ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD

August

3,

1978

PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS

and

ENVIRONi~tENTAL PROTECTION

AGENCY,

Complainants,

v.

)

PCB 76—316

SOUTH DUPAGE AUTO SALVAGE,

INC.,

an Illinois corporation,

Respondent.

LORETTA

WEBER

AND

SUSAN

SHUMNAY,

ASSISTANT

ATTORNEYS

GENERAL,

APPEARED

ON BEHALF OF COMPLAINANTS.

ROBERT

DUFFY,

DONAHUE

&

DUFFY,

APPEARED

ON

BEHALF

OF

RESPOttIDENT.

OPINION AND ORDER OF THE BOARD

(by

Mr.

Young):

This matter comes before the Board upon a Complaint filed

by the People of the State of Illinois on

December

12, 1976,

against South DuPage Auto Salvage,

Inc.

Amended Complaints

were filed on January

31, 1977;

March 16,

1977,

adding the

Environmental Protection Agency as Complainant;

and,

final

amendments on June

8,

1977.

The Amended Complaint as filed

June 8, 1977,

charged that on four separate occasions

Respondent caused or allowed open burning

in violation of

Section 9(c)

of the Environmental Protection Act

(Act)

and

Rule 502 of Chapter

2:

Air Pollution Regulations.

The

Complaint further alleged that Respondent operated a solid

waste site without a permit in violation of Section 21(b)

of the Act and Rule 202(b)

(1)

of Chapter

7:

Solid Waste

Regulations;

that Respondent failed to apply daily or final

cover

in violation of Section 21(b)

of the Act and Rules

305(a)

and

(c)

of Chapter 7;

and that Respondent’s deposits

of refuse constitutes

a water pollution hazard

in violation

of Section 12(d)

of the Act.

During the course of discovery, Complainant filed with

the Board a Request for Admission of Facts on January

31,

1977, which was served upon Respondent without

a reply within

the 20-day period required under Procedural Rule 314(c)

(Chapter 1).

Complainants also filed with the Board a Motion

31—14 7

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for Costs

on December 1, 1977,

and a Motion for Costs and

Sanctions on January 17,

1978,

which were held for decision

with this case.

Hearings were held in this matter on February 14,

1978,

and on June

14,

1978,

in Wheaton, Illinois.

In the

first

hearing, the Complainants presented certain evidence and

exhibits supporting their prima facie case in lieu of a

lengthy written statement in a Settlement Agreement.

During

the June 14,

1978, hearing, the parties submitted to the

record a Stipulation and Proposal for Settlement which had

been filed with the Board on April

23,

1978.

The Agreement

records Respondent’s admissions of all violations

in the

Third Amended Complaint

(Stip.

11,

R.

110)

and Complainants’

agreement to withdraw all motions including motions for

costs pending in this matter

(Stip.

13,

R.1l3).

The Board

will accept these agreements and will terminate further con-

sideration of Complainants’ Requests for Admission and other

motions.

The Stipulation indicates that Respondent operates an

auto salvage yard which disassembles and stockpiles parts

from junked automobiles.

The

site is bordered on the south

by land owned by the Metropolitan Sanitary District of Greater

Chicago

(MSD).

Immediately

south

of

the MSD plot lies the

DesPlaines River

(Stip.

2,

R.

100).

At the hearing, Complainants presented the testimony of

three Agency field investigators on inspections of Respondent’s

auto salvage yard and the land and waters in the vicinity of

the site from May 27,

1976,

through September

8,

1977.

On

five separate occasions the investigators discovered refuse

including tires, tire rims,

trailer hulls,

jagged metal and

other

debris

deposited

without

cover

material

in Respondent’s

salvage

yard

on

MSD’s

land,

in the DesPlaines River and on

its bank

(R.

25—27,

34—47,

39—40).

The investigations also

revealed burned materials on Respondent’s site

(R.

27,

52,

60).

Linda Staton,

an Agency Specialist in the Division

of Water Pollution Control, observed the deposits of refuse

along the banks of the DesPlaines River during two inspections

of the site and concluded that the refuse constituted

a water

pollution hazard

(R.

57-59).

Other witnesses testified about the frequent fires which

occurred at Respondent’s auto salvage yard.

Chief Thomas

Nelson,

of the Tn-State Fire Department,

stated that he was

called to three fires consisting of burning tires and car

seats

on April

10,

1976,

on December 10,

1976,

and on April

11,

1977

(R.

84,

88,

91).

On April

11,

1977,

heavy smoke

from fires on Respondent’s site forced the closing of a nearby

31—148

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—3—

highway

CR.

91).

Fireman Charles Quillan testified that three

separate

fires

occurred

on

December

2,

1976,

at

Respondent’s

site

in piles of tires and car seats

CR.

66,

70).

Mr. Quillan

also stated that the entrance way was temporarily blocked by

a junked auto placed there by an employee of the Respondent

CR.

65,

72).

The

Board

finds

that

the

evidence

presented

in

the

record

are

sufficient

to

support

a

finding

that

Respondent’s

salvage

yard was in violation of Section 9(c)

of the Act and Rule 502

(Chapter

2)

for causing or allowing open burning on April

10,

1976, December

2,

1976, December

10,

1976, and April

11,

1977;

and that Respondent was

in violation of Section 21(b)

of the

Act and Rules

305(a)

and

(c)

for failing to apply daily and

final coven

to its non-auto salvage refuse.

The parties

also agree to violations of Rule 202(b) (1)

of Chapter

7 and

Section 21(b)

which the Board will accept for purposes of

this proceeding.

PROPOSAL FOR SETTLEMENT

The Respondent has agreed to cease and desist from all

further violations of the Act and Rules.

This includes

stipulations to clear all refuse off the land owned by the

MSD and to remove all debris in the DesPlaines River

in the

vicinity of Respondent’s site within

60 days of this Board

Order.

Respondent further agrees to remove all non-auto

salvage refuse from its site and to dispose of the stockpiles

of automobile tires

in a lawful manner within the same 60—day

time period.

In addition, Respondent will obtain a surety

bond within 45 days of the Board Order which would be for-

feited in the event that an open burning violation occurred

at the auto salvage site within the next three years

(Stip.

10—12)

South DuPage Auto Salvage,

Inc. has agreed to pay a

penalty of $5,000 within

35 days of this Order.

The Board

has considered the Section

33(c)

factors in assessing a

penalty for these violations, and finds that it is reasonable

and acceptable.

The Board will accept the Stipulation and

Proposal for Settlement and will require that the panties

adhere to all provisions contained therein.

This Opinion constitutes the Board’s findings of fact

and conclusions of law in this matter.

ORDER

1.

South DuPage Auto Salvage, Inc.

is hereby found to

have violated Sections 9(c),

12(d)

and 21(b)

of the Environmental

Protection Act and Rule 502 of Chapter

2:

Air Pollution Regula-

31—149

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tions and Rules 202(b) (1),

305(a)

and 305(c) of Chapter

7:

Solid Waste Regulations.

2.

Respondent shall fully comply with all the provisions

of the Settlement Proposal which is hereby incorporated by

reference as

if fully set forth herein.

3.

Respondent shall pay a penalty of $5,000 for its

violations of the Act and the Air Pollution and Solid Waste

Regulations payable within 35 days from the date of this

Order

to:

State of Illinois

Attorney for Complainants

Environmental Control Division

188 West Randolph, Suite 2315

Chicago,

Illinois

60601

IT IS SO ORDERFD.

I, Christan L. Moffett, Clerk of the Illinois Pollution

Control Board,

hei’eby certify the above

pinion and Order were

adopted on the

_______

day of

___________________,

1978 by a

vote of ~

31—150

Illinois Polluti

Board