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| 1 | SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION
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| 2 | WHEREAS, Under the 2016 Volkswagen settlement, Illinois | ||||||
| 3 | will receive $108.7 million in mitigation funds for local air | ||||||
| 4 | quality improvement projects; and
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| 5 | WHEREAS, The settlement funds provide an opportunity to | ||||||
| 6 | offset more than 40,400 tons of NOx pollution resulting from | ||||||
| 7 | illegal defeat devices in VW vehicles; and
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| 8 | WHEREAS, Mitigation investments should also seek to | ||||||
| 9 | protect and improve the quality of life for Illinois's most | ||||||
| 10 | vulnerable and disproportionately affected residents, | ||||||
| 11 | including children, the elderly, and environmental justice and | ||||||
| 12 | minority communities; and
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| 13 | WHEREAS, Illinois named the Illinois Environmental | ||||||
| 14 | Protection Agency as the designated Beneficiary to receive | ||||||
| 15 | funds and determine eligibility for projects receiving | ||||||
| 16 | funding; and
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| 17 | WHEREAS, Illinois released its Draft Beneficiary | ||||||
| 18 | Mitigation Plan on February 28, 2018; and
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| 19 | WHEREAS, The people of Illinois have a right to be informed | ||||||
| 20 | as to how the money is spent and how effective the plan is at | ||||||
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| 1 | reducing NOx emissions; therefore, be it
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| 2 | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDREDTH GENERAL | ||||||
| 3 | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES | ||||||
| 4 | CONCURRING HEREIN, that the Illinois Environmental Protection | ||||||
| 5 | Agency shall provide a written report on April 15 of each year | ||||||
| 6 | until the year after the funding has been fully disbursed that | ||||||
| 7 | includes a summary of the projects it has funded, the amount | ||||||
| 8 | expended for each, and the estimated level of reduced NOx | ||||||
| 9 | emissions; and be it further
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| 10 | RESOLVED, That the report filed with the General Assembly | ||||||
| 11 | shall be filed with the Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk | ||||||
| 12 | of the House of Representatives in electronic form only, in the | ||||||
| 13 | manner that the Secretary and Clerk shall direct; and be it | ||||||
| 14 | further
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| 15 | RESOLVED, That the IEPA shall hold at least one public | ||||||
| 16 | meeting with the opportunity for public comment and questions | ||||||
| 17 | within 60 days of the release of the report to discuss the | ||||||
| 18 | report's findings.
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