ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
November 12,
1982
ILLINOIS ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
)
AGENCY,
Complainant,
v.
)
PCB 81—13
CITY OF ARCOLA,
a municipal corporation;
)
FIRST NATIONAL BANK OF ARCOLA,
a national
banking association, and J.
STANLEY ALLEN,
Respondents.
GWENDOLYN W. KLINGLER, ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL, APPEARED ON
BEHALF OF THE COMPLAINANT.
EMERSON
L. MOORE, ATTORNEY AT LAW, APPEARED ON BEHALF OF RESPONDENT
CITY OF ARCOLA.
MARK T.
PETTY, ATTORNEY AT LAW, APPEARED ON BEHALF OF RESPONDENTS
FIRST NATIONAL BANK OF ARCOLA AND J.
STANLEY ALLEN.
OPINION AND ORDER OF THE BOARD
(by N.E. Werner):
This matter comes before the Board on the January 29,
1981
Complaint brought by the Illinois Environmental Protection
Agency
(“Agency”).
On April
8,
1981, the Agency filed
a Motion for Leave
to File an Amended Complaint and an Amended Complaint.
The Amend-
ed Complaint alleged that the Respondents allowed the construction
and operation of sewer lines without the appropriate Construction
Permit and Operating Permit from the Agency in violation of
Rules
951(a) and 952(a) of Chapter
3:
Water Pollution Control
Regulations
(“Chapter 3”) and Section 12(c) of the Illinois En-
vironmental Protection Act (“Act”).
A hearing was held on October 30, 1981.
The parties
filed
a Stipulation and Proposal for Settlement on November 10,
1981
which proposed that a stipulated penalty of $750.00 be imposed
on the First National Bank of Arcola and provided that a stipu-
lated penalty of $500.00 be assessed against the City of Arcola.
On January 7,
1982,
the Board entered an Order
which
rejected
the Stipulation.
On October 18,
1982, the parties filed a second
Stipulation and Proposal for Settlement
(“Stip..”) which called
for a stipulated penalty of $1,500.00 to be assessed against
the First National Bank of Arcola and suggested that a stipu-
lated penalty of $750.00 should be appropriately imposed on the
City of Arcola.
49-261
—2—
The First National Bank of Arcola
(the “Bank”), which is
a national banking association located in the City of Arcola,
Douglas County, Illinois, owns the legal title as trustee under
Trust #L—225 to apartment buildings located at 413 and 415
Ash Street in Arcola,
Illinois (known together as the Park
Place Apartments).
Mr. Joseph J. McNamara and Mr. Frank
L.
Lesko,
who each hold an undivided 50
interest, are the equitable owners
under this trust.
(Stip.
2).
The Park Place Apartments consist
of two eight-unit buildings.
Each apartment unit has two bed-
rooms,
and there are
a total of 16 apartment units.
During the spring and summer of 1979, the buildings
in question
were constructed with the knowledge and approval of the City of
Arcola
(the “City”).
Although the City’s sewage treatment facili-
ties had been on restricted status since 1974*,
the City allowed
two
6 inch sewer lines, designed to discharge more than 1,500
gallons of wastewater per day,
to be constructed and connected
to the sewers of the City’s sanitary sewer system
(which run
into the City’s sewage treatment plant) without the requisite
Agency permits.
Accordingly,
the sewer lines at the Park Place
Apartments have been transporting sewage into the City’s sanitary
sewer system since the summer of 1979.
The parties have stipulated that Mr.
J. Stanley Allen
(“Allen”), who was the manager of the Park Place Apartments from
October
1,
1979 until April
30,
1981,
“appeared on behalf of the
owners and developers of the Park Place Apartments to request
a
zoning variance grant from the City”
at the City Council meeting
of November 20, 1978.
(Stip.
3;
Ex.
A, p.3).
Subsequently, on
December
12,
1978, the City issued a construction permit for the
two buildings.
On the construction permit application submitted
to the City, the Bank was listed as the owner.
(Stip.
3).
On May 24,
1979, the Modern Construction Company submitted
a
sewer service application for the apartments to the City.
(Stip.
3).
Three days later, on May 27,
1979 (and again on July 6,
1979),
Agency inspectors visited the construction site “and observed
6 inch sewer
lines, one for each building, which were to be
connected with the main sewer
line for the City of Arcola”.
(Stip.
3).
A construction permit application, which listed the
bank as owner, was submitted to the Agency for these apartments
on July 25, 1979.
It is stipulated that, during the construction
of the Park Place Apartments,
Allen talked with Agency inspectors
and corresponded with the Agency.
(Stip.
3).
Moreover, the
Agency formally sent a letter “to
Mr.
Allen and reminded him of
the need to secure an Agency permit” on August
1,
1979.
(Stip.
4;
Ex. B).
On August 20,
1979, the Agency denied the Bank’s construction
permit application on the basis that the City’s sewage treatment
facilities were on restricted status.
(Stip.
4).
Nevertheless,
*
On October 1,
1981,
the City’s sewage treatment facilities
were removed from restricted status.
(Stip.
7).
49-262
*3—
on or before August
29,
1979,
“connection of the two
6 inch
sewer lines from each Park Place Apartment building was made to
the City’s sewer system”.
(Stip.
4).
The first occupancy of the
Park Place Apartments commenced in November of 1979 and both
buildings have remained occupied since that time,
(Stip.
4).
It is stipulated that “the application to the Agency indi-
cated that the projected occupancy for each building was 24
persons,
for an average of
3 persons per apartment”.
(Stip.
5).
Accordingly,
the projected intended discharge from each building
would be
2,400 gallons per day,
using 100 gallons of sewage
a day per person (i.e.,
one population equivalent)
as a standard.
(Stip.
4).
However, the actual water usage has been substantially
less than projected.
(Stip.
6—7).
The Park Place Apartments sustained a loss of $27,099.00
in the calendar year 1979;
a loss of $26,259.00
in 1980;
and a
loss of $21,402.00
in
1981.
(Stip.,
Ex.
E).
During the first
full year that property taxes were assessed with the two buildings
finished
(i.e.,
1980),
the Park Place Apartments paid $5,516.30 in
property taxes.
(Stip.,
Ex.
D).
In reference to the financial benefits which accrued to the
City of Arcola in connection with the construction of the two
apartment buildings,
the City’s attorney indicated that,
in
addition to the City’s share of the 1980 property taxes
(which
was approximately 15
or about
$
827.00),
the City collected
$1,396.00 in fees which included:
(1)
$206.00 for two sewer
connections
(one to each building);
(2) $630.00 for two water
line connections and the placing of meters
(one to each building);
and
(3) $560.00 in building permit
fees
for the two buildings.
(Stip.,
Ex.
D).
The proposed settlement agreement provides that the Respon-
dents admit the allegations in the Amended Complaint and that:
(1) the Bank agrees to promptly submit
“an application for the
construction and operation of the sewer lines for the Park
Place Apartments”
(including
“as built” plans
for the sewers)
to
the Permit Section of the Agency within 30 days of the date of
the Board Order
in this case;
(2) the Bank agrees to pay
a stipu-
lated penalty of $1500.00; and
(3) the City agrees to pay a
stipulated penalty of $750.00.
(Stip.
8—9).
Additionally,
the parties have indicated that they believe that no penalty
should be assessed against Mr.
3.
Stanley Allen.
In evaluating this enforcement action and proposed settle-
ment agreement,
the Board has taken into consideration all the
facts and circumstances in light of the specific criteria de-
lineated in Section 33(c) of the
Act.
The Board
finds the settle-
ment agreement acceptable under Procedural Rule 331 and Section
33(c)
of the Act,
The Board finds that the Respondents have violated Rules
951(a) and 952(a) of Chapter
3:
Water Pollution Control Regu—
49-263
—4—
lations and Section 12(c)
of the Act.
The stipulated penalty
of $1500.00 will be assessed against the First National Bank of
Arcola, and a stipulated penalty of $750.00 will
be imposed on
the City of Arcola.
No penalty will be assessed against Respon-
dent Allen.
This Opinion constitutes the Board’s findings of fact and
conclusions of law in this matter.
ORDER
It is the Order of the Illinois Pollution Control Board
that:
1.
Respondents City of Arcola,
a municipal corporation;
First National Bank of Arcola,
a national banking association,
and J.
Stanley Allen have violated Rules 951(a) and 952(a) of
Chapter
3:
Water Pollution Control Regulations and Section 12(c)
of the Illinois Environmental Protection Act.
2.
Within 45 days of the date of this Order,
Respondents
First National Bank of Arcola and the City of Arcola shall,
by
certified check or money order payable to the State of Illinois,
pay their respective stipulated penalties of $1,500.00 and $750.00,
which are to be sent to:
Illinois Environmental Protection Agency
Fiscal Services Division
2200 Churchill Road
Springfield,
Illinois
62706
3.
No penalty shall be assessed against Respondent J.
Stanley Allen.
4.
The Respondents shall comply with all the terms and
conditions of the second Stipulation and Proposal for Settlement
filed on October 18,
1982, which is incorporated by reference
as
if fully set forth herein.
Mr.
I, Goodman concurs. Mrs. J. Anderson
and
Mr. D. Anderson dissent.
I, Christan L. Moffett, Clerk of the Illinois Pollution
Control Board, hereby ce fity that the above 0 inion and Order
were adopted on the
j~’f~_day
of14.li~J.4uu....j
—
,
1982
by a vote of
3~
Illinois Polluti
49-264