ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
March
1, 1979
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY,
Complainant,
v.
)
PCB
78—251
ODELL PHILLIPS,
Respondent.
MR. PATRICK CHESLEY, ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL, APPEARED ON
BEHALF OF THE COMPLAINANT.
MR. ODELL PHILLIPS APPEARED PRO SE.
OPINION
AND ORDER
OF THE
BOARD
(by Dr. Satchell):
This matter
comes before the Board upon
a complaint filed
on September 13,
1978 by the Environmental Protection Agency
(Agency).
The complaint alleges that Respondent has caused or
allowed operation of a solid waste management site located
approximately two and one-half miles northeast of Arthur within
the Northwest Quarter of Section 17, Township 15 North, Range 7
East of the Third Principal Meridian in Douglas County,
Illinois
from on or before July
1,
1970 up to the date of filing this
complaint in violation of Section 21(e)
of the Environmental
Protection Act
(Act)
and Rule 202(b) (1)
of the Chapter 7:
Solid
Waste Rules
(Chapter 7).
The complaint further alleges violations
of Rules 301 and 305(a)
of Chapter 7 and Section 21(a)
and 21(b)
of the Act; Rule 305(c)
and Sections
21(a)
and
(b)
of the Act;
Section 9(c)
of the Act, Rule 301 and 311 of Chapter 7 and Rule
502 of Chapter
2:
Air Pollution Control Regulations; Rules
303(b)
and 301 and Section
21(b)
of the Act:
Rules 303(a)
and
301 of Chapter 7 and Section 21(b)
of the Act;
Rules
304 and 301
of Chapter
7 and Section 21(b)
of the Act; and Rules 306 and 301
of
Chapter
7 and Section
21(b)
of the Act.
A hearing was held
on November 28,
1978
An unanswered request to admit facts was introduced as part
of Comp1ainant~scase
(Comp.
Ex.
1).
Under Board Procedural
Rule 314
the requested admissions are deemed admitted unless
answered
within twenty days of service.
As Respondent never
answered
the request for admissions of facts, the facts are
deemed admitted,
These admissions contain the information
necessary for the Board to find
violations of the allegations
in the complaint.
However,
the Board will consider the
information presented at hearing.
33—21
—2—
Respondent, Odell Phillips, does not read or write
(R.
30).
He
has
a second grade education and can sign his name
(R.
30).
He lives on the property in question with his wife and five
children
(R.
30, 33).
He makes
$150 per week
(R.
33),
The
property consists of 18.4 acres purchased by contract in 1969
(R,
62,
38,
39).
Mr. Phillips
is still paying for the property
(R.
39).
The landfill is located south of the house
(R.
31).
The former owner ran a landfill at the site and had a permit
from the Department of Health
(R.
38).
Respondent
went
to
Champaign to
the Department
of Health apparently about a permit
in 1969; however, he has never had a permit from the Agency
(R.
38)
Mr.
Paul Oziar has covered the area several times and
in
turn was allowed to bury some
demolition
waste at the site
CR.
13, 14).
He
has not received money from Respondent and
has
not paid any money for disposal privileges
(R.
14).
Mr. Oziar
uses
the
site only a few times a month on Saturdays
(R.
19,
35,
36)
Mr. Phillips has told
people
not
to
deposit
wastes
on
his
land and has put up a gate with a
chain
and
lock
(R.
32,
24),
People
have
continued to
dump refuse either gaining entrance by
lifting the gate off the hinges or going through the gate left
unlocked for Mr. Oziar
(R.
35).
Other than Mr. Oziar no one
has had permissions to dump refuse on the property and no one
had permission to burn anything
(R.
32, 52).
The
parties
all
agree the site
is not acceptable for a
sanitary landfill.
Mr. Oziar states it is not a proper place
because
of
the
flooding
(R,
22).
Respondent asked people to
quit dumping because it~stoo close to the river
(R.
32).
The
Agency~sinspector testified the site
is probably a bad location
for
refuse
disposal operations
because of its proximity to the
river and the sandy nature of the soils
(R.
44,
45),
Because
of soil permeability it
would
not hold the products of bio-
degration
of
the
refuse
(R.
45).
The
Board finds that
Mr. Phillips
is in violation of all
counts of the Complaint.
In
making
a
final
determination
the
Board must consider the factors of Section 33(c)
of the Act.
The
site
is
of
little
social or economic value as an unpermitted
dump.
It is not a money making venture for Respondent and the
cost of cover would be a liability.
The
potential
for
pollution
at the site is high because of
its location and the violation
of all the rules intended to protect the environment.
It appears
the best technologically and
economically
feasible
method
of
compliance is
to close the site
to
prevent
future
deposits.
Respondent
is
not
financially well off and without
the
aid
of
33—22
—3—
Mr. Oziar would have
great
difficulty in compliance.
Com-
plainant does not request a penalty
(R.
65,
66).
Although the
violations in this case have been ongoing for some time, the
Board finds that the money for a penalty would be better spent
in attaining compliance.
Thus the Board will require Respondent
to cease and desist further violations and cover the site in
accordance with Rule 305(c)
of Chapter
7.
Respondent shall be
required to restrict access to the site.
This shall be done in
a manner acceptable to the Agency within ninety days of this
Order.
No penalty will be assessed.
This Opinion constitutes the~Board’s findings of fact
conclusions of law
in
this matter.
ORDER
It is the Order of the
Pollution Control Board
that:
1.
Odell Phillips
is
found
to be in violation of Rule
202(b)
(1)
of the
Chapter
7:
Solid Waste Regulations
and Section 21(e)
of the Environmental Protection
Act, Rules
301,
305(a), 305(c),
304,
303(a),
303(b)
and 306 of Chapter
7 and of Sections 21(a)
and 21(b)
of the Act and Rule 311 of Chapter
7 and Rule 502 of
Chapter
2:
Air Pollution Control Regulations
and
Section 9(c)
of the Act.
2.
Respondent shall cease and desist further violations
of the Act and the Regulations.
3.
Respondent shall apply final cover in accordance
with Rule 305(c)
and restrict access to the site.
This shall be done
in
a manner acceptable to the
Environmental Protection Agency within ninety days
of this Order.
I, Christan L. Moffett, Clerk of the Illinois Pollution
Control Baord, hereby
certify the a
ove Opinion and Order were
adopted on the
~
day of
fr1
,
1979 by a vote of
~
~
Illinois Pollution
Board
33—23