ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL1

BDne’u)

October 30,

1975

ENVIRONMENTAL

PROTECTION

AGENCY,

)

Complainant,

)

v.

)

PQ 75—337

)

VILLAGE

OF

SPRINGERTON,

)

Respondent.

INTERIM

OPINION

AND

ORDER

OF

THE

BOARD

(by Mt. Goodman):

This matter comes before the Pollution Control Board

(Board)

upon

the

motion

of

the

Environmental

Protection

Agency

(Agency)

to

vacate

and

reconsider

the

Board

Order

of

september

4,

1975,

herein.

The

Board

finds,

as

a

matter

of

law,

that

it,

as

any

judicial or quasi-judicial body,

inherently has the power to

determine, before hearing, whether it

has

jurisdiction over

the

subject

matter

of

any

cause

brought’ before

it.

This

naturally

follows

from

the

proposition

that

if

the

Board

does

not

have

jurisdiction

over

the

subject

matter,

then

any

Board

Orders

in

such

matters

would

be

nullities

in

the

eyes

of

the

law.’

The

Board

will,

however,

grant

the

Agency’s

Motion

to

Vacate

and

Reconsider,

and

will

order

the

Respondent

to

file

an

Answer

to

the

Agency’s

Brief.

However,

the

Answer

shall

be

limited

to

the

issue

of

whether

the

Board

in

fact

does

have

jurisdiction,

at

this

t$me

over

enforcement

complaints

alleging

violations

of

NPDES

permits.

In

consideration of the foregoing, it is the Order of

the Board that:

.1) Its Order of September 4, 1975, herein, be and is

hereby

vacated;

and

2)

Respondent

may

file

an

Answer

to

Complaint’s

Brief

within

28

days

of

this

Order

and

that

the

Agency

shall

file

its

Reply

within

fourteen

da±sof

its’

receiving

Respondent’

5

Answer.

IT

IS

Sb

ORDERED~

Mr.

Young

abstains.

I,

Christan

L.

Moffett, Clerk of the Illinois Pollution

Control Board,

hereby

certify

the

above

Interim

Opin

o

and

Order

were

adopted

on

the

______________

day

of

‘

‘

l975byavoteof~.74.

19168

C

rastan

L.

Mo

Clerk

Illinois

PbllutiofrQ’ontrol

Board