ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
    October 6, 2005
     
    PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS,
     
    Complainant,
     
    v.
     
    TRUSERV CORPORATION, a Delaware
    corporation d/b/a TRUE VALUE
    MANUFACTURING COMPANY,
     
    Respondent.
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    PCB 05-149
    (Enforcement - Air)
     
    OPINION AND ORDER OF THE BOARD (by A.S. Moore):
     
    On February 8, 2005, the Office of the Attorney General, on behalf of the People of the
    State of Illinois (People), filed a five-count complaint against Truserv Corporation d/b/a True
    Value Manufacturing Company (Truserv). Truserv owns and operates a paint manufacturing
    facility located at 823 West Blackhawk, in Chicago, Cook County. The People’s complaint
    concerns alleged air emissions from Truserv’s facility. The parties now seek to settle without a
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    Under the Environmental Protection Act (Act) (415 ILCS 5 (2004)), the Attorney
    General and the State’s Attorneys may bring actions before the Board to enforce Illinois’
    environmental requirements on behalf of the People.
    See
    415 ILCS 5/31 (2004); 35 Ill. Adm.
    Code 103. In this case, the People allege that Truserv violated Sections 9(a) and (b) of the Act
    (415 ILCS 5/9(a) and (b) (2004)); 35 Ill. Adm. Code 201.302(a), 218.624, 218.625(a) and (b),
    218.628, and 218.630(a); and Sections 9, 10(a) and (b), 12, and 13(a) of Truserv’s Federally
    Enforceable State Operating Permit (FESOP). According to the complaint, Truserv caused or
    allowed these violations by (1) failing to cover paint mixing and thinning tanks; (2) failing to
    cover grinding mills; (3) failing to maintain records about equipment leaks and failing to repair
    leaks within 15 days; (4) failing to enclose equipment during cleaning; and (5) failing to submit
    accurate annual emissions reports.
     
    On July 29, 2005, the People and Truserv filed a stipulation and proposed settlement,
    accompanied by a request for relief from the hearing requirement of Section 31(c)(1) of the Act
    (415 ILCS 5/31(c)(1) (2004)). This filing is authorized by Section 31(c)(2) of the Act (415 ILCS
    5/31(c)(2) (2004)), which requires that the public have an opportunity to request a hearing
    whenever the State and a respondent propose settling an enforcement action without a public
    hearing.
    See
    35 Ill. Adm. Code 103.300(a). The Board provided notice of the stipulation,
    proposed settlement, and request for relief. The newspaper notice was published in the
    Chicago
    Sun-Times
    on August 31, 2005. The Board did not receive any requests for hearing. The Board
     
    2
    grants the parties’ request for relief from the hearing requirement.
    See
    415 ILCS 5/31(c)(2)
    (2004); 35 Ill. Adm. Code 103.300(b).
     
    Section 103.302 of the Board’s procedural rules sets forth the required contents of
    stipulations and proposed settlements.
    See
    35 Ill. Adm. Code 103.302. These requirements
    include stipulating to facts on the nature, extent, and causes of the alleged violations and the
    nature of Truserv’s operations. Section 103.302 also requires that the parties stipulate to facts
    called for by Section 33(c) of the Act (415 ILCS 5/33(c) (2004)), which bears on the
    reasonableness of the circumstances surrounding the alleged violations. The People and Truserv
    have satisfied Section 103.302.
     
    The stipulation and proposed settlement also address the factors of Section 42(h) of the
    Act (415 ILCS 5/42(h) (2004)), which may mitigate or aggravate the civil penalty amount.
    Under the proposed stipulation, Truserv neither admits nor denies the alleged violations and
    agrees to pay a civil penalty of $30,000, which the parties agree is “as great or greater than the
    economic benefit that [Truserv] achieved during the period of noncompliance.” Stipulation at 8.
    The Board accepts the stipulation and proposed settlement.
     
    This opinion constitutes the Board’s findings of fact and conclusions of law.
     
    1. The Board accepts and incorporates by reference the stipulation and proposed
    settlement.
     
    2. Truserv must pay a civil penalty of $30,000 by November 7, 2005, which is the
    first business day following the 30th day after the date of this order. Truserv must
    pay the civil penalty by certified check, money order, or electronic funds transfer
    payable to the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, designated to the Illinois
    Environmental Protection Trust Fund.
     
    3. Truserv must submit payment of the civil penalty to:
     
    Illinois Environmental Protection Agency
    Fiscal Services Division
    1021 North Grand Avenue East
    P.O. Box 19276
    Springfield, Illinois 62794-9276
     
    Truserv must send a copy of each certified check, money order, or record of
    electronic funds transfer and any transmittal letter to:
     
    George Theophilos
    Assistant Attorney General
    Environmental Bureau
    188 W. Randolph St., 20th Floor
    Chicago, Illinois 60601
     
     
    3
    Maureen Wozniak
    Assistant Counsel
    Illinois Environmental Protection Agency
    1021 North Grand Avenue East
    P.O. Box 19276
    Springfield, Illinois 62794-9276
     
    4.
    Penalties unpaid within the time prescribed will accrue interest under Section
    42(g) of the Act (415 ILCS 5/42(g) (2004)) at the rate set forth in Section 1003(a)
    of the Illinois Income Tax Act (35 ILCS 5/1003(a) (2004)).
     
    5.
    Truserv must cease and desist from future violations of the Act and Board
    regulations that were the subject of the complaint.
     
    IT IS SO ORDERED.
     
    Section 41(a) of the Environmental Protection Act provides that final Board orders may
    be appealed directly to the Illinois Appellate Court within 35 days after the Board serves the
    order. 415 ILCS 5/41(a) (2004);
    see also
    35 Ill. Adm. Code 101.300(d)(2), 101.906, 102.706.
    Illinois Supreme Court Rule 335 establishes filing requirements that apply when the Illinois
    Appellate Court, by statute, directly reviews administrative orders. 172 Ill. 2d R. 335. The
    Board’s procedural rules provide that motions for the Board to reconsider or modify its final
    orders may be filed with the Board within 35 days after the order is received. 35 Ill. Adm. Code
    101.520;
    see also
    35 Ill. Adm. Code 101.902, 102.700, 102.702.
     
    I, Dorothy M. Gunn, Clerk of the Illinois Pollution Control Board, certify that the Board
    adopted the above opinion and order on October 6, 2005, by a vote of 4-0.
     
    Dorothy M. Gunn, Clerk
    Illinois Pollution Control Board
     

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