ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
    January
    14, 1976
    ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY,
    )
    Complainant,
    v.
    )
    PCB 75—130
    PRYOR MOUNTAIN CONSTRUCTION CO.,
    INC.,
    )
    Respondent.
    Mr. Howard
    V.
    Thomas, Assistant Attorney General,
    for
    the
    Complainant.
    Mr. James W.
    Morris, Barrett and Morris,
    for the Respondent.
    OPINION AND
    ORDER OF THE
    BOARD
    (by Mr.
    Goodman):
    This case arises out of
    a Complaint, filed on March 25,
    1975,
    by the Environmental Protection Agency
    (Agency)
    alleging that Respondent, Pryor Mountain Construction Company
    (Pryor Mountain),
    an Arkansas corporation licensed to do
    business
    in Illinois, had re-opened a mining area without the
    requisite permit.
    More specifically,
    it is alleged that
    Pryor Mountain engaged in pumping drainages,
    highwall drilling
    and blasting, road construction, and/or removing overburden,
    on property previously mined by .others
    in Randolph County,
    near Eden, Illinois,
    in violation of Rule 201 of the Mine
    Related Pollution Regulations
    (Chapter
    4)
    and Section 12(a)
    of the Environmental Protection Act.
    A hearing was held on May 29,
    1975,
    at which time the
    Hearing Officer granted leave to later file a Stipulation
    and Agreement under the terms of Procedural Rule 333.
    The
    Stipulation was filed with the Board on October
    28,
    1975.
    A report of March 26,
    1975, proceedings in the Circuit Court
    of the Twentieth Judicial Circuit, Randolph County,
    Illinois,
    was admitted into the record at the hearing.
    The Court
    enjoined Pryor Mountain from conducting further mining
    activity at the above named location until the necessary
    Agency permit had been obtained.
    No additional evidence was
    adduced at the hearing;
    no members of the public were
    present.
    The parties stipulated that Pryor Mountain had been
    advised of the permit requirements by the Agency;
    that
    Pryor Mountain conducted mining operations on March 19 and
    March
    21,
    1975,
    although warned that its operations were a
    violation of the Act and the Chapter
    4 Regulations;
    that
    Pryor Mountain admitted
    a violation of Rule 201 of Chapter
    4
    and Section 12(a)
    of
    the
    Act;
    that Pryor Mountain obtained
    the necessary permit after the date of the filing of the
    Complaint before the date of the hearing;
    and, that the
    parties agreed to
    a $2000.00 penalty.
    19—653
    —2—
    The necessity for a closely controlled permit system is
    nowhere more important than in the environmental control of
    mining activity;
    no other activity has the great potential
    for significant and irreversible environmental damage in a
    relatively short period of time.
    Because of the nature of
    this violation,
    the statement of fact in the Stipulation,
    although necessarily limited,
    is adequate.
    On the basis of the foregoing and the Stipulation and
    Agreement, we find Pryor Mountain violated the Act and
    Regulations as alleged by reopening a mining area without
    fi!st obtaining a permit from the Agency in violation of
    Rule 201 of the Mine Related Pollution Regulations and
    Section 12(a)
    of the Environmental Protection Act.
    The
    stipulated penalty of
    $2000.00 is assessed for these violations.
    This Opinion constitutes the Board’s findings of fact
    and conclusions of law in this matter.
    ORDER
    It is the Order of the Pollution Control Board that
    Respondent,
    Pryor Mountain Construction Company,
    Incorporated,
    is found
    to have violated Section 12(a) of the Environmental
    Protection Act and Rule 201 of the Mine Related Pollution
    Regulations
    (Chapter 4).
    Respondent shall pay the stipulated
    penalty of $2000.00 for said violations, payment to be made
    by certified check or money order within
    35 days of this
    Order to:
    Fiscal Services Division
    Illinois Environmental Protection Agency
    2200 Churchill Road
    Springfield, Illinois,
    62706.
    IT IS SO ORDERED.
    Mr. Young abstains.
    I, Christan L. Moffett,
    Clerk of the Illinois Pollution
    Control Board, hereby óertify the above Opinion and Order
    were adopted on the
    ______________
    day of
    ______________
    1975 by
    a vote of
    3-~
    Christan L. Moffett
    erk
    Illinois Pollution C
    rol Board
    19—
    654

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