ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD

May 24,

1979

ILLINOIS ENVIRONMENTAL

PROTECTION AGENCY,

Complainant,

PCB 78—55

KNOX WRECKING AND MOVING,

INC.,

an Illinois

corporation,

Respondent.

MS. JILL LESLIE DRELL, ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL, APPEARED ON

BEHALF OF THE COMPLAINANT.

MR.

ROBERT M, EGAN,

ATTORNEY AT LAW, APPEARED ON BEHALF OF THE

RESPONDENT.

OPINION AND ORDER OF THE BOARD

(by Mr. Werner):

This matter comes before the Board on the February 28,

1978

Complaint brought by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency

(“Agency”).

On March

31,

1978, the Complainant filed a First Set

of Interrogatories and Request for Production of Documents.

On

May 12,

1978, the Agency filed a motion for Leave to File an

Amended Complaint which was granted by the Board on May 25,

1978.

The nine~countAmended Complaint alleged that,

on specified dates,

the Respondent improperly operated a solid waste disposal site by

(1) violating a condition of its Operating Permit

(i.e.,

by

employing area filling as a method of operation);

(2)

failing to

submit quarterly water monitoring analyses for Fe,

SO4, and Total

Dissolved Solids

(“TDS”)

in violation of a special condition of its

Operating

Permit;

(3)

unloading,

spreading, and compacting refuse

improperly;

(4) having insufficient equipment,

personnel and

supervision at the site;

(5) failing to properly limit access to

the site;

(6)

failing to submit the requisite standard water

monitoring data;

and

(7)

placing inadequate daily, intermediate,

and final

cover over portions of the site in violation of Rules

302,

303(a),

303(b),

304,

305(a)

,

305(b),

305(c), and

317

of Chapter

7:

Solid Waste

Regulations

(“Chapter

7”)

and Section

21

of the Illinois

Environmental

Protection Act

(“Act”).

After various preliminary

motions, the Complainant filed a Request for Admission of Facts

33—571

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—2—

and Genuineness of Documents on June

20,

1978.

The Respondent did

not respond to the

Complainant’s prior discovery requests and also

failed to file a

response to the Request for Admission of Facts and

Genuineness of Documents,*

A

hearing was held on August

30,

1978.

The Respondent,

Knox Wrecking and Moving,

Inc.

(“Knox”),

is an

Illinois

corporation which operates

a solid waste disposal site

(the “site”)

consisting of approximately 30 acres located in

Galesburg,

Knox County,

Illinois.

This property is owned by

Mr.

Ernest

S. Wedell, Jr.

and leased by the Respondent.

Knox holds

Agency Operating

Permit No. 1975-3-OP which authorizes the receipt

of demolition debris of a

non—putrescent nature such as lumber,

bricks, concrete, shingle material, glass and landscape waste,**

At the hearing, Mr.

John

P.

Taylor,

an Agency employee,

testified that he inspected the Respondent’s facility on January 21,

1976 and June

15,

1976

and took photographs during his visit to the

site.

(R,

8-9; See:

Comp.

Exh.

2 and 3).

Mr. Taylor indicated that

he observed “a great deal of refuse lying uncovered about the site;”

“no evidence of any attempt to

install or excavate trenches at the

site, as called for in

the permit;” no personnel and equipment at

the property; and no spreading of the

refuse into layers.

(R.

11-14).

Mr. Taylor stated that

“refuse was just being literally piled up

over the site

—

over a large area more than an acre” and that the

area filling method of operation continued to be employed, rather

than the trenching

method that was prescribed

in the Respondent’s

permit.

(R,

13-14).

While the Respondent’s Operating Permit

originally authorized area filling,

it stated that this method of

operation

should be terminated

in late 1974 or early 1975.

Additionally,

Mr. Taylor testified that the Agency files reveal

that no upstream

and downstream water samples and quarterly

analyses

(for Fe,

SO4 and TDS)

were received by the Agency for the

calendar year 1977

and the first two quarters of 1978.

(R.

12).

The Complainant’s second

witness was Mr. Terry

G. Ayers,

an

Agency employee

who testified that he inspected the site on

December 21,

1977 and

observed

“a

large amount of exposed refuse”

which had not received

daily cover.

(R, 20-22; See:

Comp.

Exh.

4).

*S±ncethe Respondent did

not respond to this request for admissions,

each of the matters of fact

and the genuineness of each document

therein is hereby deemed to be admitted under Rule 314(c) of the

Board’s Procedural Rules,

(See:

Comp.

Exh.

1).

**A prior enforcement action was brought

against the Respondent in

1974 for operating this

site for “two or more days each week between

July

28,

1974 and November 15,

1974” without

an Operating Permit from

the Agency,

(See: Opinion and

Order of the Board in PCB 74-436

dated March

13,

1975),

33—572

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—3—

The Respondent’s sole witness was Mr. Burrell Wainer, the

chief officer

and owner of Knox Wrecking and Moving,

Incorporated.

Mr. Wainer testified that it was not generally

practical or

possible to dig trenches

prior to dumping material on the site due

to extremely deep ravines and gullies

on the property.

(R.

32).

Much of the area was of such a nature that machinery

could not

always be

operated safely

in trenching operations especially during

adverse weather conditions.

(R.

32;

R.

38).

However, Mr. Wainer

stated that the Respondent had, in the past, filled one ravine to

make it accessible to another hill” and used the hillside “to

trench

into and fill.”

(R.

32).

He indicated that the landfill

was used primarily as an adjunct to Knox’s construction business

and that his small operations were conducted intermittently when

he

transported demolition debris from construction jobs to the

property with “even

sometimes as long as a month without anyone

going

in

there and dumping anything.”

(R.

36;

R.

50-51).

The

tractors, equipment and machines used to do work at the site are

the

same ones used in

Knox’s construction work which explains why

the

equipment is not always

present at the site.

(R.

36-37;

R.

54-55).

While the facility is

fenced in and there is a gate

with a chain and lock on it, Mr. Wainer said that “the drivers take

in and dispose of stuff; nobody appears to know who the last one is.

Sometimes it never gets locked.”

(R.

36;

R.

53—54).

Moreover, Mr. Wainer indicated that while he was the principal

party who

deposited material at the site,

recently two other parties,

Citywide, Inc.

and McCabe Scrap Iron, had been using the property.

(R.

33;

R.

52-53),

Additionally, unauthorized third parties

(i.e., trespassers)

have occasionally dumped materials at the

landfill.

(R.

35).

Mr. Wainer also stated that,

since obtaining

his Operating Permit in 1975, water samples had been sent into the

Agency, but that occasionally samples were not sent

in.

(R.

37—38).

Additionally, Mr. Wainer also testified that while trenching had

previously been utilized at the site, area filling was currently used;

that

demolition materials were spread, compacted and covered on a

periodic basis, but not daily.

(R.

55-57).

At

the hearing, Mr. Jack Witt,

the Knox County Superintendent

of Highways and Supervisor of Landfills, testified that he visited

and “inspected” the landfill on January 18,

1978 and took photos at

that time

(See:

Jack Witt Exhibit

1).

Mr. John G.

Sutor,

a farmer

and Knox County Board member,

testified that he accompanied

Mr. Witt out

to the Respondent’s property on January 18,

1978 and

33—57 3

---

—4—

stated that there were “approximately

35 or 40 truckloads of refuse

that

had no cover on it.”

(R.

71-72).

Mr. Sutor said that he

saw “a great deal of cardboard boxes”

....

“waste that either came

from a home or a

restaurant

...“

including “several McDonald’s

hamburger sacks and that type of thing.”

(R. 73).

He felt that

“loose, uncompacted cardboard boxes, wooden pallets and that type

of material which were

(sic)

there, created a definite fire hazard.”

(R.

74)

.

Mr.

Sutor observed no machinery on the site and “saw no

evidence of any trenching operation.”

(R.

74).

In evaluating this enforcement action,

the Board has taken

into consideration all the facts and circumstances in light of the

specific criteria delineated in Section 33(c)

of the Act.

Because

demolition debris of a

non-putrescent nature

was

accepted at the

site, the adverse environmental impact appears minimal.

However,

the Board finds that the Respondent has violated Rules 302,

303(a),

303(b),

304,

305(a)

,

305(b)

,

305(c) and 317 of Chapter

7:

Solid

Waste Regulations and Section 21 of the Act.

Accordingly, the

Board will require that

the Respondent cease and desist from all

further violations of the Act and the Board’s Solid Waste

Regulations.

The Respondent shall comply with the terms and

conditions of its Operating Permit No. 1975-3-OP or properly

close the site and surrender

this permit within 90 days from

the date of this Order,

Moreover, the Respondent shall, within

30 days from the date of this Order,

submit the requisite water

monitoring data to the Agency as per the special and general

conditions in its Operating Permit, and shall continue to do so

periodically

as required by the permit and Solid Waste Rule

317.

The Board hereby imposes a penalty of $1200 against the Respondent.

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:

I.

The

Respondent has violated Rules 302,

303(a), 303(b),

304,

305(a)

,

305(b)

,

305(c)

and 317 of Chapter

7:

Solid Waste

Regulations and Section 21 of

the Act.

2~ The Respondent shall cease and desist from further

violations.

3.

The Respondent shall comply with the terms and conditions

of its Operating Permit No, 1975-3-OP or properly close the site

and surrender this

permit within 90 days from the date of this

Order.

33—574

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—5—

4.

Within 30 days from the date of this Order, the Respondent

shall submit the requisite water monitoring data to the Agency as

per the

special and general conditions in its Operating Permit,

and

shall continue to do so periodically as required by the permit and

Solid Waste Rule 317.

5.

Within 45 days of the date of this Order, the Respondent

shall pay a penalty of $1200.00

,

payment to be made by certified

check or money order to:

State of Illinois

Fiscal Services Division

Illinois Environmental Protection Agency

2200 Churchill Road

Springfield, Illinois

62706

I,

Christan

L. Moffett, Clerk of the Illinois Pollution

Control Board, hereby certify the above Opinion and Order were

adopted on the

~day

of

()~-)

,

1979 by a

vote of

~-O

—.

Christan L. Moffet?,

lerk

Illinois Pollution

trol Board