Illinois Governor Pat Quinn recently signed a bill passed in the General Assembly, Public Act 097-0945, that amends the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act and the Environmental Protection Act to align Illinois air regulations with federal air regulations:
“[T]he [Illinois Pollution Control] Board shall adopt ambient air quality standards specifying the maximum permissible short-term and long-term concentrations of various contaminants in the atmosphere; those standards shall be identical in substance to the national ambient air quality standards promulgated by the Administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency in accordance with Section 109 of the Clean Air Act. The Board may consolidate into a single rulemaking under this subsection all such federal regulations adopted within a period of time not to exceed 6 months.”
According to the primary sponsor of the bill in the General Assembly, State Senator Sue Rezin, the bill was designed to give businesses more predictability when trying to comply with air regulations: “I sponsored this legislation because our state needs to start enacting more of these types of policies,” Sen. Rezin said. “We should be passing legislation that makes it easier to do business in the state and help businesses follow necessary regulations, which is exactly what this measure does. I am very pleased that Gov. Quinn signed the legislation and it is my hope that businesses will be able to see the benefits of the law right away.”
Stay tuned to the Illinois Environmental Law Blog for more news and developments. To subscribe to this blog and sign up for my free newsletter, go to http://illinoisenvironmentallaw.com/subscribe/. To set up a free initial consultation to discuss your legal matter, please contact Chicago environmental attorney Dave Scriven-Young at (312) 239-9722 or dscriven-young@pecklaw.com.
