ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD

July 18,

1972

GRIGGSVILLE COMMUNITY SCHOOL UNIT

#4

v.

)

#

72—166

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

Opinion and Order of the Board

(by Mr. Currie)

This petition by the Griggsville Community School Unit

(Griggsville)

seeks permission

to burn paper and milk cartons in

violation of the open burning regulations for a year while pursuing

the purchase of a compressor that would enable the wastes to be

compacted for more convenient removal.

The reason given why

compliance with the regulations now would impose an alleged hard-

ship is that refuse is presently collected only once a week;

the

implication is that there

is inadequate storage space given the

infrequency of collection.

We found the petition insufficient and entered an order

April

25, 1972 allowing an additional

20 days in which to file

additional information with respect to possible alternatives to

open burning in the interim:

“It may be possible to obtain scavenger services more

frequently than once weekly as at present;

or

a larger

storage space could be obtained in the interim.

Griggsville

should explore such alternatives and the economic and practical

difficulties thereof before it seeks to open burn.

We

would note that open burning has been prohibited by

law in Illinois since 1965.”

On June 19 we received a copy of a letter addressed

to

the Environmental Protection Agency and dated May

5,

in which

Griggsville indicated that as a result of communications with

the scavenger,

“it is hoped that some arrangement can be worked

out to have more pickups in Griggsville per week;” that this

“may be possible before school starts in September as many

schools and places of business in Pike County have similar

problems;” but that a variance was still desired since “we are

not certain at this

tirr~e and have no definite commitment.”

No other information has been received from ~riggsville.

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On the basis of what is before us we must dismiss the

petition.

As we said in our preliminary opinion, open burning

has been illegal for seven years; Griggsville has had plenty

of time to make other arrangements for disposing of refuse~

Even

if

all the allegations of the petition as supplemented

are taken as true,

no case for a variance has been made.

The alleged problem is that there are too few pickups;

even in

response to our earlier order raising the ooint,

there is no

allegation to rebut the natural inference that the answer is

to contract for more pickuos.

indeed the May

5

letter

agrees

that this may indeed be an available alternative,

and

nothing

is said at

all

about the possibility

of

providing more

storage

space in case pickups cannot be increased,

Especially

since

Griggsvilie has until school starts in September

to

find

an alternative to open burning, we

do

not

think

it

has

alleged

adequate

hardship

to

justify

hurninq

in

violation

of

the

regulations,

and

the

petition

is

hereby

dismissed,

as

the

Agenc

recommends.

I, Christan Moffett, Clerk of the Pollution Control Board,

certify that the Board adopted the above Opinion and Order

this

/t3”~’~day of July,

1972 by

a vote of

?—o

5

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