waste" means radioactive waste not classified as high‑level radioactive waste, transuranic waste, spent nuclear fuel or byproduct material as defined in Section 11e(2) of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2014).
    "Mixed waste" means waste that is both "hazardous waste" and "low‑level radioactive waste" as defined in this Act.
    "Person" means an individual, corporation, business enterprise or other legal entity either public or private and any legal successor, representative, agent or agency of that individual, corporation, business enterprise, or legal entity.
    "Post‑closure care" means the continued monitoring of the regional disposal facility after closure for the purposes of detecting a need for maintenance, ensuring environmental safety, and determining compliance with applicable licensure and regulatory requirements, and includes undertaking any remedial actions necessary to protect public health and the environment from radioactive releases from the facility.
    "Regional disposal facility" or "disposal facility" means the facility established by the State of Illinois under this Act for disposal away from the point of generation of waste generated in the region of the Compact.
    "Release" means any spilling, leaking, pumping, pouring, emitting, emptying, discharging, injecting, escaping, leaching, dumping or disposing into the environment of low‑level radioactive waste.
    "Remedial action" means those actions taken in the event of a release or threatened release of low‑level radioactive waste into the environment, to prevent or minimize the release of the waste so that it does not migrate to cause substantial danger to present or future public health or welfare or the environment. The term includes, but is not limited to, actions at the location of the release such as storage, confinement, perimeter protection using dikes, trenches or ditches, clay cover, neutralization, cleanup of released low‑level radioactive wastes, recycling or reuse, dredging or excavations, repair or replacement of leaking containers, collection of leachate and runoff, onsite treatment or incineration, provision of alternative water supplies and any monitoring reasonably required to assure that these actions protect human health and the environment.
    "Scientific Surveys" means, collectively, the State Geological Survey and the State Water Survey of the University of Illinois.
    "Shallow land burial" means a land disposal facility in which radioactive waste is disposed of in or within the upper 30 meters of the earth's surface. However, this definition shall not include an enclosed, engineered, structurally re‑enforced and solidified bunker that extends below the earth's surface.
    "Storage" means the temporary holding of waste for treatment or disposal for a period determined by Agency regulations.
    "Treatment" means any method, technique or process, including storage for radioactive decay, designed to change the physical, chemical or biological characteristics or composition of any waste in order to render the waste safer for transport, storage or disposal, amenable to recovery, convertible to another usable material or reduced in volume.
    "Waste management" means the storage, transportation, treatment or disposal of waste.
(Source: P.A. 95‑728, eff. date ‑ See Sec. 999; 95‑777, eff. 8‑4‑08; 96‑328, eff. 8‑11‑09.)

    (420 ILCS 20/4)(from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 241‑4)
    Sec. 4. Generator and broker registration.
    (a) All generators and brokers of any amount of low‑level radioactive waste in Illinois shall register with the Agency. Generators shall register within 60 days of the commencement of generating any low‑level radioactive wastes. Brokers shall register within 60 days of taking possession of any low‑level radioactive waste. Such registration shall be on a form developed by the Agency and shall contain the name, address and officers of the generator or broker, information on the types and amounts of wastes produced or possessed and any other information required by the Agency.
    (b) All registered generators and brokers of any amount of low‑level radioactive waste in Illinois shall file an annual report with the Agency. The annual report for generators shall contain information on the types and quantities of low‑level wastes produced in the previous year and expected to be produced in the future, the methods used to manage these wastes, the technological feasibility, economic reasonableness and environmental soundness of alternative treatment, storage and disposal methods and any other information required by the Agency. The annual report for brokers shall contain information on the types and quantities of low‑level radioactive wastes received and shipped, identification of the generators from whom such wastes were received, and the destination of shipments of such wastes.
    (c) All registration forms and annual reports required to be filed with the Agency shall be made available to the public for inspection and copying.
(Source: P.A. 95‑777, eff. 8‑4‑08.)

    (420 ILCS 20/5)(from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 241‑5)
    Sec. 5. Requirements for disposal facility contractors; operating agreements.
    (a) The Agency shall promulgate rules and regulations establishing standards applicable to the selection of a contractor or contractors for the design, development, construction, and operation of a low‑level radioactive waste disposal facility away from the point of generation necessary to protect human health and the environment. The regulations shall establish, but need not be limited to, the following:
        (1) The number of contractors to design, develop,
     and operate a low‑level radioactive waste disposal facility;
        (2) Requirements and standards relating to the
     financial integrity of the firm;
        (3) Requirements and standards relating to the
     experience and performance history of the firm in the design, development, construction and operation of low‑level radioactive waste disposal facilities; and
        (4) Requirements and standards for the
     qualifications of the employees of the firm.
    The Agency shall hold at least one public hearing before promulgating the regulations.
    (b) The Agency may enter into one or more operating agreements with a qualified operator of the regional disposal facility, which agreement may contain such provisions with respect to the construction, operation, closure, and post‑closure maintenance of the regional disposal facility by the operator as the Agency shall determine, including, without limitation, (i) provisions leasing, or providing for the lease of, the site to the operator and authorizing the operator to construct, own and operate the facility and to transfer the facility to the Agency following closure and any additional years of post‑closure maintenance that the Agency shall determine; (ii) provisions granting exclusive rights to the operator with respect to the disposal of low‑level radioactive waste in this State during the term of the operating agreement; (iii) provisions authorizing the operator to impose fees upon all persons using the facility as provided in this Act and providing for the Agency to audit the charges of the operator under the operating agreement; and (iv) provisions relating to the obligations of the operator and the Agency in the event of any closure of the facility or any termination of the operating agreement.
(Source: P.A. 95‑777, eff. 8‑4‑08.)

    (420 ILCS 20/6)(from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 241‑6)
    Sec. 6. Requirements for disposal facility.
    (a) The Agency shall as it deems necessary to protect human health and the environment, promulgate rules and regulations establishing standards applicable to the regional disposal facility. The rules and regulations shall reflect the best available management technologies which are economically reasonable, technologically feasible and environmentally sound for the disposal of the wastes and shall establish, but need not be limited to the establishment of:
        (1) requirements and performance standards for the
     design, construction, operation, maintenance and monitoring of the low‑level radioactive waste disposal facility;
        (2) requirements and standards for the keeping of
     records and the reporting and retaining of data collected by the contractor selected to operate the disposal facility;
        (3) requirements and standards for the technical
     qualifications of the personnel of the contractor selected to develop and operate the disposal facility;
        (4) requirements and standards for establishing the
     financial responsibility of the contractor selected to operate the disposal facility;
        (5) requirements and standards for the emergency
     closure of the disposal facility; and
        (6) requirements and standards for the closure,
     decommissioning and post‑closure care, monitoring, maintenance and use of the disposal facility.
    (b) The regulations shall include provisions requiring that the contractor selected to operate the disposal facility post a performance bond with the Agency or show evidence of liability insurance or other means of establishing financial responsibility in an amount sufficient to adequately provide for any necessary remedial actions or liabilities that might be incurred by the operation of the disposal facility during the operating period and during a reasonable period of post‑closure care.
    (c) The regulations adopted for the requirements and performance standards of a disposal facility shall not provide for the shallow land burial of low‑level radioactive wastes.
    (d) The Agency shall hold at least one public hearing before adopting rules under this Section.
    (e) All rules adopted under this Section shall be at least as stringent as those promulgated by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission under the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2014) and any other applicable federal laws.
    (f) The State of Illinois shall have no liability to any person or entity by reason of a failure, delay, or cessation in the operation of the disposal facility.
(Source: P.A. 95‑777, eff. 8‑4‑08.)

    (420 ILCS 20/7)(from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 241‑7)
    Sec. 7. Requirements for waste treatment. The Agency shall promulgate rules and regulations establishing standards applicable to the treatment of low‑level radioactive wastes disposed of in any facility in Illinois necessary to protect human health and the environment. Such rules and regulations shall reflect the best available treatment technologies that are economically reasonable, technologically feasible and environmentally sound for reducing the quantity and radioactive quality of such wastes prior to land burial and shall establish, but need not be limited to, requirements respecting:
        (1) the form in which low‑level radioactive wastes
     may be disposed;
        (2) the use of treatment technologies for recycling,
     compacting, solidifying or otherwise treating low‑level radioactive wastes prior to disposal; and
        (3) the use of technologies for the treatment of such
     wastes to minimize the radioactive characteristics of the waste disposed of or to reduce the tendency of the waste to migrate in geologic and hydrologic formations.
    The Agency shall hold at least one public hearing prior to promulgating such regulations.
(Source: P.A. 95‑777, eff. 8‑4‑08.)

    (420 ILCS 20/8)(from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 241‑8)
    Sec. 8. Requirements for waste facility licensing.
    (a) No person shall operate any facility for the storage, treatment, or disposal of low‑level radioactive wastes away from the point of generation in Illinois without a license granted by the Agency.
    (b) Each application for a license under this Section shall contain such information as may be required by the Agency, including, but not limited to, information respecting:
        (1) estimates of the quantities and types of wastes
     to be stored, treated or disposed of at the facility;
        (2) the design specifications and proposed operating
     procedures of the facility necessary to assure compliance with the rules adopted under Sections 6 and 7;
        (3) financial and personnel information necessary to
     assure the integrity and qualifications of the contractor selected to operate the facility;
        (4) a closure plan to ensure the proper closure,
     decommissioning, and post‑closure care of the disposal facility; and
        (5) a contingency plan to establish the procedures
     to be followed in the event of unanticipated radioactive releases.
    (c) The Director may issue a license for the construction and operation of a facility authorized by this Act, provided the applicant for the license has complied with applicable provisions of this Act and regulations of the Agency. No license issued by the Director shall authorize the disposal of mixed waste at any regional disposal facility. In the event that an applicant or licensee proposes modifications to a facility, or in the event that the Director determines that modifications are necessary to conform to the requirements of this Act, the Director may issue any license modifications necessary to protect human health and the environment and may specify the time allowed to complete the modifications.
    (d) Upon a determination by the Director of substantial noncompliance with any license granted under this Act or upon a determination that an emergency exists posing a significant hazard to public health and the environment, the Director may revoke a license issued under this Act. Before revoking any license, the Director shall serve notice upon the alleged violator setting forth the Sections of this Act, or the rules adopted under this Act, that are alleged to have been violated. The Director shall hold at least one public hearing not later than 30 days following the notice.
    (e) No person shall operate and the Director shall not issue any license under this Section to operate any disposal facility for the shallow land burial of low‑level radioactive wastes in Illinois.
    (f) (Blank).
    (g) Notwithstanding subsection (d) of Section 10.3 of this Act, a license issued by the Agency to operate any regional disposal facility shall be revoked as a matter of law to the extent that the license authorizes disposal if:
        (1) the facility accepts for disposal byproduct
     material as defined in Section 11e(2) of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2014), high‑level radioactive waste or mixed waste, and
        (2) (A) if the facility is located more than 1 1/2
     miles from the boundary of a municipality and the county in which the facility is located passes an ordinance ordering the license revoked, or
        (B) if the facility is located within a municipality
     or within 1 1/2 miles of the boundary of a municipality and that municipality passes an ordinance ordering the license revoked.
(Source: P.A. 95‑777, eff. 8‑4‑08.)

    (420 ILCS 20/9)(from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 241‑9)
    Sec. 9. Requirements for waste transporters.
    (a) No person shall transport any low‑level radioactive waste to a storage, treatment or disposal facility in Illinois licensed under Section 8 without a permit granted by the Agency.
    (b) No person shall transport any low‑level radioactive waste to a storage, treatment or disposal facility licensed under Section 8 without a manifest document. The Agency shall develop the form for such manifests and shall promulgate rules and regulations establishing a system of tracking wastes from their point of generation to storage, treatment, and ultimate disposal.
    (c) Each application for a permit under this Section shall contain any information as may be required under regulations promulgated by the Agency, including, but not limited to, information respecting:
        (1) The estimated quantities and types of wastes to
     be transported to a facility located in Illinois;
        (2) The procedures and methods used to monitor and
     inspect the shipments to ensure that leakage or spills do not occur;
        (3) The timetables according to which the wastes are
     to be shipped.
        (4) The qualifications and training of personnel
     handling low‑level radioactive waste; and
        (5) The use of interim storage and transshipment
     facilities.
    (d) The Director may issue a permit to any applicant who has met and whom he believes will comply with the requirements of the Illinois Hazardous Materials Transportation Act and any other applicable State or federal laws or regulations. In the event that an applicant or permittee proposes modifications of a permit, or in the event that the Director determines that modifications are necessary to conform with the requirements of the Act, the Director may issue any permit modifications necessary to protect human health and the environment and may specify the time allowed to complete the modifications.
    (e) The Agency shall inspect each shipment of low‑level radioactive wastes received at the regional disposal facility for compliance with the packaging, placarding and other requirements established by rules and regulations promulgated by the Illinois Department of Transportation under the Illinois Hazardous Materials Transportation Act and any other applicable State or federal regulations. The Agency shall notify the Attorney General of any apparent violations for possible prosecution under Sections 11 and 12 of that Act.
(Source: P.A. 95‑777, eff. 8‑4‑08.)

    (420 ILCS 20/10)(from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 241‑10)
    Sec. 10. Disposal facility contractor selection. Upon adopting the regulations establishing requirements for waste disposal facilities provided for in Section 6, the Agency shall solicit proposals for the selection of one or more contractors to site, design, develop, construct, operate, close, provide post‑closure care for, and decommission the disposal facility. Not later than 6 months after the solicitation of proposals, the Director shall select the applicant who has submitted the proposal that best conforms to the requirements of this Act and to the rules adopted under this Act.
(Source: P.A. 95‑777, eff. 8‑4‑08.)

    (420 ILCS 20/10.2)(from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 241‑10.2)
    Sec. 10.2. Creation of Low‑Level Radioactive Waste Task Group; adoption of criteria; selection of site for characterization.
    (a) There is hereby created the Low‑Level Radioactive Waste Task Group consisting of the Directors of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Natural Resources, and the Illinois Emergency Management Agency (or their designees) and 6 additional members designated by the Governor. The 6 additional members shall:
        (1) be confirmed by the Senate; and
        (2) receive compensation of $300 per day for their
     services on the Task Group unless they are officers or employees of the State, in which case they shall receive no additional compensation.
    Four of the additional members shall have expertise in the field of geology, hydrogeology, or hydrology. Of the 2 remaining additional members, one shall be a member of the public with experience in environmental matters and one shall have at least 5 years experience in local government. The Directors of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Natural Resources, and the Illinois Emergency Management Agency (or their designees) shall receive no additional compensation for their service on the Task Group. All members of the Task Group shall be compensated for their expenses. The Governor shall designate the chairman of the Task Group. Upon adoption of the criteria under subsection (b) of this Section, the Directors of the Illinois Emergency Management Agency and the Environmental Protection Agency shall be replaced on the Task Group by members designated by the Governor and confirmed by the Senate. The members designated to replace the Directors of the Illinois Emergency Management Agency and the Environmental Protection Agency shall have such expertise as the Governor may determine. The members of the Task Group shall be members until they resign, are replaced by the Governor, or the Task Group is abolished. Except as provided in this Act, the Task Group shall be subject to the Open Meetings Act and the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act. Any action required to be taken by the Task Group under this Act shall be taken by a majority vote of its members. An identical vote by 5 members of the Task Group shall constitute a majority vote.
    (b) To protect the public health, safety and welfare, the Task Group shall develop proposed criteria for selection of a site for a regional disposal facility. Principal criteria shall relate to the geographic, geologic, seismologic, tectonic, hydrologic, and other scientific conditions best suited for a regional disposal facility. Supplemental criteria may relate to land use (including (i) the location of existing underground mines and (ii) the exclusion of State parks, State conservation areas, and other State owned lands identified by the Task Group), economics, transportation, meteorology, and any other matter identified by the Task Group as relating to desirable conditions for a regional disposal facility. All of the criteria shall be as specific as possible.
    The chairman of the Task Group shall publish a notice of availability of the proposed criteria in the State newspaper, make copies of the proposed criteria available without charge to the public, and hold public hearings to receive comments on the proposed criteria. Written comments on the proposed criteria may be submitted to the chairman of the Task Group within a time period to be determined by the Task Group. Upon completion of the review of timely submitted comments on the proposed criteria, the Task Group shall adopt criteria for selection of a site for a regional disposal facility. Adoption of the criteria is not subject to the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act. The chairman of the Task Group shall provide copies of the criteria to the Governor, the President and Minority Leader of the Senate, the Speaker and Minority Leader of the House, and all county boards in the State of Illinois and shall make copies of the criteria available without charge to the public.
    (c) Upon adoption of the criteria, the Director of Natural Resources shall direct the Scientific Surveys to screen the State of Illinois. By September 30, 1997, the Scientific Surveys shall (i) complete a Statewide screening of the State using available information and the Surveys' geography‑based information system to produce individual and composite maps showing the application of individual criteria; (ii) complete the evaluation of all land volunteered before the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1997 to determine whether any of the volunteered land appears likely to satisfy the criteria; (iii) document the results of the screening and volunteer site evaluations in a written report and submit the report to the chairman of the Task Group and to the Director; and (iv) transmit to the Task Group and to the Agency, in a form specified by the Task Group and the Agency, all information and documents assembled by the Scientific Surveys in performing the obligations of the Scientific Surveys under this Act. Upon completion of the screening and volunteer site evaluation process, the Director of the Department of Natural Resources shall be replaced on the Task Group by a member appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Senate. The member appointed to replace the Director of the Department of Natural Resources shall have expertise that the Governor determines to be appropriate.
    (c‑3) By December 1, 2000, the Department of Nuclear Safety (now the Illinois Emergency Management Agency), in consultation with the Task Group, waste generators, and any interested counties and municipalities and after holding 3 public hearings throughout the State, shall prepare a report regarding, at a minimum, the impact and ramifications, if any, of the following factors and circumstances on the siting, design, licensure, development, construction, operation, closure, and post‑closure care of a regional disposal facility:
        (1) the federal, state, and regional programs for
<

State Codes and Statutes

State Codes and Statutes

Statutes > Illinois > Chapter420 > 1617

     the siting, development, and operation of disposal facilities for low‑level radioactive wastes and the nature, extent, and likelihood of any legislative or administrative changes to those programs;

    (420 ILCS 20/1) (from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 241‑1)
    Sec. 1. This Act shall be known and may be cited as the "Illinois Low‑Level Radioactive Waste Management Act".
(Source: P.A. 83‑991.)

    (420 ILCS 20/2)(from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 241‑2)
    Sec. 2. (a) The General Assembly finds:
        (1) that low‑level radioactive wastes are produced
     in this State with even greater volumes to be produced in the future;
        (2) that such radioactive wastes pose a significant
     risk to the public health, safety and welfare of the people of Illinois; and
        (3) that it is the obligation of the State of
     Illinois to its citizens to provide for the safe management of the low‑level radioactive wastes produced within its borders.
    (b) The Illinois Emergency Management Agency has attained federal agreement state status and thereby has assumed regulatory authority over low‑level radioactive waste from the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission under Section 274b of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2014). It is the purpose of this Act to establish a comprehensive program for the storage, treatment, and disposal of low‑level radioactive wastes in Illinois. It is the intent of the General Assembly that the program provide for the management of these wastes in the safest manner possible and in a manner that creates the least risk to human health and the environment of Illinois and that the program encourage to the fullest extent possible the use of environmentally sound waste management practices alternative to land disposal including waste recycling, compaction, incineration and other methods to reduce the amount of wastes produced, and to ensure public participation in all phases of the development of this radioactive waste management program.
(Source: P.A. 95‑777, eff. 8‑4‑08.)

    (420 ILCS 20/3)(from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 241‑3)
    Sec. 3. Definitions.
    "Agency" means the Illinois Emergency Management Agency.
    "Broker" means any person who takes possession of low‑level waste for purposes of consolidation and shipment.
    "Compact" means the Central Midwest Interstate Low‑Level Radioactive Waste Compact.
    "Decommissioning" means the measures taken at the end of a facility's operating life to assure the continued protection of the public from any residual radioactivity or other potential hazards present at a facility.
    "Director" means the Director of the Illinois Emergency Management Agency.
    "Disposal" means the isolation of waste from the biosphere in a permanent facility designed for that purpose.
    "Facility" means a parcel of land or site, together with structures, equipment and improvements on or appurtenant to the land or site, which is used or is being developed for the treatment, storage or disposal of low‑level radioactive waste. "Facility" does not include lands, sites, structures or equipment used by a generator in the generation of low‑level radioactive wastes.
    "Generator" means any person who produces or possesses low‑level radioactive waste in the course of or incident to manufacturing, power generation, processing, medical diagnosis and treatment, research, education or other activity.
    "Hazardous waste" means a waste, or combination of wastes, which because of its quantity, concentration, or physical, chemical, or infectious characteristics may cause or significantly contribute to an increase in mortality or an increase in serious, irreversible, or incapacitating reversible, illness; or pose a substantial present or potential hazard to human health or the environment when improperly treated, stored, transported, or disposed of, or otherwise managed, and which has been identified, by characteristics or listing, as hazardous under Section 3001 of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976, P.L. 94‑580 or under regulations of the Pollution Control Board.
    "High‑level radioactive waste" means:
        (1) the highly radioactive material resulting from
     the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel including liquid waste produced directly in reprocessing and any solid material derived from the liquid waste that contains fission products in sufficient concentrations; and
        (2) the highly radioactive material that the Nuclear
     Regulatory Commission has determined, on the effective date of this Amendatory Act of 1988, to be high‑level radioactive waste requiring permanent isolation.
    "Low‑level radioactive waste" or "waste" means radioactive waste not classified as high‑level radioactive waste, transuranic waste, spent nuclear fuel or byproduct material as defined in Section 11e(2) of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2014).
    "Mixed waste" means waste that is both "hazardous waste" and "low‑level radioactive waste" as defined in this Act.
    "Person" means an individual, corporation, business enterprise or other legal entity either public or private and any legal successor, representative, agent or agency of that individual, corporation, business enterprise, or legal entity.
    "Post‑closure care" means the continued monitoring of the regional disposal facility after closure for the purposes of detecting a need for maintenance, ensuring environmental safety, and determining compliance with applicable licensure and regulatory requirements, and includes undertaking any remedial actions necessary to protect public health and the environment from radioactive releases from the facility.
    "Regional disposal facility" or "disposal facility" means the facility established by the State of Illinois under this Act for disposal away from the point of generation of waste generated in the region of the Compact.
    "Release" means any spilling, leaking, pumping, pouring, emitting, emptying, discharging, injecting, escaping, leaching, dumping or disposing into the environment of low‑level radioactive waste.
    "Remedial action" means those actions taken in the event of a release or threatened release of low‑level radioactive waste into the environment, to prevent or minimize the release of the waste so that it does not migrate to cause substantial danger to present or future public health or welfare or the environment. The term includes, but is not limited to, actions at the location of the release such as storage, confinement, perimeter protection using dikes, trenches or ditches, clay cover, neutralization, cleanup of released low‑level radioactive wastes, recycling or reuse, dredging or excavations, repair or replacement of leaking containers, collection of leachate and runoff, onsite treatment or incineration, provision of alternative water supplies and any monitoring reasonably required to assure that these actions protect human health and the environment.
    "Scientific Surveys" means, collectively, the State Geological Survey and the State Water Survey of the University of Illinois.
    "Shallow land burial" means a land disposal facility in which radioactive waste is disposed of in or within the upper 30 meters of the earth's surface. However, this definition shall not include an enclosed, engineered, structurally re‑enforced and solidified bunker that extends below the earth's surface.
    "Storage" means the temporary holding of waste for treatment or disposal for a period determined by Agency regulations.
    "Treatment" means any method, technique or process, including storage for radioactive decay, designed to change the physical, chemical or biological characteristics or composition of any waste in order to render the waste safer for transport, storage or disposal, amenable to recovery, convertible to another usable material or reduced in volume.
    "Waste management" means the storage, transportation, treatment or disposal of waste.
(Source: P.A. 95‑728, eff. date ‑ See Sec. 999; 95‑777, eff. 8‑4‑08; 96‑328, eff. 8‑11‑09.)

    (420 ILCS 20/4)(from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 241‑4)
    Sec. 4. Generator and broker registration.
    (a) All generators and brokers of any amount of low‑level radioactive waste in Illinois shall register with the Agency. Generators shall register within 60 days of the commencement of generating any low‑level radioactive wastes. Brokers shall register within 60 days of taking possession of any low‑level radioactive waste. Such registration shall be on a form developed by the Agency and shall contain the name, address and officers of the generator or broker, information on the types and amounts of wastes produced or possessed and any other information required by the Agency.
    (b) All registered generators and brokers of any amount of low‑level radioactive waste in Illinois shall file an annual report with the Agency. The annual report for generators shall contain information on the types and quantities of low‑level wastes produced in the previous year and expected to be produced in the future, the methods used to manage these wastes, the technological feasibility, economic reasonableness and environmental soundness of alternative treatment, storage and disposal methods and any other information required by the Agency. The annual report for brokers shall contain information on the types and quantities of low‑level radioactive wastes received and shipped, identification of the generators from whom such wastes were received, and the destination of shipments of such wastes.
    (c) All registration forms and annual reports required to be filed with the Agency shall be made available to the public for inspection and copying.
(Source: P.A. 95‑777, eff. 8‑4‑08.)

    (420 ILCS 20/5)(from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 241‑5)
    Sec. 5. Requirements for disposal facility contractors; operating agreements.
    (a) The Agency shall promulgate rules and regulations establishing standards applicable to the selection of a contractor or contractors for the design, development, construction, and operation of a low‑level radioactive waste disposal facility away from the point of generation necessary to protect human health and the environment. The regulations shall establish, but need not be limited to, the following:
        (1) The number of contractors to design, develop,
     and operate a low‑level radioactive waste disposal facility;
        (2) Requirements and standards relating to the
     financial integrity of the firm;
        (3) Requirements and standards relating to the
     experience and performance history of the firm in the design, development, construction and operation of low‑level radioactive waste disposal facilities; and
        (4) Requirements and standards for the
     qualifications of the employees of the firm.
    The Agency shall hold at least one public hearing before promulgating the regulations.
    (b) The Agency may enter into one or more operating agreements with a qualified operator of the regional disposal facility, which agreement may contain such provisions with respect to the construction, operation, closure, and post‑closure maintenance of the regional disposal facility by the operator as the Agency shall determine, including, without limitation, (i) provisions leasing, or providing for the lease of, the site to the operator and authorizing the operator to construct, own and operate the facility and to transfer the facility to the Agency following closure and any additional years of post‑closure maintenance that the Agency shall determine; (ii) provisions granting exclusive rights to the operator with respect to the disposal of low‑level radioactive waste in this State during the term of the operating agreement; (iii) provisions authorizing the operator to impose fees upon all persons using the facility as provided in this Act and providing for the Agency to audit the charges of the operator under the operating agreement; and (iv) provisions relating to the obligations of the operator and the Agency in the event of any closure of the facility or any termination of the operating agreement.
(Source: P.A. 95‑777, eff. 8‑4‑08.)

    (420 ILCS 20/6)(from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 241‑6)
    Sec. 6. Requirements for disposal facility.
    (a) The Agency shall as it deems necessary to protect human health and the environment, promulgate rules and regulations establishing standards applicable to the regional disposal facility. The rules and regulations shall reflect the best available management technologies which are economically reasonable, technologically feasible and environmentally sound for the disposal of the wastes and shall establish, but need not be limited to the establishment of:
        (1) requirements and performance standards for the
     design, construction, operation, maintenance and monitoring of the low‑level radioactive waste disposal facility;
        (2) requirements and standards for the keeping of
     records and the reporting and retaining of data collected by the contractor selected to operate the disposal facility;
        (3) requirements and standards for the technical
     qualifications of the personnel of the contractor selected to develop and operate the disposal facility;
        (4) requirements and standards for establishing the
     financial responsibility of the contractor selected to operate the disposal facility;
        (5) requirements and standards for the emergency
     closure of the disposal facility; and
        (6) requirements and standards for the closure,
     decommissioning and post‑closure care, monitoring, maintenance and use of the disposal facility.
    (b) The regulations shall include provisions requiring that the contractor selected to operate the disposal facility post a performance bond with the Agency or show evidence of liability insurance or other means of establishing financial responsibility in an amount sufficient to adequately provide for any necessary remedial actions or liabilities that might be incurred by the operation of the disposal facility during the operating period and during a reasonable period of post‑closure care.
    (c) The regulations adopted for the requirements and performance standards of a disposal facility shall not provide for the shallow land burial of low‑level radioactive wastes.
    (d) The Agency shall hold at least one public hearing before adopting rules under this Section.
    (e) All rules adopted under this Section shall be at least as stringent as those promulgated by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission under the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2014) and any other applicable federal laws.
    (f) The State of Illinois shall have no liability to any person or entity by reason of a failure, delay, or cessation in the operation of the disposal facility.
(Source: P.A. 95‑777, eff. 8‑4‑08.)

    (420 ILCS 20/7)(from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 241‑7)
    Sec. 7. Requirements for waste treatment. The Agency shall promulgate rules and regulations establishing standards applicable to the treatment of low‑level radioactive wastes disposed of in any facility in Illinois necessary to protect human health and the environment. Such rules and regulations shall reflect the best available treatment technologies that are economically reasonable, technologically feasible and environmentally sound for reducing the quantity and radioactive quality of such wastes prior to land burial and shall establish, but need not be limited to, requirements respecting:
        (1) the form in which low‑level radioactive wastes
     may be disposed;
        (2) the use of treatment technologies for recycling,
     compacting, solidifying or otherwise treating low‑level radioactive wastes prior to disposal; and
        (3) the use of technologies for the treatment of such
     wastes to minimize the radioactive characteristics of the waste disposed of or to reduce the tendency of the waste to migrate in geologic and hydrologic formations.
    The Agency shall hold at least one public hearing prior to promulgating such regulations.
(Source: P.A. 95‑777, eff. 8‑4‑08.)

    (420 ILCS 20/8)(from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 241‑8)
    Sec. 8. Requirements for waste facility licensing.
    (a) No person shall operate any facility for the storage, treatment, or disposal of low‑level radioactive wastes away from the point of generation in Illinois without a license granted by the Agency.
    (b) Each application for a license under this Section shall contain such information as may be required by the Agency, including, but not limited to, information respecting:
        (1) estimates of the quantities and types of wastes
     to be stored, treated or disposed of at the facility;
        (2) the design specifications and proposed operating
     procedures of the facility necessary to assure compliance with the rules adopted under Sections 6 and 7;
        (3) financial and personnel information necessary to
     assure the integrity and qualifications of the contractor selected to operate the facility;
        (4) a closure plan to ensure the proper closure,
     decommissioning, and post‑closure care of the disposal facility; and
        (5) a contingency plan to establish the procedures
     to be followed in the event of unanticipated radioactive releases.
    (c) The Director may issue a license for the construction and operation of a facility authorized by this Act, provided the applicant for the license has complied with applicable provisions of this Act and regulations of the Agency. No license issued by the Director shall authorize the disposal of mixed waste at any regional disposal facility. In the event that an applicant or licensee proposes modifications to a facility, or in the event that the Director determines that modifications are necessary to conform to the requirements of this Act, the Director may issue any license modifications necessary to protect human health and the environment and may specify the time allowed to complete the modifications.
    (d) Upon a determination by the Director of substantial noncompliance with any license granted under this Act or upon a determination that an emergency exists posing a significant hazard to public health and the environment, the Director may revoke a license issued under this Act. Before revoking any license, the Director shall serve notice upon the alleged violator setting forth the Sections of this Act, or the rules adopted under this Act, that are alleged to have been violated. The Director shall hold at least one public hearing not later than 30 days following the notice.
    (e) No person shall operate and the Director shall not issue any license under this Section to operate any disposal facility for the shallow land burial of low‑level radioactive wastes in Illinois.
    (f) (Blank).
    (g) Notwithstanding subsection (d) of Section 10.3 of this Act, a license issued by the Agency to operate any regional disposal facility shall be revoked as a matter of law to the extent that the license authorizes disposal if:
        (1) the facility accepts for disposal byproduct
     material as defined in Section 11e(2) of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2014), high‑level radioactive waste or mixed waste, and
        (2) (A) if the facility is located more than 1 1/2
     miles from the boundary of a municipality and the county in which the facility is located passes an ordinance ordering the license revoked, or
        (B) if the facility is located within a municipality
     or within 1 1/2 miles of the boundary of a municipality and that municipality passes an ordinance ordering the license revoked.
(Source: P.A. 95‑777, eff. 8‑4‑08.)

    (420 ILCS 20/9)(from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 241‑9)
    Sec. 9. Requirements for waste transporters.
    (a) No person shall transport any low‑level radioactive waste to a storage, treatment or disposal facility in Illinois licensed under Section 8 without a permit granted by the Agency.
    (b) No person shall transport any low‑level radioactive waste to a storage, treatment or disposal facility licensed under Section 8 without a manifest document. The Agency shall develop the form for such manifests and shall promulgate rules and regulations establishing a system of tracking wastes from their point of generation to storage, treatment, and ultimate disposal.
    (c) Each application for a permit under this Section shall contain any information as may be required under regulations promulgated by the Agency, including, but not limited to, information respecting:
        (1) The estimated quantities and types of wastes to
     be transported to a facility located in Illinois;
        (2) The procedures and methods used to monitor and
     inspect the shipments to ensure that leakage or spills do not occur;
        (3) The timetables according to which the wastes are
     to be shipped.
        (4) The qualifications and training of personnel
     handling low‑level radioactive waste; and
        (5) The use of interim storage and transshipment
     facilities.
    (d) The Director may issue a permit to any applicant who has met and whom he believes will comply with the requirements of the Illinois Hazardous Materials Transportation Act and any other applicable State or federal laws or regulations. In the event that an applicant or permittee proposes modifications of a permit, or in the event that the Director determines that modifications are necessary to conform with the requirements of the Act, the Director may issue any permit modifications necessary to protect human health and the environment and may specify the time allowed to complete the modifications.
    (e) The Agency shall inspect each shipment of low‑level radioactive wastes received at the regional disposal facility for compliance with the packaging, placarding and other requirements established by rules and regulations promulgated by the Illinois Department of Transportation under the Illinois Hazardous Materials Transportation Act and any other applicable State or federal regulations. The Agency shall notify the Attorney General of any apparent violations for possible prosecution under Sections 11 and 12 of that Act.
(Source: P.A. 95‑777, eff. 8‑4‑08.)

    (420 ILCS 20/10)(from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 241‑10)
    Sec. 10. Disposal facility contractor selection. Upon adopting the regulations establishing requirements for waste disposal facilities provided for in Section 6, the Agency shall solicit proposals for the selection of one or more contractors to site, design, develop, construct, operate, close, provide post‑closure care for, and decommission the disposal facility. Not later than 6 months after the solicitation of proposals, the Director shall select the applicant who has submitted the proposal that best conforms to the requirements of this Act and to the rules adopted under this Act.
(Source: P.A. 95‑777, eff. 8‑4‑08.)

    (420 ILCS 20/10.2)(from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 241‑10.2)
    Sec. 10.2. Creation of Low‑Level Radioactive Waste Task Group; adoption of criteria; selection of site for characterization.
    (a) There is hereby created the Low‑Level Radioactive Waste Task Group consisting of the Directors of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Natural Resources, and the Illinois Emergency Management Agency (or their designees) and 6 additional members designated by the Governor. The 6 additional members shall:
        (1) be confirmed by the Senate; and
        (2) receive compensation of $300 per day for their
     services on the Task Group unless they are officers or employees of the State, in which case they shall receive no additional compensation.
    Four of the additional members shall have expertise in the field of geology, hydrogeology, or hydrology. Of the 2 remaining additional members, one shall be a member of the public with experience in environmental matters and one shall have at least 5 years experience in local government. The Directors of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Natural Resources, and the Illinois Emergency Management Agency (or their designees) shall receive no additional compensation for their service on the Task Group. All members of the Task Group shall be compensated for their expenses. The Governor shall designate the chairman of the Task Group. Upon adoption of the criteria under subsection (b) of this Section, the Directors of the Illinois Emergency Management Agency and the Environmental Protection Agency shall be replaced on the Task Group by members designated by the Governor and confirmed by the Senate. The members designated to replace the Directors of the Illinois Emergency Management Agency and the Environmental Protection Agency shall have such expertise as the Governor may determine. The members of the Task Group shall be members until they resign, are replaced by the Governor, or the Task Group is abolished. Except as provided in this Act, the Task Group shall be subject to the Open Meetings Act and the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act. Any action required to be taken by the Task Group under this Act shall be taken by a majority vote of its members. An identical vote by 5 members of the Task Group shall constitute a majority vote.
    (b) To protect the public health, safety and welfare, the Task Group shall develop proposed criteria for selection of a site for a regional disposal facility. Principal criteria shall relate to the geographic, geologic, seismologic, tectonic, hydrologic, and other scientific conditions best suited for a regional disposal facility. Supplemental criteria may relate to land use (including (i) the location of existing underground mines and (ii) the exclusion of State parks, State conservation areas, and other State owned lands identified by the Task Group), economics, transportation, meteorology, and any other matter identified by the Task Group as relating to desirable conditions for a regional disposal facility. All of the criteria shall be as specific as possible.
    The chairman of the Task Group shall publish a notice of availability of the proposed criteria in the State newspaper, make copies of the proposed criteria available without charge to the public, and hold public hearings to receive comments on the proposed criteria. Written comments on the proposed criteria may be submitted to the chairman of the Task Group within a time period to be determined by the Task Group. Upon completion of the review of timely submitted comments on the proposed criteria, the Task Group shall adopt criteria for selection of a site for a regional disposal facility. Adoption of the criteria is not subject to the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act. The chairman of the Task Group shall provide copies of the criteria to the Governor, the President and Minority Leader of the Senate, the Speaker and Minority Leader of the House, and all county boards in the State of Illinois and shall make copies of the criteria available without charge to the public.
    (c) Upon adoption of the criteria, the Director of Natural Resources shall direct the Scientific Surveys to screen the State of Illinois. By September 30, 1997, the Scientific Surveys shall (i) complete a Statewide screening of the State using available information and the Surveys' geography‑based information system to produce individual and composite maps showing the application of individual criteria; (ii) complete the evaluation of all land volunteered before the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1997 to determine whether any of the volunteered land appears likely to satisfy the criteria; (iii) document the results of the screening and volunteer site evaluations in a written report and submit the report to the chairman of the Task Group and to the Director; and (iv) transmit to the Task Group and to the Agency, in a form specified by the Task Group and the Agency, all information and documents assembled by the Scientific Surveys in performing the obligations of the Scientific Surveys under this Act. Upon completion of the screening and volunteer site evaluation process, the Director of the Department of Natural Resources shall be replaced on the Task Group by a member appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Senate. The member appointed to replace the Director of the Department of Natural Resources shall have expertise that the Governor determines to be appropriate.
    (c‑3) By December 1, 2000, the Department of Nuclear Safety (now the Illinois Emergency Management Agency), in consultation with the Task Group, waste generators, and any interested counties and municipalities and after holding 3 public hearings throughout the State, shall prepare a report regarding, at a minimum, the impact and ramifications, if any, of the following factors and circumstances on the siting, design, licensure, development, construction, operation, closure, and post‑closure care of a regional disposal facility:
        (1) the federal, state, and regional programs for
<
     the siting, development, and operation of disposal facilities for low‑level radioactive wastes and the nature, extent, and likelihood of any legislative or administrative changes to those programs;