ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
October 25,
1990
CENTRALIA
ENVIRONMENTAL
)
SERVICES,
INC.,
)
)
Petitioner,
)
V.
)
PCB 89—170
)
(Permit Appeal)
ILLINOIS
ENVIRONMENTAL
)
PROTECTION
AGENCY,
)
)
Respondent.
CONCURRING OPINION
(by B.
Forcade and J.D. Dumelle):
We agree with the majority that this permit denial must be
affirmed.
We disagree, however, with the limiting nature of the
majority holding.
The majority holds that most of the Agency reasons for
denial must be stricken as an improper attempt to enforce the
provisions of the Act by permit denial.
In short, the majority
holds that a permit can never be denied because the facility has
violated the Act
(either in the past or at the present time).
We
disagree with that concept generally and feel the present factual
situation shows the error of such a holding.
There is no question that this facility has been very poorly
operated in the past.
Material was previously disposed of
in
unpermitted areas and below grade.
Further, some of the
materials disposed of
(organic solvents) were specifically
prohibited from disposal at this landfill.
These improprieties
were of such magnitude that the Agency would require remedial
action to correct the situation.
The Agency’s concern was
undoubtedly influenced by the presence of nearby private drinking
water wells that might be adversely affected.
The Agency
concluded that,
“no operating permits for additional areas of
this landfill
would
be issued by the Agency until an Agency
approved remedial action is satisfactorily implemented...”(R.
at
981).
CESI did not challenge this permit condition.
While no operating permits were to be allowed until
completion of the remediation plan,
CESI was granted a
development permit for Area IV.
CESI deposited fill material
into Area IV without a permit.
To us, this is a continuing
pattern of intentional disregard for compliance with the Act and
regulations involving the very area for which a permit
is sought.
The Agency’s October
6,
1989 permit denial letter lists the
integrated nature of the facility as a rationale for permit
denial:
115—409
2
Since
Area
IV
is
an
integral
part
of
this
facility, an operating permit for it cannot be
issued until the existing problems of Areas
I,
II
and
III
have
been
remediated.
These
problems include the increased potential for
erosion,
run—off,
leachate
migration
and
groundwater
contamination
caused
by
overfilling and over-steepening the slopes of
Areas
I,
II and III...
We find the integrated nature of the facility and the continuing
pattern of improper disposal practices by the applicant more than
adequate as a reason to deny the permit.
The majority holds this
to be “enforcement by improper means”.
For this reason we
disagree with the majority and concur on the outcome.
L
/
J~I D.
ybard Member
I, Dorothy M. Gunn, Clerk of the Illinois Pollution Control
Board,
hereby certify that ~he above Concurring Opinion was filed
on the
~
day of
__________________,
1990.
~7~L
Dorothy ~7Gunn,
Clerk
Illinois L~ollutionControl Board
Board Member
115—410