ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
March 25,
1976
JOHN SEXTON CONTRACTORS CO.,
)
Petitioner,
v
)
PCB 75—478
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY,
)
Respondent.
INTERIM OPINION AND ORDER OF THE BOARD
(by Mr.
Zeitlin):
The Board here considers a Motion to Dismiss,
filed
February 20, 1976 by Intervenor,
People of the State of Illinois,
and a Motion for Summary Judgement,
filed by Petitioner John Sexton
Contractors Co.
(Sexton) on March
4,
1976.
The People’s
Motion asks that the matter be dismissed and
remanded to Respondent Environmental Protection Agency
(Agency),
“with instructions for it to obtain and evaluate the requisite
site suitability information.”
Sexton’s Motion, among other things,
asks that a previous directive issued by the Agency requiring that
Sexton submit certain data pertaining to
“siting and zoning factors”
be declared void,
along with specific standard and special conditions
contained
in a solid waste development permit issued
to Sexton by
the Agency.
As regards those portions of Sexton’s “Complaint”
seeking
reversal of those standard and special conditions
in the development
permit,
we agree that those conditions have already been adjudged
invalid by the Illinois Supreme Court.
The hearing to be held in
this matter need not consider those conditions.
In all other respects,
however,
the Notion to Dismiss and the
Motion for Summary Judgement are denied.
As pointed out in the Attorney General’s Response to Notion
for Summary Judgement,
there are indeed issues of fact remaining
to be determined
here.
Among other things,
facts should be elicited
to allow a determination of the reasonableness of any actions by
Sexton in commencing development of the site,
the extent of those
actions, and of whether Sexton reasonably relied on the previously
issued Development Permit when commencing
such development.
20—401
—2--
In addition to those factual issues,
to be decided on the
record generated at hearing, there also remain several issues of
law for determination by the Board.
These issues should be
thoroughly briefed by the parties,
following the hearing,
and
include:
1.
The effect of Carlson
v. Village
of Worth,
No.
47334
(Ill.
S.
Ct., Sept.
26,
1975), on other~
existing development and operating permits, both as
to
(a)
the individual conditions discussed in that
case, without specific adjudication by any court or
administrative body, and
(b) the validity in their
entirety of such other permits containing the conditions
at issue in Carlson.
2.
The authority of the Agency to modify or
withdraw permits containing the stricken conditions,
with or without admission by the Agency that it had
failed to consider relevant land use or zoning issues
when granting such permits.
3.
The authority or power of an individual
to rely on such permits following the Supreme Court’s
Carison decision.
4.
The authority or power of an individual
to
act on the assumption that the Supreme Court’s
Carison decision would or must apply to similar
~T~Tons
in a different permit.
5.
The application of reliance or estoppel
theories to this Board’s decisions
in circumstances
such as those here.
6.
The effect on otherwise valid permits
of
the Agency’s failure to perform mandatory duties
in
connection with the issue of those permits.
7.
The effect of community or individual
rights which may be prejudiced by such a failure of
the Agency,
vis—a--vis the presence or absence of any
reasonable reliance by
a permit holder,
or any other
theory which might serve to validate such a permit
or actions taken under it.
20— 402
—3—
8.
In light of the above issues,
any Others
which the parties feel are applicable under the facts
in this case.
This matter has previously been set for hearing, which decision
is not altered.
Except as noted above,
Motions for Dismissal and
Summary Judgement are denied.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
I, Christan L. Moffett,
Clerk of the Illinois Pollution
Control Board,
hereby cqrtify the abo e Interim Opinion and Ordei~
were adopted on the
~
day of
_________,
1976, by a vote of
~.S.0
C ristan L. Mof
,
Clerk
Illinois Polluti ~Contro1
Board
20—403