ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
May 19,
1994
ILLINOIS ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY,
Complainant,
v.
PCB 83—150
(Enforcement)
)
ARCHER
DANIELS
MIDLAND,
)
)
Respondent.
)
ORDER
OF
THE BOARD
(by C. A. Manning):
This matter comes before the Board on a “Joint Motion for
Modification” filed on April 29,
1994 by the Archer Daniels
Midland Company (“ADM”) pursuant to 35 Ill. Ada. Code
103.241(b) (1).
ADM
requests the Board to modify its June 3,
1993, order and opinion.
The proceeding was originally before
the Board on a complaint alleging that
ADM
of Decatur, Macon
County, Illinois, violated Sections 12(a)
and 12(f)
of
the
Environmental Protection Act (“Act”),
415 ILCS 5/12
(1992), as
well as various sections of the Board’s water pollution control
regulations.
On August 20,
1987, the Board issued an order
accepting the parties’ stipulation and proposal for settlement.
On March 16, 1993, the parties filed a Joint Motion for
Modification of Final Order.
The Board granted that motion and
issued an order on June 3, 1993 modifying the August 20,
1987
order.
BACKGROUND
This matter was originally before the Board upon a
seven-count complaint filed by the Illinois Environmental
Protection Agency
(“Agency”) on October
3,
1983.
The complaint
alleged that
ADM
violated Section 12(a)
and 12(f) of the Act and
certain Board regulations.
ADM owns and operates a facility
located at 4666 Farries Parkway in Decatur,
Illinois.
The
facility, commonly referred to as the “East Plant”, consists of a
soybean refinery, a corn sweetener plant, a grain milling and
alcohol refinery plant, and associated buildings and
transportation network.
ADM’s NPDES permit authorized it to
discharge effluent at four discharge points.
There are two
discharge points into the north branch of Farries Park Creek,
one
discharge into Lake Decatur, and the last discharge into the
south branch of Farries Park Creek.
The complaint alleged that ADM’s discharged effluent was
above the limitations set forth in its NPDES permit and Board
2
regulations,
that it failed to submit Discharge Monitoring
Reports, failed to notify the Agency of the exceedences, and that
its discharge contained settleable solids, floating debris,
visible solids, obvious color,
odor and/or turbidity.
The
parties filed a signed Stipulation and Proposal for Settlement on
August
5,
1987.
The proposed settlement agreement, that was
accepted by the Board, provided that
ADM
agreed would pay a
$10,000 civil penalty and develop and implement a compliance plan
to cure the violations.
ISSUE
Pursuant to the Board’s June 3,
1993 order modifying the
settlement agreement
ADM
is currently required to place its
proposed capture and treatment system into operation by July 1,
1994.
ADM
states that due to the unusually heavy rains during
last s~i~nmerand fall in the Decatur area and due to the resultant
high water table, construction of the proposed system, which had
commenced in August became impracticable since all major
components of the system entail excavation.
As a result ADM
argues that it can not make the deadline of July 1,
1994.
ADM
states that it requested a permit modification from the Agency to
reflect a completion date of October
1,
1994.
The Agency
appropriately takes the position that due to the Board’s June 3,
1993 order it has no authority to alter the completion date of
July 1,
1994 as established in the NPDES permit issued on January
25,
1994.
ADM
requests that the Board modify its June 3,
1993 order by
modifying Condition 2(a) of the settlement agreement which
currently reads:
2.
Archer Daniels Midland shall:
a)
construct the capture and treatment system agreed
to pursuant to the schedule set forth in ADM’s
renewed NPDES permit issued on January 25,
1993.
ADM modification would add the following language:
“or as that schedule may be extended by the Agency
through issuance of an NPDES permit modification
following a demonstration by
ADM
that an extension is
justified on the basis of acts or circumstances,
including adverse weather and groundwater conditions,
which are beyond the control of ADM.”
DISCUSSION
Prior to this modification request the parties requested an
earlier modification which the Board granted.
The Board
generally does not allow the compliance dates in orders to be
3
modified by a motion.
(See generally Bill Men.
et.
al.
v. City
of Freeport,
(Dec.
20,
1993), PCB 86-193; ioliet Army Ammunition
Plant v.
Illinois Environmental Protection Agency,
(November 15,
1989), PCB 89-79;
American Steel Container Company. Drum Shoe
V.
Illinois Environmental Protection Agency,
(March 28,
1991),
PCB
87—91.)
However, since the Board in this matter had originally
allowed the parties to alter its order by a motion because the
parties were still negotiating certain aspects of the agreement,
we will entertain a motion to modify this order.
However, the
Board is required to hold a hearing in this matter pursuant to
Section 31 of the Act.
Thus matter is to be set for hearing.
The hearing must be scheduled and completed in a timely
manner, consistent with Board practices.
The Chief Hearing
Officer shall assign a hearing officer to conduct hearings.
The
Clerk of the Board shall promptly issue appropriate directions to
the assigned hearing officer consistent with this order.
The assigned hearing officer shall inform the Clerk of the
Board of the time and location of the hearing at least 40 days in
advance of hearing so that public notice of hearing may be
published.
After hearing, the hearing officer shall submit an
exhibit list,
a statement regarding credibility of witnesses and
all actual exhibits to the Board within five days of the hearing.
Any
briefing schedule shall provide for final filings as
expeditiously as possible and,
in time—limited cases, no later
than 30 days prior to the decision due date.
If after appropriate consultation with the parties, the
parties fail to provide an acceptable hearing date or if after an
attempt the hearing officer is unable to consult with the
parties, the hearing officer shall unilaterally set a hearing
date in conformance with the schedule above.
The hearing officer
and the parties are encouraged to expedite this proceeding as
much as possible.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
Section 41 of the Environmental Protection Act,
(415 ILCS
5/41
(1992), provides for appeal of final orders of the Board
within 35 days.
The Rules of the Supreme Court of Illinois
establish filing requirements.
(See also 35 Ill. Ada. Code
101.246, Motion for Reconsideration).
4
I, Dorothy M. Gunn,
Clerk of the Illinois Pollution Control
—
Board, hereb
certify that
the above order was adopted on the
zr~
day of
__________________,
1994, by a vote of
&
0
A
Dorothy M. Gur~h,Clerk’
Illinois Poll
ion Control Board