ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
    August
    17, 1990
    IN THE MATTER OF:
    DEVELOPMENT, OPERATING AND
    )
    REPORTING REQUIREMENTS FOR
    )
    R88-7
    NON-HAZARDOUS WASTE LANDFILLS
    )
    (Rulemaking)
    CONCURRING OPINION
    (by B.
    Forcade and J.D. Dumelle)
    We respectfully concur with today’s Opinion and Order.
    It
    is important
    to note that today’s decision involves a voluminous
    revision to the solid waste regulations of
    the State of
    Illinois.
    We strongly support
    the vast majority of that
    regulatory action,
    but we disagree with
    the language
    at Section
    811.101(b), which exempts steel, utility, and foundry wastes from
    nearly all regulation for newly constructed landfills.
    We would
    have deleted subsection
    (b)
    in
    its entirety. Therefore,
    we concur
    in
    today’s action.
    Today’s proposal completely
    revamps
    the state regulation of
    non-hazardous solid waste landfills.
    An overly simplified
    description
    is that all solid waste
    is divided
    into “inert waste”
    or
    “putrescible and chemical waste”.
    Landfills must
    be designed
    and operated according to different standards based on which of
    the two wastes they intend to receive.
    Unfortunately,
    new
    landfills
    that receive waste only from certain industrial
    categories
    (foundry,
    primary steel,
    and coal burning electric
    utilities)
    have been exempted for
    a period of
    time.
    Our reason for objecting
    is that the record does
    not
    demonstrate that the exempted wastes are less harmful
    to the
    environment
    than “inert waste”
    or “putrescibe and chemical
    wastes”.
    Also,
    a primary reason for the exemption is that
    industry will propose specific regulations
    for these wastes.
    The
    record does not show that new landfills
    for these exempted wastes
    will
    be necessary before alternative specific regulations could
    be adopted.
    As pointed out by
    the Illinois Environmental
    Protection Agency (“Agency”)
    in their comments:
    rrhe
    Agency
    strongly
    opposes
    the
    currently
    proposed
    exemption
    for
    the
    steel,
    utility
    and
    foundry
    industries.
    No
    persuasive
    evidence
    has been
    provided
    by any
    of
    these
    industries
    to demonstrate
    their
    landfills
    pose less
    of
    a
    threat
    to
    the
    environment
    than
    other
    landfills.
    114~-7ft)
    —2—
    These industries
    have been purporting
    to have
    proposed
    rules
    to
    govern
    their
    landfills,
    if
    this
    is
    the
    case,
    where
    are
    they
    ?
    These
    industries
    have had more than
    sufficient
    time
    during
    this
    rulemaking
    to
    present
    any
    such
    proposal.
    Strangely,
    they
    have
    not.
    The
    Agency
    urges
    the
    Board
    to
    make
    the
    rules
    applicable
    to
    these
    industries
    when
    adopted.
    They may then file
    their proposed
    regulations
    as
    a modification
    to
    the existing
    rules.
    The
    Agency
    recommends
    that
    Section 811.101
    (b)
    be
    deleted
    in total.
    (Public Comment
    #34,
    p.
    4)
    The flaw of allowing such a broad based exemption on so
    little justification was also recognized by Waste Management of
    Illinois:
    We
    have
    previously
    commented
    that
    this
    exemption
    has
    not
    been
    supported
    at
    all
    for
    the
    steel
    industry
    while
    the
    justification
    provided
    for
    the
    foundry
    industry
    reveals
    significant
    groundwater
    problems
    from
    foundry
    operations.
    The
    exemption
    proposed
    is
    unsupported and unwise.
    (Public Comment
    #38,
    p.
    2)
    We
    strongly agree
    that
    the exemption is unsupported and
    unwise.
    In addition,
    it
    is most troubling that the exemption
    applies
    to new landfills.
    If
    a landfill
    is not properly designed
    when built,
    it becomes very difficult
    to retrofit an improved
    design after
    the landfill
    is
    full of waste.
    The provisions of
    Part 807
    do not contain ~
    landfill design criteria.
    Most of
    these facilities will
    be on—site, and are therefore exempt from
    the permitting requirements pursuant to Section
    21
    (e)
    of the
    Act.
    As a result,
    the majority of Part
    807 will not even apply
    to
    them.
    En short,
    these
    landfills will have
    far less design and
    environmental protection regulatory requirements than apply to
    any other new landfill
    in the state,
    even those accepting wastes
    with less
    risk
    of environmental harm.
    For these reasons
    we
    cannot support the exemption.
    Board Member
    S.
    D.
    Dumelle
    ,~oardMember
    —3—
    I, Dorothy M. Gunn,
    Clerk of the Illinois Pollution Control
    Board, hereby certify that the above Concurring Opinion was filed
    on the
    ~
    day of
    ~
    ,
    1990.
    Dorothy M. g~hn,Clerk
    Illinois Poriution Control Board
    114~-711

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