ILLINOIS POLLUTION
    CONTROL
    BOARD
    August
    4,
    1977
    PEOPLE OF THE
    STATE
    OF ILLINOIS,
    cx rd. WILLIAM J.
    SCOTT, ATTORNEL
    GENERAL OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS,
    Complainant,
    v.
    )
    PCB 74-410
    PHILADELPHIA QUARTZ COMPANY,
    )
    a Pennsylvania corporation,
    )
    Respondent.
    MR. JAMES K.
    JENKS,
    II, ASSISTANT
    ATTORNEY
    GENERAL, APPEARED ON
    BEHALF OF COMPLAINANT;
    MR. FRED C, PRILLMAN,
    OF MOHAN,
    ALEWELT
    AND PRILLMAN,
    APPEARED
    ON BEHALF OF RESPONDENT.
    OPINION AND ORDER OF THE BOARD
    (by Mr.
    Goodman):
    On October
    30,
    1974 the Attorney General for the People of the
    State of Illinois filed a Complaint against Philadelphia Quartz
    Company
    (P.Q.) alleging that contaminants emitted as a result of
    Respondent’s manufacturing process violate Section 9(a)
    of the En-
    vironmental Protection Act
    (Act), by causing or allowing air pollu-
    tion as that term is defined in Section
    3(b)
    of the Act.
    Four
    hearings were held.
    The first, held September 11,
    1975, concerned
    negotiations that were taking place.
    Two later hearings recorded
    pre-trial activity.
    At the final hearing on June
    2,
    1977 at LaSalle
    County Courthouse
    in Ottawa,
    the parties submitted a Stipulation and
    Proposed Settlement which was entered into the record and forms the
    basis of this Opinion and Order.
    It is hereby incorporated by
    reference as
    if fully set forth herein,
    P.Q.
    is
    a manufacturing facility in Utica producing sodium
    silicate which is used in industry in the production,
    for example,
    of adhesives and detergents.
    The production process utilizes sand,
    soda ash
    (sodium carbonate),
    caustic soda,
    and water and includes
    unloading,
    storing,
    mixing, concentrating,
    and transporting these
    materials on the site.
    P.Q.
    is located in an
    industrial
    area.
    To
    the west and south a trailer
    court has
    4eveloped.
    During the spring
    and suinmei~of 1974 the
    Environmental Protec-
    tion Agency,
    the Attorney
    General~sOffice
    and other officials
    received complaints from Utica residents.
    A dust,
    reported
    originating from P..Q.,
    settled onto autos and trailers, was difficult
    to remove, and damaged the surface of the property touched.
    Prior
    to this time,
    P.Q. had received no complaints.
    Stack tests conducted
    prior to 1974 showed no malfunctions.
    A
    baghouse and demister were
    installed in August,
    1974 to control emissions from the stack used
    in the metso—bead process,
    thought to be the source of the damaging
    dust.
    After commencement of this action,
    P.Q. conducted further
    stack tests,
    hiked an independent consultant
    to
    inspect the plant
    and recommend further control devices, and implemented the
    recommended program consisting of activities and equipment designed
    to reduce the emissions from P,Q,~sUtica plant.
    Results of the
    tests show P.Q.
    in compliance with the numerical emission limitations
    of Chapter
    2, Air Pollution Regulations~
    P.Q.
    alleges that the
    damaging emissions in question here could have been the result of
    a malfunction, though after several investigations,
    the actual cause
    was not determined.
    The Board agrees with the parties that the People of the State
    of Illinois are best served by the resolution of the subject enforce-
    ment action under the terms and conditions
    provided
    in the
    Stipulation and Proposed Settlements
    On the basis
    of
    the Stipula-
    tion,
    the Board finds Philadelphia Quartz
    Company
    violated Section
    9(a)
    of the Environmental Protection Act in that contaminants as
    defined in Section 3(d)
    of the Act were emitted from its facility
    producing sodium silicate so as to cause air pollution as defined
    in Section
    3(b)
    of the Act.
    The Board accepts the terms of the Proposed Settlement and
    orders P.Q.
    to comply with the conditions therein
    (Stipulation, p.14,
    paragraph
    22) which
    establish a scheme to
    keep the Attorney General~s
    Office fully aware of P.Q,’s compliance with its contaminant re-
    duction program.
    Complainant has requested no penalty.
    The
    Board agrees no
    penalty should be assessed here.
    In view of P.Q.’s
    good faith
    efforts to control emissions made prior to
    commencement of this action
    and its compliance program, which included installation of two
    scrubbers
    (at $60,000 each)
    and two demister pads
    (another $27,000)
    intended to eliminate
    any
    further air pollution violations, the Board
    will assess no penalty in this case,
    —3—
    This Opinion constitutes
    the Board’s
    finding of fact
    at-id conclu-
    sions
    of law in this matter.
    ORL~R
    1.
    Philadelphia Quartz
    Company
    is hereby found to have
    violated Section 9(a)
    of the Environmental
    Protection Act
    through the emission of contaminants causing air pollution.
    2.
    Philadelphia Quartz
    is ordered to continue its compli-
    ance program and comply with the terms of the Settlement Pro-
    posal.
    The entire Stipulation and Proposed Settlement is
    hereby incbrporated by reference
    as if
    set
    forth herein.
    IT IS SO ORDERED.
    I, Christan L.
    Moffett,
    Clerk of the Illinois Pollution Control
    Board, hereby certify the above Opinion and Order wer
    adopted on
    the
    day of___________
    ,
    1977 by
    a vote of______________
    Christan
    L. Moffet~,
    rk
    Illinois Pollution
    rol Board

    Back to top