ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD

October 14,

1976

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY,

Complainant,

V.

)

PCB 76—23

TOM OZBURN,

Respondent.

Mr.

Richard W. Cosby, Assistant Attorney General, Attorney

for Complainant

OPINION AND ORDER OF THE BOARD

(by Mr. Young):

This matter comes before the Board on a Complaint filed

January 21,

1976 by the Environmental Protection Agency

charging

tb.at Respondent Tom Ozburn owned and operated from

July 27,

1974 until January 21,

1976

a solid waste management

site without the necessary operating permit in violation of

Rule 202(b) (1)

of Chapter

7:

Solid Waste Regulations, and in

further violation of Section 21(b)

of the Act,

Mr. Ozburn

did not file any pleadings

in this matter and did not appear

at the hearings held in Sterling on April

30,

1976 and August

11, 1976.

On February

2,

1976,

the Agency caused a Request for

Admission of Fact to be served on Mr~Ozhurn.

Because Respon-

dent failed to file an answer to that Request within 20 days

of its receipt, all requests for admission contained therein

are deemed admitted by operation of Board Procedural Rule

314 (c).

As a

result

of

these admissions and the Agency

testi-

mony

at the hearing,

it is clear a violation has been proven.

Mr. Ozburn has owned and operated a solid waste management

site located in Section 27, Township

22 North, Range

3 East in

Whiteside County since July 27,

1974 until January 21,

1976

without the necessary operating permit.

Mr. Robert Wengrow,

Inspector for the Agency!s Division of

Land Pollution Control, visited the site on August 27, 1975 and

observed openly dumped demolition wastes

(R.

8).

No attempt

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to cover the material had been made and the site was freely

accessible to the public.

Other Agency inspection reports

indicate the site was operational through January 21,

1976

(Exh.

2,

5).

Included in this exhibit are recent photographs

of the site which when contrasted with photographs taken on

November

19, 1975,

(Ag.

Exh.

1A) disclose there has been

a marked improvement in conditions at the site,

On the basis of the foregoing,

the Board finds that Respon-

dent did violate Rule 202(b) (1)

of the Regulations by operating

his solid waste management site without

~n operating permit.

The Board will dismiss that portion of the Complaint alleging

violation of Section 21(b)

of the Act;

the Board has often

held that a violation of the operating permit requirement con-

stitutes

a violation of Section 21(e), not 21(h),

E

& E Hauling,

PCB 74—473,

16 PCB 215

(1975).

Because Respondent has defaulted

in this matter,

factors

which the Board would ordinarily weigh in mitigation are absent

from the record.

On the basis of the facts contained

in the

record,

however,

the Board will order that Respondent cease and

desist further violations of the Solid Waste Regulations and

apply proper final cover in accordance with the Regulations.

The

Board will ~lso

assess a penalty of $5OO~OOas an aid

to the en-

forcement of the Act.

An effective permit system is essential

to

reaching the State~senvironmental goals and the Board must assess

a penalty in cases, such as this, when that system has been com-

pletely ignored.

This Opinion constitutes the Board~s fendings of fact and con-

clusions of law in this matter.

ORDER

1.

Respondent,

Tom

Ozburn,

has

owned

and operated a solid

waste management site without an operating permit in violation

of Rule 202(b) (1)

of Chapter

7:

Solid Waste Rules and Regula-

tions and shall pay a penalty of $500.00

for this violation.

Penalty payment by certified check or money order payable

to the

State of Illinois shall be made within

35 days of the date of this

Order to:

Fiscal Services Division,

Illinois Environmental Pro-

tection Agency,

2200 Churchill Road,

Springfield,

Illinois,

62706k

2,

Respondent shall immediately cease and desist further

violations of the Solid Waste Regulations and properly close

the site in accordance with the Regulations within 90 days of

the date of this Order.

3.

That portion of the Complaint alleging violation of

Section 21(b)

of the Act is hereby dismissed.

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26

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—3—

IT

IS SO ORDERED.

Mr. Jacob

ID. Dumelle concurs.

I, Christan

L. Moffett,

Clerk of the Illinois Pollution

ion and Order were

Control Board, hereby certify theO

,

1976 by a

adopted o~the

/q1’~

day of

________________

vote of

~

Illinois Pollution