ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
August
18,
1988
IN THE MATTER OF:
)
J AND R LANDFILL,
INC.,
)
PCB #AC 88—23
PCB #AC 88—34
Respondent.
(88—3—SC—St.
Clair
County Docket)
ORDER OF THE BOARD
(by J.
Anderson):
The County has requested the Board
to review a July
1,
1988
Hearing Officer Order
in these matters.
The Board
is taking
action today
to avoid delaying hearing
in this matter which has
already once been rescheduled and now
is set
for September
7,
1988.
The salient portion
of the H.
0. Order
states:
Respondent
asked
for
“All documents
...
which
relate
to
the
landfill
located
in
St.
Clair
County
known
as
the Milam Landfill,
currently
operated by Waste Management,...”.
Petitioner objected to the production of these
documents
on
the
grounds
that
they
are
irrelevant
in
this
case.
On
June
15,
a
conference
was
held
to
discuss
Petitioner’s
objection
to
production.
During
the
conference,
Respondent’s
counsel
stated
that
he needs
these documents
in order
to provide
a
factual
foundation
for
a
legal
theory
he
wishes
to
develop
in
this
case.
This
legal
theory relates
to the equality of treatment
——
or
inequality
of
treatment
———
accorded
Respondent
J and R Landfill,
Inc.
in this case
versus
other
landfill
operators
by
the
St.
Clair County government and other governmental
bodies.
The
undersigned
Hearing
Officer
ruled
that
Respondent
may develop
the
factual
basis
for
this
legal
theory
during
discovery,
and
consequently
ordered
production
of
the
documents
in
question.
91—399
—2—
The Board
finds that the requested documents are
in fact
irrelevant
in this case,
as the legal theory which respondent may
seek
to advance
is beyond the scope of permissible issues
in the
administrative citation process as set forth in Sections 21(p)
and 31.1 of the Act.
Section
3.(d)(2)
limits
the defenses available to the
respondent
to two:
that the violation complained of did not
occur,
or “that
the violation resulted from uncontrollable
circumstances”.
Had the legislature wished
the Board
to consider
issues concerning exercise of prosecutorial discretion when
reviewing administrative citations,
it would have so stated.
The Hearing Officer’s Order
to produce documents relating
to
the Milam Landfill
is overruled.
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
/f~
day of
____________,
1988,
by
a vote of
~
Dorothy M.
nn,
Clerk
Illinois Pollution Control Board
91—400