ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
February
15, 1979
ILLINOIS ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
)
AGENCY,
Complainant,
v.
)
PCB 77—274
CONRAD
THOMPSON,
TRI-COUNTY
)
EXCAVATING AND WRECKING,
INC.,
a Delaware corporation,
THOMAS
ROWE,
RICHARD B. WILDA AND
)
MARIE
A.
WILDA,
Respondents.
MR. DEAN HANSELL, ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL, APPEARED
ON BEHALF OF COMPLAINANT.
MR. CONRAD THOMPSON APPEARED PRO SE.
OPINION AND ORDER OF THE BOARD
(by Mr. Young):
This matter comes before the Board on a Complaint
filed by the Environmental Protection Agency
(Agency)
on October
24,
1977.
The Complaint alleges that Re-
spondents Conrad Thompson, Tn-County Excavating, Thomas
Rowe, Richard
B.
Wilda and 14anie A.
Wilda caused or
allowed the use of a solid waste management site be-
ginning on or about September
1,
1976, without an
operating permit
in violation of Rule 202 (b) (1)
of
Chapter
7:
Solid Waste Regulations and Section 21(e)
of the Environmental Protection Act.
A hearing was held on July 10,
1978,
in Joliet,
Illinois, at which the Complainant presented witnesses
in support of the allegations against the Respondent
Conrad Thompson.
While no party to this action has
submitted a formal motion
to dismiss any Respondent
to this Complaint,
the Board finds no evidence
in the
record regarding Thomas Rowe,
Richard B. Wilda and
Marie A. Wilda that constitutes
a violation of the Act
or Board rules.
The Board will hereby dismiss these
named Respondents as parties
to this Complaint.
32—521
—2—
The landfill site known. as the Lind Road property
is located on three acres of land formerly used in a
sand pit operation on the east side of the City of
Joliet,
Illinois.
During the hearing, Mr. Thompson
testified that he had operated this landfill site since
1968.
The Respondent,
Mr. Thompson,
has been secretary
and treasurer of Tn—County Excavating and Wrecking,
Inc.
since January
2,
1976, hut the record does not show that
Mr. Thompson operated the site in question under the name
of the Respondent, Tn-County Excavating and Wrecking,
Inc.
Testimony indicates that Mr. Thompson was allowed
to dump his demolition waste and other debris at the site
free of charge; others were permitted to deposit non-
putrescible wastes with the permission of Mr.
Thompson
or the owner of the land.
Mr. Thompson was also responsible
for cleaning up and maintaining the site
(R.
112-13,
115,
120—22)
According to the testimony in the record,
the Will
County Health Department
(Department)
and the Illinois
Environmental Protection Agency had informed
Mr.
Thompson
on numerous occasions
of the continuing operations and
permit violations.
In letters dated September
15,
1976,
and March
4,
1977
(Exhibits B and F), the Will County
Health Department sent Mr. Thompson notice of the viola-
tions.
Joseph Ancel of the Department testified that
he personally informed Mr. Thompson that the Lind Road
landfill site required an operating permit from the
Agency.
On November 12,
1976, Charles Gnigalauski of
the Agency testified to conversations in which the
Respondent Mr. Thompson was informed of the need of an
operating permit.
Mr. Thompson testified that Mr.
Gnigalauski offered assistance in filling out the permit
application.
However, the application was rejected and
returned by the Agency and Mr. Thompson made no further
attempt to refile or obtain an operating permit
(B.
74-75,
113—14,
125, 131).
Testimony from witnesses who conducted field investiga-
tions of the Lind Road property indicate that the landfill
was operated without regard for proper disposal procedures
required by this State.
Agency witness, Bert Neill,
a
field investigator for the Department, visited the site
on approximately nineteen separate occasions and observed
vast amounts of exposed and improperly covered demolition
material,
wood, plaster board and other debris dumped in
the landfill.
On other occasions, Joseph Ancel of the
Department and Charles Gnigalauski and Henry Cobo of the
Agency observed similar conditions at the Lind Road property.
Exhibits J through N indicate that thousands of cubic feet
of wood and other exposed debris dumped at the site.
At
times, the witnesses observed dust covering nearby homes,
but the record does not disclose evidence of any fires or
intentional burning
(B. 46—58,
73—86,
91—103,
111).
32—522
—3—
When Mr.
Thompson received notice of violations
from the Agency
in November,
1976,
Mr. Thompson testified
that he continued to
fill
in an area approximately 200
feet by 200 feet by 20-30
feet.
After warnings from the
Will County Health Department,
Mr. Thompson promised
that deposits at the site would be limited to demolition-
type material.
However,
subsequent investigation dis-
closed that trash mixed with wood and other debris had
been dumped at the site
(B.
76, 132-35).
The Board
finds that the evidence sufficiently shows
that Respondent Mr. Conrad Thompson has operated
a solid
waste management
site without a permit
in violation of
Rule 202(b) (1)
of Chapter
7:
Solid Waste Regulations and
Section 21(e)
of the Act.
Tn-County Excavating and
Wrecking,
Inc. will
he dismissed
as Respondent to this
action because the record does not show that the site
was operated by or
in the name of the corporation.
The
record indicates that since the date of the hearing, Mr.
Thompson has hauled clay filling and black dirt
to cover
the exposed and improperly covered demolition material
and other debris at the Lind Road site.
Section
33(c)
of the Act requires the Board in making
its determinations to consider and evaluate the degree of
injury to the public, the social and economic value of
the pollution source, the suitability of the pollution
source to its location and the technical practicability
and economic reasonableness of reducing or eliminating the
pollution violation.
In this case,
the Board finds the
followinq:
1.
The character and degree of injury resulting
from these violations
at the Lind Road landfill
is measured
in terms of the need for a viable permit system for all
solid waste disposal sites to protect the public from
injury or interference with health and property.
It is
well established that the permit system is the cornerstone
of the Act and, whenever necessary, the Board must use
its penalty provisions
as an economic incentive for com-
pliance with the permit requirements.
EPA v.
Time Chemical,
Inc., PCB 75—291,
19 PCB 386,
387
(December
4,
1975); EPA
v. Chenoa Stone
Co.~,PCB 75-152,
19 PCB 659,
660
(January
14,
1976)
; FPA
v.
Scope Products,
Inc., PCB 75—290,
20 PCB
229, 232
(March 11,
1976)
2.
The social and economic value of the Lind Road
landfill
as a receiving site for demolition waste
is not
questioned here.
While the Board recognizes the value of
filling in an abandoned sand pit,
this does not excuse the
32—523
—4—
continuous violations of permit regulations which are
designed to protect the individuals
in the vicinity of
the site and the public at
large.
3.
While the Board cannot review the geological
and environmental suitability of
the Lind Road site for
a sanitary landfill
in absence of Agency permit review or
other evidence in the record,
we find that operation of
the site in violation of the permit requirements and at
variance with solid waste management practices seriously
diminishes the social and economic value of the site.
4.
The testimony indicates that compliance with
the permit requirements were not only technically practical
and economically reasonable,
hut the record indicates
a
complete disregard on the part of Respondent in obtaining
a permit
as
a prerequisite for proper solid waste manage-
ment of the site.
In view of these findings,
the Board will assess a
penalty of $2000.00 for the violations
of Rule 202(b) (1)
and Section 21(e)
of the Act against Conrad Thompson.
The Respondent shall close the site
and place final cover
in compliance with Board regulations within 60 days of this
Order.
Respondent
shall cease and desist from further viola-
tions.
This Opinion constitutes the Board’s findings of fact
and conclusions of law in this matter.
ORDER
1.
Respondent, Conrad Thompson,
is
found to have
operated
a solid waste management
site in violation of
Rule 202(b) (1) of Chapter
7:
Solid Waste Regulations and
Section 21(e)
of the Environmental Protection Act.
2.
Respondents, Tn-County Excavating and Wrecking,
Inc., Thomas
Rowe,
Richard B. Wilda and Marie A. Wilda,
are hereby dismissed.
3.
Respondent,
Conrad Thompson, shall close the
present site and place final cover
in compliance with
Chapter
7:
Solid Waste Regulations within sixty
(60)
days of this Order.
4.
Respondent, Conrad Thompson, shall pay a penalty
of $2,000.00 for the aforementioned violations within 35
days of this Order.
Payment shall be by certified check
or money order payable to:
32—524
—5—
State of Illinois
Environmental Protection Agency
Fiscal Services Division
2200 Churchill Road
Springfield,
Illinois
62706
IT
IS SO ORDERED.
I, Christan
L.
Moffett, Clerk of the Illinois Pollution
Control Board, hereby
~ej~ify the
o e Opinion and Order
were adopted on the
/
‘
day of
___________________,
1979
by a vote of
~
Chris an
L. Moff
Clerk
Illinois Pollutio
ontrol Board
32—5 25