Environment

Creates the PFAS Wastewater Citizen Protection Act. Creates the PFAS Wastewater Citizen Protection Committee for specific purposes. Provides that the Committee shall submit a PFAS Action Plan to the Governor's Office, the General Assembly, and the Environmental Protection Agency no later than one year after the effective date of the Act. Provides that the Committee shall continue to periodically meet and shall annually update the PFAS Action Plan and submit annual reports with certain requirements. Provides for membership of the Committee. Provides that the Prairie Research Institute's Illinois Sustainable Technology Center shall provide technical assistance to the Committee. Makes findings and declares policy. Defines terms. Provides that the Act is repealed on December 31, 2044. Effective immediately.

HB 5309 amends Illinois' Wildlife Code to explicitly exclude mute swans (Cygnus olor) from the category of "migratory game birds" that receive legal protection under the law. This change means mute swans will no longer be covered by regulations that protect migratory waterfowl like ducks and geese, altering how they are managed under state wildlife law. The bill directly affects wildlife management practices and hunting regulations for mute swans in Illinois, removing their previous protected status. This is a technical classification change in the law, not a new hunting season or policy. The bill specifies the exclusion in Section 2.2 of the Wildlife Code.

Amends the Environmental Protection Act. Provides that, beginning January 1, 2027, upon receipt of certain air pollution control construction permit applications, the Environmental Protection Agency shall evaluate (i) whether the applicable source falls within an area of environmental justice concern and, if so, notify specified persons; (ii) whether emissions can be reduced or limited; (iii) whether additional air quality modeling is needed; and (iv) whether specified permit enhancements are needed. Requires the Agency's permitting decisions to be informed by the applicant's history of violations of environmental laws and other factors. Allows the Agency to adopt rules. Amends the Environmental Justice Act. Establishes the Office of Environmental Justice within the Environmental Protection Agency to coordinate the integration of environmental justice into Agency programs and for other purposes. Requires the Director of the Environmental Protection Agency to appoint an Environmental Justice Officer to administer the Office of Environmental Justice. Effective immediately.

Amends the Environmental Protection Act. Provides that one year after the effective date of the amendatory Act, the Agency shall develop and begin implementation of requirements for a Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan or other similar best management practice requirements, to be included in National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits issued to facilities regulated under certain federal regulations. Provides that these requirements apply to the control of plastic pellets or other preproduction plastic materials, in stormwater runoff from these facilities.

Amends the Responsible Outdoor Lighting Control Act. Changes the short title of the Act to the Dark Sky Act. Provides that, beginning December 1, 2026, except for any lighting that a State agency has installed or is using on the effective date of the amendatory Act, all new or renovated luminaires that are purchased or rented with State funds for the purpose of outdoor illumination and any lighting that is installed on land or easements owned, leased, or managed by the State for the purpose of outdoor illumination, including, but not limited to, on roadways, facilities, properties, nonhabitable structures, monuments, and public right-of-way spaces shall comply with specified responsible outdoor lighting requirements. Makes exceptions to the requirements. Provides that a State agency may send a request to the Department of Central Management Services to seek an exemption when planning to install, purchase, or rent lighting under one or more of the listed exceptions to the requirements in the Act. Requires the Department of Central Management Services, within 30 days of receipt, to (i) grant the exemption by memorandum, (ii) deny the exemption by memorandum, or (iii) grant the exemption by failing to issue a memorandum. Makes conforming changes to provisions that apply to the Department of Natural Resources. Changes a definition. Makes technical changes. Effective immediately.

Amends the Petroleum Underground Storage Tanks Title of the Environmental Protection Act. Provides that a municipality or county may, to the same extent as an owner or operator, conduct tank removal, abandonment, site investigation, and corrective action with respect to a petroleum orphan underground storage tank in accordance with the requirements of the Leaking Underground Storage Tank Program, except that a municipality or county does not have to elect to proceed as an owner and the costs shall be eligible for payment from the Underground Storage Tank Fund. Defines "orphan underground storage tank". Makes conforming and other changes in provisions regarding the Underground Storage Tank Fund.

Amends the Environmental Protection Act. In provisions regarding environmental laboratory certification assessment, repeals provisions establishing the Environmental Laboratory Certification Committee and deletes references to the Committee.

Amends the Environmental Protection Act. Provides that the Underground Storage Tank Fund shall be accessible by owners and operators who intend to remove underground storage tanks installed over 30 years before removal if the eligibility requirements of specified provisions are satisfied and (1) neither the owner nor the operator is the United States Government; (2) the tank does not contain fuel which is exempt from the Motor Fuel Tax Law; (3) the costs were incurred as a result of removing an underground storage tank installed over 30 years prior to removal; (4) the owner or operator registered the tank and paid all fees in accordance with the statutory and regulatory requirements of the Gasoline Storage Act; (5) the owner or operator notified the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency and the Office of the State Fire Marshal of the owner's or operator's intent to remove the underground storage tank; and (6) the costs have not already been paid to the owner or operator under a private insurance policy, other written agreement, or court order.

Amends the Environmental Protection Act. Repeals the definition of "food scrap"; adds definitions for "anaerobic digestion", "biogas", "digestate", "food waste", "organic material", and "organic waste"; and updates the definitions of "compost" and "composting". In provisions regarding pollution control facilities, includes a new exemption for portions of sites or facilities used for composting or anaerobic digestion of organic waste that meet specified siting, setback, floodplain, and operational requirements. In provisions regarding prohibited acts, establishes permitting requirements for organic waste composting operations and organic waste anaerobic digesters, and creates exemptions for small-scale and certain farm-based composting operations that meet volume limits, setback distances, and other environmental safeguards. Provides that anaerobic digesters using only non-waste feedstock are exempt from solid waste permitting and clarifies that digested material returned to the economic mainstream is not regulated as waste. Authorizes the Environmental Protection Agency to recommend, and the Pollution Control Board to adopt, performance standards for organic waste compost facilities and testing procedures for end-product compost, and requires a Technical Advisory Committee with balanced stakeholder representation. Specifies that standards apply to compost offered for sale or use and exempts on-site residential composting. Makes conforming changes throughout to integrate new definitions and regulatory requirements.

Amends the Environmental Protection Act. Provides that all National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permits authorizing a discharge from a facility designated by the Environmental Protection Agency and the United States Environmental Protection Agency as a major facility, shall, at a minimum, require for publicly owned treatment works, periodic sampling of influent, effluent, and biosolids for all perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances for which there are accredited wastewater analytical methods and, for all other facilities, periodic effluent sampling for all perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances for which there are accredited wastewater analytical methods. Provides that the Agency shall require any NPDES permit application for a discharge of wastewater that has potential to contain perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances to fully characterize the discharge through sample results for all perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances for which there are accredited wastewater analytical methods. Provides that the Agency shall not issue any permit under specified provisions for the land application of a sludge or biosolids unless the application includes sample results for the sludge or biosolids for all perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances for which there are accredited wastewater analytical methods. Provides that any permit issued under specified provisions for the land application of a sludge or biosolids shall require, at minimum, periodic sampling of the sludge or biosolids for all perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances for which there are accredited wastewater analytical methods.