ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD

July 30,

1992

CITY OF FREEPORT,~

)

)

Petitioner,

)

v.

)

PCB 92—103

(Underground Storage

ILLINOIS ENVIRONMENTAL

)

Tank Reimbursement)

PROTECTION AGENCY,

)

)

Respondent.

ORDER OF THE BOARD

(by B. Forcade):

On July 15,

1992, City of Freeport filed a petition for

review of an Underground Storage Tank Reimbursement Determination

for its facility located at 1001 North Island.

This matter

is

accepted for hearing.

A review of the correspondence filed to date in this matter

indicates there may be some confusion as to the nature of a

proceeding of this type before the Board.

In proceedings before

the Board, the buraen is upon the petitioner to establish at a

formal hearing, by oral testimony under oath or by properly

submitted written documents,

that the disputed costs should be

paid under the terms of the Environmental Protection Act, and

applicable regulations.

Petitioner must present facts and

arguments as to why those costs should be paid in order to

prevail.

The initial burden at hearing to explain why the costs

were not paid is not upon the Agency.

Hearing must be scheduled within 14 days of the date of thjs

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 no 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.

0135-0185

---

2

Within 10 days of accepting this case, the Hearing Officer

shall enter a Hearing Officer Scheduling order governing

completion of the record.

Thatorder 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.

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.

Because of requirements regarding the publication of notice

of hearing, no scheduled hearing may be canceled unless the

petitioner provides an open waiver or a waiver to a date at least

120 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 avery short statutory deadline

for making a decision, 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

establish a Scheduling order pursuant to the requirements of this

order, and to adhere to that order until modified.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

I,

Dorothy M. Gunn,

Clerk of the Illinois Pollution Control

~

hereby certif

hat the above order was adopted on ~he

~1(’~-i~

day of

___________________,

1992, by a vote of

~

~Dorothy

M.

Gupfi,

Clerk

Illinois Pol(y’tion

Control Board