ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL
BOARD
October 21,
1993
ST. CLAIR COUNTY,
)
Complainant,
V.
)
AC 92—33
)
Docket B
(Administrative Citation)
JAMES ALEXANDER, PRESIDENT
)
OF ALEXANDER DEVELOPMENT CO.,
)
Respondent.
ORDER OF THE BOARD
(by C.
A. Manning):
This matter is before the Board on an administrative citation
filed by
St.
Clair County
(County) pursuant to the Environmental
Protection
Act
(Act).
(415
ILCS
5/1
et
seq.
(1992).)
The
administrative citation was filed on May 4,
1992, and alleges that
respondent, James Alexander violated Section 21(p) (1) of the Act by
causing
and
allowing open
dumping
of
waste
resulting
in
open
burning.
Respondent filed a petition for review with the Board on
May 20,
1992.
A hearing was held on July 31,
1992,
in St. Clair
County Building, Belleville,
Illinois,
at which no members of the
public were present.
On February
25,
1993,
the Board issued an
order finding that the cited violation had occurred and imposed a
five hundred dollars
($500.00)
fine.1
The Board also directed the
Clerk
of the Board and the County to file an affidavit declaring
the hearing costs associated with this matter within thirty
(30)
days of the date of the order.
On March 24,
1993, the Clerk of the Board filed an affidavit
stating that the Board’s hearing costs were five hundred
fifty
eight dollars and ninety-nine cents
($558.99).
The County did not
file
an
affidavit
declaring
its
costs.
Therefore,
the
Board
entered an order dated July 22,
1993, assessing the total hearing
costs
against respondent
at five hundred fifty-ei~htdollar and
ninety nine cents
($558.99)
and closed this docket.
On
September
13,
1993
the respondent
filed
a
motion
for
reconsideration of the Board’s hearing costs pursuant to Section 41
1
The July 22,
1993 opinion and order incorrectly stated
that the
fine assessed against respondent was one thousand five
hundred dollar ($1,500.00).
2
s~• Clair
County
v.
James
Alexander,
President
of
Alexander Development Co.,
Inc.,
(July 22,
1993), AC 92-33 Docket
B.
2
of the Act.
(415
ILCS 5/41
(1992).)
Respondent
argues
in the
motion for reconsideration that since it did not receive the order
dated July 22,
1993 until August 27,
1993,
1 day after the 35 day
deadline to file a motion for reconsideration respondent states he
should be granted the motion for reconsideration.
Respondent also
argues that he never received the affidavit from the Board stating
the hearing costs.
The Board’s hearing costs for this hearing are the standard
costs
associated with holding hearings.
Section
42
of the Act
provides that in an administrative citation action any person found
in
violation
shall
pay
a
five hundred dollar
($500.00)
civil
penalty for each violation and any hearing costs incurred by the
Board and the Agency.
(415 ILCS 5/42
(1992).)
The hearing costs
can be separated into two parts,
court reporter costs and hearing
officer costs.
The court reporter cost of three hundred thirty—
seven dollars
($337.00),
is calculated by standard contract with
the Board.
The Hearing Officer costs are as follows: the standard
acceptance fee of fifty dollars ($50.00), the hearing cost for half
a
day
equaling
one
hundred
and
fifty
dollars
($150.00),
the
governmental rate for mileage totaling seventeen dollars ($17.00),
meal costs of two dollars thirty-eight cents ($2.38)~,and postage
and copying cost
of two dollars
sixty-one
cents
($2.61),
which
totals
two
hundred
twenty
one
dollars
and
ninety-nine
cents
($221.99)
for hearing officer’s costs.
The Board’s Clerk’s records indicate that a certified copy of
the July 22,
1993,
order was mailed by certified mail on July 23,
1993.
The Clerk’s records
indicate that on August
20,
1993 the
Board
received
back
the
registered
mail
green
card
for
that
mailing.
It
was returned by the U.S.
Post Office as tirefusedit.
The Clerk sent by First Class mail the July
22,
1993 order which
respondent claims to have received on August 27,
1993.
The Board accepts the motion for reconsideration but affirms
the assessment of the hearing costs.
The costs assessed to the
respondent are not unusual.
The Board takes administrative notice
that hearing costs often exceed the amount of the penalty, and have
averaged seven hundred dollars
($700.00)
for the past two fiscal
years.
The Board finds that charges related to hearing costs
as
stated by the Clerk are appropriate.
Therefore, the total hearing costs to be assessed against the
respondent
is
five hundred
fifty-eight
dollars
and ninety—nine
cents
($558.98).
This opinion constitutes
the Board’s
findings of
facts and
The
maximum
allowable
expense
for
a
lunch
meal,
as
established by contract with the Board,
is four dollars and fifty
cents
($4.50).
3
conclusions of law in this matter.
ORDER
1.
It
is hereby ordered that within 30 days of the date of
this order, respondent shall, by certified check or money
order payable to the State of Illinois, designated for
deposit to the General Revenue Fund, pay as compensation
for hearing costs
incurred by the Board the amount of
five hundred fifty-eight dollars and ninety—nine cents
($558.99) which is to be sent by First Class mail to:
Illinois Environmental Protection Agency
Fiscal Services Division
2200 Churchill Road
P.O. Box 19276
Springfield,
Illinois 62794—9276
2.
This docket is hereby closed.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
3. Theodore Meyer dissented.
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.
Adm.
Code 101.246,
Motions
for
Reconsideration.
I,
Dorothy N.
Gunn,
Clerk of the Illinois Pollution Control
Board, hereby certiy that the above order was adopted on the
~
/
-~-~
day of
,
1993, by a vote of
~
-
/
‘7
~
Dorothy M.,//~unn, Clerk
Illinois ~llution
Control Board