ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
September 7,
1978
ENVIRONMENTAL
PROTECTION
AGENCY,
)
)
Complainant,
)
v.
)
PCB
75—112
)
METROPOLITAN
SANITARY
DISTRICT
OF
)
GREATER
CHICAGO,
)
Respondent.
ORDER
OF
THE
BOARD
(by
Mr.
Goodman):
On
August
24,
1978,
the
Environmental
Protection
Agency
(Agency)
filed
a
Motion
for
Leave
to
Take
Interlocutory
Appeal
and an Interlocutory Motion to Reverse Hearing Officer.
On
August
30,
1978,
the Metropolitan Sanitary District of Greater
Chicago
(MSD)
submitted a Response to Complainant’s Motion to
Reverse Hearing Officer,
in which MSD stated it did not oppose
the Agency’s Motion for Leave
to Take Interlocutory Appeal but
did oppose reversal of the Hearing Officer.
The
Board
hereby
grants
the
Agency
leave
to
take
the
interlocutory
appeal.
The
ruling
in
question
involves
the
admissibility
into
evidence
of
events
subsequent
to
the
filing
of
the
Complaint
in
this
matter.
The
Board
on
August
18,
1977,
ordered
that
evidence
of
all
events
subsequent
to
the
filing
of
the
Complaint
be
received
as
an
offer
of
proof.
The
Agency,
therefore,
submitted
its
evidence
on
events
subsequent
to
the
filing
of
the
Complaint
as
an
offer
of
proof.
Such
evidence
consisted of testimony by “occurrence” witnesses about odors
which may .have emanated from MSD’s property after the date of
the Complaint.
However, on August 16,
17 and 18, 1978,
the
Hearing Officer received into evidence testimony on behalf of
the MSD relating to the post—Complaint time period.
The Hearing
Officer did not require such evidence to be submitted as an
offer
of
proof,
and
it
is
this
ruling
by
the
Hearing
Officer
which
the
Agency
seeks
to reverse.
MSD points out that it
offered the evidence in question in its defense pursuant to
Section 33(c)
of the Environmental Protection Act (Act).
31—349
—2
The Board hereby upholds the Hearing Officer’s ruling.
We
find that evidence of post-Complaint events submitted for the
purpose of mitigation under Section 33(c),
as opposed to
evidence submitted for the purpose of proving a violation after
the date alleged in the Complaint,
need not be submitted as
an
offer of proof.
The Board notes that any evidence submitted
by the Agency as an offer of proof which bears on the Section
33(c)
factors will be considered by the Board in making its
final
determination.
IT
IS
SO
ORDERED.
Mr. Dumelle abstained.
I, Christan
L. Moffett, Clerk of the Illinois Pollution
Control Board, hereby
ertify the above Order was adopted on
the
~
day
~
1978
by
a
vote
of
3.~
Christan
L.
of~t,
Clerk
Illinois Pollution Control Board
~1—35~