ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD

May 24, 1973

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY,

Complainant,

v.

)

PCB 72—482

CITY OF ALBION,

)

Respondent.

William

C.

Bowen, Special Assistant Attorney General, on behalf

of Coi~1ainant;

John Holland on behalf of Respondent.

OPINION AND ORDER OF THE BOARD

(by Mr. Seaman):

On December 7,

1972 the Environmental Protection Agency

filed a complaint against Respondent, the City of Albion,

located in Edwards County,

Illinois.

Respondent is charged

with the operation of a garbage dump without the requisite

permit in violation of Section 21(e)

of the Environmental

Protection Act

(Ill.

Rev.

Stat.,

1971, ch. 111½,

~l02l(e)).

The complaint further alleges that on nineteen separate

dates

(between and including September

18, 1970 and June 20,

1972) Respondent committed the following violations at its

garbage dump site:

1.

Respondent caused or allowed open dumping of refuse

in violation of Section 21(b)

of the Act.

2.

Respondent caused or allowed open dumping of refuse

in violation of Bule 3.04 of Rules For Refuse Disposal

Sites

and Facilities pursuant to Section 49(c)

of the Act.

3.

Respondent failed to properly spread and compact

refuse admitted

to the site

in violation of Rule 5.06.

4.

Respondent failed to provide daily cover at its

facility in violation of Rule 5.07(a).

5.

Respondent failed to prohibit the disposition of

refuse in standing water in violation of Rule

5.12.

Respondent has admitted by stipulation

(B.

1)

that it has

never received a permit to operate its dump facilities.

8—91

---

—2—

Respondent has stipulated further

(R.

3)

that Complainant’s

photographs of the dumping facility be admitted into evidence

as proof of the remaining allegations of the complaint.

The

record of the hearing, therefore, consists of Respondent’s

evidence and argument in mitigation and Complainant’s rebuttal

thereof

(R.

3)

The Respondent, City of Albion,

is a community of

approximately 1,800 people.

The County of Edwards has a popula-

tion of approximately 7,000.

Respondent provides no garbage pick-up service.

The

citizens individually haul their garbage and refuse to the

dumping facility in question which operates two days a week

(R.

6).

The refuse is dumped into pits which are often allowed

to remain open

(R.

8)

.

Large articles such as stoves and

refrigerators are allowed to remain on the surface of the dump

for years

(R.

11)

Respondent’s witness, Mayor George Perry,

testified that

he was aware of the situation

(R.

13) and that the Respondent

was doing the best it could with its limited resources

(R.

14),

Respondent’s annual budget

is $50,000 per year

(B.

81).

It

is apparent from a reading of the record that Respondent

has made no effort to comply with the pertinent sections of

the Act and Rules.

It is equally apparent, however, that

closing the dumping facility at this time would serve only to

aggravate the situation; although violative conditions will

not be permitted indefinitely.

Normally, the facts of

the case would indicate that this

Board should impose a penalty.

However, because of the lack

of

funds of the Respondent municipality, we see no reason to

further add to their fiscal problems.

IT IS THE ORDER of the Pollution Control Board that

Respondent, City of Albion,

shall within 30 days from the date

of this order, apply for a permit from the Environmental Pro-

tection Agency to operate its dumping facility.

It

is further

ordered that Respondent shall, within 90 days from the date of

this order, bring its dumping facility and procedures into

compliance with Section 21 of the Illinois Environmental

Protection Act and the Rules adopted pursuant to Section 22

thereof.

I, Christan L. Moffett, Clerk of the Illinois Pollution Control

Board,

certify that4he above Opinion and Order was adopted by

the Board on the~i_“day of

‘V’~.

,

1973, by

a vote of

4

to

~

.

C~L