ILLINOIS

POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD

December

4,

1980

IN THE MATTER OF:

LEAF BURNING

)

PROPOSED AMENDMENT TO CHAPTER

2:

)

R73—5

AIR POLLUTION,

PART V:

Open

)

Burning, of The Illinois Pollution

OPINION AND ORDER OF THE BOARD

(by J.D. Dumelle):

Under the Board~s

initial Air Pollution Regulations adopted

April

13,

1972,

in R71~23, the open burning of leaves was

proscribed within any municipality plus a zone extending one mile

beyond the boundaries of any such municipality having a

population of 1,000 or more.

On November 28,

1972,

the Board

relaxed this ban against

leaf burning

in rural areas and

smaller communities which are not within

a major metropolitan

area

(R72—11,

6 PCB 357),

The prohibition remained in effect

in

municipalities over 2500

in

population

and in their adjoining

municipalities, and within unincorporated areas which are within

1000 feet of a municipality where

leaf burning was banned.

The

open burning of landscape

waste remained prohibited

in all

municipalities located in the Chicago and East St. Louis

metropolitan areas,

regardless of

size,

On March 30,

1973,

the Board published a proposed amendment

which would have based the leaf burning ban on actual air quality

rather than on the size of the municipality.

Two hearings were

held on this proposal on April

27 and 30,

1973,

in Springfield

and Rock Island,

respectively.

Hearings were then held in

abeyance pending legislative action.

On August 13,

1973,

legislation

amending

Section 10(g)

of

the Environmental

Protection Act was signed into law

(Public Act

78—243).

In a written opinion dated October 16,

1973,

the

Illinois Attorney General

concluded that it was the intention oF

the General Assembly to allow the burning of leaves.

The Board

was left the power to regulate that burning

where

sound

scientific evidence showed “that such burning will produce in the

atmosphere of that geographical

area contaminants in sufficient

quantity and of such characteristics and duration as to be

injurious to human, plant or animal

life or health”

(Public

Act

78—243).

---

—2—

On September

6,

1973,

the Agency filed

a new proposal

to

control leaf burning

in those parts of the

state which do not

meet the Primary Air

Quality Standards.

This proposal was

published

in Board

Newsletter #72 (September

6,

1973).

Public hearings were

held on that

proposal on November 16,

19, and 27,

1973,

in

Peoria,

Chicago, and

Urbana,

respectively.

The evidence adduced at

these hearings

(as

well

as the previous

two hearings) was

addressed in the Opinion

of the Board on

September 19, 1974

(R73-5,13

PCB 645).

At

that time the Board

found that the record

did not support the

adoption of the

proposal.

However,

the Board retained

jurisdiction pending

a scientific study from

the Institute for

Environmental Quality.

The Economic

Impact Study was submitted

on January

13,

1977,

and hearings were held

to consider

it

on April

6,7,

and

19,

1977,

in Chicago,

Champaign, and Peoria,

respectively.

On December 13,

1979,

the Agency withdrew

its proposal,

and no new proponent

has come forward.

This lengthy

history has resulted in an

out—dated record.

The most recent hearings

are approaching four

years old.

Most of the hearings

are over seven years

old.

The Board

finds that if it were

to consider adoption of

a leaf burning

proposal in the near

future, new hearings

would have to he

held.

However, the

present time would

be inopportune in that

a Federal respirable

particle standard is

expected to be set

sometime around May

of 1981.

Such

a

standard

may well change

the nature of these

proceedings.

Therefore,

the Board

finds that the

present proposal

should he dismissed,

If, after the Federal

respirable

particle standard

is

set,

a

new proposal

is

forthcoming, the

Board will consider

it as

a

new proceeding.

That

does not

mean, however, that

elements from the record in

this present

proceeding which have

continuing validity cannot

he brought

into

the

later record.

ORDER

It is the Order

of the Illinois

Pollution

Control Board

that Petition R73~5

is hereby dismissed.

IT IS SO

ORDERED.

---

—3—

I,

Christan L.

Moffett,

Clerk of the

Illinois Pollution

Control Board, hereby certify

that t

e above Opinion and Order

was adop~edon the

~

day of

~

1980 by a

vote of..S-(~

/

Christan L. Moffe~~1erk

Illinois Pollution C~ntrolBoard