1 BEFORE THE ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
    2
    3 CHARTER HALL HOMEOWNER'S ASSOCIATION )
    AND JEFF COHEN, )
    4 )
    Complainants, )
    5 )
    vs ) No. PCB 98-81
    6 )
    OVERLAND TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM INC., )
    7 and D.P. CARTAGE, INC., )
    )
    8 Respondents. ) VOLUME III
    9
    10
    11 The PROCEEDINGS taken before JOHN BURDS, The
    12 Hearing Officer, stenographically recorded by KIM M.
    13 HOWELLS, CSR, a notary public within and for the
    14 County of Cook and State of Illinois, at the James
    15 R. Thompson Center, 100 West Randolph Street, Room
    16 8032, Chicago, Illinois, on the 14th day of May,
    17 A.D., 1998, commencing at 9:30 a.m.
    18
    19
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    1 A P P E A R A N C E S:
    2 ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
    100 West Randolph Street
    3 Suite 11-500,
    Chicago, Illinois 60601
    4 (312) 814-6062
    BY: MR. JOHN BURDS
    5
    6 JENNER & BLOCK,
    One IBM Plaza
    7 Chicago, Illinois 60611
    (312) 222-9350
    8 BY: MR. BILL S. FORCADE and MR. STEVEN M.
    SIROS
    9
    Appeared on behalf of the Complainants,
    10
    11 McBRIDE, BAKER & COLES,
    500 West Madison Street
    12 40th Floor
    Chicago, Illinois 60661
    13 (312) 715-5700
    BY: MR. MARK J. STEGER
    14
    Appeared on behalf of the Respondents.
    15
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    24
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    1 I N D E X
    2 PAGES
    3 OPENING REMARKS BY HEARING OFFICER...... 457
    4 TESTIMONY OF MR. TRUJILLO............... 459
    5 TESTIMONY OF MS. COHEN.................. 527
    6 CLOSING STATEMENT BY MR. SIROS.......... 530
    7 CLOSING REMARKS BY THE HEARING OFFICER.. 555
    8
    9
    E X H I B I T S
    10
    Marked for
    11 Identification
    12 Respondents' Exhibit No. 1.............. 470
    13 Respondents' Exhibit No. 2.............. 517
    14
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    20
    21
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    L.A. REPORTING (312) 419-9292

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    1 THE HEARING OFFICER: Let the record reflect
    2 that we are back on the record in 98-81 Pollution
    3 Control Board Docket No. 98-81 in Charter Hall
    4 Homeowner's Association vs. Overland Transportation,
    5 Inc., and D.P. Cartage, Inc.
    6 After a recess from yesterday in which the
    7 complainants rested their case in chief, we are back
    8 today on the eight floor of the James R. Thompson
    9 Center, State of Illinois Building, here in Chicago,
    10 Illinois, pursuant to the notice that went out.
    11 Today's date is May 14th, 1998. It is approximately
    12 9:30 a.m. in the morning. Pursuant to the notice,
    13 we are ready to proceed.
    14 I would like at this time counsel for each
    15 party to identify themselves for the record. Okay?
    16 MR. FORCADE: Good morning, Mr. Hearing
    17 Officer. My name is Bill Forcade, and with me is my
    18 associate Steve Siros. We are from Jenner & Block,
    19 and we represent the complainants in this case, the
    20 Charter Hall Homeowner's Association and various of
    21 its members including Jeffery Cohen.
    22 THE HEARING OFFICER: Thank you, Mr. Forcade.
    23 MR. STEGER: My name is Mark Steger. I'm with
    24 the law firm of McBride, Baker & Coles, and I
    L.A. REPORTING (312) 419-9292

    458
    1 represent the respondents in this matter.
    2 THE HEARING OFFICER: Let the record also
    3 reflect that there are parties in the audience.
    4 However, those parties are parties to the
    5 proceeding. Mr. and Mrs. Cohen are present. Also,
    6 I believe, Mr. Steger's witness is present, and
    7 in-house counsel for the respondents in this matter
    8 is also present. There are no members of the public
    9 at large or board members present at this time. All
    10 right.
    11 Gentlemen, are we ready to proceed,
    12 Mr. Steger?
    13 MR. STEGER: Yes.
    14 THE HEARING OFFICER: My understanding,
    15 Mr. Forcade, is you rested your case in chief?
    16 MR. FORCADE: Yes.
    17 THE HEARING OFFICER: Mr. Steger?
    18 MR. STEGER: At this time, we will waive our
    19 opening statement and go right to our witness.
    20 THE HEARING OFFICER: Thank you.
    21 MR. STEGER: At this time, I'd like to call Don
    22 Trujillo.
    23 THE HEARING OFFICER: Mr. Trujillo, if you'd
    24 step right up here and raise your right hand and
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    1 have the court reporter swear you in please.
    2 (Witness sworn.)
    3 THE HEARING OFFICER: You may have a seat here,
    4 Mr. Trujillo. If you would please state your full
    5 name, spell your name for the record.
    6 THE WITNESS: Don, D-o-n, Trujillo,
    7 T-r-u-j-i-l-l-o.
    8 WHEREUPON:
    9 D O N T R U J I L L O ,
    10 called as a witness herein, having been first duly
    11 sworn, testified, and saith as follows:
    12 D I R E C T E X A M I N A T I O N
    13 by Mr. Steger
    14 Q. Mr. Trujillo, could you state who you work
    15 for and the address of the facility?
    16 A. I work for Overland Transportation. The
    17 address is 419 West Northwest Highway, Palatine,
    18 Illinois.
    19 Q. Could you explain the current relationship
    20 between D.P. Cartage and Overland Transportation at
    21 this time?
    22 A. Yes. In the past, I was an employee of
    23 D.P. Cartage who subcontracted to Overland
    24 Transportation to perform their operational --
    L.A. REPORTING (312) 419-9292

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    1 operations.
    2 At this time, Overland Transportation has
    3 combined D.P. Cartage and Overland into Overland
    4 Transportation.
    5 Q. To the best of your knowledge, does D.P.
    6 Cartage still exist as a legal entity?
    7 A. Yes, they do.
    8 Q. To the best of your knowledge, will it be
    9 phased out over the next several months?
    10 A. That's my understanding, yes.
    11 Q. Okay. I'd like to turn your attention to
    12 what has been identified as Plaintiffs' Exhibit No.
    13 1, and I want to just go through with you some
    14 corrections.
    15 First of all, you will note on Plaintiffs'
    16 Exhibit 1-A the dotted red line along the north side
    17 of the facility, is that an accurate representation
    18 of the fence?
    19 A. It's relatively close. The fence is a
    20 little bit farther away and angled more.
    21 Q. What is that fence made out of?
    22 A. Chain-link fence.
    23 Q. Okay. Could you mark where the entrance
    24 way, the gateway, is into Overland with your red
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    1 pen? Mark it with an X.
    2 A. (Witness complied.)
    3 MR. STEGER: Let the record reflect that he
    4 marked on Plaintiffs' Exhibit 1-A a red X
    5 approximately a few spaces above the dotted red line
    6 signifying that that is the entrance gate.
    7 THE HEARING OFFICER: The record will so
    8 reflect that it has been reflected as a red X on
    9 Complainants' Exhibit 1 for the record.
    10 MR. STEGER: Complainants' Exhibit 1. Thank
    11 you. I apologize.
    12 BY MR. STEGER:
    13 Q. Next I will turn your attention to what's
    14 been identified by prior witness as a dotted black
    15 line. It was testified that another chain-link
    16 fence exists there, but the witness was unsure
    17 whether it continued all the way to the east side of
    18 Overland.
    19 Do you know if this fence continues all
    20 the way to the end?
    21 A. Yes, it does.
    22 Q. Okay. Could you mark it black, solid
    23 black, from where the dotted line begins all the way
    24 to where the fence line ends?
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    1 A. (Witness complied.)
    2 MR. STEGER: Okay. Let the record reflect that
    3 Mr. Trujillo has continued what was formerly a
    4 dotted black line is now a solid black line from the
    5 west side of the facility to the east side
    6 indicating the cyclone fence extends all the way.
    7 THE HEARING OFFICER: Okay. For the record,
    8 Complainants' Exhibit 1 Mr. Trujillo marked a solid
    9 black line as Mr. Steger indicated through what had
    10 previously been marked as a dotted black line. It
    11 looks to be a thinner line from the west end of the
    12 Overland Transportation facility through to the east
    13 end on what that area designated as the Overland
    14 Transportation facility on Complainants' Exhibit 1.
    15 BY MR. STEGER:
    16 Q. Okay. Could you mark then in brand --
    17 there is a space between the southern portion of the
    18 terminal and the southern fence. Could you indicate
    19 the number of feet between the fence line and the
    20 back of the Overland facility?
    21 A. Yes. It is 33 feet.
    22 MR. STEGER: Let the record reflect that Mr.
    23 Trujillo marked 33 in between the back -- the end of
    24 the motor freight terminal and the beginning of the
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    1 fence line.
    2 THE HEARING OFFICER: The record will so
    3 reflect for Complainants' Exhibit 1.
    4 BY MR. STEGER:
    5 Q. Moving to the north side of the facility,
    6 could you mark again in black the footage between
    7 the northern most end point of the terminal and the
    8 dotted red fence line? What is the footage in
    9 between there?
    10 A. Approximately 50 feet.
    11 MR. STEGER: Let the record reflect that Mr.
    12 Trujillo marked 50 feet -- the number 50 in between
    13 the dotted red line and the northern side of the
    14 motor freight terminal.
    15 THE HEARING OFFICER: The record will so
    16 reflect.
    17 BY MR. STEGER:
    18 Q. Now, turning your attention to the solid
    19 red line that runs along the west side of the
    20 Overland facility, that has been referred to in
    21 prior testimony as a two-to-three foot dirt curb.
    22 Is that an accurate representation of what this red
    23 line designates?
    24 A. No, it is not.
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    1 Q. Okay. Could you, for the record, describe
    2 what this solid red line represents?
    3 A. That would represent -- I would refer to
    4 it as earth and berm. From ground level to the top
    5 of the berm, I would say is between eight and ten
    6 feet.
    7 Q. Eight and ten feet in height or long?
    8 A. In height. It is 22 feet from the fence
    9 down to the bottom of the parking lot.
    10 Q. Where the parking lot starts on the west
    11 side?
    12 A. Yes.
    13 Q. And does the -- it's been previously
    14 testified to that this solid black line running from
    15 699 to 627 is an approximate eight-foot high wood
    16 fence.
    17 Does that eight foot high wood fence then
    18 sit on top of that berm?
    19 A. Yes.
    20 Q. Are there any other notations that you
    21 feel you need to accurately reflect the -- well, let
    22 me back up. Strike that.
    23 I'd like you to mark in blue where your
    24 office is located.
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    1 A. Okay.
    2 Q. You can just write in "office."
    3 A. Okay. (Witness complied.)
    4 Q. And again in blue, what is located to the
    5 south of the office?
    6 THE HEARING OFFICER: Okay. Before we go
    7 there, let's -- for the record, Mr. Trujillo has
    8 marked the north end of the facility within the
    9 Overland Transportation designated area what appears
    10 to be a rectangle and marked the term "office" in
    11 blue lettering -- marker.
    12 BY MR. STEGER:
    13 Q. Okay. Again in blue, could you mark what
    14 is directly to the south of the office in the long
    15 rectangle shape?
    16 A. Yes. This would be our dock.
    17 MR. STEGER: Let the record reflect that
    18 Mr. Trujillo designated the dock in the lower
    19 southern portions of facility, the elongated
    20 rectangle.
    21 THE HEARING OFFICER: The record will so
    22 reflect that he has done so on Complainant's
    23 Exhibit 1.
    24 BY MR. STEGER:
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    1 Q. Then, finally, would you mark down the
    2 number of bays on each side --
    3 A. Yes.
    4 Q. -- in blue?
    5 A. There's 15 on each side.
    6 MR. STEGER: Let the record reflect that Mr.
    7 Trujillo marked 15 on each side to designate the
    8 number of bays on each side of the motor freight
    9 terminal.
    10 THE HEARING OFFICER: The record will so
    11 reflect.
    12 BY MR. STEGER:
    13 Q. Okay. Have you been at the Overland
    14 facility when it was not operational?
    15 A. Yes.
    16 Q. Okay. Are there any other sounds that you
    17 hear when you're there?
    18 A. Yes.
    19 Q. Could you describe those?
    20 A. Yes. There's quite a bit of air traffic
    21 over the facility.
    22 Q. And could you -- what is the general
    23 direction of the flight pattern?
    24 A. The flight pattern starts in the northwest
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    1 heading toward the southeast.
    2 Q. Is there any other noise sources?
    3 A. Yes. There's -- you can hear some traffic
    4 from Northwest Highway and also from time to time
    5 depending on the train schedule, you can hear the
    6 Metra train.
    7 Q. And where is the Metra train located
    8 relative to the facility?
    9 A. It's approximately 200 -- two to 300 feet
    10 south of the facility.
    11 Q. One more mark. Would you mark in red the
    12 entrance way that the Overland trucks -- the
    13 pathway into the facility in a dotted red line, long
    14 lines, to differentiate it from the fence line?
    15 A. As coming in?
    16 Q. Coming in, yes.
    17 THE HEARING OFFICER: From --
    18 MR. STEGER: From Northwest Highway.
    19 BY THE WITNESS:
    20 A. (Witness complied.)
    21 BY MR. STEGER:
    22 Q. And that -- does that dotted red line
    23 reflect the general traffic pattern --
    24 A. Yes.
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    1 Q. -- of the Overland facility?
    2 A. Yes.
    3 MR. STEGER: Let the record reflect that
    4 Mr. Trujillo marked in a solid red line -- I take
    5 that back, dashes the general traffic pattern of the
    6 Overland Transportation facility.
    7 THE HEARING OFFICER: The record will reflect.
    8 However, my concern is this, Mr. -- for the record,
    9 Mr. Trujillo marked as Mr. Steger has indicated a
    10 dashed red line around the facility from the
    11 Northwest Highway. He indicated that it went back
    12 to the western area of the facility. I'm not sure
    13 if that designates that that's the way the traffic
    14 always comes in or whether it can come in either way
    15 from the east side.
    16 MR. STEGER: We'll testify to that a little bit
    17 later.
    18 THE HEARING OFFICER: Okay. That's fine. As
    19 long as we clarify it for the record. Okay. The
    20 record will so reflect.
    21 (Ms. Hennessey entered the
    22 proceedings.)
    23 BY MR. STEGER:
    24 Q. Okay. Mr. Trujillo, how many employees
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    1 does Overland have at its facility?
    2 A. Forty-one.
    3 Q. Could you describe what they do, the
    4 number of each?
    5 A. Yes. We have 28 drivers. We have eight
    6 dock workers, and the remaining five are clerical
    7 and administrative persons.
    8 Q. And what is the annual payroll of the
    9 Overland Transportation facility?
    10 A. In 1997, we paid out just over one million
    11 dollars in payroll.
    12 Q. Revenues generated from that facility?
    13 A. Just short of nine million dollars, 8.9
    14 million dollars last year.
    15 Q. And taxes, be either property or used
    16 taxes paid, do you have a figure for that?
    17 A. Yes, I do. It's approximately $102,000
    18 for last year.
    19 Q. Could you describe for the record the
    20 services you provide from that facility?
    21 A. Yes. We offer freight service on general
    22 commodities giving next-day, one- and two-day
    23 service from our service area as a company.
    24 Q. And what types of goods would you
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    1 transport out of that facility?
    2 A. Basically the company will handle
    3 everything classified under what is referred to as
    4 general commodities with the exception of hazardous
    5 waste or toxic waste.
    6 Q. Could you describe for the record the
    7 service area of the Overland Palatine facility?
    8 A. Yes. We service as far north of our
    9 facility as Libertyville. We go out to the lake
    10 including Evanston, Glenview. On the south end, we
    11 don't go any farther south than North Avenue. And
    12 on the west side of our service area, Elgin is the
    13 western boundary.
    14 (Respondents' Exhibit No. 1
    15 marked for identification,
    16 05/14/98.)
    17 BY MR. STEGER:
    18 Q. I'll show you what I marked as
    19 Respondents' Exhibit No. 1.
    20 Could you describe what this exhibit is?
    21 A. Yes. This is a sales piece that our sale
    22 force uses when soliciting to customers.
    23 Q. Okay. Could you open it up and describe
    24 what is shown in green?
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    1 A. Okay. What is shown in green is what is
    2 our service area as a company. Everywhere there is
    3 a star, we have a facility just like we have in
    4 Palatine. The areas where there are just dots with
    5 cities' names those are cities that are serviced as
    6 well, but we don't have facilities in these cities.
    7 Q. Okay. Could you describe then -- there's
    8 a blue chart in the exhibit.
    9 A. Okay. That would be our service matrix.
    10 Q. Okay. Could you describe -- going down
    11 the left side of the column, I see the letters
    12 marked PAL. Does that reference the Palatine
    13 facility?
    14 A. Yes, it does.
    15 Q. Okay. And then going from left to right
    16 across the top it begins at ATA and stops at STL.
    17 What do those designate?
    18 A. Those are the other service centers such
    19 as the Palatine facility, the other locations that
    20 the company has.
    21 Q. Okay. So let's take an example. Let's
    22 start with PAL on the far left, and let's go to the
    23 second column that starts BGR. Do you see where
    24 that is?
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    1 A. Yes.
    2 Q. And we'll go down to where the two
    3 intersect, and you'll see the number -- you'll see
    4 the number one. What does that indicate?
    5 A. That means one-day service.
    6 Q. To BGR, what does that designate?
    7 A. Bowling Green, Kentucky.
    8 Q. Okay. Let's start at the top at CAP.
    9 What does that refer to?
    10 A. Cape Girardeau, Missouri.
    11 Q. And is there a service center located
    12 there?
    13 A. Yes, there is.
    14 Q. Okay. And if we go to the intersection of
    15 PAL and CAP, we'll see the number two. What does
    16 that mean?
    17 A. Two days in service.
    18 Q. I'd like to move on to the general
    19 description of the shifts at the facility.
    20 A. Okay.
    21 Q. Let's start with the a.m. shift.
    22 A. Okay.
    23 Q. When does the a.m. shift begin?
    24 A. The supervisor for the a.m. shift arrives
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    1 at 2:00 a.m.
    2 Q. Okay. And what does he do?
    3 A. He does computer work basically, generates
    4 the delivery receipts that we deliver our freight on
    5 and does any other computer work that is necessary
    6 at that time.
    7 Q. And then do any other workers come in
    8 later?
    9 A. Yes. At 3 o'clock, the dock workers in
    10 come in.
    11 Q. Okay. Prior to 2:00 a.m., would trucks --
    12 could trucks arrive at this facility?
    13 A. Yes.
    14 Q. And, if so, from where?
    15 A. Just other locations such as Chicago,
    16 Indianapolis, Milwaukee.
    17 Q. Are they from other service centers --
    18 A. Yes.
    19 Q. -- from Overland?
    20 Could you then generally describe for the
    21 record what occurs on the a.m. shift from
    22 approximately 3:00 a.m. until it ends?
    23 A. Okay. At 3:00 a.m. when the dock workers
    24 arrive, the trailers are being unloaded and reloaded
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    1 on to what we call city units, which are the
    2 trailers that they use for delivery.
    3 The freight from these trailers is sorted
    4 out, segregated by area, such as you wouldn't put
    5 freight for Elgin on the same trailer that you would
    6 put freight for Evanston on.
    7 Q. When these -- when you say the freight is
    8 unloaded, will a trailer contain freight destined
    9 for various locations?
    10 A. Yes.
    11 Q. And what do you have to do with that
    12 freight then?
    13 A. We have to sort it out, segregate it, put
    14 it in the proper trailers.
    15 Q. And then what happens?
    16 A. After all the trailers are loaded, which
    17 usually is a four- to five-hour process, that's when
    18 the drivers come in, approximately 8 o'clock in the
    19 morning. At that time, they'll be given their
    20 delivery routes. They'll hook up to their trailers
    21 and go out to the area that they're assigned to that
    22 day.
    23 Q. We had previously entered a stipulation
    24 indicating that there are approximately 30 trucks
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    1 active in the a.m. shift?
    2 A. That's correct.
    3 Q. When do the majority of those trucks
    4 arrive?
    5 A. Between 5:00 a.m. and 8:00 a.m.
    6 Q. And trucks can arrive before then?
    7 A. Yes.
    8 Q. And trucks arrive after that time?
    9 A. Yes.
    10 Q. Let's use an example. Let's take one of
    11 your customers.
    12 Is Medline a customer of yours?
    13 A. Yes, they are.
    14 Q. What type of service do you provide for
    15 them?
    16 A. We offer next-day service on their product
    17 to their customers.
    18 Q. And what is Medline products?
    19 A. Medline Industries is a distributor of
    20 medical supplies.
    21 Q. Okay. And where are they located?
    22 A. Mundelein, Illinois.
    23 Q. Okay. And what would you -- go through
    24 what you would do for them relative to the a.m.
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    1 shift.
    2 A. Medline gets several products in that they
    3 use for -- to make their products such as raw
    4 materials to package their products in and also
    5 finished goods as well. We take that freight. It
    6 might come in from Kansas City or Columbus, Ohio, or
    7 Indiana or Ohio or various points. It comes into
    8 our facility, at which time we consolidate it onto a
    9 trailer and take it up to Medline.
    10 Q. Okay. Then what happens on the rest of
    11 the shift then in the a.m.?
    12 A. As I said, the freight is sorted out,
    13 segregated as far as, you know, run area. It's
    14 loaded on various trailers. I'd say we load
    15 approximately 18 trailers for delivery each day, and
    16 then that's when the drivers come in.
    17 Q. About what time does the -- what I'll
    18 characterize as the delivery shift -- the a.m. shift
    19 end?
    20 A. Approximately, 10:00 -- 10 o'clock.
    21 Q. Okay. And you testified earlier that you
    22 provide next-day service --
    23 A. Yes.
    24 Q. -- to your customers?
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    1 Could you describe what that is and what
    2 you have to do to meet that customer demand?
    3 A. What we call next-day service is delivery
    4 to the customer, the final customer, before noon.
    5 For us to perform that, we have to, obviously, be
    6 ready to begin delivery during regular business
    7 hours, which I would classify between 7:00 a.m. and
    8 5:00 p.m.
    9 Q. And you receive freight destined for the
    10 before noon delivery in the mornings?
    11 A. Yes.
    12 Q. Okay. About how -- correct me if I'm
    13 wrong. About how long -- it was three to four hours
    14 to strip out the trucks and pack them up for
    15 delivery; is that correct?
    16 A. Yes.
    17 Q. Then let's move to the p.m. shift. When
    18 does the p.m. shift begin?
    19 A. The supervisor for that shift comes in at
    20 1 o'clock in the afternoon basically to do some
    21 planning and preparing for his shift. We have dock
    22 workers then arriving at approximately 2:30 to 3
    23 o'clock to begin unloading trailers of freight that
    24 we pick up from our customers.
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    1 Q. So let's use Medline again. You testified
    2 earlier that you make deliveries to Medline. Then
    3 you would pick up freight from them?
    4 A. Yes.
    5 Q. And what would you do then?
    6 A. If we get a trailer of Medline in, a
    7 trailer holds approximately 22 four-by-four skids.
    8 Of that trailer, there might be 22 different
    9 shipments going to 22 different locations throughout
    10 our service area. At that time, we unload that
    11 trailer and put it on trailers destined to those
    12 other locations.
    13 Q. Could you indicate to me the time of the
    14 p.m. shift?
    15 A. I would say between 3 o'clock and 10
    16 o'clock.
    17 Q. Have you gone later than 10 o'clock in the
    18 past?
    19 A. In the past, yes.
    20 Q. And usually these trucks are repacked.
    21 Where do they go when they leave your facility?
    22 A. They go to other locations outside of our
    23 service area, which could be Columbus, Ohio, or
    24 Bowling Green, Kentucky, or Girardeau, Missouri.
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    1 Q. And similarly the trucks from these other
    2 service centers destined for your customers in your
    3 service area would head your way --
    4 A. Yes.
    5 Q. -- in the outbound shift?
    6 A. Yes.
    7 Q. And these are the trucks then that arrive
    8 in the morning, the next day?
    9 A. Correct.
    10 Q. Could you just kind of give an example of
    11 where these trucks come from that come in the
    12 morning?
    13 A. Mostly out of Indianapolis and our
    14 facility in Chicago, which is Markham, Illinois.
    15 Q. And on the p.m. shift, when your trucks
    16 leave, where do they generally go?
    17 A. They go to Milwaukee, Detroit, Grand
    18 Rapids, Fort Wayne, Columbus, Ohio, Cleveland,
    19 Cincinnati, Lexington, Kentucky.
    20 Q. Are these then service centers located in
    21 the midwest?
    22 A. Yes.
    23 Q. Okay. Moving to another phase -- well,
    24 let me back up a minute.
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    1 In the p.m. shift, about how many trucks
    2 are moving around during the p.m. shift?
    3 A. I would say 30 to 40.
    4 Q. Okay. Are you familiar with the citizen
    5 noise complains from the Overland Transportation
    6 facility?
    7 A. Yes, I am.
    8 Q. Okay. Have you been involved in any
    9 meetings with the citizen group?
    10 A. Yes, I have.
    11 Q. Based on those meetings, were you able to
    12 identify the sources of noise?
    13 A. Yes, I was.
    14 Q. Okay. It's been previously testified to
    15 that they hear a double bang, bang. Could you
    16 describe for the record what you believe the source
    17 of that noise is?
    18 A. Yes. We have determined that noise to be
    19 our forklifts entering trailers. When we back a
    20 trailer to the dock, it doesn't sit right against
    21 it. So there is what we call a dock plate that
    22 connects the trailer to the dock, which is metal.
    23 Q. Okay. The dock plate is made out of
    24 metal?
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    1 A. Yes, it is.
    2 Q. What does the dock plate do then?
    3 A. It basically just puts a platform between
    4 the trailer and the dock.
    5 Q. And what is the bang, bang we hear?
    6 A. We load and unload freight with
    7 forklifts. The forklifts weigh approximately 4,500
    8 pounds each without any freight or without an
    9 operator on it. The first bang would be the front
    10 tires going over the dock plate. The second bang
    11 would be the rear tires going over the dock plate.
    12 Q. And is the dock plate hinged?
    13 A. Yes, it is.
    14 Q. And what is the -- is the hinge the source
    15 of the noise when you hear the tires go over?
    16 A. Yes.
    17 Q. They've also testified that they hear a
    18 bang. Do you have any idea what the single source
    19 of the bang would be?
    20 A. Yes. When we have empty trailers sitting
    21 at the dock, when we move those trailers out into
    22 the yard or wherever we might be taking them at that
    23 time, when the truck hooks up to the trailer, it has
    24 to hit it at a certain amount of force for what we
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    482
    1 call the fifth wheel to connect to the trailer, and
    2 it echoes from --
    3 Q. The fifth wheel exist on the cab?
    4 A. Yes.
    5 Q. Okay. If you'll -- some liberty in
    6 characterization. Is the fifth wheel the so-called
    7 female part and the male part sits on the actual
    8 trailer?
    9 A. Yes.
    10 Q. Okay. And then what actually occurs?
    11 A. When the cab goes underneath the trailer
    12 to hook to it, it's got to hit it hard enough to
    13 where the fifth wheel and the cab locks into what
    14 they call the kingpin on the trailer, so the trailer
    15 does not come loose from the cab.
    16 Q. There has also been testimony as to a yard
    17 horse. Could you describe the yard horse or the
    18 yard trailer? What do you refer to it as?
    19 A. We call it a spotter.
    20 Q. Okay. What is its function?
    21 A. Basically, it moves trailers around the
    22 yard. It is not street legal. It is to be used in
    23 the yard only.
    24 Q. Okay. And what was the principal source
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    1 of noise from the yard trailer?
    2 A. The original yard horse or spotter that we
    3 had was an older model that was probably 10 to 12
    4 years old. We felt it didn't have sufficient
    5 installation in the engine compartment to cover some
    6 of the sound coming out from the engine as well as
    7 the exhaust area.
    8 At that time, we spent approximately 12 to
    9 $1,500 to try to insulate the engine compartment and
    10 also modify the exhaust system to try to keep the
    11 noise down. After doing this, we decided that that
    12 was not enough reduction in noise.
    13 At that time, we went out and we bought a
    14 new spotting horse in which we spent approximately
    15 $44,000 on.
    16 Q. Okay. And is that new spotting horse
    17 quieter than the other one?
    18 A. Much quieter, yes.
    19 Q. And you testified that the yard horse will
    20 move trailers around. So they will conduct the
    21 hitching and unhitching operations you --
    22 A. Yes.
    23 Q. -- previously testified to?
    24 Would it also pull out trailers under
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    1 load?
    2 A. Yes.
    3 Q. Is there some difference in noise when you
    4 pull an empty trailer versus a full trailer?
    5 A. Yes, there is some noise -- difference in
    6 noise. Obviously, a loaded trailer weighs much more
    7 than an empty trailer would. So obviously the
    8 engine on the spotting horse has to work harder to
    9 pull that load.
    10 Q. Let's go back to these dock plates.
    11 A. Okay.
    12 Q. About how many sets of dock plates are
    13 there?
    14 A. Twenty-nine.
    15 Q. What are they made out of?
    16 A. Metal.
    17 Q. Okay. And then there's a hinge in the
    18 middle?
    19 A. Correct.
    20 Q. What is the noise problem associated with
    21 the dock plates?
    22 A. One of the biggest problem is all
    23 trailers -- the first two feet of the trailer is
    24 actually metal itself. That's pretty much a DOT
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    485
    1 regulation.
    2 Q. When you say the first -- the two feet
    3 that's closest to the dock?
    4 A. Yes.
    5 Q. Okay.
    6 A. Yes. It is made out of metal. Basically,
    7 it's just a metal plate that's built right into the
    8 floor of the trailer. So when we lay a metal dock
    9 plate on top of there, that's -- the bang, bang that
    10 they hear is caused from the hinge giving some
    11 flexure, but it's pushing the plate against that
    12 metal.
    13 Q. Does the hinge ever wear out?
    14 A. Yes, it does.
    15 Q. What's the usual life of the dock plate?
    16 A. Usually, two to three years depending on
    17 the use of it. We've had some dock plates wear out
    18 in less than two years.
    19 Q. Are you currently undergoing a dock plate
    20 replacement program?
    21 A. Yes.
    22 Q. Do you know about how much it will cost to
    23 replace a single dock plate?
    24 A. Yes, I do.
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    1 Q. Would you state it?
    2 A. It's $3,500 per plate.
    3 Q. Per plate. So if -- and these
    4 replacements go on --
    5 A. It's pretty much consistent. We probably
    6 replace one to two a month.
    7 Q. Okay. And when you say replace, what
    8 actually has to happen?
    9 A. Actually to be able to -- for the dock
    10 plate to be safe enough to put these forklifts on
    11 top, we have to jackhammer the concrete out around
    12 the dock itself.
    13 Q. And would this jackhammering generally
    14 occur during the daylight hours?
    15 A. Yes.
    16 Q. Continue.
    17 A. From there, the concrete is replaced,
    18 reinforcement from the dock plate is extended into
    19 where the concrete would be, and then fresh concrete
    20 is poured in there and finished in.
    21 Q. Have you tried any other abatement
    22 measures with respect to the dock plates in the
    23 past?
    24 A. Yes.
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    1 Q. What type of things have you done?
    2 A. Well, we tried to figure out a way to
    3 cushion the noise between the dock plate and the
    4 trailer. So we tried putting several different
    5 types of material between those two items there. We
    6 started out with strips of carpet to see if that
    7 would help. We then --
    8 Q. Did you call in somebody to give you an
    9 estimate on the carpeting, or how did you arrive at
    10 --
    11 A. Basically, we just went out and bought
    12 these materials ourselves. We tried several
    13 different things. Like I said, we started out with
    14 carpeting first.
    15 Q. And what happened with the carpeting?
    16 A. It pretty much got chewed up. It didn't
    17 last very long. I'd say each piece of carpeting was
    18 torn to threads within about an hour.
    19 After that, we tried different kinds of
    20 rubber. We tried gummed rubber, which is the softer
    21 type of rubber. We didn't have any success with
    22 that because that was getting pretty much chewed up
    23 as well, and we ended up with some hard rubber that
    24 is used in conveyor belts and things like that that
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    488
    1 has the fiber in the middle of it. And that was
    2 becoming a safety hazard. So we had to discontinue
    3 using those.
    4 Q. And when you say "safety hazard," what
    5 type of safety hazard?
    6 A. Well, the pressure that was put down on
    7 the rubber would cause the corners of it or the ends
    8 of it to curl up. When the forklift was backing out
    9 of the trailer, it would catch underneath the
    10 forklift and kick the dock plate away from the
    11 trailer causing a safety hazard.
    12 Q. There has also been some testimony that
    13 they hear a loud boom. Do you have any idea of the
    14 source of the boom?
    15 A. Yes. That would be the connection of
    16 trailers on the east side of the dock.
    17 Q. What do you mean by that?
    18 A. Well, when you have a trailer with the
    19 doors open, which obviously you can't put a trailer
    20 to the dock unless the doors are open --
    21 Q. Okay.
    22 A. -- because they are swing doors, so they
    23 have to be open before you back it into the dock.
    24 When a truck hooks up to that or a cab hooks up to
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    489
    1 that trailer and it's empty, that trailer actually
    2 acts as a megaphone because of the loud boom, and it
    3 obviously echoes toward the condominiums.
    4 Q. Could you describe how the trailers are
    5 loaded?
    6 A. Yes. Most of our shipments are on what we
    7 call by four-by-four wooden palates. The forklift
    8 picks up the palate, takes it into the trailer, sets
    9 it down, and then backs out from underneath it.
    10 Q. So actually the forks of the forklift go
    11 underneath the wood palate?
    12 A. Yes.
    13 Q. Okay. The complaint is also alleging
    14 repairing operations. Could you describe the source
    15 of noise from there and some of the efforts you've
    16 done to curtail that noise?
    17 A. Yes. When we decided to open up our --
    18 what we call our shop area so that we can repair our
    19 equipment, we took several things into
    20 consideration.
    21 The first thing we looked at was what
    22 noise would be generated from opening such a shop.
    23 We decided what those noises would be such as air
    24 compressors, air wrenches, things like that. At
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    490
    1 that time, we then looked at the facility to see
    2 what we can do to eliminate as much noise as
    3 possible.
    4 The main thing we did to eliminate the
    5 noise was we installed new overhead doors on the
    6 shop area. We felt that the ones that were in place
    7 when we took over the facility weren't adequate
    8 enough to insulate any sound generated in the shop.
    9 Q. Okay. And do you still conduct repair
    10 operations there?
    11 A. Yes.
    12 Q. Who conducts those repair operations, and
    13 where are they are located?
    14 A. Anything that is done outside is done on
    15 the east side of the building such as changing tires
    16 on trailers or on the cabs or whatever might take
    17 place outside.
    18 Q. Could you describe for me what pup
    19 trailers are, and how they are connected to each
    20 other?
    21 A. Yes. A pup trailer is a 28-foot trailer.
    22 Q. And that's smaller than what is generally
    23 referred to as a semi-trailer?
    24 A. Yes. A semi-trailer is usually 48 feet
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    1 long. And the pup trailers are connected together
    2 to run what we call a set of doubles. There's what
    3 we call a convertor that connects them. You hook it
    4 underneath the first one, and the second trailer is
    5 backed up to the converter and hooked to the first
    6 trailer.
    7 Q. And does the yard horse perform that
    8 hooking operation --
    9 A. Yes.
    10 Q. -- moving the pup trailers?
    11 A. Yes.
    12 Q. Where is that currently conducted?
    13 A. We've instructed all of our employees to
    14 do any connecting of sets on the east side.
    15 Q. Did this facility have a PA system?
    16 A. It did when we first opened, yes.
    17 Q. Do you use the PA system now?
    18 A. No. We disconnected that. I think it was
    19 one of the first days we were in operation.
    20 Q. And what would that -- how would the PA
    21 system be used, and what do you do now?
    22 A. Basically, the PA system that was in place
    23 was a loud speaker on the dock. It was connected
    24 into the phone system, so that you can actually be
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    492
    1 inside the office and call out onto the dock for
    2 somebody.
    3 Obviously, that was way too loud for what
    4 we needed. So we disconnected the PA system and
    5 purchased handheld radios for the dock people in the
    6 office.
    7 Q. So you currently use two-way radios?
    8 A. Yes.
    9 Q. What was the cost of that?
    10 A. For the six radios we bought, I think we
    11 spent approximately $3,500 on those.
    12 Q. Do you conduct driver and dock meetings --
    13 A. Yes.
    14 Q. -- with your associates?
    15 A. Yes.
    16 Q. About how often do you meet with the
    17 drivers?
    18 A. Twice a month.
    19 Q. And how often do you meet with the dock
    20 workers?
    21 A. Weekly.
    22 Q. During those meeting, do you discuss the
    23 noise situation?
    24 A. Yes, we do.
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    1 Q. What are some of the things you try to
    2 discuss at that meetings?
    3 A. Well, it's more of an awareness to our
    4 employees that we do have neighbors and we do not
    5 need to generate any unnecessary noise, such as each
    6 one of the trucks, which is a federal law, is
    7 equipment with warning. They're prohibited from
    8 using this horn while in our yard.
    9 We've also instructed all drivers in the
    10 evening hours after dark when pulling into the yard
    11 and going around the west side to shut the lights
    12 off and just use their parking lights. That's been
    13 put in place for a couple of years now.
    14 Q. And these meetings, how long have they
    15 been going one?
    16 A. Since day one.
    17 Q. Previously, you had marked on Plaintiffs'
    18 Exhibit 1 a dashed red line indicating the general
    19 traffic pattern?
    20 A. Yes.
    21 Q. Could you describe a little bit more for
    22 the record what exactly that traffic pattern is?
    23 THE HEARING OFFICER: For the record, it's
    24 Complainants' Exhibit 1.
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    1 MR. STEGER: I'm sorry.
    2 BY MR. STEGER:
    3 Q. Complainants' Exhibit 1.
    4 THE HEARING OFFICER: I think we'll all know,
    5 but just for safety sake.
    6 BY THE WITNESS:
    7 A. We have designed that traffic pattern
    8 because that's the way we want the traffic to flow.
    9 We'd like it to flow in one direction. Obviously,
    10 when you have that many trailers coming in the yard
    11 and out of the yard each day, it can get can
    12 congested in the yard. For safety reasons, we have
    13 put that pattern into effect.
    14 Now, obviously, if a trailer pulls into
    15 the yard and there's no other traffic at that time
    16 and he needs to go to the east side of the dock, he
    17 will go directly to the east side rather than going
    18 around to the west side.
    19 BY MR. STEGER:
    20 Q. So each trailer, when it arrives at the
    21 facility, is assigned a specific dock?
    22 A. Yes.
    23 Q. Okay. And, obviously, those who would
    24 arrive and go to the west -- if they have to go to
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    1 the west, they'd go to the west side?
    2 A. Correct.
    3 Q. Is there any ability to reverse that
    4 pattern?
    5 A. We could. It wouldn't really change
    6 anything. We'd still have the same amount of
    7 traffic.
    8 Q. Well, during your busy time period, it is
    9 possible to switch that?
    10 A. Yeah, we could, but it wouldn't make any
    11 difference. The same amount of traffic would be
    12 going through there, just in a different direction.
    13 Q. Except the only thing you'd eliminate
    14 would be the trucks that have to remain on the east
    15 side?
    16 A. Right.
    17 Q. Could you describe for the record --
    18 there has been what is on Complainants' Exhibit 1 a
    19 yellow X that is referred to as the west yard.
    20 What do you park there?
    21 A. Empty trailers.
    22 Q. What do you park on the east side?
    23 A. The trucks or cabs.
    24 Q. Could you switch those?
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    496
    1 A. We have taken that in consideration and
    2 felt it was better for our neighbors that we don't
    3 do that.
    4 Q. And why is that?
    5 A. Depending on -- the trucks or cabs as we
    6 refer to them are just like your vehicle at home.
    7 When you start those up, depending on the weather or
    8 the temperature, you have to let it warm up, and
    9 these are all diesel engines. So sometimes they
    10 take a little bit longer. And diesel engines, when
    11 they're cold, put out quite a bit of fumes. And if
    12 we had them over on that side, we would have 18 cabs
    13 over there running for, you know, five, ten minutes
    14 each morning.
    15 Q. Okay. And the trailers that are parked on
    16 the west side, are they generally empty?
    17 A. Yes.
    18 Q. And then how do you get them into --
    19 A. The spotting horse usually comes and
    20 retrieves them.
    21 Q. What does the spotting horse then do or
    22 the yard tractor?
    23 A. It just puts those empty trailers into the
    24 dock as needed.
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    497
    1 Q. Is it a possibility to cease operations on
    2 the west side during daylight hours?
    3 A. Define daylight hours.
    4 Q. Well, between the hours of 7:00 a.m. to
    5 10:00 p.m.
    6 A. No.
    7 Q. And why is that?
    8 A. Well, obviously, to get our freight out
    9 for delivery, we still have -- we're still using
    10 both sides of the facility until approximately 9:00
    11 to 10:00 a.m. Our busiest time, what we call our
    12 second shift or outbound shift, is between 5:00 p.m.
    13 and 9:00 p.m.
    14 Q. And what occurs between 5:00 to 9:00?
    15 A. That's when most of our trailers come off
    16 the street for making pickups for customers such as
    17 Medline, and then we sort and segregate the freight
    18 as it comes in to put it on the right trailer and
    19 get it headed in the right direction.
    20 Q. And some of these trailers would be
    21 located on the west side as well as the east side?
    22 A. Correct.
    23 Q. Depending on where it had to go?
    24 A. Correct.
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    498
    1 Q. And I believe you testified earlier that
    2 each of the 29 docks is assigned an area, or is
    3 assigned a service center? Exactly what --
    4 A. Well, we have 18 drivers that go out each
    5 day to deliver freight and then pick up freight. As
    6 I said, we load approximately 30 to 40 trailers at
    7 night out of our facility out of 29 doors.
    8 So we have -- we have it set up to where
    9 certain trailers go in certain doors so that freight
    10 for Detroit goes in door ten, freight for Columbus,
    11 Ohio, goes in door six and when those trailers fill
    12 in, an empty trailer is put in there, and the
    13 loading is continued.
    14 Q. Is the there anything in terms of
    15 operational -- well, let me back up.
    16 You defined your busiest time in the p.m.
    17 shift is between 5:00 and 9:00?
    18 A. Yes.
    19 Q. Is there any attempt on Overland's part to
    20 revise operations during that time, either
    21 shortening it up, shifting it? Could you describe
    22 that for the record?
    23 A. Yes. As a company, we're going through
    24 some operational changes where we are required to
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    1 have all of our trailers loaded and moving out of
    2 the gate by 9:00 p.m. This was put in place within
    3 the last two to three weeks, and we're currently
    4 adjusting our staffing and our operational
    5 procedures to attain this.
    6 Q. If those -- those trailers that leave by
    7 9:00, they're headed overnight, if you will, to
    8 other service centers such as Cleveland?
    9 A. Correct.
    10 Q. Okay. Do you know how long of a drive is
    11 it to Cleveland?
    12 A. If I'm not mistaken, I think it's seven
    13 hours.
    14 Q. Is there any other efforts you've taken to
    15 mitigate noise at the facility?
    16 A. Well, other than the operational changes
    17 we've had as far as drivers trying not to make any
    18 unnecessary noise, we've also done some different
    19 things to other forklifts. We've tried different
    20 types of tires on them because they do have rubber
    21 tires. So when they go to a certain thickness, we
    22 replace those tires because newer tires are quieter
    23 than the older ones.
    24 Q. There's been some testimony that there has
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    1 been beeps when vehicles are backing up. Is there
    2 any possibility to eliminate that, or have you
    3 eliminated that for some?
    4 A. Yeah. When we got the new spotting horse,
    5 it came out of the --
    6 Q. That's the yard tractor?
    7 A. Yes.
    8 Q. Okay.
    9 A. It came out of the factory with what they
    10 call a backup warning signal meaning when it's put
    11 in reverse, the beeping starts so that if anybody is
    12 in the way, they can -- and it was an annoying
    13 noise. So we disconnected that, and we tried --
    14 we've been training the operator of that yard horse
    15 to pretty much watch where he's going because he
    16 does not have that backup alarm anymore.
    17 Q. And this yard trailer would be the thing
    18 that backs up to hook up the trailers from the west
    19 side of the facility?
    20 A. Correct.
    21 Q. Do you have any familiarity with noise
    22 control abatement measures?
    23 A. No, I don't.
    24 Q. Are you an engineer?
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    1 A. No.
    2 MR. STEGER: Can I have a minute, please?
    3 (Brief pause.)
    4 BY MR. STEGER:
    5 Q. Briefly, one other thing.
    6 There has been some notation in the
    7 exhibits that have been entered in the record about
    8 writing notes for the lights of the Overland
    9 facility. Have you done anything to correct the
    10 lighting?
    11 A. Yes. After the meeting we had with the
    12 tenants of the condominiums, one of the concerns
    13 that was expressed was the lights that are mounted
    14 on top of our building.
    15 Q. And these are mounted on the long
    16 rectangular --
    17 A. The dock area.
    18 Q. -- building that's called dock?
    19 A. Correct.
    20 Q. On Complainants' Exhibit No. 1?
    21 A. Correct. Those were on the building. I'm
    22 sure that they were there when the building was
    23 built, obviously, to light the yard in the evening
    24 hours. One of the concerns was that light was
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    1 shining directly into the second floor of their
    2 units which, from what I understand, is their
    3 bedrooms and things like that.
    4 So we hired an electrical contractor to
    5 come out with what they call a boom truck because
    6 these things sit in the air about 30 feet to lower
    7 these lights down to where they're shining down
    8 toward the parking lot and not directly into the
    9 building.
    10 MR. STEGER: I believe that is all the
    11 questions I have.
    12 THE HEARING OFFICER: Mr. Forcade?
    13 MR. FORCADE: Yeah. Could we have about two or
    14 three minutes?
    15 THE HEARING OFFICER: Sure. Why don't we go
    16 off the record and take about a five-minute
    17 recession. Would that be --
    18 MR. FORCADE: That would be great.
    19 THE HEARING OFFICER: Let's do that.
    20 (Discussion had off
    21 the record.)
    22 THE HEARING OFFICER: We're back on the record
    23 in PCB Docket No. 98-81, Charter Hall Homeowner's
    24 Association and various of its members including
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    1 Mr. Jeffery Cohen vs. Overland Transportation, Inc.,
    2 and D.P. Cartage, Inc. I'm getting better at my
    3 recollection here.
    4 We went off the record after Mr. Steger
    5 had finished his direct examination. Mr. Forcade
    6 had asked for a few minutes before cross.
    7 Mr. Forcade, are you ready to proceed?
    8 MR. FORCADE: Yes, sir, I am.
    9 THE HEARING OFFICER: Okay. Mr. Trujillo, I
    10 would remind you that you are still under oath.
    11 THE HEARING OFFICER: Mr. Forcade?
    12 C R O S S - E X A M I N A T I O N
    13 by Mr. Forcade
    14 Q. Mr. Trujillo, if you could direct your
    15 attention to Complainants' Exhibit No. 1 and
    16 specifically direct your attention to the thin red
    17 lines which you've drawn, which if I correctly
    18 understand, characterizes the traffic pattern of the
    19 trucks around the facility?
    20 A. Correct.
    21 Q. Could I paraphrase this and you tell me if
    22 I'm wrong? Do the trucks enter from Northwest
    23 Highway and proceed south through the entrance
    24 driveway, for lack of a better term, pass through
    L.A. REPORTING (312) 419-9292

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    1 the locked gate and then turn right and head in a
    2 westerly direction to the west side of the Overland
    3 Transportation buildings, then turn left and proceed
    4 south along the Overland Transportation buildings,
    5 turn left proceeding east along the southern portion
    6 of the Overland Transportation buildings, and then
    7 turn left again proceeding north along the eastern
    8 side of the Overland Transportation buildings?
    9 A. That is correct.
    10 Q. Okay. Thank you very much.
    11 You mentioned a number of different areas
    12 for fences and stuff like that. Would it be
    13 possible for you to take a red pen and outline the
    14 property line, the extent of the property owned by
    15 Overland Transportation?
    16 A. I don't know exactly other than what is
    17 right there (indicating). How far it extends back
    18 or to each side, I don't have that information.
    19 Q. All right. Thank you.
    20 During the course of your testimony I
    21 believe that you mentioned that you could hear
    22 airplane noise, highway noise, and Metra trains.
    23 Are you aware that during the testimony yesterday
    24 the complaining citizens were asked about this
    L.A. REPORTING (312) 419-9292

    505
    1 repeatedly and that none of them indicated they've
    2 ever been awakened by either airplane noise, highway
    3 noise, or Metra train noise?
    4 A. No, I was not aware of that.
    5 Q. Okay. To clarify my recollection of your
    6 testimony, approximately how far away do you believe
    7 the Metra train station is?
    8 A. Well, the tracks are two to 300 feet south
    9 of the fence line.
    10 Q. Two to 300 feet south of the line?
    11 A. Yes.
    12 Q. And did you say something about the
    13 station also or not?
    14 A. No. The station isn't close to us.
    15 Q. Okay. I show you what has been marked
    16 Respondents' Exhibit No. 1, and if I can briefly
    17 characterize that on the internal portion of this
    18 there's a green map which represents a portion of
    19 the central United States.
    20 A. Okay.
    21 Q. And if I could specifically direct your
    22 attention to the state of Illinois in the markings
    23 that are on there, and if you don't mind if I look
    24 over your shoulder. Actually, could you hold it up
    L.A. REPORTING (312) 419-9292

    506
    1 a little farther? I've got bifocals. Thank you.
    2 If you could tell me, what does the star
    3 underneath the Chicago represent?
    4 A. That is a location, another service
    5 center.
    6 Q. Right. Could you tell me the address for
    7 that location?
    8 A. I don't know the exact address, but it's
    9 in Markham, Illinois.
    10 Q. It's in Markham, Illinois?
    11 A. Yes.
    12 Q. Do you have any idea how long that
    13 facility has been there?
    14 A. I can only give you an approximation. I
    15 think it's about 15 to 20 years.
    16 Q. Fifteen to 20 years.
    17 Do you have any idea of a major
    18 intersection near that facility?
    19 A. 159th and Dixie Highway.
    20 Q. Okay. And if I could briefly glance at it
    21 again. Directly above the word Chicago there is
    22 what appears to be a small white round circle; is
    23 that correct?
    24 A. Yes.
    L.A. REPORTING (312) 419-9292

    507
    1 Q. Could you tell me what that represents?
    2 A. That would represent the city of Chicago
    3 itself.
    4 Q. Just a service --
    5 A. Right.
    6 Q. -- service area?
    7 And if I could direct your attention again
    8 then to slightly above and slightly to the left is a
    9 star which appears to be adjacent to the word
    10 Palatine. Could you tell me what that represents?
    11 A. That represents the Palatine service
    12 center.
    13 Q. Right. The facility in question in this
    14 proceeding?
    15 A. Correct.
    16 Q. And directly below that, if I could point
    17 to it, I believe is the word Elgin and a circle?
    18 A. Yes.
    19 Q. And does that mean Elgin is a service
    20 center?
    21 A. No. That means Elgin is serviced.
    22 Q. Serviced by the facility?
    23 A. Where the stars are is where we have
    24 actual facilities.
    L.A. REPORTING (312) 419-9292

    508
    1 Q. Right.
    2 A. The cities that have the circles mean that
    3 service is provided in those areas.
    4 Q. Okay. Would it be correct to say then
    5 that besides Palatine facility and the Markham
    6 facility the only remaining facilities in Illinois
    7 are in Rockford, Rock Island, and Springfield?
    8 A. We've since added two more.
    9 Q. And where would those be?
    10 A. Peoria, Illinois.
    11 Q. Peoria.
    12 A. And Mattoon.
    13 Q. And do you know approximately when Peoria
    14 was added?
    15 A. Six weeks ago.
    16 Q. And in Mattoon?
    17 A. The same time.
    18 Q. You mentioned a series of sound reduction
    19 activities that took place in your direct testimony,
    20 and I didn't want to interrupt while it was
    21 occurring. But you didn't mention the dates for
    22 those activities.
    23 Would you mind going back through those
    24 activities, a much more brief description of them,
    L.A. REPORTING (312) 419-9292

    509
    1 but then also add a time when that was done to that?
    2 A. I can't give you the exact times. I don't
    3 have the information with me. But we tried various
    4 things with dock plates as far as placing materials
    5 between the plate and the trailer.
    6 Q. Okay. I believe the first thing you
    7 mentioned had to do with -- and I'll probably
    8 mischaracterize this -- the yard tractor?
    9 A. Yes.
    10 Q. Could you tell me what time you did
    11 installation activities and replacement with the
    12 yard tractor for, approximately?
    13 A. That was last summer.
    14 Q. That would be the summer of 1997?
    15 A. Correct.
    16 Q. And what was the next activity that you
    17 think was the sound control activity you took?
    18 A. We replaced the -- well, actually we
    19 bought the new yard tractor.
    20 Q. Okay. So improved your tractor and
    21 replace air tractor would be when?
    22 A. We did that, I would say, February of this
    23 year.
    24 Q. February of '98?
    L.A. REPORTING (312) 419-9292

    510
    1 A. Yes.
    2 Q. Okay. What would be the next sound
    3 reduction activity that you believe you took?
    4 A. After that it's an ongoing thing of
    5 replacing the dock plates.
    6 Q. So we'll say the dock plates. Can you
    7 give me an approximate time when you believe the
    8 dock plate replacement program began?
    9 A. It started before we were actually even
    10 open. There were several dock plates that we felt
    11 were not in very good condition for us to use, and
    12 since then it's been an ongoing process. Each month
    13 there's at least one replaced.
    14 Q. Okay. When you said it started before we
    15 were even open, could you then give me a date when
    16 you opened so that we would know when that would be?
    17 A. Yes. We opened up November 13th, 1995.
    18 Q. So this would be prior to November of
    19 1995.
    20 Okay. Prior to the summer of '97, did you
    21 retain any noise experts to evaluate the noise
    22 levels or the noise sources within Overland
    23 Transportation?
    24 A. Not to my knowledge.
    L.A. REPORTING (312) 419-9292

    511
    1 Q. Okay. Prior to 1997, did you retain any
    2 noise experts to evaluate mechanisms to control
    3 noise from the noise sources within Overland
    4 Transportation?
    5 A. Not to my knowledge.
    6 Q. From the summer of 1997 through and
    7 including the last action which I believe you have
    8 listed as February of '98 with an ongoing component,
    9 did you retain any noise experts to evaluate the
    10 noise sources at Overland Transportation?
    11 A. Not experts. We've had some in-house
    12 people do some readings.
    13 Q. Can you give me their credentials?
    14 A. He works in our safety department. He's
    15 not an expert.
    16 Q. Okay. After the summer of 1997 and prior
    17 to the period of February of '98, did you retain any
    18 noise experts in sound control to evaluate what
    19 action should be taken?
    20 A. No.
    21 Q. Okay. You mentioned at one point
    22 something about truck repair. Is all truck repair
    23 done on the facility by Overland Transportation?
    24 A. No.
    L.A. REPORTING (312) 419-9292

    512
    1 Q. Is it done by Overland Transportation or
    2 D.P. Cartage?
    3 A. No.
    4 Q. Can you tell me how truck repair is
    5 accomplished then?
    6 A. It's taken to an outside vendor, but if we
    7 have a piece of equipment, whether it be a trailer
    8 or a truck, with a flat tire, obviously we can't
    9 move that. So we have to bring in a vendor that
    10 comes to our location.
    11 Q. Okay. If I could move to the very first
    12 part, the taking it to an outside vendor. Are you
    13 saying that the piece of equipment is transported
    14 away from the Overland Transportation facility and
    15 is repaired at a site that's distant from the
    16 Overland Transportation facility?
    17 A. It's in Palatine.
    18 Q. Okay. Is it more than three blocks away?
    19 A. Yes, it is.
    20 Q. Okay. Thank you. And you mentioned that
    21 there were some activities where a repair person
    22 would come on site and conduct repairs on site.
    23 Could you describe that more fully for me, please?
    24 A. Yes. It's usually -- I would say most of
    L.A. REPORTING (312) 419-9292

    513
    1 it is just changing the tires on equipment.
    2 Q. Okay. And that would be happening on
    3 site?
    4 A. Yes.
    5 Q. Could you give me the name of the vendor
    6 that does the repair work for you?
    7 A. Yes; Northwest Truck Service.
    8 Q. And do you have any present plans to
    9 change any of the relationships relating to truck
    10 repair at your facility?
    11 A. No.
    12 Q. Are you familiar with a company called
    13 Razor Leasing or Razor Company?
    14 A. Yes.
    15 Q. Could you describe what, if any,
    16 relationship they had with Overland Transportation?
    17 A. Yes. They were pretty much a
    18 subcontractor to Overland as well, but Overland has
    19 since absorbed them just like a D.P. situation.
    20 Q. What particular activities do they perform
    21 as a subcontractor?
    22 A. Just minor repairs. They would change
    23 oil, change lights, things like that.
    24 Q. And that would have been on site?
    L.A. REPORTING (312) 419-9292

    514
    1 A. Yes.
    2 Q. Okay. Could you give me an approximate
    3 time when that was -- that change was implemented?
    4 A. Spring of '97 is when they opened, and
    5 they since closed their operation in Palatine.
    6 Q. It would be since the spring of '97. Do
    7 you believe that it was more than, say, two months
    8 ago that they closed, or could you give me an idea
    9 of when it might have closed?
    10 A. A month ago.
    11 Q. A month ago?
    12 A. Yes.
    13 MR. FORCADE: That's the end of my questions
    14 for this witness.
    15 THE HEARING OFFICER: Mr. Steger?
    16 MR. STEGER: Just one brief question.
    17 R E D I R E C T E X A M I N A T I O N
    18 by Mr. Steger
    19 Q. Would it be fair to say that currently you
    20 are undergoing modifications to your traffic pattern
    21 for the Palatine facility?
    22 A. Yes. We're always looking at options and
    23 different considerations to improve what we're
    24 doing.
    L.A. REPORTING (312) 419-9292

    515
    1 Q. And would it be fair to say that that's
    2 been going on since you moved in?
    3 A. Yes.
    4 MR. STEGER: Okay. No further questions.
    5 (Ms. Hennessey exited the
    6 proceedings.)
    7 MR. FORCADE: We're thinking about that last
    8 question for a second.
    9 THE HEARING OFFICER: Okay. Why don't we --
    10 well, we'll just hold tight.
    11 (Brief pause.)
    12 THE HEARING OFFICER: Let the record reflect
    13 that Mr. Forcade is discussing with his associate
    14 whether he has additional cross-examination.
    15 MR. FORCADE: We have no further questions of
    16 this witness.
    17 THE HEARING OFFICER: Okay. After that
    18 reflection, Mr. Forcade has indicated just as he's
    19 indicated.
    20 All right. Mr. Trujillo, thank you very
    21 much. You may step down.
    22 (Witness excused.)
    23 THE HEARING OFFICER: Okay. Let the record
    24 reflect that there was a board member previously
    L.A. REPORTING (312) 419-9292

    516
    1 present. However, that board member has left.
    2 There is no other member of the public at large.
    3 Therefore, there is no need to ask if anyone else
    4 has questions. If there are other questions of Mr.
    5 Trujillo -- I don't believe there are any, and let
    6 the record reflect that there are none.
    7 All right. Mr. Steger?
    8 MR. STEGER: That's it for me.
    9 THE HEARING OFFICER: That's it? Okay. You
    10 are resting?
    11 MR. STEGER: Other than my exhibits.
    12 THE HEARING OFFICER: All right. Why don't we
    13 go onto that?
    14 MR. STEGER: Okay. First of all, I'd like
    15 entry into the record Respondents' Exhibit 1.
    16 THE HEARING OFFICER: Mr. Forcade?
    17 MR. FORCADE: No objection.
    18 THE HEARING OFFICER: What has been marked as
    19 Respondents' Exhibit 1 looks to be a brochure --
    20 some type of promotional brochure, Welcome to
    21 Overland Territory as its title with Overland
    22 Transportation System, Inc., on the bottom portion
    23 marked as Respondents' Exhibit 1. It is a one --
    24 it's an all-in-one encompassed pamphlet that folds
    L.A. REPORTING (312) 419-9292

    517
    1 tri-fold. It is admitted without objection.
    2 (Respondents' Exhibit No. 2
    3 marked for identification,
    4 05/14/98.)
    5 MR. STEGER: The next exhibit I have I'd like
    6 to first state some foundation. There is an issue
    7 relative to Count I of the complaint dealing with
    8 the numerical standards. There is an issue
    9 revolving around grandfathering the facility. And
    10 what we have tendered for entry into the record is
    11 respondents -- what I've marked Respondents' Exhibit
    12 2, which is the affidavit of D.L. Hornback, the
    13 secretary of the Yellow Freight System. His
    14 affidavit relates to when it began operations, what
    15 they did while they were there until they sold it to
    16 Overland and then an authentication of what's
    17 attached to this affidavit as Exhibit A, which is an
    18 appraisal of the Palatine facility conducted in July
    19 of 1973.
    20 I would ask that that be entered into the
    21 record.
    22 THE HEARING OFFICER: Okay. What's been handed
    23 to me and marked as Respondents' Exhibit 2 appears
    24 to be -- it is a six-page document. The cover sheet
    L.A. REPORTING (312) 419-9292

    518
    1 being the affidavit of one D.L. Hornback.
    2 As far as the attachment, it appears to
    3 be -- the affidavit is a one-page document with a
    4 sworn affidavit. There appears to be a photocopy of
    5 what is captioned Pure Associates Architect Engineer
    6 Appraisers, drop down a real estate appraisal of a
    7 one-story truck terminal building, which consists of
    8 a five-page document.
    9 All right. Well, I'll ask Mr. Forcade.
    10 Any objection to that document being admitted?
    11 MR. FORCADE: Yes, we do, your Honor. We have
    12 two general objections to it. The first one is this
    13 is a classic case of hearsay. It's the induction of
    14 a statement by a person not in court asserting the
    15 truth of the statement.
    16 More importantly, we believe that this
    17 statement is in direct conflict with the testimony
    18 of our witnesses, and, therefore, the issue of
    19 credibility would be a central issue. And while it
    20 will be possible for the hearing officer to issue
    21 statements regarding the credibility of witnesses
    22 that appear before him, we question your ability to
    23 make a statement regarding the credibility of an
    24 individual who has not been before the Court.
    L.A. REPORTING (312) 419-9292

    519
    1 THE HEARING OFFICER: When was the first time
    2 that you were provided this document, Mr. Forcade?
    3 MR. FORCADE: Approximately a week ago.
    4 THE HEARING OFFICER: The affidavit and the --
    5 the entire exhibit?
    6 MR. FORCADE: I couldn't guarantee they were
    7 clipped together.
    8 MR. STEGER: I don't think they were.
    9 MR. FORCADE: But I would say that the
    10 documents were approximately the same time about a
    11 week ago.
    12 THE HEARING OFFICER: Okay. Mr. Steger? I'm
    13 sorry. Mr. Forcade?
    14 MR. FORCADE: That's it.
    15 THE HEARING OFFICER: Mr. Steger, your response
    16 to the objections?
    17 MR. STEGER: No. Briefly, there is some
    18 corroborating evidence with respect to the
    19 operations. I believe we have the letter from the
    20 Village of Palatine to Mrs. Bergau indicating the
    21 '73 start date. All we're merely trying to do is
    22 establish some dates in operations.
    23 The only other -- what we could do is have
    24 somebody from Yellow -- unfortunately people in
    L.A. REPORTING (312) 419-9292

    520
    1 Yellow Freight are located in Kansas.
    2 THE HEARING OFFICER: Mr. Forcade?
    3 MR. FORCADE: Yes. I would point out that the
    4 critical sentence in this is No. 4 where it says
    5 that the operations continued unchanged. There's no
    6 corroboration at any point in the testimony that I'm
    7 aware of or in any of the supporting documents that
    8 the operation of this facility continued unchanged
    9 for any given period of time. So there is no
    10 independent corroboration of any aspect of this. It
    11 is a statement by a person nonpresent for
    12 cross-examination. It is at best ambiguous, and I
    13 think it has no credibility as evidence.
    14 THE HEARING OFFICER: Okay. Well, here's my
    15 concern. As far as the board procedural rules
    16 directly address this point, they do allow written
    17 narrative testimony to be introduced at hearing.
    18 However, the rules are very specific, and, you know,
    19 obviously, available to both counsel. It indicates
    20 as follows that 103.205 of the Illinois Pollution
    21 Control Board's procedure rules written narrative
    22 testimony may be introduced by a party in a hearing
    23 only if provided to all of the parties of record
    24 prior to the date of hearing and only after the
    L.A. REPORTING (312) 419-9292

    521
    1 opposing parties have had an opportunity to object
    2 to all the portions of the written testimony and to
    3 obtain a ruling on said objections prior to its
    4 introduction.
    5 It goes on. The person on whose behalf
    6 the testimony is submitted shall be available at
    7 hearing for cross-examination. Mr. Hornback, for
    8 the record, has not been made available.
    9 Mr. Steger, will he be made available
    10 today?
    11 MR. STEGER: Not today. We can make him
    12 available, if you so choose.
    13 THE HEARING OFFICER: Well, that is not my
    14 choice. That apparently would be --
    15 MR. FORCADE: We would object to that
    16 strenuously.
    17 THE HEARING OFFICER: That would be Mr.
    18 Forcade's choice, and that is apparently what
    19 he's -- part of his objection. I understand the
    20 geographic constraints that you have. However, it
    21 is your burden to provide that information pursuant
    22 to the rule.
    23 MR. STEGER: I understand.
    24 THE HEARING OFFICER: As far as the objection,
    L.A. REPORTING (312) 419-9292

    522
    1 I do believe that this would constitute hearsay, and
    2 there is an objection to it. Based on the
    3 unavailability of Mr. Hornback, I'm going to sustain
    4 the objection related to this exhibit and not admit
    5 the document at this time.
    6 Now, I will, Mr. Steger, make available to
    7 you the option of making Mr. Hornback available.
    8 However, I'm not sure -- I'll listen to what you
    9 have, but we have been here for three days.
    10 Mr. Steger, do you want to try to make Mr.
    11 Hornback available?
    12 MR. STEGER: Can we go off the record for a
    13 minute?
    14 THE HEARING OFFICER: Let's go off the record.
    15 (Discussion had off
    16 the record.)
    17 THE HEARING OFFICER: We are back on the record
    18 after going off the record at Mr. Steger's request
    19 in 98-81 -- Pollution Control Board Document No.
    20 98-81, Charter Hall Homeowner's Association and
    21 various of its members including Mr. Jeff Cohen vs.
    22 Overland Transportation Systems and D.P. Cartage,
    23 Inc.
    24 Mr. Steger, you have a motion?
    L.A. REPORTING (312) 419-9292

    523
    1 MR. STEGER: Yes. At this time, I'd like to
    2 make a motion to continue the hearing to a date
    3 certain where we can make available a representative
    4 from Yellow Freight System, and the reason I think
    5 this is important is because it would establish one
    6 of the issues of grandfathering. There are two
    7 issues.
    8 One is associated with when the operations
    9 began and then another issue related to the change
    10 in classification, and with that, we would make that
    11 motion.
    12 THE HEARING OFFICER: Let me ask you this. How
    13 soon could this person be made available?
    14 MR. STEGER: Within a week.
    15 THE HEARING OFFICER: Mr. Forcade?
    16 MR. FORCADE: Your Honor, we would strongly
    17 oppose this. We, with our initial complaint,
    18 informed the board we wanted this case handled on
    19 the most expedited possible basis. We have
    20 reiterated that concern throughout the course of
    21 this proceeding. Mr. Steger has known the date of
    22 this hearing for well in excess of 30 days and the
    23 rules of evidence far longer than that.
    24 The objection to this document was
    L.A. REPORTING (312) 419-9292

    524
    1 conveyed to Mr. Steger last week, and now at the
    2 very culmination of the hearing, Mr. Steger asked
    3 for a further extension to accomplish what could
    4 have been and should have been accomplished in
    5 preparation for trial.
    6 Further, Mr. Steger is also aware that I
    7 go into surgery on Monday and will be out for five
    8 weeks, and, therefore, that unwarranted delay will
    9 further delay under relief for the homeowners well
    10 into the winter system.
    11 I strongly object any delay. We believe
    12 that there's been ample opportunity for counsel to
    13 prepare their case. If they've chosen not to do so,
    14 we believe the consequences should flow to them, not
    15 to the complainants who are suffering noise damage
    16 because of the failure of respondents to prepare.
    17 THE HEARING OFFICER: Mr. Steger?
    18 MR. STEGER: Could I have a minute to confer?
    19 THE HEARING OFFICER: Of course.
    20 Let the record reflect that Mr. Steger has
    21 asked for a moment to confer with his client.
    22 (Brief pause.)
    23 MR. STEGER: Correct me if I'm wrong, Bill or
    24 Steve. Do you have any problem with the appraisal
    L.A. REPORTING (312) 419-9292

    525
    1 being entered?
    2 MR. FORCADE: Are you talking about the last --
    3 MR. STEGER: The last five pages.
    4 MR. FORCADE: No.
    5 MR. STEGER: Okay. With that, we will withdraw
    6 the motion and rest our case.
    7 THE HEARING OFFICER: Okay. Let me understand
    8 correctly. What we are going to do in the document
    9 that you've handed to me as Respondents' Exhibit 2,
    10 we are going to redact the first page which consists
    11 of affidavit of D.L. Hornback?
    12 MR. STEGER: Correct.
    13 THE HEARING OFFICER: And then the remaining
    14 five pages which are entitled -- what we previously
    15 captioned -- titled on photocopy and facsimile --
    16 well, it looks to be a photocopy from a facsimile
    17 entitled Pure Associates and drops down to a real
    18 estate appraisal consisting of a five-page
    19 document.
    20 Is that accurate?
    21 MR. STEGER: That is accurate.
    22 THE HEARING OFFICER: And that's what you seek
    23 for admission.
    24 Mr. Forcade, do you have an objection to
    L.A. REPORTING (312) 419-9292

    526
    1 that document going into the record?
    2 MR. FORCADE: That is --
    3 THE HEARING OFFICER: Let me show you what I
    4 have.
    5 MR. FORCADE: So that I clearly understand.
    6 THE HEARING OFFICER: Of course. Let the
    7 record reflect that I have handed the document as it
    8 has been modified by Mr. Steger to Mr. Forcade for
    9 his review.
    10 MR. FORCADE: No objection.
    11 THE HEARING OFFICER: All right. The document
    12 is admitted. Let the record reflect that Mr. Steger
    13 had withdrawn the motion to continue the hearing.
    14 Is that accurate, Mr. Steger?
    15 MR. STEGER: That is correct.
    16 THE COURT: All right. Mr. Steger has rested
    17 his case. Both documents, Respondents' Exhibit 1
    18 and Respondents' Exhibit 2, are admitted without
    19 objection. I would like to hand back the redacted
    20 portion of Respondents' Exhibit 2, please.
    21 Let the record reflect that the first
    22 page -- cover page has been handed back to
    23 Mr. Steger which consists of the affidavit of
    24 Mr. Hornback.
    L.A. REPORTING (312) 419-9292

    527
    1 All right. Now, Mr. Forcade, do you have
    2 rebuttal?
    3 MR. FORCADE: We have one rebuttal witness.
    4 THE HEARING OFFICER: All right.
    5 MR. FORCADE: We would like to call Miss Cohen
    6 to stand, please.
    7 THE HEARING OFFICER: Miss Cohen, if you would
    8 please raise your right hand and be resworn.
    9 (Witness sworn.)
    10 THE HEARING OFFICER: And Miss Cohen, if you
    11 would please state your name again and spell your
    12 last name.
    13 THE WITNESS: Okay. My name is Tara, T-a-r-a,
    14 Cohen, C-o-h-e-n.
    15 THE HEARING OFFICER: Thank you.
    16 Mr. Forcade?
    17 WHEREUPON:
    18 T A R A C O H E N ,
    19 called as a witness herein, having been first duly
    20 sworn, testified, and saith as follows:
    21 D I R E C T E X A M I N A T I O N
    22 by Mr. Forcade
    23 Q. Miss Cohen, were you present in the
    24 courtroom today when Mr. Trujillo described the
    L.A. REPORTING (312) 419-9292

    528
    1 corrections that had been made to improve the sound
    2 quality beginning when they first purchased the
    3 facility in the summer of '97 and in February of '98
    4 and up through and including today?
    5 A. Yes.
    6 Q. In your opinion, has the frequency, the
    7 loudness, or the probability of an awakening or
    8 disturbing decreased over the period of time from
    9 the summer of '97 to the present?
    10 A. No.
    11 Q. Do you find the sound levels and the
    12 disturbance to your day-to-day activities to be the
    13 same or greater than they were in the summer of '97?
    14 A. Yes.
    15 Q. The same or greater than they were in
    16 February '98?
    17 A. Yes.
    18 MR. FORCADE: No further questions.
    19 MR. STEGER: No questions for this witness.
    20 THE HEARING OFFICER: Thank you, Miss Cohen.
    21 (Witness excused.)
    22 THE HEARING OFFICER: Mr. Forcade, anything
    23 further?
    24 MR. FORCADE: We have a brief closing statement
    L.A. REPORTING (312) 419-9292

    529
    1 Mr. Siros would like to make. If we could have two
    2 or three minutes, I think he will be five minutes at
    3 most.
    4 THE HEARING OFFICER: That's fine. Let's go
    5 off the record for a moment.
    6 (Discussion had off
    7 the record.)
    8 THE HEARING OFFICER: Let's go back on the
    9 record.
    10 We are back on the record in PCB Docket
    11 No. 98-81, Charter Hall Homeowner's Association and
    12 various of its members including Jeffery Cohen vs.
    13 Overland Transportation, Inc., and D.P. Cartage,
    14 Inc., as respondents.
    15 When we rested, Mr. Forcade had indicated
    16 that he or Mr. Siros would be making a short closing
    17 remark.
    18 I'm trying to decide -- I guess we can
    19 go -- I would like to go through the exhibits one
    20 more time just to check off with counsel that we
    21 have all the exhibits in our possession. I can do
    22 that before or after closing. Mr. Siros or
    23 Mr. Forcade, whatever is convenient for you.
    24 MR. FORCADE: What do you want to do?
    L.A. REPORTING (312) 419-9292

    530
    1 MR. SIROS: We can do it after. That's
    2 appropriate.
    3 THE HEARING OFFICER: That's fine.
    4 Mr. Siros, closing statement?
    5 MR. SIROS: Mr. Hearing Officer, Charter Hall
    6 homeowners have been forced to endure the constant
    7 unreasonable and disruptive noise from the Overland
    8 Facility on a daily basis since Overland
    9 Transportation Systems, Inc., and D.P. Cartage took
    10 over operations at the site in the fall of 1995.
    11 When Overland Transportation commenced
    12 operation at the site, the unloading, loading -- the
    13 unloading and loading operations associated loud
    14 double bangs, the hitching and unhitching of the
    15 trailers and the associated loud bang with that
    16 hitching and unhitching operation and the dragging
    17 of metal trailers across the concrete parking lot
    18 became a 24-hour around the clock occurrence for the
    19 Charter Hall homeowners.
    20 Moreover, the number of trucks which were
    21 actually loaded and unloaded by Overland facility
    22 increased as well. As a result of this excessive
    23 noise that was generated by the Overland facility,
    24 Charter Hall homeowners have been unable to sleep
    L.A. REPORTING (312) 419-9292

    531
    1 through an entire night without being awoken by the
    2 sounds of metal dragging across metal and huge
    3 semi-trailer trucks being dragged across the
    4 concrete which shakes the homes of the Charter Hall
    5 residents.
    6 Moreover, these residents have been unable
    7 to carry on normal conversations either with persons
    8 in the same room with them or with people on the
    9 telephone as a result of the noise from the Overland
    10 facility. These Charter Hall homeowners have been
    11 unable to utilize their backyard for summer
    12 barbecues, have been unable to open their windows to
    13 listen to the outside sounds without hearing the
    14 loud crashes, bangs, and scraping from the
    15 operations of the Overland -- at the Overland
    16 facility.
    17 These homeowners have also been unable to
    18 entertain or have to people over into their house as
    19 a result of these noises. This unreasonable noise
    20 from the Overland site forced an 85-year-old woman
    21 with a heart condition to have to move almost an
    22 hour away from her daughter in the Charter Hall
    23 subdivisions and her doctors which have treated her
    24 for over 50 years because she was unable to sleep
    L.A. REPORTING (312) 419-9292

    532
    1 through the night due to the noise generated by the
    2 Overland facility.
    3 The noise from the Overland site also
    4 precluded an older gentleman from resting and
    5 recuperating after his exhaustive chemotherapy
    6 treatment. One resident from Charter Hall was even
    7 forced to quit her job as a result of the noise
    8 because she was afraid she would fall asleep while
    9 driving to and from school because she was unable to
    10 sleep through the night.
    11 However, not only do the operations of the
    12 Overland site create noise which unreasonably
    13 interferes with the daily lives of the Charter Hall
    14 homeowners, the operations of the Overland facility
    15 have also resulted in the unquestioned violations of
    16 the Illinois Numerical Noise Emission Units.
    17 The head of the Illinois Environmental
    18 Protection Agency's noise department testified that
    19 the noise records complied by both Charter Hall's
    20 expert witnesses as well as individual Charter Hall
    21 homeowners illustrate that the noise from the
    22 Overland facility causes an unreasonable
    23 interference with the lives of the Charter Hall
    24 homeowners.
    L.A. REPORTING (312) 419-9292

    533
    1 This is not the situation where the
    2 Charter Hall homeowners blindly moved next to the
    3 facility without attempting to determine the extent
    4 of noise from the facility. Many homeowners
    5 investigated whether the operations at the site
    6 prior to moving in would cause an unreasonable
    7 interference with their daily lives.
    8 Several homeowners contacted the Village
    9 of Palatine and were informed that the operations of
    10 Yellow Freight had not generated excessive
    11 complaints, and they were also informed that once
    12 Yellow Freight vacated the premises, no additional
    13 operations would continue at the site.
    14 Charter Hall homeowners made numerous
    15 telephone calls to the facility both at the time
    16 Yellow Freight operated the facility as well as the
    17 time when Overland operated the facility, and the
    18 Overland personnel indicated that the activities at
    19 the site always ended at a reasonable hour and did
    20 not continue overnight.
    21 Even after the Charter Hall homeowners
    22 discovered that the noise from the Overland facility
    23 would invade every aspect of their lives, the
    24 homeowners still attempted to resolve these issues
    L.A. REPORTING (312) 419-9292

    534
    1 in a reasonable fashion in accordance with
    2 Overland's purported good neighbor policy.
    3 The Charter Hall homeowners made numerous
    4 calls to Overland to see if Overland could take
    5 actions which would eliminate or mitigate the level
    6 of noise, and Overland replied that it would see
    7 what it could do. However, nothing ever changed,
    8 and, in fact, several homeowners indicated that the
    9 noise level actually increased.
    10 The Charter Hall Homeowner's Association
    11 also had several face-to-face meetings with
    12 Overland. In the summer of 1996, the Charter Hall
    13 Association met with Overland and discussed the
    14 homeowners' concerns, and Overland responded that it
    15 would attempt to take measures to reduce the level
    16 of noise. Again, nothing ever changed. The noise
    17 level remained the same, and, in fact, some people
    18 testified that it even became louder.
    19 In the summer of 1997, the Charter Hall
    20 Association met with Overland with counsel present,
    21 and, again, the Charter Hall Association discussed
    22 possible mitigation measures with Overland. The
    23 Charter Hall Association provided Overland with a
    24 copy of the draft complaint that was eventually to
    L.A. REPORTING (312) 419-9292

    535
    1 be filed in this case which also discussed the
    2 possible mitigation measures that could be taken.
    3 Again, Overland responded that it would
    4 see what it could do and would try to take some
    5 measures to reduce the noise. Again, nothing ever
    6 changed, and the noise level continued unabated to
    7 this very day.
    8 Based on Overland's actions to date with
    9 regards to the excessive noise generated by the
    10 facility, there is a real concern that Overland will
    11 approach any order of this board in the same manner
    12 as it approached suggestions provided by the Charter
    13 Hall Homeowner's Association specifically by failing
    14 to act or by delaying implementation of any remedial
    15 measures for as long as possible.
    16 As such, there is compelling need for any
    17 order of this board to provide a verification
    18 process that would allow for continuous meaningful
    19 monitoring of the noise levels from the Overland
    20 operations to determine whether the continued
    21 operations of the Overland facility will create a
    22 nuisance which unreasonably interferes with the
    23 lives of the Charter Hall homeowners.
    24 Moreover, any order of this board must
    L.A. REPORTING (312) 419-9292

    536
    1 provide for periodic analysis of the monitoring data
    2 to ensure that Overland lives up to the mandates of
    3 any order of this board and that the Charter Hall
    4 homeowners are not required to return to the board
    5 in six months seeking to establish through
    6 additional layers of citizen testimony that the
    7 noise nuance still exists.
    8 Additionally, in order to ensure that
    9 Overland will comply with an order of this board and
    10 will not treat an order of this board the same that
    11 they've treated the previous citizen complaints, we
    12 request that the board provide incentives to compel
    13 Overland's compliance with any board order that
    14 should be issued.
    15 While the Charter Hall homeowners will
    16 address this civil penalty faced with this
    17 proceeding at a later date, in order for a civil
    18 penalty to be imposed, Charter Hall would request
    19 that the board make specific findings regarding
    20 specific dates of violation as required by the
    21 board's procedural rules.
    22 Charter Hall homeowners would also request
    23 that the board provide for a stipulated penalty for
    24 violations of the board's order and/or mandate which
    L.A. REPORTING (312) 419-9292

    537
    1 violations could be demonstrated by a continuous
    2 noise monitoring system specifically tailored to a
    3 set of noise standards designated by the board.
    4 In this matter, the Charter Hall
    5 homeowners would hope that the Overland facility,
    6 the Overland Transportation Systems, Inc., and D.P.
    7 Cartage, would have sufficient incentive to comply
    8 with a board order.
    9 Finally, we would implore the board to
    10 move as quickly as possible to order Overland to
    11 remediate the unreasonable noise in the shortest
    12 time as possible in order to allow the Charter Hall
    13 homeowners to be able to receive an undisturbed
    14 night of sleep.
    15 Thank you.
    16 THE HEARING OFFICER: Mr. Steger, closing
    17 argument?
    18 MR. STEGER: I have no closing argument. I
    19 will reserve mine for my brief.
    20 THE HEARING OFFICER: Okay. At this time what
    21 I would generally do is ask if there are any
    22 uninterested or informal citizen remarks. Let the
    23 record reflect that there are no parties here that
    24 are not a party to the proceeding, and I'm aware of
    L.A. REPORTING (312) 419-9292

    538
    1 no remarks. I'm asking at this time if anyone has
    2 any remarks they wish to make on the record?
    3 Let the record reflect that there are
    4 none.
    5 I would like at this time to go through
    6 the exhibits to make sure that we have specifically
    7 identified each exhibit that has been admitted and
    8 have counsels check those off with me to ensure that
    9 the record is correct.
    10 MR. FORCADE: Mr. Hearing Officer, do you
    11 intend to make a statement regarding the credibility
    12 of witnesses --
    13 THE HEARING OFFICER: I do.
    14 MR. FORCADE: -- on the record?
    15 THE HEARING OFFICER: I do.
    16 MR. FORCADE: We're ready for your exhibits
    17 whenever you are.
    18 THE HEARING OFFICER: What I would like to do
    19 is -- why don't we do this? If I could have counsel
    20 just be responsible for checking off the exhibits.
    21 I have all the exhibits laid out on the witness
    22 table. Maybe for ease, we can just go through one
    23 at a time here. I want to make sure that I have all
    24 the exhibits down.
    L.A. REPORTING (312) 419-9292

    539
    1 What I have as the first exhibit is Joint
    2 Exhibit 1, which I believe is marked with the yellow
    3 tag stick as amended with the three-page addendum to
    4 Attachment C which is different from what was filed
    5 with the board. Mr. Steger has gratefully stated
    6 that he will -- we are grateful that Mr. Steger is
    7 going to provide additional copies with the
    8 corresponding motion to rectify those motions or
    9 stipulations before the board.
    10 Mr. Steger, is that accurate?
    11 MR. STEGER: That is accurate.
    12 MR. FORCADE: Yes.
    13 THE HEARING OFFICER: Counsels, have you each
    14 had an opportunity to review Joint 1, and is it a
    15 document that should be admitted?
    16 MR. STEGER: Yes.
    17 THE HEARING OFFICER: Mr. Forcade? Yes. Hold
    18 on.
    19 MR. STEGER: Can we go off the record for a
    20 minute?
    21 THE HEARING OFFICER: Let's go off the record.
    22 (Discussion had off
    23 the record.)
    24 THE HEARING OFFICER: All right. Back on the
    L.A. REPORTING (312) 419-9292

    540
    1 record. Pursuant to Mr. Steger's request, we went
    2 off the record for a moment to discuss an individual
    3 exhibit. We are now back on the record.
    4 Regarding joint stipulation one, are the
    5 parties agreed this is the exhibit before you that
    6 you have agreed to having admitted, Mr. Forcade?
    7 MR. FORCADE: Yes.
    8 THE HEARING OFFICER: Mr. Steger?
    9 MR. STEGER: Yes.
    10 THE HEARING OFFICER: All right. Next we have
    11 what is a blow up of the -- a diagram -- a blow up
    12 of the diagram of the area marked as Complainants'
    13 Exhibit 1.
    14 Mr. Steger, you had an objection as to the
    15 accuracy of that exhibit. You have indicated during
    16 the short recess that you are now withdrawing
    17 that --
    18 MR. STEGER: Correct.
    19 THE HEARING OFFICER: -- objection?
    20 MR. STEGER: That is correct.
    21 THE HEARING OFFICER: Let the record reflect
    22 that that document is now admitted without objection
    23 based on Mr. Steger's withdrawal of his previous
    24 objection.
    L.A. REPORTING (312) 419-9292

    541
    1 Okay. I just want to ensure that
    2 Complainants' Exhibit 1 on the easel here is the
    3 document that the parties want admitted in the
    4 record.
    5 Mr. Steger?
    6 MR. STEGER: Correct.
    7 THE HEARING OFFICER: Mr. Forcade?
    8 MR. FORCADE: Correct.
    9 THE HEARING OFFICER: All right. Next let's go
    10 to Complainants' Exhibit 2, which consists of a
    11 correspondence from a Mr. Bergau to the Village of
    12 Palatine and is seated at the exhibit table.
    13 Mr. Forcade, is that the document?
    14 MR. FORCADE: Correct.
    15 MR. STEGER: Mr. Steger?
    16 MR. STEGER: Correct.
    17 THE HEARING OFFICER: And that is admitted
    18 without objection.
    19 All right. Complainants' Exhibit 3
    20 consists of the response from the Village of
    21 Palatine to Mr. Bergau and was admitted without
    22 objection.
    23 Is that the document, Mr. Steger?
    24 MR. STEGER: Yes.
    L.A. REPORTING (312) 419-9292

    542
    1 THE HEARING OFFICER: Mr. Forcade?
    2 MR. FORCADE: Correct.
    3 THE HEARING OFFICER: Complainants' Exhibit 4
    4 the noise log of Mr. Bergau that was admitted
    5 without objection, the document is at the exhibit
    6 table, Mr. Forcade?
    7 MR. FORCADE: Yes.
    8 THE HEARING OFFICER: Mr. Steger?
    9 MR. STEGER: Yes.
    10 THE HEARING OFFICER: Complainants' Exhibit 5-A
    11 which consists, I believe, of the sleeve for the
    12 sound meter, the Radio Shack sound meter marked as
    13 Complainants' Exhibit 5?
    14 MR. STEGER: Correct.
    15 THE HEARING OFFICER: I apologize.
    16 Mr. Forcade?
    17 MR. FORCADE: Correct.
    18 THE HEARING OFFICER: Mr. Steger?
    19 MR. STEGER: Correct.
    20 THE HEARING OFFICER: All right. Let the
    21 record reflect there are no directions or
    22 instructions within that exhibit.
    23 MR. FORCADE: Within that, yes.
    24 THE HEARING OFFICER: All right. And that
    L.A. REPORTING (312) 419-9292

    543
    1 document was admitted without objection.
    2 Correct, Mr. Steger?
    3 MR. STEGER: Correct.
    4 THE HEARING OFFICER: Complainants' Exhibit 6,
    5 the sound meter recordings of Mr. Bergau, that
    6 document consists of five pages?
    7 MR. FORCADE: Yes.
    8 THE HEARING OFFICER: Five pages on eight and a
    9 half by 11 paper and was admitted over the objection
    10 of Mr. Steger?
    11 MR. FORCADE: Yes.
    12 THE HEARING OFFICER: Is that -- I'm sorry.
    13 Mr. Forcade?
    14 MR. FORCADE: Bergau, B-e-r-g-a-u.
    15 THE HEARING OFFICER: Bergau. I apologize.
    16 MR. FORCADE: That's for the court reporter.
    17 THE HEARING OFFICER: My enunciation and
    18 pronunciation of the name has been inaccurate. It
    19 is Bergau.
    20 As far as the document, is that the
    21 document, Mr. Forcade?
    22 MR. FORCADE: Yes.
    23 THE HEARING OFFICER: Mr. Steger?
    24 MR. STEGER: Yes.
    L.A. REPORTING (312) 419-9292

    544
    1 THE HEARING OFFICER: Your objection remains?
    2 MR. STEGER: Yes.
    3 THE HEARING OFFICER: The document is admitted
    4 over objection, and I refer back to previous
    5 ruling.
    6 All right. Complainants' Exhibit 7, which
    7 consists of the noise log of Mr. Dinshaw was
    8 admitted without objection.
    9 Mr. Forcade, that is the document on the
    10 exhibit table?
    11 MR. FORCADE: Yes. Correct.
    12 THE HEARING OFFICER: Mr. Steger?
    13 MR. STEGER: Correct.
    14 THE HEARING OFFICER: Okay. Complainants'
    15 Exhibit 8 consists of the Cohen calendar for the
    16 year 1996 and was admitted without objection.
    17 Is that correct -- is that Complainants'
    18 Exhibit 8 at the table, Mr. Forcade?
    19 MR. FORCADE: Yes.
    20 THE HEARING OFFICER: Mr. Steger?
    21 MR. STEGER: Yes.
    22 THE HEARING OFFICER: That document was
    23 admitted without objection.
    24 Complainants' Exhibit 9, the Cohen
    L.A. REPORTING (312) 419-9292

    545
    1 calendar -- the Tara Cohen calendar for the calendar
    2 year 1997 was admitted without objection.
    3 Is that correct, Mr. Steger?
    4 MR. STEGER: Correct.
    5 THE HEARING OFFICER: And that is the document,
    6 Mr. Forcade?
    7 MR. FORCADE: Yes.
    8 THE HEARING OFFICER: All right. Complainants'
    9 10, the final Cohen calendar dated 1998 with
    10 handwritten notes, was admitted without objection.
    11 Correct, Mr. Steger?
    12 MR. STEGER: Correct.
    13 THE HEARING OFFICER: But that is the document,
    14 Mr. Forcade, at the exhibit table?
    15 MR. FORCADE: Correct.
    16 THE HEARING OFFICER: All right.
    17 Complainants' 11-A and 11-B which consist of the
    18 Bergau Radio Shack sound level meter consists of
    19 three separate exhibits, the cover -- I apologize.
    20 MR. FORCADE: Cohen.
    21 MR. STEGER: Cohen.
    22 THE HEARING OFFICER: I apologize.
    23 MR. STEGER: Eleven is Cohen.
    24 THE HEARING OFFICER: I apologize. For the
    L.A. REPORTING (312) 419-9292

    546
    1 record, this is Mrs. Cohen's sound level meter
    2 marked as 11-A and 11-B. The sleeve is marked as
    3 11-A.
    4 MR. FORCADE: The instructions are 11-B.
    5 THE HEARING OFFICER: The instructions are
    6 marked as 11-B.
    7 MR. FORCADE: And the meter is 11.
    8 THE HEARING OFFICER: Thank you, Mr. Forcade.
    9 The meter itself has been marked as
    10 Complainants' Exhibit 11 which was admitted without
    11 objection. Is that correct, Mr. Steger?
    12 THE HEARING OFFICER: That is the item,
    13 Mr. Forcade?
    14 MR. FORCADE: Yes.
    15 THE HEARING OFFICER: Complainants' 12 which
    16 consists of the handwritten meter readings of
    17 Mrs. Tara Cohen, again, that is the document at the
    18 exhibit table, Mr. Forcade?
    19 MR. FORCADE: Yes.
    20 THE HEARING OFFICER: Mr. Steger, that was
    21 admitted without objection, correct?
    22 MR. STEGER: Yes.
    23 THE HEARING OFFICER: All right. Let's gone to
    24 Complainants' 13. Those are the check mark data
    L.A. REPORTING (312) 419-9292

    547
    1 survey sheets and logs of Mrs. Tara Cohen.
    2 Mr. Forcade, is that the document?
    3 MR. FORCADE: Yes.
    4 THE HEARING OFFICER: Those documents were
    5 admitted without objection, correct, Mr. Steger?
    6 MR. STEGER: Correct.
    7 THE HEARING OFFICER: All right.
    8 Complainants' 14 which is the resume of a Ron
    9 Harmon.
    10 MR. FORCADE: Roger.
    11 THE HEARING OFFICER: I apologize. Roger
    12 Harmon. Thank you, Mr. Forcade.
    13 That is the document, Mr. Forcade?
    14 MR. FORCADE: Yes.
    15 THE HEARING OFFICER: That document was
    16 admitted without objection, correct, Mr. Steger?
    17 MR. STEGER: Yes.
    18 THE HEARING OFFICER: All right. Next,
    19 Complainants' 15 which is the resume of Mr. Thomas
    20 Thunder, is that the document, Mr. Forcade?
    21 MR. FORCADE: Yes.
    22 THE HEARING OFFICER: And it was as admitted
    23 without objection, correct, Mr. Steger?
    24 MR. STEGER: Correct.
    L.A. REPORTING (312) 419-9292

    548
    1 THE HEARING OFFICER: Thank you.
    2 Complainants No. 16, the Thomas Thunder
    3 report which consists of two -- a two-page cover
    4 sheet and four attachments all encaptioned figures
    5 one, two, three, and four.
    6 That is the document, Mr. Forcade?
    7 MR. FORCADE: Yes.
    8 THE HEARING OFFICER: Admitted without
    9 objection, correct, Mr. Steger?
    10 MR. STEGER: Correct.
    11 THE HEARING OFFICER: Complainants' 17 which is
    12 the impulsive noise analysis, is that document that
    13 you have in your hand, Mr. Forcade?
    14 MR. FORCADE: Yes.
    15 THE HEARING OFFICER: And admitted without
    16 objection, correct, Mr. Steger?
    17 MR. STEGER: Yes.
    18 THE HEARING OFFICER: Moving on to
    19 Complainants' 18, it is a correspondence dated March
    20 8th, 1997, with an attachment. That is the
    21 document, Mr. Forcade?
    22 MR. FORCADE: Yes.
    23 THE HEARING OFFICER: And, Mr. Steger, admitted
    24 without objection?
    L.A. REPORTING (312) 419-9292

    549
    1 MR. STEGER: Correct.
    2 THE HEARING OFFICER: Complainants' Exhibit 19
    3 which consists -- I apologize. Complainants'
    4 Exhibit 19 -- we did admit Complainants' 19?
    5 MR. FORCADE: Yes.
    6 MR. STEGER: Yes, we did.
    7 THE HEARING OFFICER: Noting that it is subject
    8 to the nonsubstantive amendments requested by the
    9 parties in a joint agreement and allowed by the
    10 hearing officer requesting certain corrections,
    11 nighttime limitations as well as bifurcated
    12 proceeding?
    13 MR. STEGER: Yes.
    14 MR. FORCADE: Yes.
    15 THE HEARING OFFICER: Okay. That is the
    16 document, Mr. Forcade?
    17 MR. FORCADE: Yes.
    18 THE HEARING OFFICER: No objection, Mr.
    19 Steger?
    20 MR. STEGER: Yes.
    21 THE HEARING OFFICER: Complainants' 20,
    22 Mr. Zach's resume, that is the document,
    23 Mr. Forcade?
    24 MR. FORCADE: Yes.
    L.A. REPORTING (312) 419-9292

    550
    1 THE HEARING OFFICER: Admitted without
    2 objection, Mr. Steger?
    3 MR. STEGER: Yes.
    4 THE HEARING OFFICER: Complainants' Exhibit 21,
    5 the noise regs. which, I believe, both counsels have
    6 copies. Those are admitted without objection,
    7 Mr. Steger?
    8 MR. STEGER: I believe they are the
    9 measurements -- entitled measurement procedures for
    10 the enforcement of 35 Illinois Administrative Code
    11 900 and 901 registered as Part 951.
    12 THE HEARING OFFICER: I stand corrected. That
    13 is what is marked as Complainants' Exhibit No. 21,
    14 Mr. Forcade?
    15 MR. FORCADE: Yes.
    16 THE HEARING OFFICER: No objection to that
    17 document being admitted, Mr. Steger?
    18 MR. STEGER: None.
    19 THE HEARING OFFICER: Thank you.
    20 Let's go on to Group Exhibit 1 which
    21 consists of five photographs taken by Mrs. Bergau.
    22 That is the -- those are the documents,
    23 Mr. Forcade?
    24 MR. FORCADE: Yes.
    L.A. REPORTING (312) 419-9292

    551
    1 THE HEARING OFFICER: Mr. Steger, they are
    2 admitted without objection?
    3 MR. STEGER: Yes.
    4 THE HEARING OFFICER: And the final
    5 Complainants' Exhibit Group 2 which consists of 26
    6 photos taken by Mr. Dinshaw. Those are the
    7 documents, Mr. Forcade?
    8 MR. FORCADE: Yes.
    9 THE HEARING OFFICER: And they are admitted
    10 without objection, correct, Mr. Steger?
    11 MR. STEGER: Correct.
    12 THE HEARING OFFICER: All right. Let's move on
    13 to the respondents' two exhibits.
    14 Respondents' 1 which consists of the
    15 trifold pamphlet of Overland Transportation, Inc.,
    16 is that the document, Mr. Steger?
    17 MR. STEGER: That is correct.
    18 THE HEARING OFFICER: Mr. Forcade, that has
    19 been admitted without objection, correct?
    20 MR. FORCADE: Yes.
    21 THE HEARING OFFICER: Let's go to
    22 Respondents' 2 which consists of the appraisal
    23 itself, a five-page document marked as Respondents'
    24 Exhibit 2.
    L.A. REPORTING (312) 419-9292

    552
    1 Is that the document, Mr. Steger?
    2 MR. STEGER: Yes, it is.
    3 THE HEARING OFFICER: It is admitted without
    4 objection, Mr. Forcade?
    5 MR. FORCADE: That's correct.
    6 THE HEARING OFFICER: As I understand it those
    7 consist of all the exhibits that have been provided
    8 and introduced and admitted at this hearing pursuant
    9 to hearing officer order.
    10 Mr. Steger?
    11 MR. STEGER: That is correct.
    12 THE HEARING OFFICER: Mr. Forcade?
    13 MR. FORCADE: That is correct.
    14 THE HEARING OFFICER: All right. Now, for the
    15 record we have also discussed a briefing schedule.
    16 Right now, I would like to make what I am required
    17 to make under the board rules, a credibility
    18 determination regarding the witness in this case.
    19 I do not believe based on the testimony
    20 that there are any direct contradictions or any
    21 credibility issues in this matter. I think it's
    22 ultimately for the board to determine whether or not
    23 the violations as alleged in the complaint, in fact,
    24 have been sufficiently substantiated or proved.
    L.A. REPORTING (312) 419-9292

    553
    1 Now, therefore, I find based on my legal judgment
    2 and my knowledge that there are no credibility
    3 issues in this case.
    4 All right. Now, as far as briefing, both
    5 parties have indicated they have a desire to brief
    6 in this case. The schedule will go -- my
    7 understanding is both parties are going to be
    8 briefing?
    9 MR. FORCADE: Yes.
    10 MR. STEGER: Yes.
    11 THE HEARING OFFICER: I may have -- all right.
    12 As far as the briefing schedule then, I've
    13 discussed with the parties while off the record a
    14 proposed briefing schedule which have been adopted
    15 and accepted by both the parties. I will try to
    16 articulate it as best I can. Please fill in if
    17 necessary, Counsel.
    18 My understanding is that based -- from the
    19 date of the last transcript being file stamped by
    20 the clerk of the board 30 days from that date or
    21 before is when the complainants' brief shall be
    22 due. Mr. Forcade has indicated that he will take on
    23 the responsibility of checking with the clerk to
    24 determine when that transcript is received by the
    L.A. REPORTING (312) 419-9292

    554
    1 board.
    2 Mr. Forcade, is that accurate?
    3 MR. FORCADE: That's correct.
    4 THE HEARING OFFICER: Now, as to the response
    5 brief to be filed by Mr. Steger and on behalf of his
    6 client -- Mr. Forcade?
    7 MR. FORCADE: We will also serve Mr. Steger by
    8 messenger.
    9 THE HEARING OFFICER: Thank you. Mr. Forcade
    10 has indicated that he will be serving his brief by
    11 messenger mail to Mr. Steger.
    12 Mr. Steger's brief will then be due 30
    13 days from the date received by messenger which will
    14 be noticed as well in the notice to the hearing
    15 officer and the board to indicate the date. His
    16 brief will be due 30 days from that date.
    17 From the date that Mr. Steger then
    18 messenger mails -- is that correct, Mr. Steger?
    19 MR. STEGER: That is correct.
    20 THE HEARING OFFICER: Mr. Steger has indicated
    21 that he will messenger mail as well to Mr. Forcade.
    22 Ten days from the date that is on that notice in the
    23 messenger mail the reply brief of the complainants
    24 shall be due.
    L.A. REPORTING (312) 419-9292

    555
    1 Is that accurate?
    2 MR. FORCADE: Yes. I didn't know if that was a
    3 question.
    4 THE HEARING OFFICER: I apologize.
    5 All right. I'll indicate again, the board
    6 member who was previously present has left and left
    7 prior to the proceeding being closed and closing
    8 statements. There have been no members of the
    9 public at large. The members have been limited to
    10 the parties and in-house counsel or witnesses for
    11 the parties.
    12 I thank you all. Is there anything else
    13 that we need to do before we go off the record in
    14 this case, Mr. Forcade?
    15 MR. FORCADE: No.
    16 THE HEARING OFFICER: Mr. Steger?
    17 MR. STEGER: No.
    18 THE HEARING OFFICER: Thank you all very much.
    19 I believe that's all we have.
    20 I will take the exhibits into my
    21 possession, and you will receive a hearing officer
    22 order regarding the briefing schedule and the
    23 closing of the record in this matter upon transcript
    24 receipt.
    L.A. REPORTING (312) 419-9292

    556
    1 Thank you all very much.
    2 MR. STEGER: Thank you.
    3 THE HEARING OFFICER: Have a good day.
    4 (Whereupon, these were all the
    5 above-entitled proceedings had
    6 at this time.)
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    L.A. REPORTING (312) 419-9292

    557
    1 STATE OF ILLINOIS )
    ) SS.
    2 COUNTY OF C O O K )
    3
    4 I, KIM M. HOWELLS, CSR, do hereby
    5 state that I am a court reporter doing business in
    6 the City of Chicago, County of Cook, and State of
    7 Illinois; that I reported by means of machine
    8 shorthand the proceedings held in the foregoing
    9 cause, and that the foregoing is a true and correct
    10 transcript of my shorthand notes so taken as
    11 aforesaid.
    12
    13
    ______________________________
    14 Kim M. Howells, CSR.
    Notary Public, Cook County, IL
    15 Illinois License No. 084-004037
    16
    17 SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN TO
    before me this_____day
    18 of_______, A.D., 1998.
    19 _______________________
    Notary Public
    20
    21
    22
    23
    24
    L.A. REPORTING (312) 419-9292

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