ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD

January 10,

1980

SAHARA

COAL

COMPANY,

INC.,

)

Petitioner,

v.

)

PCB 79—146

~ENVIRONMENTALPROTECTION AGENCY

)

Respondent.

ORDER OF THE BOARD

(by Dr.

Satchell):

On December 26,

1979 the Board received a letter from

Sahara

Coal Company,

Inc. (Sahara) requesting that the Board

render, without

a, hearing,

a final decision based on the amended

variance petition and recommendation.

On August 23,

1979 the

Board received from a Lucian Lewis a letter, dated August 17,

1979, objecting to the requested variance and setting forth that

David

and

Lucian

Lewis

own

several

hundred

aç~res of

cropland

which

floods

frequently

during

winter

months

and

also

gets

“deposits of coal dust which come down the creek in the form of

suspended solid and settle out on our cropland and into our

drainage ditch.” This allegation could be a violation of Rules

605 and 606 of Chapter

4: Mine Related Pollution, However,

Sahara has requested

a variance only from the Rule 605 water

quality limitations on total dissolved solids and sulfate. The

requested variance would not authorize the discharges to which

the Lewises object.

In addition Procedural Rule 404 provides for

written objection to variance petitions within twnety-one days of

filing. Sahara’s petition was filed on July 25,

1979. The objec-

tion was dated August 17,

1979, twenty-three days

later, and re-

ceived by the Board six days after that.

A hearing is therefore

not required under Procedural Rule 407(c) (2). The motion is

granted.

IT

IS

SO

ORDERED.

I, Christan

L. Moffett,

Clerk of the Illinois Pollution

Control Board, hereby certify the above Order was adopted on

the

10th

day

of

January,

1980

by

a

vote

of

4-0.

Illinois Pollutio

trol Board

37— 12

1