ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
    May 14,
    1987
    THE NEW JERSEY ZINC
    CO..,
    )
    )
    Petitioner,
    )
    PCB 86—187
    )
    ILLINOIS ENVIRONMENTAL
    )
    PROTECTION AGENCY,
    )
    )
    Respondent..
    )
    ORDER OF THE BOARD
    (by
    B..
    Forcade):
    On
    May
    4,
    1987, New Jersey Zinc Company (New Jersey Zinc)
    filed
    a motion
    to dispense with hearing..
    On May 6,
    1987, the
    Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (Agency)
    filed an answer
    to motion which supported cancellation of hearing..
    The motion to
    dispense with hearing
    is denied..
    New Jersey Zinc’s October 24, 1986,
    petition for variance
    and March
    6,
    1987, amended petition for variance both
    specifically requested hearing..
    Consequently,
    the Board
    authorized hearing
    in this matter..
    When a matter
    is authorized
    for hearing, that determination is generally circulated
    to the
    public
    in the Board’s publication,
    the Environmental Register..
    In addition, members of the public attend Board meetings or
    receive abstracts of Board activities from private services..
    As
    a result of this information circulation, the Board
    is unable
    to
    determine who,
    if anyone, may be relying on the authorization for
    hearing and may wish to attend such hearing..
    For those reasons,
    the Board discourages cancellation of already authorized hear-
    ings..
    Prior difficulties with public opposition to cancellation
    of authorized hearings has demonstrated the wisdom of this
    approach..
    The Board does not require hearings
    in all proceedings..
    Specifically,
    the Board’s procedural
    rules allow variance
    petitions to be resolved
    in certain circumstances without
    hearings..
    The Board’s procedural rules
    also specifically allow
    petitioners for variance to request that a hearing be held after
    the petitioner has reviewed the Agency’s recommendation..
    35
    Ill..
    Adm.. Code 104..l81(b)..
    In the present motion, New Jersey Zinc’s
    motion to dispense with hearing appears to be prompted by
    agreement with the Agency’s recommendation (Motion,
    4)..
    The
    more appropriate course of action would have been to waive
    hearing
    in the original pleadings and file an amended petition
    which requested hearing
    if a disagreement with the Agency’s
    recommendation surfaced..
    In that way, no member
    of the public
    could be misled about whether hearing would take place..
    784
    _2*
    For the foregoing reasons,
    the motion to dispense with
    hearing
    is denied and this matter will proceed to hearing..
    IT
    IS SO ORDERED
    Board Member
    R..
    Flemal dissented..
    I, Dorothy
    M.. Gunn, Clerk of the Illinois Pollution Control
    Board, hereby certify that the above Order was adopted on
    the
    ______
    day of ________________________,
    1987, by a vote
    of
    .:5—J
    Dorothy
    14.. ~inn, Clerk
    Illinois Pollution Control Board
    78-7

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