ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
November
4,
1993
COUNTY OF OGLE,
)
Complainant,
v
)
AC 92—64
Dockets A&B
)
(Administrative Citation)
ROCHELLE DISPOSAL SERVICE,
)
INC.,
and CITY OF ROCHELLE,
)
ILLINOIS,
Respondents.
ORDER OF THE BOARD
(by
C.
A. Manning):
This matter comes before the Board on a motion for
reconsideration filed pursuant to Section 41 of the Illinois
Environmental Protection Act
(Act)
on September 21,
1993,
by
Rochelle Disposal Service,
Inc.
(Disposal) within the statutory
thirty—five
(35) day deadline.
(415 ILCS
5/40
(1992).)
Disposal
is requesting the Board to reconsider the Board’s decision
allowing for Ogle County’s hearing costs as part of the penalty
in its order in AC 92—64
(Docket A
& B), August 26, 1993.
On
October
14,
1993,
Disposal filed an amended motion for
reconsideration accompanied with a motion to file instanter.
The
Board grants the motion to file instanter and the amended motion
for reconsideration.
On September 10, 1992, the administrative citation action was
initiated
by
the
County
Ogle
(County)
when
it
filed
this
administrative citation pursuant to Section 31.1 of the Act.
(415
ILCS
5/31.1
(1992).)
The
authority
to
issue
administrative
citations
was
delegated
to
the
County
from
the
Illinois
Environmental Protection Agency (Agency) pursuant to Section 4(r)
of the Act.
(415 ILCS 5/4(r)
(1992).)
The Board in its order in
AC 92-64,
dated August
26,
1993,
found Disposal
in violation of
Section 21(0) (5)
of the Act for lack of daily cover.
Pursuant to
Section 42
of the Act the Board assessed
a fine of five hundred
dollars
($500.00)
and
opened
Docket
B
to
assess
hearing
cost
incurred by the County,
if any.
(415 ILCS 5/21 and 415 ILCS 5/42
(1992).)
Disposal argues that Section 42 of the Act only authorizes the
Board to assess hearing costs incurred by the Board or the Agency.
(415 ILCS 5/42 (1992).)
In addition Disposal argues that the Board
order fails to address factors of mitigation which could reduce the
amount of civil penalty.
The Board has addressed the issue of whether it is appropriate
to assess hearing costs incurred by the local unit of government in
2
In the Matter of: Bi—State Disposal,
Inc.,
(February 23,
1989), AC
88-33, County of DuPage v.
E
& E Hauling, Inc.,
(February 8, 1990),
AC 88—76 and AC 88—77;
SangaTnon County v
Gerald
13. Miller,
(June
3,
1993),
AC
92—37.
In
each
of
these
cases,
the
Board
has
interpreted the legislative
intent and statutory phrase
“hearing
costs incurred by the Board and the Agency” found in Section 42(b)4
of the Act,
to include the hearing costs incurred by
a unit
of
local
government
which
has
issued
an
administrative
citation
pursuant to the Agency’s delegation of its authority under Section
4(r)
of the Act.
The facts in the instant case are no different than those in
the above mentioned cases where the Board has decided that it is
proper to award hearing costs to the local unit of government that
has been delegated the authority to issue administrative citations.
The County has been delegated the authority to issue administrative
citations.
The County issued an administrative citation and has
potentially
incurred costs
relating to the hearing.
The Board
finds
no reason at this time to interpret the statutory language
and intent to mean otherwise.
As stated
above,
Disposal also argues that the Board
order
fails to properly address mitigating factors which would reduce the
five hundred dollar penalty ($500.00).
The Board has addressed the
issue
of
mitigating
circumstances
on
several
occasions.
Specifically, the Board has found that the Act, by its terms, does
not
envision
a
properly
issued
administrative
citation
being
dismissed or mitigated because a person
is cooperative after its
issuance or voluntarily cleans up the site.
(See,
IEPA v.
Jack
Wright,
(August
30,
1990),
AC
89—227,
114 PCB
863
and IEPA
v.
Dennis Grubaugh,
(October 16,
1992), AC 92—3,
136 PCB
425,.)
Accordingly, the Board accepts the October
14,
1993 amended
motion
for reconsideration but
affirms
its order
of August
26,
1993,
assessing hearing costs
incurred by the County and a civil
penalty of five hundred dollars
($500.00).
IT IS SO ORDERED.
Section 41 of the Environmental Protection Act (415 ILCS 5/41
(1992).) provides for appeal of final orders of the Board within 35
days.
The rules of the Supreme Court of Illinois establish filing
requirements.
See
also,
35
Ill.
Adm.
Code 101.246, Motions for
Reconsideration.
I,
Dorothy
M.
Gunn,
Clerk of the Illinois Pollution Control
Board,
hereby certify that
the
above
order
was
adopted
on the
1,Z~
day of ______________________,
1993,~bya vote
of
_______•
~
Dorothy N.,-~unn,Clerk
Illinois 1?Øllution Control Board