ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
    June
    1,
    1995
    PEOPLE OF THE STATE
    )
    OF ILLINOIS,
    Complainant,
    V.
    )
    PCB 95—139
    (Enforcement-Air)
    MBL
    (USA)
    CORPORATION
    )
    an Illinois corporation,
    )
    Respondents.
    CONCURRING OPINION
    (by
    J. Theodore Meyer):
    I concur with the majority’s acceptance of the stipulation
    and settlement in
    this
    case.
    However,
    I continue to be troubled
    by the absence of any mention of attorney’s fees and costs
    in
    these settlement agreements.
    Section 42(f)
    of the Environmental Protection Act
    (Act)
    provides that the Board may award costs and reasonable attorney’s
    fees in cases brought
    on behalf of the citizens of Illinois.
    (415 ILCS 5/42(f)
    (1992)).
    This section should be construed
    broadly, and a
    violator of the Act should reimburse the Illinois
    taxpayer for all costs incurred by the Attorney General,
    including indirect expenses such as travel time,
    administrative
    support, printing,
    copying and overhead.
    After all, the time
    spent by complainant’s attorney
    in prosecuting this matter
    certainly could have been used to handle other matters.
    In this case,
    the complaint requests that the Board impose
    such costs and fees; however, the stipulation and settlement does
    not refer to this request, nor explain whether some percentage of
    costs and fees was figured into the penalty.
    I continue to
    believe that costs and fees should be pursued on behalf of the
    Illinois taxpayer, and urge the parties to bear this in mind in
    future negotiations in this case.
    In addition, the now common practice by state and local
    governments of charging a “user fee” to those who use
    a service
    (such as paying for photocopies)
    is certainly a cost that should
    be imposed on a party who has violated the Act.
    This case
    presented an opportunity to order the complainant to submit an
    affidavit of all costs,
    and
    I believe that the Board should have
    taken this opportunity.
    J. Theodore Meyer
    Board Member
    2
    I, Dorothy M. Gunn,
    Clerk of the
    Illinois Pollution Control
    Board, hereby certify th
    on the
    _______
    day of
    a~tI~ie~bove
    concurring opinion was filed
    ________
    __________________
    1995.
    ~
    A.
    Dorothy N./~unn,Clerk
    Illinois ~6llution
    Control Board

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