Now that the Democrats have control of the statehouse, expect to see these environmental issues on the legislative agenda:
Thanks to a 2001 U.S. Supreme Court decision, more than 150,000 acres of isolated wetlands in Illinois no longer have any federal protection. Only three Illinois counties–DuPage, Kane, and Lake–have laws to protect wetlands, making this issue ripe for statewide action. In addition to providing habitat for a variety of wildlife species, wetlands help prevent flooding and increase water quality. An industry-sponsored wetlands bill failed two years ago, and one sponsored by environmental groups lost out last year. This time around House Majority Leader Michael Madigan has gathered representatives on all sides of the issue to work out a compromise bill, which will likely be introduced to the House as HB 422.
(BU) To permanently protect wetlands and other sensitive natural areas, Illinois created the Open Lands Trust in 1998. Since then, the trust has provided more than $200 million to help local and state agencies purchase land. Unfortunately, its funding runs out at the end of this fiscal year. The Sierra Club would like to either see the trust refunded or a similar initiative funded in its place. But due to the current budget crisis, open lands legislation will be a tough sell.
The next issue should be a much easier sell, since it will generate revenue for the state: instituting fees for industrial polluters that discharge waste into Illinois rivers, lakes, and streams. Each year the Illinois EPA issues about 800 permits to pollute. But even though it costs the state millions to process, monitor, and enforce these permits, they are given away free-of-charge to businesses. During his campaign, Blagojevich said polluters ought to be charged for these permits, and the greater the amount of pollution, the higher the permit fee should be. The money would ostensibly go to fund the cleanup of fouled waterways. A bill to act on the gov’s campaign promise has been introduced in both the House and Senate, as HB 2540 and SB 1060.
One way to both reduce air pollution and generate jobs, according to the Environmental Law and Policy Center, is to create a renewable energy portfolio standard. Illinois has already set a goal of obtaining 5 percent of its energy from such renewable sources as wind and solar power. The portfolio standard would make that goal a law, requiring utilities to supply 5 percent of their energy from renewable sources by 2010, and 15 percent by 2020. Look to HB 2200 and SB 25.
Pollution can also be reduced by instituting statewide energy efficiency standards for all new buildings. Several Illinois cities–including Chicago, Peoria, and Rockford–have already written such standards into their building codes. HB 1468 and SB 609 would establish a uniform energy efficiency code for all new residential and commercial buildings. SB 609 passed the Senate last week, but the House has already rejected HB 1468.
“Industry groups are going all out to gut if not outright kill these bills,” says the Sierra Club’s Douglas Chien, ” and the governor’s office has been somewhat slow in getting engaged with the environment.”
To learn more about any of the issues mentioned here, check out the just-released Illinois Environmental Briefing Book, 2003-2004. Put out by more than a dozen environmental groups, the book “outlines a unified, two-year vision for environmental and conservation policies in Illinois.” You can download a copy from the Illinois Environmental Council’s Web site: http://www.ilenviro.org.
This article appears in Apr 17-23, 2003.
