ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
August
3,
1995
STONE CONTAINER
)
CORPORATION,
)
Petitioner,
)
V.
)
PCB 96-4
(Permit Appeal-Air
)
Ninety-Day Extension)
)
ILLINOIS ENVIRONMENTAL
)
PROTECTION AGENCY,
)
Respondent.
ORDER OF THE
BOARD
(by C.A. Manning):
On July 10,
1995,
Stone Container Corporation (Stone
Container)
filed a notice of extension of the 35-day appeal
period pursuant to Section 40 of the Act, relating to a May 30,
1995 Illinois Environmental Protection Agency
(Agency)
determination regarding Stone Container supplemental permit
application.
The Agency on July 18,
1995 filed its agreement to
the extension dated July
14,
1995.
PA.
88-690
(SB1724) effective January 24,
1995, amends
Section 40.2(a), which governs the air permit appeal process, to
provide:
the 35-day period for petitioning for a hearing may be
extended for a period of time not to exceed 90 days by
written notice provided to the Board from the applicant
and the Agency within the initial appeal period.
Accordingly,
any complete notice was due to be filed or
postmarked no later than July 5,
1995
(July 4th, the actual 35th
day, being
a state holiday).
(See
35 Adm. Code 101.102(d)
and
101.109.) Although Stone Container’s Notice was postmarked July
5,
1995, the Agency’s agreement was not postmarked until July 14,
1995 and therefore under amended Section 40.2(a), both parties
did not file “within the initial appeal period.”
Because the
statutory conditions for the extension have not been met, the
Board cannot grant a 90-day extension of the time in which to
file a permit appeal pursuant to Section 40.2(a).
The Board can however, accept Stone Container’s notice of
extension as a petition for review so that Stone Container will
not lose its right to file a permit appeal as result of the
Agency’s late—filed notice of extension.
Stone Container’s
notice, of course, does not satisfy the Board’s petition content
requirements set forth in Section 105.102; Stone Container could
not have anticipated that its notice would be treated as a permit
appeal.
In that the Agency’s notice was received, albeit late,
it is clear the Agency intended that the extension would be
granted; therefore, we will allow 90 days from the date the
notice was due,
or from July 4,
1995,
for Stone Container to file
an amended petition for review.
If the amended petition is not
filed on or before October 4,
1995,
this matter will be
dismissed.
The 120 statutory period in which the Board must
render a final decision will begin running as of the date of the
filing of the amended petition.
Additionally,
a $75.00 filing
fee will be required at such time as Stone Container files the
amended petition.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
I, Dorothy M. Gunn,
Clerk of the Illinois Pollution Control
Board, hereby certify that the above order was adopted on the
____
day of
__________________
,
1995,
by a vote of S~Q
LQ~
~.
~
Dorothy M.
G~thn, Clerk
Illinois Pollution Control Board