ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
August 14,
1986
VILLAGE OF ADDISON,
Complainant,
v.
)
PCB 84—161
L
& S INDUSTRIES,
INC.,
Respondent.
SUPPLEMENTAL ORDER OF THE BOARD
(by 3.D. Dumelle):
On September
5,
1985,
the Board entered an Interim Opinion
and Order, finding that L
&
S Industries,
Inc.
(LSI) had violated
Sections
9 and 24
of the Environmental Protection Act.
That
Interim Order required LSI
to prepare and submit
a report on
methods of reducing or eliminating noise
and odor pollution.
This
report was due no later than December
1,
1985.
However, no
such report was filed and by order
of March 14,
1986,
the Board
provided LSI one last opportunity
to cure this defect.
LSI was
required to file with the Board and the complainant by May 1,
1986,
a schedule for completion of the report on reducing odor
and noise pollution at
its facility which was
to call for a
complete and final report
to be filed with the Board not later
than July
1,
1986, detailing all reasonable methods
of reducing
odor and noise pollution,
the type and degree of
reductions
possible with each method,
its cost and the time required to
implement the method.
Neither the schedule nor the final report
have been filed.
In its September
5, 1985, Opinion and Order,
the Board
stated
that:
The record before
the Board
is presently
inadequate
for
the
Board
to
order
any
particular
remedial
actions.
The
last
noise
survey
in
the
record
is
from
May
19,
1982.
LSI
contends
that
operational
changes
since
that
time
have
significantly
reduced
the
noise.
While
the
record
does
contain
sufficient
evidence
to
conclude
that
noise
violations
continue,
it
does
not
contain
sufficient
information
on
the
extent
of
present
non—compliance
nor
does
it
offer
any
further
specific actions which could
be taken
to assure compliance.
72-19
—2—
Nothing further has been entered into the record since that time
and those statements remain true.
Pursuant
to Section
31(c)
of the Illinois Environmental
Protection Act
(Act),
the burden
is on the complainant to show
that the respondent has caused
or threatened
a violation of
the
Act or the Board rules.
If that is proven,
the burden
falls on
the respondent
to demonstrate
that compliance would impose an
arbitrary
or
unreasonable hardship.
Where,
as here,
the
complainant meets his burden and
the respondent
fails to meet
his,
the Board
is
to make
“such final determination as
it shall
deem appropriate
under
the circumstances,” pursuant
to Section
33(a)
of the Act.
Pursuant
to Section 33(b),
“such order may
include
a direction to cease and desist.”
Given
the lack of sufficient information on which to base
any particular remedial program,
there
is little option for the
Board other than the imposition
of
a cease and desist order
(in
addition to the earlier ordered monetary penalty).
Therefore,
the only questions remaining are the scope
of the cease and
desist
order
and when it should become effective.
Given that L
&
S Industries
(LSI)
had the opportunity
to present evidence
regarding the reasonableness of compliance
at the original
hearing in March of 1985 and was given the additional opportunity
to present
a compliance plan by December
1,
1985, which was later
extended
to July 1,
1986,
the Board will not be liberal
in its
decision.
If the Board were simply to order LSI
to cease and desist
violations of the Act
by a date certain,
the failure to attain
compliance would have to be relitigated
to establish
a continuing
violation before further action could be ordered.
Such delay
would be highly inappropriate.
Therefore,
the Board must fashion
its order
in such
a way that compliance with that order
is
quickly and easily determined.
If the Board were able to order
specific compliance actions within a definite time period, this
dilemma would be solved.
However, LSI’s inaction has precluded
such an order.
Therefore, all that remains
is for
the Board
to
order that LSI cease operations at
its plant.
Such
an order is
highly unusual
and,
for that reason,
the Board will
offer LSI a
second last opportunity to avoid this result by taking
expeditious steps
to comply with the Board’s previous orders
(albeit belatedly).
The Board,
therefore, orders that LSI cease and desist all
operations at its facility located at 920 National Avenue in
Addison,
Illinois, on or before October
13, 1986,
unless it has
filed
a report with the Board and the Village of Addison by that
date which evaluates,
to the maximum extent possible,
the type
and degree of noise and odor reductions possible by changes in
operation or construction of noise and odor reduction devices.
This report must be prepared by a competent individual or firm
72-20
—3—
and must consider
all reasonable methods of control.
Each
control option shall
include anticipated pollution reductions,
the cost
of implementation,
and
an estimate of
a reasonable time
for implementation.
If LSI
fails
to timely submit the required
report,
the cease and desist order will remain effective until
such a report
is filed.
Once such report
is filed,
the Village
of Addison shall have
30 days
to respond
to that report, and the
Board will take appropriate further action thereafter.
IT
IS SO ORDERED.
Board Member
J. Theodore Meyer dissented.
I, Dorothy
M. Gunn, Clerk
of the Illinois Pollution Control
Board, hereby certify that the above Order was adopted on
the
1~ra
day of
_____________,
1986,
by
a vote
of
___________
Dorothy
M.
thinn,
Clerk
Illinois Pollution Control Board
72-21