ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
November 3,
1994
COUNTY OF OGLE,
Complainant,
v.
)
AC 92—64
(Docket B)
)
(Administrative Citation)
ROCHELLE DISPOSAL SERVICE,
INC.,
and CITY OF ROCHELLE,
)
ILLINOIS,
Respondents.
OPINION AND ORDER OF THE BOARD
(by C.
A. Manning):
This matter is before the Board on an administrative
citation
(AC) filed by the County of Ogle
(County) pursuant to
the Environmental Protection Act
(Act).
(415 ILCS 5/1 et seq.
(1992).)
The citation was filed with the Board on September 10,
1992.
Respondent Rochelle Disposal Service Inc.
(Rochelle)
filed
a petition for review with the Board,
and a public hearing was
held.
On August 26,
1993, the Board issued an opinion and order
finding that the cited violation had occurred, and imposed a $500
fine.
The Board also directed the Clerk of the Board and
complainant to file an affidavit declaring their hearing costs in
Docket B for this matter.
The County never filed an affidavit of
costs and the Clerk of the Board filed its affidavit of costs on
September 27,
1993.
On October 10,
1993, Rochelle filed a motion
to reconsider the Board’s order of August 26,
1993.
On November
4,
1993, the Board entered an order affirming that order.
On December 6,
1993, Rochelle filed a petition for review
with the Appellate Court of Illinois,
Second Judicial District,
of the Board’s order.
(Rochelle Disposal Service,
Inc.
v.
Illinois Pollution Control Board; County of Ogle; and City of
Rochelle, AC 92-64, AC 91-32, AC 92—26 Dockets A&B
(2nd Dist.
Sept.
16,
1994).)
The court issued its decision on September 16,
1994, affirming the Board’s order which assessed a $500.00 civil
penalty and directed the Clerk
of the Board and the County to
file their hearing costs pursuant to Section 42(b)(4)
of the
Act.’
The Board never issued an order
in Docket B assessing
hearing costs before the court issued its order on September 16,
1994.
In Miller v. PCB and Sanciamon County Dent.
of Health, AC 92-
37
(4th Dist.
Sept.
30,
1994),
the court found that the Board’s
1
The Court issued it decision pursuant to Supreme Court
Rule 23 causing the order not to be published or precedential.
2
bifurcation of the administrative citation proceeding is
improper.
The court states:
The procedural regulations adopted by the Board cannot
contradict the legislative provisions which require the
filing of a single final order.
The bifurcation of
administrative citation proceedings does not further
the interests of convenience and expediency.
Rather,
it inconveniences both the parties and the court with
multiple appeals.
Instead of expediting the matter,
the bifurcation of the administrative citation
proceedings may actually result
in delay.
(Id.
at 7.)
Since the Miller court found that the Board’s bifurcation of
administrative citations is improper, and the court in Rochelle,
in the instant case,
affirmed without remanding the assessment of
civil penalties,
the Board believes
it now lacks the authority at
this time to issue a final Docket B order assessing hearing costs
in this matter.
Therefore no hearing costs will be assessed against
respondent in this matter and this docket is closed.
Neither the
court’s decision in Miller nor this decision precludes the Board
from assessing hearing costs in other administrative citations
utilizing one final order.2
IT IS SO ORDERED.
J. Theodore Meyer dissented.
Section 41 of the Environmental Protection Act
(415 ILCS 5/41)
provides for the appeal of final Board orders 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 N. Gunn,
Clerk of the Illinois Pollution Control
Board, hereby certify tl~at~he above opinion an&prder was
adopted
on
the
____________________
day
of
,‘~1
~
1994,
by
a
vote
of
~-~/
(/,;~
Thorothy M.,4unn, Clerk
Illinois P~lutionControl Board
2
In fact,
the Miller decision specifically reiterates
the Board’s authority to assess reasonable hearing costs in
administrative citations.