ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
    October
    5,
    1982
    UNITY VENTURES,
    )
    Petitioner,
    )
    V.
    )
    PCB 80—175
    ILLINOIS ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY,
    Respondent.
    ORDER OF THE BOARD
    (by
    I.
    Goodman):
    On September 21,
    1982 the Illinois Environmental Protection
    Agency
    (Agency) filed a Motion for Reconsideration of the Board’s
    Order of September
    2,
    1982 in this matter.
    Unity Ventures
    (Unity)
    filed a Response on September
    23,
    1982.
    The motion for reconsider-
    ation is granted.
    The Agency argues that the Board’s Procedural Rules 314(c)
    should have the same interpretation and force as Illinois Supreme
    Court Rule 216(c),
    after which
    it is patterned.
    Thus,
    the Agency
    argues that it should not have to demonstrate that Unity’s late
    filing of its Response to Request for Admissions of Facts causes
    prejudice or harm.
    Despite the Agency’s arguments,
    it
    must
    he recognized that
    this is a variance proceeding and that the Board’s foremost in-
    terest is to be fully informed of
    the facts involved.
    Resolution
    of this matter involves more than concluding,
    as expeditiously as
    fairness will allow,
    a dispute between two parties.
    The Agency’s
    reliance on F.J.
    Pechman v.
    Oldham is inapplicable
    to cases
    where
    the status of the environment is the paramount issue.
    The Board
    did not state
    in its Opinion that the Agency must demonstrate
    prejudice or harm but rather that the lack of such demonstration
    coupled with the perceived need by the Board for certain facts
    resulted in the decision under reconsideration.
    Furthermore, part of this rationale in originally denying
    the Agency’s Motion to Strike was that the hearing officer in
    this matter had granted Unity additional time to respond, sub-
    sequently relied on by Unity.
    To have stricken the Response
    would have contravened this reliance, undermined the discovery
    process, and possibly left the Board without knowledge of facts
    involved.
    The Board’s holding on September
    2,
    1982 is reaffirmed.
    49-03
    2
    The Board notes that the Interrogatories,
    and Requests
    to
    Produce Documents filed by the Agency on June 11,
    1982 and the
    Request for a Witness List filed July 22,
    1982 remain unanswered
    by Unity.
    On July
    1,
    1982 the Board denied an Agency Motion for
    Order assuming that the information requested would he supplied
    in
    Unity’s responses to the Iriterrogatories and Admission of Facts.
    To expedite this matter,
    it
    is hereby ordered that Unity
    respond
    to the outstanding discovery requests made by the Agency
    no later than October 12,
    1982,
    and that any further discovery
    be completed no later than forty—five days from the date of this
    Order.
    IT IS SO ORDERED.
    I,
    Christan
    L. Moffett,
    Clerk of the Illinois Pollution
    ContFol Board, hereby certify that the above Order was adopted on
    the
    ~
    ~
    day of
    ________
    _____,
    1982 by a vote of
    ~
    Illinois Pollution
    49-04

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