SPRINGFIELD, ILL. — A legislative proposal that seeks to phase out the use of perchloroethylene in drycleaning statewide by 2026 moved out of committee in Illinois' General Assembly last week.
Written by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) and introduced by Rep. Julie Hamos (D-Evanston), HB 6115 would ban installation of new perc machinery on Jan. 1, 2011, and eliminate perc use in facilities "colocated" with residential properties on Jan. 1, 2013. All perc use would be outlawed statewide in 2026.
The bill would also amend the state's cleanup fund, the Drycleaner Environmental Response Trust Fund (DERTF), to collect additional taxes on perc. Revenues go toward the promotion of alternative processes and fund grants of up to $10,000 to buy new alternative equipment.
"We realize this is an industry made up of a lot of small businesses," Doug Scott, director of the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA), told the Chicago Tribune. "But there is new and better technology available that doesn't create environmental and health problems."
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