ILLINOIS
    POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
    March 1, 2001
    PRAIRIE RIVERS NETWORK, )
    )
    Petitioner, )
    )
    v. ) PCB 01-112
    ) (Permit Appeal - NPDES)
    ILLINOIS ENVIRONMENTAL )
    PROTECTION AGENCY and )
    BLACK BEAUTY COAL COMPANY, )
    )
    Respondents. )
    ORDER OF THE BOARD (by S.T. Lawton, Jr.):
    On February 15, 2001, Frederick D. Keady, President of Vermilion Coal Company
    (VCC), filed a letter with the Board. The letter requested that VCC be allowed to intervene as
    a party and that the Board dismiss the January 30, 2001 petition by the Prairie Rivers Network
    (PRN). The petition by PRN contests the issuance of a National Pollutant Discharge
    Elimination System (NPDES) permit by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency
    (Agency) to Black Beauty Coal Company (BBCC) pursuant to Section 40(e)(1) of the
    Environmental Protection Act (Act) (415 ILCS 5/40(e)(1) (1998)). Petitioner filed a response
    to the VCC letter on February 26, 2001. Respondent, BBCC, also filed a motion requesting
    that W.C. Blanton and Ranelle Leier of the Minnesota law firm, Oppenheimer Wolff &
    Donnelly LLP, be permitted to appear
    pro hac vice
    before the Board in this case.
    BBCC MOTION TO APPEAR PRO HAC VICE
    The Board will briefly address BBCC’s February 26, 2001 motion to appear
    pro hac
    vice
    before discussing the letter by the president of VCC in this matter.
    The Board grants Blanton and Leier leave to appear before the Board as counsel for
    BBCC in this case. Section 101.400(a)(3) of the Board’s procedural rules states that
    “[a]ttorneys who are licensed to practice in a state other than Illinois and who are not licensed
    and registered to practice in the State of Illinois may request to appear
    pro hac vice
    on a
    particular matter on a motion filed with the Board.” 35 Ill. Adm. Code 101.400(a)(3).
    BBCC’s motion alleges that Blanton is a partner with Oppenheimer Wolff & Donnelly
    LLP of Minneapolis, Minnesota, who is licensed to practice law in both Minnesota and
    Indiana. Blanton is allegedly in good standing with the bar associations of both states.
    BBCC’s motion also alleges that Leier is an associate with Oppenheimer Wolff & Donnelly
    LLP, who is licensed to practice law and in good standing in the State of Minnesota.
    2
    VCC MOTION TO DISMISS
    The Board strikes the February 15, 2001 letter
    1 by Frederick D. Keady, President and
    Chief Executive of VCC, as improperly filed because: (1) the Board’s procedural rules do not
    permit Keady, a non-attorney, to represent VCC in this matter (35 Ill. Adm. Code
    101.400(a)(2)); (2) neither Keady nor VCC is properly a party before the Board in this case as
    specified by the Act and Board regulations (415 ILCS 5/40(e) (1998); 35 Ill. Adm. Code
    101.110(b), 101.402, 105.202, 105.204(b)); and (3) Keady did not provide proof of service of
    the letter upon the parties to the proceeding, as required by Section 101.304(b) of the Board’s
    procedural rules (35 Ill. Adm. Code 101.304(b)). Keady alleges that VCC owns the coal and
    mineral lands that BBCC leases to operate the mine that is the subject of the permit appeal.
    Letter at 1. The letter does not assert that VCC is a parent company of, or otherwise legally
    connected to BBCC.
    Keady, as a non-attorney, cannot file a motion on behalf of VCC. The Board’s
    procedural rules state that, “[w]hen appearing before the Board, any person other than
    individuals must appear through an attorney-at-law licensed and registered to practice law.”
    35 Ill. Adm. Code 101.400(a)(2). Section 1 of the Attorney Act prohibits persons from acting
    as an attorney without first obtaining a license to do so. 705 ILCS 205/1 (1998); Graf v.
    Valiquet, Inc. (April 15, 1999), PCB 99-125, slip op. at 3. Since Keady is not an attorney, he
    cannot represent VCC in this matter, and the Board cannot consider the letter filed by Keady as
    a pleading by VCC. The letter is accordingly stricken from the record.
    In so ruling, the Board notes that it makes no determination on the merits of the facts or
    assertions contained in the February 15, 2001 letter by Keady. Keady individually, or VCC by
    an attorney, may participate in this proceeding in the manner specified by the Act and the
    Board’s rules.
    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 1st day of March 2001 by a vote of 7-0.
    Dorothy M. Gunn, Clerk
    Illinois Pollution Control Board
    1
    The letter that Frederick D. Keady, president of VCC, filed with the Board on
    February 15, 2001, will be referred to as “Letter at ___.”

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