ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
March 17, 2005
PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS,
Complainant,
v.
VILLAGE OF NORTH CITY, an Illinois
municipal corporation; LAWRENCE A.
LIPE & ASSOCIATES, INC., an Illinois
corporation; ALTMAN-CHARTER
COMPANY, a Missouri corporation, and
FURLONG EXCAVATING, INC., an Illinois
corporation,
Respondents.
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PCB 05-96
(Enforcement – Water, Public Water
Supply)
ORDER OF THE BOARD (by J.P. Novak):
On November 17, 2004, the Office of the Attorney General, on behalf of the People of
the State of Illinois (People), filed a complaint against the Village of North City (North City);
Lawrence A. Lipe & Associates, Inc. (Lipe); Altman-Charter Company (Altman-Charter); and
Furlong Excavating, Inc. (Furlong) (collectively, Respondents).
See
415 ILCS 5/31(c)(1)
(2000); 35 Ill. Adm. Code 103.204. The complaint concerns the Respondents’ construction or
installation of a sewage lift station and water main in the Village of North City, Franklin County.
Lipe, Altman-Charter, and Furlong separately filed a stipulation and proposed settlement
accompanied by a request for relief from the hearing requirement of Section 31(c)(1) of the
Environmental Protection Act (Act) (415 ILCS 5/31(c)(1) (2002)). Although the Board
published the required notice of the three proposed settlements in the
Benton Evening News
, no
person responded by requesting that a hearing be held. In an order dated March 3, 2005, the
Board granted relief from the hearing requirement and accepted the settlement proposed by the
People with regard to Lipe, Altman-Charter, and Furlong.
See
415 ILCS 5/31(c)(2) (2002); 35
Ill. Adm. Code 103.300.
Today, the Board considers two motions filed separately on March 10, 2005. In the first,
the People and North City filed a stipulation and proposed settlement accompanied by a Motion
for Relief from Hearing Requirement. In the second, the People move for a modification of the
final order entered March 3, 2005 with regard to Altman-Charter. The Board will consider each
of the two motions separately below.
NORTH CITY STIPULATION AND SETTLEMENT
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On March 10, 2005, the People and North City filed a stipulation and proposed
settlement, accompanied by a request for relief from the hearing requirement of Section 31(c)(1)
of the Act. This filing is authorized by Section 31(c)(2) of the Act (415 ILCS 5/31(c)(2) (2000)).
See
35 Ill. Adm. Code 103.300(a). Under the proposed stipulation, North City admits the alleged
violations and agrees to pay a civil penalty of $500.
Unless the Board determines that a hearing is needed, the Board must cause notice of the
stipulation, proposed settlement, and request for relief from the hearing requirement. Any person
may file a written demand for hearing within 21 days after receiving the notice. If anyone timely
files a written demand for hearing, the Board will deny the parties’ request for relief and hold a
hearing. 415 ILCS 5/31(c)(2) (2000); 35 Ill. Adm. Code 103.300(b), (c). The Board directs the
Clerk of the Board to provide the required notice.
MOTION FOR MODIFICATION
On March 10, 2005, the People filed a Motion for Modification of Final Order (Mot.). In
their motion, the People note that, “[i]n the stipulation filed by the People on January 6, 2005,
Altman-Charter agreed to pay a civil penalty of $500, and further agreed to perform a
supplemental environmental project by a donation of $2,000 to the Benton School District
Greening Program.” Mot. at 1. In addition, “the People respectfully contend that the Board
mistakenly issued an incorrect Order as to what was agreed to between the People and Altman-
Charter Company.”
Id
.
The Board’s procedural rules provide that motions for the Board to modify its final orders
must be filed within 35 days after the order is received (35 Ill. Adm. Code 101.520), and the
Board finds that the People’s motion filed March 10, 2005 is timely. The Board notes that, in the
first paragraph of its March 3, 2005 order, it expressly “accepts and incorporates by reference the
stipulations and proposed settlements between the People and the respondents” including
Altman-Charter. However, the Board finds that, due to an inadvertent administrative error,
paragraph 5 of the order does not accurately reflect the stipulation and proposed settlement filed
by the People and Altman-Charter on January 6, 2005. Because a timely-filed motion for
modification stays the effect of a final order until disposition of the motion (35 Ill. Adm. Code
101.520(c)), the Board extends payment deadlines to maintain the 30-day payment period
allowed Altman-Charter in the parties’ proposed settlement.
Accordingly, the People’s Motion for Modification of Final Order is granted, and
paragraph 5 of the Board’s March 3, 2005 order is modified by replacing it with the following:
5. a) Altman-Charter Company must
pay a civil penalty of $500 no later
than April 18, 2005, which is the first business day after the 30th
day after the date of this order. Altman-Charter must pay the civil
penalty by certified check or money order, payable to the
Environmental Protection Trust Fund. The case number, case
name, and Altman-Charter Company’s social security number or
federal employer identification number must be included on the
certified check or money order.
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b)
Altman-Charter must sent eh certified check or money order to:
Illinois
Environmental
Protection
Agency
Fiscal
Services
Division
1021 North Grand Avenue East
Springfield,
IL
62794-9276
c)
Altman-Charter must further perform a supplemental
environmental project by donating $2,000 to the Benton School
District Greening Program no later than April 18, 2005, which is
the first business day after the 30th day after the date of this order,
at an address to be determined by the People.
Except for the modification of paragraph 5 described above, the provisions of the Board’s
March 3, 2005 order remain in effect as issued on that date.
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) (2002);
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 order on March 17, 2005, 2005, by a vote of 5-0.
Dorothy M. Gunn, Clerk
Illinois Pollution Control Board
