ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
    May 5,
    1988
    MOBIL CHEMICAL COMPANY INC.,
    Petitioners,
    v.
    )
    PCB 88—8
    ILLINOIS ENVIRONMENTAL
    PROTECTION AGENCY,
    )
    Respondent.
    ORDER OF
    THE
    BOARD
    (by B. Forcade):
    On February 22,
    1988,
    the Dow Chemical Company
    (“Dow”)
    filed
    a petition
    for variance, seeking relief from certain air
    pollution control regulations. That petition was deficient.
    On
    April
    22,
    1988,
    Dow filed an amended petition curing the
    deficiency.
    This matter
    is accepted for hearing.
    Hearing must
    be scheduled within 14 days of the date of this
    Order
    and completed within 60 days of
    the date of
    this Order.
    The hearing officer shall inform the Clerk
    of the Board
    of the
    time and location of the hearing at least
    40 days
    in advance
    of
    hearing so that public notice
    of hearing may be published.
    After
    hearing,
    the hearing officer
    shall submit
    an exhibit
    list and all
    actual exhibits
    to the Board within
    5 days
    of the hearing.
    Any
    briefing schedule shall provide for final filings
    as
    expeditiously as possible and in
    rio
    event later
    than
    70 days from
    the date of
    this Order.
    If after appropriate consultation with
    the parties,
    the
    parties fail
    to provide an acceptable hearing date or
    if after an
    attempt
    the hearing officer
    is unable
    to consult with the
    parties,
    the hearing officer shall unilaterally set a hearing
    date
    in conformance with the schedule above.
    This schedule will
    only provide the Board
    a very short time period
    to deliberate and
    reach a decision before the due date.
    The hearing officer and
    the parties are encouraged
    to expedite this proceeding as much as
    possible.
    Within 10 days of accepting this case,
    the Hearing Officer
    shall enter
    a Hearing Officer Scheduling Order governing
    completion of the record.
    That Order shall
    set a date certain
    for each aspect of the case including:
    briefing schedule,
    hearing date(s), completion of discovery
    (if necessary)
    and pre—
    hearing conference
    (if necessary).
    The Hearing Officer
    Scheduling Order may be modified by entry of
    a complete new
    scheduling order conforming with the time requirements below.
    89—99
    —2—
    The hearing officer may extend this schedule only on
    a
    waiver
    of the decision deadline by the petitioner and only for
    the equivalent or fewer number of days that the decision deadline
    is waived.
    Such waivers must be provided
    in writing
    to the Clerk
    of
    the Board.
    Any waiver must be an “open waiver” or
    a waiver
    of
    decision until
    a date certain.
    Any waiver shall extend
    the time
    deadline of Section 104.180 regarding filing
    the Agency
    recommendation by the equivalent number of
    days,
    but
    in any
    circumstance the recommendation must
    be filed
    at least
    20 days
    before
    the hearing.
    Because of requirements regarding the publication of notice
    of hearing,
    no scheduled hearing may be cancelled unless the
    petitioner provides an open waiver or
    a waiver
    to
    a date at least
    75
    days beyond
    the date of the motion to cancel hearing.
    This
    should allow ample time for
    the Board
    to republish notice of
    hearing and receive transcripts from the hearing before
    the due
    date.
    Any order
    by the hearing officer granting cancellation of
    hearing shall
    include a complete new scheduling order with
    a new
    hearing date
    at least
    40 days
    in the future and at least 30 days
    prior
    to
    the
    new
    due
    date
    and
    the
    Clerk
    of
    the
    Board
    shall
    be
    promptly
    informed
    of
    the
    new
    schedule.
    Because this proceeding
    is the type for which the Illinois
    Environmental Protection Act sets
    a very short statutory deadline
    for decisionmaking,
    absent a waiver,
    the Board will grant
    extensions
    or modifications only
    in unusual circumstances.
    Any
    such motion must set forth an alternative schedule for notice,
    hearing,
    and final submissions,
    as well as
    the deadline for
    decision,
    including response time
    to such
    a motion.
    However,
    no
    such motion shall negate
    the obligation of
    the hearing officer to
    set
    a date pursuant to
    the fourth paragraph of this Order,
    and to
    adhere
    to that Order
    until modified.
    This Order will not be published
    in the Board’s Opinion
    Volumes.
    IT
    IS SO ORDERED
    I,
    Dorothy M. Gum, Clerk of the Illinois Pollution Control
    Board, hereby certify that the above Order was adopted on
    the
    ~
    day of ________________________,
    1988, by
    a vote
    of
    7~C)
    .
    Dorothy
    M.
    unn, Clerk
    Illinois Pollution Control Board
    89—100

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