ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD

January

10,

1985

~ARAT1iON

PETROLEUM

COMPANY,

)

)

Petitioner,

v.

)

PCB 83—26

PCB 83—29

ILLINOIS ENVIRONMENTAL

)

PR(Y2LCTION

AGENCY,

)

Respondent.

ORPER OF

THE

BOARD

(by

J.

Anderson):

On December 26,

1984,

Marathon

moved

for

assignment of these

permit appeal

cases to

a sinqie

hearing officer.

Marathon asserts

that

as

a result of negotiation

of the

issues (which are identical

in

each

appeal) with the Agency,

that the parties intend to pre-

sent

a

stipulation of

fact

arid

recommendation for settlement.

Should

the Board grant its motion, Marathon further asserts that

it

wouid

petition

the hearing officer to schedule both matters

~or concurrent hearing at

a single location,

to save the expense

of:

separate

hearings.

The

motion

is granted regarding assigning the cases to a

riqlr

hearing

officer.

However, insofar

as the motion expresses

int~nt

to

seek

to

schedule

both

matters at a single

location,

that

portion

is denied.

In

a March

24, 1983 ruling

denying

a

t~~dt~I~c,r1

motion

for

consolidation

of these cases,

the Board

found

that

“given

the considerable disparity

in location

of

the

facilities

and the Environmental Protection Act’s

intent

that the public have convenient access to permit

appeal

hearings,

as well

as

a

mandate

of Section 103.123

of

the

Board’s Procedural

Rules,

absent

a showing of

a

lack

of

public

interest,

the Board finds that the admin-

istrative convenience and the convenience to the parties

is

o-~ierridden

by

the public’s right to access.”

The Board acknowledges that,

in

advance

of

published notice

of

hearing,

proof

by the parties of “lack of public interest” may

he

impossible,

as

potentially affected citizens may not be aware

of

an

action.

However,

the Board

sees no reason to depart from

the

logic

of

its

ruling

on

the consolidation issue.

IT

IS

SO

ORDERED.

62-257

---

—2—

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M.

Gunn,

Clerk

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the

Illinois

Pollution

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that

the

above

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