ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
October 18,
1979
ILLINOIS ENVIRONMENTAL
PROTECTION AGENCY,
Complainant,
v.
)
PCB 78—193
VALLEY VIEW PUBLIC SCHOOLS,
COMMUNITY UNIT DISTRICT NO. 365U,
and
CAPITAL DEVELOPMENT BOARD OF THE
STATE OF ILLINOIS,
Respondents.
MR. WILLIAM E. BLAKNEY, ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL, APPEARED ON BEHALF
OF THE COMPLAINANT.
MR. GEORGE A. MARCHETTI, APPEARED ON BEHALF OF RESPONDENT VALLEY VIEW
PUBLIC SCHOOLS, COMMUNITY UNIT DISTRICT NO. 365U.
OPINION
AND
ORDER OF THE BOARD
(by Mr. Werner):
This matter comes before the Board on the July 24, 1978 Complaint
brought by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency
(“Agency”).
On October
3, 1978, Respondent Valley View Public Schools, Community
Unit District No.
365U
(“School District”)
filed a Motion to Join an
Additional Party which requested that the Illinois Capital Development
Board be joined as
a party-respondent on the ground that,
under state
law,
the Capital Development Board alone has the power to correct any
defects in the construction of the air conditioning compressor at the
elementary school
(which allegedly emitted sounds above allowable
levels), since the Capital Development Board prepared the plans,
supervised the construction, and constructed the Independence School
(“facility”).
See: Capital Development Board Act,
Ill. Rev. Stat.,
Ch.
127, Sections 771 et
~a•
(1977).
In essence, the School District
indicated that it had no authority to correct the problem, because the
physical plant of the facility is beyond the School District’s
jurisdiction
(i.e., jurisdiction by statute has been vested in another
State agency
-
the Illinois Capital Development Board).
On October
5,
1978, the Hearing Officer in this case filed a Report on the
Pre—Hearing Conference between representatives of the School District,
the Illinois Attorney General’s office, and the Illinois Capital
Development Board.
35—513
—2—
On November 3,
1978, the Agency filed its Motion for Leave to
File an Amended Complaint,
Instanter and the Amended Complaint
(which named the Illinois Capital Development Board as a Respondent).
Count
I of the Amended Complaint alleged that, from May 5,
1977 until
the date of filing of the Amended Complaint, the Respondents allowed
the operation of an air conditioning unit to emit sounds beyond the
boundaries of the Independence School onto nearby residential property
in violation of Rule 202 of Chapter
8:
Noise Regulations.
Count II of
the Amended Complaint alleged that the noise emitted from the air
conditioning unit unreasonably interfered with the enjoyment of life
and with the lawful activities of neighboring residents thereby
causing noise pollution in violation of Rule 102 of Chapter
8:
Noise
Regulations.
On November 16, 1978,
the Board granted the Agency leave
to file the Amended Complaint.
Concurrently, on November 16,
1978,
the School District filed a Motion to Dismiss the Amended Complaint as
to party-respondent Valley View Community Unit District No.
365U.
On
November 28,
1978, the Agency filed an Objection to the Motion to
Dismiss the Amended Complaint as to party-respondent Valley View.
On
November
30,
1978, the Board denied the School District’s Motion to
Dismiss the Amended Complaint.
After various motions for continuances were granted,
a hearing
was held on June
7, 1979.
At the hearing, the parties indicated that
more time was needed to secure the approval of public funds to correct
the defect in the original design of the air conditioning unit and
requested that the hearing be recessed for a period not to exceed
45 days.
On July
24, 1979, another hearing was held in which the
parties
indicated that a Stipulation of Facts and Proposal for
Settlement had been reached.
However, no court reporter attended or
transcribed this hearing.
On July 31,
1979, the Hearing Officer
filed a Report of Proceedings
in lieu of a court reporter’s transcript
pertaining to the July hearing.
On August 23, 1979, the Board entered
an Interim Order which remanded this case to the Hearing Officer for
the scheduling of another hearing to take place within the presence
of a court reporter.
On September
27,
1979,
a hearing was held which
was duly transcribed by a court reporter.
The parties filed the
Stipulation and Proposal for Settlement on October
2,
1979.
Valley View Public Schools, Community Unit District No.
365U,
operates the Independence School which
is located at 230 Orchard
Drive
in Bolingbrook, Will County, Illinois.
The Capital Development
Board of the State of Illinois was added as a Respondent in this case
because, pursuant to state law, it possesses the statutory responsi-
bility for construction and repair
(or supervision thereof)
at the
Independence School.
The elementary school is located in a primarily residential
neighborhood on land that is classified as Class A under Rule 201(a)
of Chapter
8:
Noise Regulations.
(See: Exhibit A of the Stipulation
—3—
of Facts and Proposal for Settlement).
The air conditioning unit
generally operates five days a week,
during the summer period between
May 1 and September 30, from 7:30
AM.
to 4:00
P.M.
daily.
This air
conditioning unit
is located at the northwest corner of the school at
ground level and constitutes a property-line—noise source which
is
capable of emitting sounds beyond the boundaries of the property.
(See: Exhibit A).
The Agency was contacted during mid-September of 1976 by nearby
residents who complained of being disturbed by noise emanating from
the school’s air conditioning unit.
(Stip.
3).
On May 5,
1977, the
Agency conducted a noise survey to measure the level of noise emissions
from the air conditioning unit to adjacent residential property.
This
noise survey
revealed that the
noise
emissions from the air condition-
ing unit were in excess of the limits prescribed of the Board’s Noise
Regulations.
(See:
Exhibit B).
On September
8,
1978, the Respondent
Capital Development Board completed its noise control insulation work
on the school’s air conditioning unit.
(See:
Exhibit C).
However,
a
noise survey conducted by Agency inspectors on September 13,
1978
indicated that this installation did not lower the noise emitted by
the school’s air conditioning unit to acceptable
levels.
(See:
Exhibit D).
The proposed settlement agreement provides that the Respondents
agree to:
(1)
promptly construct an acoustic barrier structure, with
silencer, which will enclose the school’s air conditioning unit;
(2)
install sound panels to the facility’s masonry wall within the
area enclosed by the acoustic structure,
if noise measurements
conducted by the Agency indicate that such additional steps are
necessary to reduce noise to acceptable levels, and
(3)
to accomplish
further sound reductions,
if necessary,
to meet the requirements of
Rule 202 of the Board’s Noise Regulations.
The Agency has agreed to
promptly conduct the requisite noise measurements after being notified
by the Respondents that the necessary construction has been completed.
The parties believe that no penalty should be imposed in the present
case.
(Stip.
8).
In evaluating this enforcement action and proposed settlement,
the Board has taken into consideration all the facts and circumstances
in light of the specific criteria delineated in Section 33(c) of
Illinois Environmental Protection Act.
The Board finds the stipulated
agreement acceptable under Procedural Rule 331 and Section 33(c)
of
the Act.
The Board finds that the Respondents have violated Rules 102
and 202 of Chapter
8:
Noise Regulations.
The Respondents are hereby
directed to follow the compliance program and schedule set forth in
the Stipulation and Proposal for Settlement.
No penalty shall be
assessed against the Respondents.
35—515
—4—
This Opinion constitutes the Board’s findings of fact and
conclusions of law in this matter.
ORDER
It is the Order of the Illinois Pollution Control Board that:
1.
The Respondents have violated Rules 102 and 202 of Chapter
8:
Noise Regulations.
2.
The Respondents shall comply with all the terms and conditions
of the Stipulation and Proposal for Settlement filed October 2,
1979,
which is incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein.
I, Christan L. Moffett, Clerk of the Illinois Pollution Control
Board, hereby certify that
he above Opinion and Order were ado~ted
on the
J~I~’
day of
__________________,
1979 by a vote of 4j.-~
~
Illinois Pollution C
ol Board
35—516