ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD

February 11,

1976

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY,

)

Complainant,

v.

)

PCB 75—281

DOMINICK’S FINER FOODS, INC.,

)

an

Illinois Corporation,

Respondent.

Mr. Larry B. Blackwood, Assistant Attorney General,

appeared for the Complainant;

Mr. Lucien D. Levaccare, Attorney,

appeared for the Respondent.

OPINION AND ORDER OF THE BOARD

(by Mr.

Zeitlin):

This matter is before the Board on an Enforcement Complaint

filed by the Environmental Protection Agency

(Agency)

on July 22,

1975,

and an Amended Complaint filed September

4,

1975, both alleging that

Respondent Dominick’s Finer Foods,

Inc.

(Dominick’s)

caused

noise

pollution

in violation of the Environmental Protection Act

(Act), and

Ch.

8: Noise Pollution,

of the Pollution Control Board Rules and

Regulations.

In addition to the alleged violations of Section 24 of

the Act and Rule 102 of the Noise Regulations

in the original Complaint,

a

second count in the Amended Complaint alleges three specific dates

of violation of Rule 202 of the Noise Regulations, which controls sound

emitted to Class A land from Class B land.

A Stipulation and Proposal for Settlement was submitted by the

parties at a hearing held November

17, 1975,

in Chicago.

Several

stipulated exhibits accompanied the Stipulation and Proposal for

Settlement.

No other evidence or pleadings are now before the

Board.

Because Dominick’s has stipulated to all the violations alleged,

because the Agency has stipulated that those violations have now been

abated,

and because the Board will accept the settlement proposed by

the parties, we may briefly recite the facts in this matter as fully

set out in the Stipulation and Proposal for Settlement.

At its retail food store

at 8631 West 95th Street, Hickory Hills,

Illinois,

Dominick’s utilizes

a refrigeration system including

42

condenser units with fans,

five large roof

fans, and

associated equip-

ment.

Shortly after it began using the refrigeration system in 1973,

Dominick’s began receiving noise complaints from nearby residents.

Beginning in May, 1974,

those complaints were taken to the Agency.

A

June 18,

1974, noise survey by the Agency

(Ex.

A)

indicated violations

of Rule

202.

From that date through the filing of the Complaint in

this matter, Dominick’s and the Agency carried on an exchange of

communications through conferences,

letters and telephone calls.

20—29

---

—2—

Throughout that period Dominick’s attempted various methods of

controlling the noise from its compressor room and the equipment

described above.

Sound-absorptive vents for the compressor room were

ordered by August

6,

1974.

Baffles were installed inside the compressor

room around that time, but were removed.

In early 1975,

Dominick’s

installed spray-on materials throughout its compressor room.

In

April, 1975 Dominick’s installed exterior acoustical baffles over the

compressor room vents.

None of those strategies worked,

as was shown

by noise surveys made by Agency personnel and attached as exhibits to

the Stipulation.

Finally,

subsequent to the filing of this action,

Dominick’s

installed acoustic baffles around the five roof fans for the compressor

room.

An August 19,

1975 noise survey by the Agency satisfied the

Agency that Respondent’s noise pollution problems had been abated

(Ex.L).

Based on those

facts,

the parties proposed the following settlement:

(a)

Respondent stipulates that the noise surveys

attached hereto of noise from the refrigeration systems

at its retail food store at 8631 West 95th Street, Hickory

Hills,

Illinois,

taken prior

to August,

1975,

show that

said refrigeration system was causing noise pollution under

Rules 102 and 202 of the Noise Pollution Control Regulations.

(b)

Respondent agrees to maintain said refrigeration

system so as not

to cause or allow noise pollution

in the

future.

(c)

Complainant stipulates

that, after an initial

period of apparent confusion, Respondent has sought to

eliminate the noise pollution from said refrigeration

system.

(d)

Complainant further stipulates that the measures

undertaken by Respondent, to wit,

installation of K-l3

Spray-On Material

in the compressor room and installation

of acoustic baffles over the exterior vents and the five

roof fans,

have now satisfactorily abated the noise

pollution from said refrigeration system.

(e)

Respondent agrees to pay a penalty of $100.00

for its past violations of Rules 102 and 202 of the Noise

Pollution Control Regulations.

(f)

This stipulation and settlement applies only

to noise from the refrigeration system at Respondent’s

retail food store at 8631 West 95th Street, Hickory Hills,

Illinois, and has no relevance or application to any other

noise or other pollution caused by that store or any other

facility owned or operated by Respondent.

20—30

---

—3—

We find that settlement acceptable, despite the low penalty.

We reached this finding based on Dominick’s apparent good faith in

attempting to abate the violation here.

With minor exception,

Dominick’s has cooperated fully with the Agency and,

in addition,

used its own initiative in expending approximately $15,000 in its

attempt

to solve the problem.

As regards Dominick’s present compliance, the Attorney General

properly pointed out at hearing that the August

19, 1975 noise survey

(Ex.L) indicates a very slight violation of Rule 202 on its face.

That violation,

however, was attributed at hearing to background

ambient noise levels,

rather than to Dominick’s food store

(R.7).

We

will,

in this instance, defer to the parties’

(and particularly the

Agency’s)

judgement on that issue.

The Agency conducted the survey

in question,

at the site, and

is best able

(under the narrow circum-

stances in this case)

to interpret that survey.

This Opinion constitutes the findings of fact and conclusions

of law of the Board in this matter.

ORDER

IT IS THE ORDER OF THE POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD that:

1.

Respondent Dominick’s Finer Foods,

Inc.

is found to have

operated a refrigeration system in a retail food store at 8631 West

95th Street, Hickory Hills,

Illinois,

in violation of Section 24 of

the Environmental Protection Act and Rules

102 and 202 of Chapter

8:

Noise Pollution of the Pollution Control Board Rules and Regulations.

2.

Respondent shall pay as a penalty for the above violations

the sum of One Hundred Dollars

($100.00), payment to be made within

thirty

(30) days

of the date of this Order by certified check or money

order to:

Environmental Protection Agency

Fiscal Services Division

2200 Churchill Road

Springfield,

Illinois

62706

3.

Respondent

shall maintain said refrigeration system so as

not

to cause or allow noise pollution.

I,

Christan L. Moffett,

Clerk of the Illinois Pollution

Control Board, he~ebycertif

t~eabove Opinion and Order wer

adopted on the

fr’’

day of

,

1976,

by a vote of

..p

—.

Christan

L. Mof

tt,

k

Illinois Pollution C

ol

Board