State Sen. Rachel Ventura, D-Joliet, has introduced what she calls “first in the nation” legislation to curb pollution at Illinois warehouses.

The Warehouse Pollution Reduction Act would create new environmental rules for the construction of warehouses while requiring that existing facilities be monitored for pollutants.

Ventura acknowledged that the bill was likely to face opposition from business interests but said it would be welcomed by constituents dealing with the impact of warehouse operations.

“We’re at a time now that I think a lot of people want warehouses to clean up the messes they’ve created,” Ventura said.

Warehouses don’t have smokestacks and don’t create the type of pollution generally monitored by government environmental regulators.

But they do generate large numbers of truck traffic, which has become a growing concern in the Joliet region because of the impact on road congestion.

The proposed legislation would take into account the impact of truck emissions on surrounding communities.

Ventura’s district includes the CenterPoint Intermodal Center, which sprawls across Joliet and Elwood and has created what is called the largest inland port in the United States.

Her legislation is based on regulations in Long Beach, California, one of the largest seaports in the country.

“The only place doing this in the country is Long Beach, California,” Ventura said. “They’re not doing it for the whole state. They’re doing it for a region.”

Ventura said the statewide impact is what makes her proposed legislation the first of its kind.

It comes at a time when warehouse operations in the Joliet area are set to explode with NorthPoint Development’s plans to develop a massive warehouse park adjacent to the CenterPoint project.

Ventura’s office said her proposed legislation would require “large warehouse and logistics facilities to meet emissions-reduction targets and comply with air quality standards, while requiring permits for new or expanded warehouses that ensure zero-emission infrastructure readiness and pollution mitigation planning,” according to a news release.

Some elements of the proposal would:

• Require that warehouses reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 through the use of clean-energy trucks, solar energy at operations, and other methods, including local hiring

• Require that truck bays be located at least 1,000 feet from schools, parks and other locations considered to be sensitive to their impact

• Empower the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency to assess fines for violations