ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL
    BOARD
    June 7,
    1990
    IN THE
    MATTER
    OF:
    DEVELOPMENT, OPERATING AND
    )
    REPORTING REQUIREMENTS FOR
    )
    R88-7
    NON-HAZARDOUS WASTE LANDFILLS
    )
    (Rulemaking)
    CONCURRING OPINION
    (by B.
    Forcade and J.D.
    Dumelle)
    We respectfully concur with today’s Opinion and Order.
    It
    is important to note that today’s decision involves
    a voluminous
    revision to the solid waste regulations of the State of Illinois.
    We strongly support the vast majority of that regulatory action,
    but we disagree with the language at Section 811.101
    (b), which
    exempts steel,
    utility,
    and foundry wastes from nearly all
    regulation for newly constructed landfills.
    We would have
    deleted subsection
    (b)
    in its entirety. Therefore, we concur in
    today’s action.
    Today’s proposal completely revamps the state regulation of
    non—hazardous solid waste landfills.
    An overly simplified
    description is that all solid waste is divided into “inert waste”
    or “putrescible and chemical waste”.
    Landfills must be designed
    and operated according to different standards based on which of
    the two wastes they intend to receive.
    Unfortunately,
    new
    landfills that receive waste only from certain industrial
    categories
    (foundry, primary steel,
    and coal burning electric
    utilities)
    have been exempted for a period of time.
    Our reason for objecting is that the record does not
    demonstrate that the exempted wastes are less harmful to the
    environment than “inert waste” or “putrescible and chemical
    wastes”.
    Also,
    a primary reason for the exemption
    is that
    industry will propose specific regulations for these wastes.
    The
    record does not show that new landfills for these exempted wastes
    will be necessary before alternative specific regulations could
    be adopted.
    As pointed out by the Illinois Environmental
    Protection Agency (“Agency”)
    in their comments:
    The Agency strongly opposes the currently
    proposed exemption for the steel, utility and
    foundry
    industries.
    No
    persuasive
    evidence
    has been provided by any of these industries
    to demonstrate their landfills pose less of
    a
    threat
    to
    the
    environment
    than
    other
    landfills.
    Ii
    ~
    -
    ~
    1
    ~
    2
    These industries have been purporting to
    have proposed rules to govern their landfills,
    if this is the case, where are they
    ?
    These
    industries have had more than sufficient time
    during
    this
    rulemaking to
    present
    any
    such
    proposal.
    Strangely,
    they
    have
    not.
    The
    Agency
    urges
    the
    Board
    to
    make
    the
    rules
    applicable to these
    industries when adopted.
    They may then file their proposed regulations
    as a modification to the existing rules.
    The
    Agency recommends that Section 811.101
    (b) be
    deleted in total.
    (Public Comment #34,
    p.
    4)
    The flaw of allowing such
    a broad based exemption on so
    little justification was also recognized by Waste Management of
    Illinois:
    We
    have previously
    commented that this
    exemption has not been supported
    at
    all
    for
    the
    steel
    industry
    while
    the
    justification
    provided
    for
    the
    foundry
    industry
    reveals
    significant groundwater problems from foundry
    operations.
    The
    exemption
    proposed
    is
    unsupported and unwise.
    (Public Comment
    #38,
    p.
    2)
    We strongly agree that the exemption is unsupported and
    unwise.
    In addition,
    it is most troubling that the exemption
    applies to new landfills.
    If a landfill
    is not properly designed
    when built,
    it becomes very difficult to retrofit an improved
    design after the landfill
    is full of waste.
    The provisions of
    Part 807 do not contain ~flylandfill design criteria.
    Most of
    these facilities will be on—site, and are therefore exempt from
    the permitting requirements pursuant to Section 21
    (e)
    of the
    Act.
    As a result, the majority of Part 807 will not even apply
    to them.
    In short,
    these landfills will have far less design and
    environmental protection regulatory requirements than apply to
    any other new landfill in the state,
    even those accepting wastes
    with less risk of environmental harm.
    For these reasons we cannot support the exemption.
    Bill
    S. Forcade
    Board Member
    /
    “
    Board Member
    112—314
    3
    I, Dorothy N. Gunn, Clerk of the Illinois Pollution Control
    Board, her~bycertify that t
    above Concurring Opinion was filed
    on the
    /.‘~
    day of
    ________________,
    1990.
    Ill
    Control Board
    112—315

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