ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
    December 17, 1992
    CITIZENS FOR A BETTER
    )
    ENVIRONMENT, and
    )
    ALICE ZEMAN,
    )
    )
    Petitioners,
    )
    v.
    )
    PCB 92—198
    )
    (Landfill Siting)
    VILLAGE OF MCCOOK and
    )
    (Consolidated with
    WEST SUBURBAN RECYCLING
    )
    PCB 92- 201)
    AND ENERGY CENTER, INC.,
    )
    Respondents.
    EDWARD NOVAX,
    )
    )
    Petitioner,
    )
    v.
    PCB 92—201
    BOARD
    OF TRUSTEES and MAYOR of the
    )
    (Landfill Siting)
    VILLAGE OF I4CCOOK and WEST
    )
    (Consolidated with
    SUBURBAN RECYCLING
    & ENERGY CENTER,)
    PCB 92-198)
    INC.,
    )
    Respondents.
    ORDER OF THE BOARD (by M. Nardulli):
    These actions are third-party appeals filed pursuant to
    Section 40.1 (b) of the Environmental Protection Act (Act)
    (Ill.Rev.Stat. 1991, ch. 111½, par. 1040.1 (b)). Citizens For A
    Better Environment (CBE) and Alice Zeman, a member of CBE, filed
    their appeal on December 3, 1992 and Edward Novak filed his
    appeal on December 4, 1992. Because CBE, Alice Zeman, and Edward
    Novak (petitioners) all appeal the decision of the Village of
    McCook (Village) granting site location suitability approval to
    West Suburban Recycling and Energy Center, Inc., the Board is
    consolidating PCB 92-198 and 92-201.
    It appears that the petitions are not duplicitous or
    frivolous and that CBE participated in the hearing below (See PCB
    92-198 Pet. p. 2-3.) Novak also states in his petition that he
    attempted to participate in the hearing below. (PCB 92—201 Pet.
    p. 1—4.)
    Record Before the County Board
    0138-0153
    2
    PA. 82—682, also known as SB-172, as codified in Section
    40.1(a) of the Act, provides that the hearing before the Board is
    to “be based exclusively on the record before the county board or
    governiqg body of the municipality”. The statute does not
    specify who is to file with the Board such record or who is to
    certify to the completeness or correctness of the record.
    As the Village alone can verify and certify what exactly is
    the entire record before it, in the interest of protecting the
    rights of all parties to this action, and in order to satisfy the
    intention of SB-172, the Board believes that the Village must be
    the party to prepare and file the record on appeal. The Board
    suggests that guidance in so doing can be bad by reference to
    Rules 321 through 324 of the Illinois Supreme Court Rules. The
    record shall contain legible versions of all documents,
    transcripts, and exhibits deemed to pertain to this proceeding
    from initial filing through and including final action by the
    local government body. The record shall contain the originals of
    all documents, shall be arranged as much as possible in
    chronological sequence, and shall be sequentially numbered,
    placing the letter “C” before the number of such page. In
    addition to the actual documents which comprise the record, the
    Village Clerk shall also prepare a document entitled “Certificate
    of Record on Appeal” which shall be an index of the record that
    lists the documents comprising the record and shows the page
    number upon which they start and end. Seven copies of the
    certificate, seven copies of. the transcript of the Village
    hearing and three copies of any other documents in the record
    shall be filed with the Board, and a copy of the certificate
    shall be served upon the petitioner(s). The Clerk of the Village
    is given 21 days from the date of this order to “prepare, bind
    and certify the record on appeal” (Ill. Supreme Court, Rule 324).
    If the record is not legible, is not sequentially numbered, or
    fails to include an appropriate index of record, the Clerk of the
    Pollution Control Board may refuse to accept the document for
    filing.
    Waiver of Decision Deadline
    Section 40.1(a) provides that if there is no final action by
    the Board within 120 days, petitioner may deem the site location
    approved.
    The Board has cor trued identical “in accordance with the
    terms of” language contained in Sectic~40(b) of the Act
    concerning third—party appeals of the grant of hazardous waste
    landfill permits as giving the person who had requested the
    permit a) the right to a decision within the applicable statutory
    time frame (now 120 days), and b) the right to waive (extend) the
    decision period (Alliance for a Safe Environment, et al. v. Akron
    Land Corp. et al. (October 30, 1980), PCB 80—184). The Board
    therefore construes Section 40.1(b)
    QI38..o~54
    in like manner, with the
    3
    result that failure of this Board to act in 120 days would allow
    the site location applicant to deem the site location approved.
    Pursuant to Section 105.104 of the Procedural Rules, it is each
    party’s responsibility to pursue its action, and to insist that a
    bearing on the petition is timely scheduled in order to allow the
    Board to review the record and to render its decision within 120
    days of the filing of the petition.
    TranscriDtiOfl Costs
    The issue of who has the burden of providing transcription
    in Board site location suitability appeals has been addressed in
    Town of Ottawa. et al.
    V.
    IPCB. et al., 129 Ill. App. 3d 121, 472
    N.E. 2d 150 (3rd Dist. 1984). In that case, the Court ordered the
    Board to assume transcription costs (472 N.E.2d at 155). The
    Supreme Court denied leave to appeal on March 14, 1985. In
    cognizance of this ruling, the Board will provide for
    stenographic transcription of the Board hearing in this matter.
    This matter is accepted for hearing. Hearing must be
    scheduled within 14 days of the date of this order and completed
    within 60 days of the date of this order. The 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, written schedule for
    submission of briefs if any and all actual exhibits to the Board
    within 5 days of the hearing. Any briefing schedule shall
    provide for final filings as expeditiously as possible and in no
    event later than 70 days from the date of this order.
    If after appropriate consultation with the parties, the
    parties fail to provide an acceptable bearing 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. This schedule will
    only provide the Board a very short time period to deliberate and
    reach a decision before the due date. The hearing officer and
    the parties are encouraged to expedite this proceeding as much as
    possible.
    The bearing officer may extend this schedule only on a
    waiver of the decision deadline by the site location suitability
    applicant and only for the equivalent or fewer number of days
    that the decision deadline is waived. Such waivers must be
    provided in writing to the Clerk of the Board. Any waiver must
    be an “open waiver” or a waiver of decision until a date certain.
    Because of requirements regarding the publication of notice
    of hearing, no scheduled hearing may be canceled unless the site
    location suitability applicant provides an open waiver or a
    waiver to a date at least 120 days beyond the date of the motion
    0138-oI65
    4
    to cancel hearing. This should allow ample time for the Board to
    republish notice of hearing and receive transcripts from the
    hearing before the due date. Any order by the hearing officer
    granting cancellation of hearing shall include a new hearing date
    at least 40 days in the future and at least 30 days prior to the
    new due date and the Clerk of the Board shall be promptly
    informed of the new schedule.
    Because this proceeding is the type for which the Illinois
    Environmental Protection Act sets a very short statutory deadline
    for making a decision, absent a waiver, the Board will grant
    extensions or modifications only in unusual circumstances. Any
    such motion must set forth an alternative schedule for notice,
    bearing, and final submissions, as well as the deadline for
    decision, including response time to such a motion. However, no
    such motion shall negate the obligation of the hearing officer to
    establish a scheduling order pursuant to the requirements of this
    order, and to adhere to that order until modified.
    IT IS SO ORDERED.
    I, Dorothy M. Gunn, Clerk of the Illinois Pollution Control
    Board hereby Cert y that the above order was adopted on ~e
    _____
    day of
    __________________,
    1992, by a vote of
    /~
    ~
    .~.
    Dorothy K. ~
    Clerk
    Illinois Pd3~.utionControl Board
    0138-0165

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