Illinois Increases Maximum Civil Penalties for Environmental Violations

HeplerBroom’s Government Affairs Associate Michael Scott co-authored this blog post. On June 12, 2025, Governor Pritzker signed into law Public Act 104-0006 which, in part, increased the maximum civil penalty amounts for violations under the Illinois Environmental Protection Act. Prior to these amendments, a person who violated any provision of the Act, a regulation adopted by the […]

Illinois Supreme Court Affirms No Private Rights of Action Exist Under Illinois Environmental Protection Act’s Tank Program

Case Background Rice brought an action for common-law negligence and also alleged liability under the Illinois Environmental Protection Act (Act) and the Illinois Pollution Control Board’s regulations. She sought to recover under strict liability pursuant to the LUST (leaking underground storage tank) provisions of the Act. The district court granted defendants’ motions to dismiss the […]

New U.S. EPA PFAS Air Testing Method Shows Progress Toward Emissions Standards

Introduction In mid-January 2024, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA or Agency) published a new method to assist in measuring substances such as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in air emissions. The new method is known as “Other Test Method 50” or “OTM-50.” While the Agency did not officially publish the draft method, […]

Changes to Annual Emissions Reports on Published Agenda for Illinois EPA

As part of its published regulatory agenda, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) has proposed changes to the regulations governing Annual Emissions Reports, often called “AERs.” (That agenda is available here, beginning on page 591 of the report.) The AERs rule requires permitted sources to report air pollution emissions data of regulated air pollutants. 35 […]