ILLINOIS ENVIRONMENTAL
)
PROTECTION AGENCY,
)
)
Complainant,
v.
)
PCB 79—67
CHICAGO/JOLIET LIVESTOCK MARKETING
)
CENTER, INC., A DELAWARE
CORPORATION,
Respondent.
DONALD
L.
GIMBEL, ATTORNEY AT LAW AND TECHNICAL ADVISOR, APPEARED ON
BEHALF OF THE COMPLAINANT.
MARTIN, CRAIG, CHESTER & SONNENSCHEIN (JOANNA C. NEW, OF COUNSEL),
APPEARED ON BEHALF OF THE RESPONDENT.
OPINION AND ORDER OF THE BOARD
(by N.E.Werner):
This matter comes before the Board on the March 23,
1979
Complaint brought by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency
(“Agency”).
On July
9,
1979, the Agency filed a Motion for Leave to
File an Amended Complaint and an Amended Complaint.
On July 26,
1979,
the Board granted this motion.
Count
I of the Amended Complaint alleged that, during the month
of October,
1978, the Chicago/Joliet Livestock Marketing Center,
Inc.
(the “Center”) allowed contaminants to be discharged from its spray—
irrigation system into the Frontage Road Pond of the Des Plaines
Conservation Area in Will County,
Illinois causing water pollution
which destroyed indigenous fish and aquatic life in the pond in
violation of Section 12(a)
of the Illinois Environmental Protection
Act (“Act”).
Moreover, Count
I also alleged that the Respondent allowed
contaminants from its spray—irrigation system to be deposited upon
the land in the vicinity of unnamed tributaries of Grant Creek, which
is
a tributary of the Des Plaines River,
in such a place and manner
as to create a water pollution hazard during the month of October,
1978,
in that runoff from the land entered the Frontage Road Pond
and killed fish and aquatic life in violation of Section 12(d)
of
the Act.
Count II alleged that, on October 10,
1978, the discharge from
the Center’s spray—irrigation system caused excessive levels of
45—1.
—
ammonia nitrogen
(as N)
in an unnamed tributary of the Des Plaines
River downstream from the discharge and in the Frontage Road Pond
in violation of Rules 203 and 402 of Chapter
3:
Water Pollution
Control Regulations
(“Chapter 3”) and Section 12(a) of the Act.
Count III alleged that,
from October,
1978 until 3uly
9,
1979,
the Respondent operated its holding tank, retention lagoon and spray-
irrigation system in such a manner as to allow sludges,
solids,
liquid wastes and other contaminants to be discharged into navigable
Illinois waters and failed to notify the Agency of such discharges in
violation of the terms or conditions of its NPDES Permit No.
IL 0037524
and Rules 410 and 901 of Chapter
3 and Section 12(f)
of the Act.
Count
IV alleged that,
intermittently from March 23,
1979 until
July
9,
1979,
the Center allowed contaminants from its holding tank
and retention
lagoon to be deposited upon the land near the unnamed
tributaries of Grant Creek, thereby creating a water pollution hazard
in violation of Section 12(d) of the Act.
After two years of settlement negotiations to resolve complex
technical and engineering issues,
a hearing was held on August 28,
1981
at which a properly signed Stipulation and Proposal for Settlement was
received into evidence.
The Respondent operates a livestock marketing and trading facility
(the “facility”) in Elwood, Will County,
Illinois which includes “a hog
house,
a cattle house,
livestock pens,
a holding
(settling)
tank, and
a lagoon”.
(Stip.
2).
The loading dock areas, which
“are located on
the west side of the hog and cattle buildings and are depressed
so
that the animals walk out of the back of the trucks at floor
level
in
the buildings”, accommodate deliveries and shipments of livestock.
(Stip.
2).
In these special
loading dock areas,
“there are manholes
which flow by gravity to lift stations which pump the storm water to
a ditch located on the east side of the property”.
(Stip.
2).
To dispose of its livestock waste, the Respondent utilizes a
spray—irrigation system which “consists of a high pressure pump,
numerous sections of eight—inch irrigation pipe with the appropriate
couplers and attachments,
600 feet of hose,
a water winch,
hose reel
and a tractor and pipe wagon”.
(Stip.
2).
This spray-irrigation
system was developed pursuant to the Board’s Opinion and Order
entered on November
7,
1974 in PCB 74—49 which ratified a settlement
agreement between the Agency and the Respondent.
(See:
Exhibits Bi
and B2).
The farm land used by this irrigation system contains
several ditches or small streams which flow intermittently for a
short distance before emptying into the fish stocking lagoon which
is located in the Des Plaines Wildlife Conservation Area and owned by
the Illinois Department of Conservation
(i.e., the Frontage Road Pond).
(Stip.
3).
On October
26, 1978,
as a result of water pollution,
6,209 fish
(having an established value of $875.00) were killed in the Frontage
Road Pond,
The Agency’s investigation of this fish kill indicated
that the Respondent was responsible for this incident.
(Stip.
3—4).
45—2
—3—
As part of the settlement agreement,
the Agency has withdrawn,
and moved to dismiss, Counts
I and II of the Amended Complaint.
(S:iip.
5).
The Board will grant the Agency’s motion to dismiss these
counts of the Amended Complaint.
Concurrently, the Respondent has
admitted the violations alleged in Counts III and IV of the Amended
Complaint “for the following dates only:
March 23,
1979,
March
30
through April
4,
1979, and April
19-20,
1979,” and has denied any
violations “for all other dates”.
(Stip.
4—5).
The proposed settlement agreement also provides that the
Respondent shall promptly:
(1) construct a containment wall. f~rthe
stacking of dry scraped manure;
(2) notify the Agency when the
treatment lagoon level rises to less than
1 foot free board
(a
calibrated measuring rod in the outlet manhole of the treatment
lagoon has already been installed for this purpose);
(3)
“ensure that
all pipe joints are maintained tight after relocation” by inspecting
“the pipeline transport system for treated wastewater from its
treat-
ment lagoon to the spray irrigation site during each initial period
of irrigation”;
(4) conform “the annual application rate of waste-
water” of the spray-irrigation equipment to applicable Agency criteria~
(5)
“pump out of the holding (settling) tank all of the waste which
is
now accumulated therein, or in the alternative, shall
reduce the
volume
within the tank to a reasonable level” and place “all
waste pumped
out
of the tank” into the lagoon;
(6) deposit “no further waste...tn the
settling tank without prior written approval by the Agency, except
in
emergency situations”;
(7)
repair all damaged light—panels for the
cattle and hog houses;
(8) establish stream monitoring stations;
(9)
take various specified steps pertaining to the determination of
whether an NPDES permit is required for the storm—water discharge
from the docking area of its facility; and
(10) pay a stipulated
penalty of $3,000.00
($875.00 of this penalty shall be paid to the
Illinois Game and Fish Fund).
(Stip.
4—13).
Additionally, the
parties have stipulated that, by agreeing to the monetary penalty,
the Respondent “is not, implicitly or otherwise, admitting to the
violations
alleged in Counts
I and II of the Amended Complaint”.
(Stip.
13).
Furthermore, as part of the proposed settlement agreement, the
parties have requested that the Board modify paragraph 9(f) of the
prior Stipulation submitted in PCB 74-79 with respect to the parameters
and sampling frequencies for monitoring wells
#7 and #8
(those wells
adjacent to the holding lagoon).
The Board will grant the request
of
the parties in this regard.
(See:
Stip. 8—10).
In evaluating this enforcement action and proposed settlement
agreement,
the Board has taken into consideration all the facts and
circumstances in light of the specific criteria delineated in
Section
33(c) of the Act,
The
Board finds the settlement agreement
acceptable under Procedural Rule 331 and Section 33(c) of the Act.
Accordingly, the Board finds that the Respondent,
the Chicago/
Joliet Livestock Marketing Center,
Inc., has violated Rules 410
and 901 of Chapter
3:
Water Pollution Control Regulations and
Sections 12(d)
and 12(f) of the Act.
The Respondent will be
45—3
—4
ordered to follow the requisite compliance program and pay the
stipulated penalty of $3,000.00
($875.00 of this penalty shall
be paid to the Illinois
Game
and Fish Fund).
This Opinion constitutes the Board’s findings of fact and
conclusions of law in this matter.
ORDER
It is the Order of the Illinois Pollution Control Board that:
1.
The Respondent,
the Chicago/Joliet Livestock Marketing
Center,
Inc.,
has
violated
Rules
410
and 901 of Chapter
3:
Water
Pollution
Control
Regulations
and
Sections
12(d) and 12(f)
of the
Illinois
Environmental
Protection
Act.
2.
The
Agency’s motion to dismiss Counts
I and II of the
Amended
Complaint
is
hereby
granted.
3.
Within
45
days
of
the
date of this Order, the Respondent
shall, by certified check or
money
order,
pay
the
sum
of
$875.00
to
the Illinois Game and Fish Fund.
4.
Within 45 days of the date of this Order,
the Respondent
shall, by certified check or money order payable to the State of
Illinois, pay a stipulated penalty of $2,125.00 which is to be sent to~
Illinois Environmental Protection Agency
Fiscal
Services
Division
2200 Churchill Road
Springfield,
Illinois
62706
5.
The
Respondent
shall
comply
with
all
the
terms
and
conditions
of
the
Stipulation
and
Proposal
for
Settlement filed on August 28,
1981,
which
is
incorporated
by
reference
as
if
fully
set
forth
herein.
6.
As per the request of the parties, paragraph
9(f)
of
the
Stipulation
and
Proposal
for Settlement submitted in PCB 74-79
(See:
Exhibit
B2,
page
6)
is
hereby
modified
in
accord
with
the
Stipulation
and
Proposal
for
Settlement in PCB
79-67
(See:
pages
8—10
of
that
Stipulation),
which
is
incorporated
by
reference as if
fully
set
forth
herein.
7,
The
Board
shall
retain
jurisdiction
for
the
purpose
of
determining
any
issue
which
results
from
paragraph F(c) of the
Stipulation.
I,
Christan
L.
Moffett,
Clerk
of
the
Illinois
Pollution Control
Board,
hereby
certify
that
the
above
Opinion
and Order were adopted
on
the
1~~’
day
of
______________,
1982
by
a
vote
of
_____
Christan
L.
Moffe
tt~)
lerk
Illinois
Pollution
C
ntrol Board
45—4