Science
by JULIE A. DUTTON

Science issues of the 80's

FARMLAND preservation, water resource management, grain elevator standards, hazardous wastes, nuclear energy and motor vehicle emission standards are the major issues confronting the Illinois General Assembly in the areas of science, engineering and technology. This was the consensus of a panel which focused on just how the legislature has dealt with technical topics. The panel was part of "Crossroads '80," a three-day conference on Illinois government and politics at Sangamon State University.

Panelists included Rep. Tim Donovan (D., Decatur), a member of the House Agriculture Committee; Bruce Kinnett of the Senate Republican staff assigned to the Agriculture, Conservation and Energy Committee; and Tim Mapes of the House Democratic staff assigned to both the Agriculture Committee and the Environment, Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

Farmland preservation

Illinois is "one of the greatest agricultural exporting states in the nation," said Donovan, and "we have to protect our agricultural lands." Kinnett said that the Illinois Department of Agriculture estimates that 80 percent of the total land in the state is in agricultural production, and about 65 percent of the state has coal reserves. Because of this, said Kinnett, "We'll have a continuing conflict between the agricultural interest and the coal interest over land use." Adequate reclamation programs must be assured for strip-mined areas, said Kinnett. He explained that reclamation in southern Illinois seems successful, but that "the reclamation of prime agricultural farmland, such as in central Illinois, has some questions as to whether or not we can turn the productivity back . . . after the land has been mined."

Water resources

"Right now people don't seem to be too concerned about our water problem," said Kinnett, who observed that we are just beginning to assess the pollution of our water sources. And while contamination of rivers, lakes and streams has received some public attention, according to Kinnett, he said, "We are totally overlooking . . . the problem with ground water." He pointed out that this contamination can't be detected until after the fact, perhaps as long as 30 years after the contamination. The next 10-20 years may uncover ground water contamination that would jeopardize drinking water supplies, according to Kinnett. He said, "It could be very critical."

But water issues are muddied with a number of uncertainties. It is unclear if there is the financial commitment to fund the extensive programs needed for agricultural communities to combat soil erosion (see Illinois Issues, June, p. 2). Presently a voluntary program is anticipated, but if that fails, mandatory controls may have to be imposed. One of the basic questions, according to Kinnett, is just who is responsible for the development of a state water policy. He said, "We have it divided up between the Department of Transportation, the Department of Public Health, and the Department of Agriculture." He also said, "There is a very serious legal question of whether or not ground water is under the control or is even under the jurisdiction of the Clean Water Act."

Grain elevator standards

Although emphasizing that "we don't want to over-regulate anybody," Donovan said the incidence of grain dust explosions has made clear the need for standards in design and operation of grain elevators. Illinois has no such standards. Donovan said he would like to see Illinois take the lead in this area. He cautioned, however, that these standards should not be more stringent than those of other states.

Hazardous wastes

Illinois generates over 30 million tons of hazardous wastes annually, according to Kinnett, who said a major problem is that "we don't know where all the hazardous waste is being dumped."

Legislation enacted by the 81st General Assembly addresses some of the problems of hazardous waste. Mapes cited the 1979 Hazardous Waste Bill (H.B. 453, P.A. 81-0856) as the first piece of legislation in the nation to address that issue. The legislation sets a number of provisions on hazardous wastes: stipulating where it may be buried; holding operators responsible for their sites for 20 years after their closure; requiring the Illinois Environmental Protection

Agency (IEPA) to conduct public hearings in counties of proposed hazardous waste sites; and for the first time, setting a fee schedule on disposal of hazardous waste.

The 1979 law set a disposal fee of about $2.00 a cubic yard and a penny a gallon, and established the Hazardous Waste Fund in which the fees will be deposited for use in the care of abandoned waste sites. It became clear that funding would be inadequate, and in 1980 H.B. 3365 was introduced to double the fees. But an increase in fees to provide more money for site cleanups could create a paradox: Kinnett pointed out that when disposal fees become too high, "you're probably going to have more incidents of midnight dumpers."

As it turned out, Mapes said, opposition from industry and landfill operators was so strong that the fee increase and a siting provision were deleted from the original bill. Still, H.B. 3365 in final form (P.A. 81-1484) contained several provisions addressing hazardous wastes, which Mapes outlined:

•  Any transfer of lands used as hazardous waste sites must be approved by the IEPA, which is required to file with the county recorder any restrictions on future use of such lands, to prevent certain buildings (such as schools and houses) from being constructed on these sites.

•  The Pollution Control Board may prohibit landfill disposal of a toxic waste which, if the technology is available, can be economically recovered, recycled or detoxified.

•  As of January 1, 1981, 25 percent of the waste disposal fees will be deposited in a new Hazardous Waste Research Fund for research into detoxifying and recycling waste. The other 75 percent of fees will be deposited in the Hazardous Waste Fund. The act also allows the Hazardous Waste Fund to finance clean-ups of wastes in illegal sites. Previously, the money could be used only for cleaning up permitted sites.

•  And, said Mapes, "Probably most important is that we strengthened the penalties for all those . . . midnight dumpers." Instead of a misdemeanor, "midnight dumping" is now a Class 4 felony.

Nuclear energy

Illinois' involvement in nuclear power was a major issue in the 81st General Assembly, and two significant bills were passed. One was the Nuclear Preparedness Act (S.B. 1084; P.A. 81-0577), which sets up monitoring equipment around nuclear power plants and establishes emergency response plans for nuclear accidents. Funding for this program comes from the nuclear industry.

The other major legislation was H.B. 3614, based on Executive Order No. 3 (1980), creating a Department of Nuclear

22/December 1980/Illinois Issues

Safety to coordinate all regulation of nuclear power. But Mapes pointed out that Gov. James R. Thompson used the amendatory veto on the bill. He struck an amendment which would prohibit the importation of spent fuel from other states for storage or disposal in Illinois. Regardless of the fate of the amendment in the fall veto session, however, the Department of Nuclear Safety remains established.

Noting that 26 percent of all electricity produced in Illinois in 1979 was nuclear-generated, Kinnett made it clear that Illinois has a significant reliance on the nuclear industry. But he pointed out that "ever since Three Mile Island . . . there has been an increased concern on the safety of nuclear power and the future . . . new construction of nuclear power plants in Illinois [is] doubtful." Should any new nuclear plants come on line, their siting would be a major issue, said Kinnett.

One issue clouding decisions about nuclear power is disposal of high and low radioactive nuclear waste, says Kinnett. Morris, Illinois, houses one of the three away-from-reactor storage facilities in the country. There is some speculation that this facility will be purchased by the U.S. government to become a federal repository for spent nuclear fuel rods. "Regardless of whether Illinois becomes a site of a federal repository or not," the major issue that has been discussed but not yet settled is whether one state should become responsible for the wastes from nuclear development in other states.

Motor vehicle emissions

Also commanding the legislature's attention is the motor vehicle inspection and maintenance legislation, considered by the 81st General Assembly in H.B. 2051 and H.B. 3616. Neither bill passed, but legislation must be enacted by January 1, 1983, for Chicago and East St. Louis in order for Illinois to comply with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency hydrocarbon and carbon monoxide emission standards. Mapes explained that under preliminary proposals, an independent company would inspect motor vehicles (at an estimated cost of $8-12 per vehicle) to determine if those vehicles meet the manufacturers' emission specifications.

Those failing the inspection would have to be brought up to standard or their owners' license renewal stickers would possibly be forfeited. Vehicles made before 1968 would probably be exempt. If Illinois fails to enact such a program, it could face three sanctions against the noncomplying areas: cut-off of federal highway funds; withholding of federal sewage treatment construction funds; and denial of construction permits for facilities which emit carbon monoxide or hydrocarbon pollutants. Although only California has been threatened with these sanctions, Mapes said, "Illinois could possibly be next."

Kinnett concluded that many upcoming policy decisions "will require a significant input from science and technology personnel" because often legislators and their staffs have a generalist background.

Donovan pointed out the dilemma of an elected official trying to consider all the aspects of a situation: "There are always pressures on you to do the absolute one way or the other, and it just doesn't work that way most of the time."

Support for this column, which reports policy developments concerning science and technology, is provided in part by a National Science Foundation grant to the Illinois Legislative Council Science Unit, where Julie A. Dutton is a research associate.

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