ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
June
7,
1979
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY,
Complainant,
v.
)
PCB 78—283
THE SOUTHERN
ILLINOIS MINERALS
)
CORPORATION,
an Illinois
)
corporation,
Respondent.
MR. BRIAN
E.
REYNOLDS, ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL, APPEARED ON
BEHALF
OF
THE
COMPLAINANT.
OPINION AND
ORDER OF THE BOARD
(by Dr. Satchell)
:
This matter comes before the Board upon a complaint filed
November 13, 1978 by the Environmental Protection Agency
(Agency)
against Respondent,
the Southern Illinois Minerals Corporation,
an Illinois corporation.
The complaint alleges violations of the
Environmental Protection Act
(Act)
and Board Rules of Chapter 4:
Mine Related Pollution in connection with the abandonment of a
surface coal mine, Oraville Mine #2, three miles northwest of
Oraville in Jackson County.
On November
9,
1978 Mr. James Burks,
Respondent~s registered agent, was served with notice and com-
plaint by certified mail,
pursuant to Procedural Rule 305(a).
A
hearing was held on May 7,
1979 in Carbondale.
No one appeared
on behalf of the Respondent
(R.
5).
A letter from Mr. Burks was
placed into evidence indicating that he could not appear because
he was in Belize in Central America.
The Board
finds Respondent
in default and will enter this Order pursuant to Procedural
Rule
327.
Count
I of the complaint charges violations of Section 12(a)
of the Act and Board Rules
201 and 502 of Chapter
4:
Mine Related
Pollution,
Section 12(a)
prohibits causing or threatening or
allowing the discharge of any contaminants into the environment
so as to violate regulations and standards adopted by the Board.
Mine rules
201 and 502 require within one year a permit to abandon
a mine after the operator ceases operation without intending to
reopen.
Count II of
the
complaint charges violations
of Section
12(b)
of the Act, which in pertinent part prohibits constructing, in-
stalling or operating a facility capable of causing or contributing
to water pollution
in violation of conditions imposed by an Agency
permit.
Respondent~s
operating
permit
contained
standard
condition
8
which
required
an abandonment permit.
34—9
—2—
At the hearing the Agency presented evidence to substantiate
the allegations of the complaint.
An operating permit for the
Oraville
mine
was
issued
sometime
after
1975
to
3 States Trucking,
Inc.
Respondent
was
issued
a
supplemental
operating permit on
May
23,
1977
after
succeeding
to
3
States~
interest
(R.
11,
Comp.
Ex.
4).
Mr. Robert Gates, an Agency inspector,
testified that the
mine was being shut down at the time of an inspection on September
23, 1977
(R.
8).
At that time Mr. Gates was given thirty days
notice of closing
(R.
13).
J.
W.
Brown and H.
Roffman, consulting
engineers, informed the Agency in
a letter dated September
28,
1977, that the mine had ceased operations on September
7, 1977
(Comp. Ex,
5).
Mr. William Ryan, also an Agency inspector,
testified that
on June 28,
1978, there was no activity and
no machinery on the
site.
There was
no significant recent reclamation activity
(R,
17,
19).
Mr. Gates testified that there was
no
operation
or
reclamation activity in progress on February
22,
1979
(R.
16).
No
permit to abandon the mine was ever issued
(R.
15).
The Board
finds that the mine was abandoned on September 7,
1977 and that the required permit has not been obtained as alleged
in Counts
I and II.
The Board has considered Section 33(c)
in
mitigation in assessing its penalty.
There is
a great potential
for public harm from, among other things, acid runoff from the
abandoned mine.
In this case, however, there is no evidence
before the Board of any actual discharge or of the extent of the
reclamation required.
The social or economic value of the mine or
its
suitability to the area is not questioned.
There is no
evidence that it
is technically impracticable or economically
unreasonable to reclaim the mine area.
The
Board finds that a penalty of $2500
is necessary to aid
enforcement of the Act,
Although
a much larger fine could be
levied in a default,
there is no direct evidence of the extent of
environmental
damage and the Board requires that Respondent use
available
resources to bring the site into compliance.
Respondent
will be
ordered to apply for an abandonment permit and to undertake
reclamation work.
This Opinion constitutes the Board~s findings of fact and
conclusions of law in this matter.
34—10
—3—
ORDER
It is the Order of the Pollution Control Board that:
1.
Respondent, Southern Illinois Minerals Corporation,
is
in violation of Section 12(a)
and 12(b)
of the
Act and Board Rules
201 and 502 of Chapter
4:
Mine
Related Pollution,
as alleged in Counts I and II of
the complaint.
2.
Respondent shall cease and desist from further
violations of the Act and Board Rules.
3.
Respondent shill apply for an abandonment permit
from the Agency.
4.
Respondent shall perform any and all acts necessary
to reclaim the mine area in compliance with Rule 502
of Chapter
4:
Mine Related Pollution.
5.
Within thirty days of the entry of this Order, Respondent
shall pay to the State of Illinois
a penalty of $2500
by certified check or money order sent to:
State of Illinois
Fiscal Services Division
Environmental Protection Agency
2200 Churchill Road
Springfield, Illinois 62706
I, Christan
L. Moffett, Clerk of the Illinois Pollution
Control Board,
hereby certify the above Opinion and Order were
adopted on the
~
day of
~
1979 by a vote of
5—0
Qu~4-0~~
Christan L. Moffett, Clerk
IllInois
Pollution
Control
Board
34—11