§ 15 — Storage fees

(a) Beginning January 1, 1994, an annual fee shall be imposed on the owner or operator of any property that has been used in whole or in part for the milling of source material and is being used for the storage or disposal of by-product material, equal to $2 per cubic foot of by-product material being stored or disposed of by the facility. After a facility is cleaned up in accordance with the Agency's radiological soil clean-up criteria, no fee shall be due, imposed upon, or collected from an owner. No fee shall be imposed upon any by-product material moved to a facility in contemplation of the subsequent removal of the by-product material pursuant to law or upon any by-product material moved to a facility in contemplation of processing the material through a physical separation facility. No fees shall be collected from any State, county, municipal, or local governmental agency. In connection with settling litigation regarding the amount of the fee to be imposed, the Director may enter into an agreement with the owner or operator of any facility specifying that the fee to be imposed shall not exceed $26,000,000 in any calendar year. The fees assessed under this Section are separate and distinct from any license fees imposed under Section 11 of the Radiation Protection Act of 1990. The fee shall be due on June 1 of each year or at such other times in such installments as the Director may provide by rule. To facilitate the expeditious removal of by-product material, rules establishing payment dates or schedules may be adopted as emergency rules under Section 5-45 of the Administrative Procedure Act. The fee shall be collected and administered by the Agency, and shall be deposited into the General Revenue Fund. (b) Moneys may be expended by the Agency, subject to appropriation, for the following purposes but only as the moneys relate to by-product material attributable to the owner or operator who pays the fees under subsection (a): (1) the costs of monitoring, inspecting, and otherwise regulating the storage and disposal of by-product material, wherever located; (2) the costs of undertaking any maintenance, decommissioning activities, cleanup, responses to radiation emergencies, or remedial action that would otherwise be required of the owner or operator by law or under a license amendment or condition in connection with by-product materials; (3) the costs that would otherwise be required of the owner or operator, by law or under a license amendment or condition, incurred by the State arising from the transportation of the by-product material from a storage or unlicensed disposal location to a licensed permanent disposal facility; and (4) reimbursement to the owner or operator of any facility used for the storage or disposal of by-product material for costs incurred by the owner or operator in connection with the decontamination or decommissioning of the storage or disposal facility or other properties contaminated with by-product material. However, the amount of the reimbursements paid to the owner or operator of a by-product material storage or disposal facility shall not be reduced for any amounts recovered by the owner or operator pursuant to Title X of the federal Energy Policy Act of 1992 and shall not exceed the amount of money paid by that owner or operator under subsection (a) plus the interest attributable to amounts paid by that owner or operator. An owner or operator who incurs costs in connection with the decontamination or decommissioning of the storage or disposal facility or other properties contaminated with by-product material is entitled to have those costs promptly reimbursed as provided in this Section. In the event the owner or operator has incurred reimbursable costs for which there are not adequate moneys with which to provide reimbursement, the Director shall reduce the amount of any fee payable in the future imposed under this Act by the amount of the reimbursable expenses incurred by the owner or operator. An owner or operator of a facility shall submit requests for reimbursement to the Director in a form reasonably required by the Director. Upon receipt of a request, the Director shall give written notice approving or disapproving each of the owner's or operator's request for reimbursement within 60 days. The Director shall approve requests for reimbursement unless the Director finds that the amount is excessive, erroneous, or otherwise inconsistent with paragraph (4) of this subsection or with any license or license amendments issued in connection with that owner's or operator's decontamination or decommissioning plan. If the Director disapproves a reimbursement request, the Director shall set forth in writing to the owner or operator the reasons for disapproval. The owner or operator may resubmit to the Agency a disapproved reimbursement request with additional information as may be required. Disapproval of a reimbursement request shall constitute final action for purposes of the Administrative Review Law unless the owner or operator resubmits the denied request within 35 days. To the extent there are funds available, the Director shall prepare and certify to the Comptroller the disbursement of the approved sums to the owners or operators or, if there are insufficient funds available, the Director shall off-set future fees otherwise payable by the owner or operator by the amount of the approved reimbursable expenses. (c) To the extent that costs identified in parts (1), (2), and (3) of subsections (b) are recovered by the Agency under the Radiation Protection Act of 1990 or its rules, the Agency shall not use money under this Section to cover these costs. (d) (Blank).

Legislative History

(Source: P.A. 94-91, eff. 7-1-05; 95-777, eff. 8-4-08.)