SPRINGFIELD, IL — In passing historic legislation (SB3772) codifying, for the first time in Illinois law, a legal framework for addressing the cumulative impact of industrial air pollution in Illinois’ Environmental Justice communities, the Illinois General Assembly has further solidified Illinois’ legacy as the home of the Environmental Justice (EJ) movement, setting the stage for the passage of the Hazel M Johnson Cumulative Impact Ordinance in the Chicago City Council.
“After more than six years calling on the General Assembly to enact air permitting reforms that protect our communities and loved ones from the cumulative burden and impact of toxic industrial air pollution, we are relieved by what the passage of SB3772 means for our collective health,” said Myrna Salgado on behalf of the Chicago Environmental Justice Network. “We will continue to seek justice and push for stronger policies at the state and local level, including expanding the footprint of protected areas and for the Hazel M. Johnson Cumulative Impact Ordinance.
Senate Bill 3772, sponsored by State Sen. Celina Villanueva and State Rep. Lilian Jimenez, allows the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) greater air permitting authority to protect environmental justice communities, now defined by data analysis pinpointing low-income communities of color with historically disproportionately high concentrations of polluting industries, against increasingly toxic accumulations of air pollution. Researchers estimate that air pollution contributes to about five percent of premature deaths in environmental justice communities.
Once in effect, the new Illinois law will require a cumulative impact analysis assessing all existing air pollution sources, sensitive populations, and other factors that increase community vulnerability to the overall effect of newly proposed polluting projects seeking permits. An assessment indicating disproportionately adverse pollution impacts in an EJ community would require the IEPA to consider changes prior to granting new permits, whether through additional modeling, stronger permit conditions, increased inspections, or prioritizing beneficial funding for the impacted community. The agency can also consider an applicant’s past compliance and violation history, require stronger community outreach, and encourage the use of pollution prevention technologies. This mirrors a settlement reached by the IEPA with the federal government over the General Iron permit.
“For too long in Illinois, the worst polluters have been allowed to turn low-income communities of color into sacrifice zones for their pollution, but the passage of SB3772 begins to change that,” said the bill’s Chief House Sponsor, State Rep. Lilian Jimenez. “I am so proud of this step toward righting decades of environmental racism in our state; by defining ‘Environmental Justice communities’ in statute, we can be data-driven and precise in how we consider multiple pollution indicators and demographic factors in determining an overall cumulative pollution burden.”
SB3772 applies to the two largest categories of air permits, the Clean Air Act Permit Program (CAAPP) permits and Federally Enforceable State Operating Permits (FESOPs), and enhances their protections by allowing for improved air monitoring, fugitive dust controls, operational limits, increased testing, and odor control and monitoring.
“This bill will save lives in my district, where asthma rates can reach 20 to 30% of children–two to three times the state average–and across all of our Environmental Justice communities throughout Illinois,” said Chief Senate Sponsor State Sen. Celina Villanueva. “Today, we listened to our EJ communities and put their needs ahead of big polluters, and while there is so much more work to do to protect public health in our neighborhoods, we’ll all breathe a little easier knowing that we finally took this important first step.”
Advocates behind today’s victory are also championing an ordinance before the Chicago City Council, the Hazel M. Johnson Cumulative Impacts Ordinance, which also aims to address the total, cumulative impact new pollution would bring to already heavily polluted communities before the city approves new projects. They say that today’s victory in the General Assembly puts the ball in the Chicago City Council’s court as the next most impactful way to combat the legacy of environmental racism.
“We are extremely grateful for the leadership of Gov. JB Pritzker’s office and to the team from the IEPA for championing this historic environmental justice win and helping us finally get it across the finish line,” said Jen Walling, CEO of the Illinois Environmental Council. “As our EJ leaders have said, this is a significant and meaningful step forward for communities who simply want clean air to breathe, and our work to secure that basic human right continues. We hope to secure greater protections for more communities in the future and the passage of the Hazel M. Johnson Cumulative Impacts Ordinance in Chicago.”
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