ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOAPD

February 14, 1974

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY,

)

)

Complainant,

vs.

)

PCB 73—346

ALLEN BECKER, d/b/a

)

BECKER’S CHICKEN-EGG

FARM,

)

)

Respondents

James K. Jenks, II, Assistant Attorney General

for Complainant.

Albert H. Krusemark, Sr., of Krusemark and Bertani,

attorney for Respondent.

OPINION AND ORDER OF THE BOARD (by Dr. Odell)

The Respondent, Allen Becker, doing business as Becker’s

Chicken~Egg Farm (hereinafter Becker), operates a farm facility,

a portion of which is utilized for the production of eggs,

located on Cicero Avenue in Monee, Wtll County, Illinois.

The Environmental Protection Agency (hereinafter Agency)

filed a Complaint on August 16, 1973, against Respondent stating

as follows:

a. “That beginning on or about July 1, 1970, and con-

tinuing every day of operation to the filin~of

this Complaint, Respondent has operated said

facility in a manner which caused or allowed the

discharge of odors from animal waste and dead and

decaying chickens into the ambient atmosphere of

the State of Illinois~

b. That the aforesaid odors are contaminants within

the meaning of Section 3(d) of the Environmental

Protectionpar.

1003(d)~

Act~I1l,(hereinafter

Rev.

Stat.,

Act).

1971,

ch.

111

½~

c. That

the

presence in the atmosphere of the afore~

mentioned odors are of sufficient

quantities and

of such characteristics

and duration as to

be

11

—263

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injurious

to

human, plant or animal

life, to

health

or to property,

or to unreasonably inter—

fere with the enjoyment of life or property, and

therefore causes air

pollution as that term is

defined in Section 3(b) of the Act.

d. That the aforesaid discharge of odors so as to

cause air pollution either alone or in combination

with contaminants

from.other

sources, violates

Section 9(a) of the Act.

it is Complainant’s

belief and Complainant hereby alleges and may show

that the violations alleged

will

continue on

each

day

of operation hereafter,

unless abated.”

A hearing was held on December 18, 1973, In lieu of a

full hearing, a written Stipulation And Proposal For Settlement,

submitted by the Complainant and Respondent,

was

entered into

the

record

as a basis

for

mutual agreement between

the parties

in this enforcement action. This Stipulation included

additional

facts and

proposed terms

of settlement.

Statement

Of Facts

Allen Becker operates Becker’s Chicken—Egg Farm on Cicero

Avenue in Monee, Illinois, and “resides thereon under the

authority of a leasing agreement between his father,

Clarence

Becker, Sr., and the Village of South Park Forest.

Clarence

Becker, Sr., sold the entire 120 acre farm to New Community

Enterprises, Park Forest South, in 1970, Prior to 1970,

Clarence Becker, Sr. and his family operated a farm on the

premises for approximately 60 years, primarily for the

production

of corn, oats

and

beans.

The egg producing portion of the facility began in

approximately 1964, under contract with a chicken owner and

supplier, with’ 7,400 chickens. The number of chickens annually

maintained on the farm since that time has remained constant at

7,400. The pullet owner and supplier is Roth Hatcheries, Inc.,

Watseka, Illinois. Under the terms of the contractual arrange-

ment between Becker and Roth Hatcheries, Becker

receives 18 of

the gross sale of eggs and Roth Hatcheries receives 82.

A normal egg

laying and

production

cycle

is as follows:

after a laying cycle, all chickens.are removed from

the

building

by Roth Hatcheries

and

sold for salvage. Roth Hatcheries then

supervises the complete cleaning and disinfecting of the interior

of the chicken house, A new brood of 7,400 chickens, all twenty

weeks of age, is then placed in Becker’s chicken house by Roth

Hatcheries. Becker then has the duty of daily maintenance of

the chickens while Roth Hatcheries supplies the feed, A nor~na~

laying cycle for each brood of chickens is 14 months, The r~rnafrj~

ing chickens are then removed from the building and sold I

salvage and the cycle begins again.

11—264

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However, because of

the existing marketing conditions,

the

present batch of chickens, whose egg producing usefulness

will terminate prior to July 1, 1974, will be the last batch of

chickens

kept

at

the

Becker facility.

After July

1, 1974, New Community Enterprises, Park

Forest South, plans to utilize the Becker property for the

construction of an Industrial Park.

In 1972, Becker’s share of the gross receipts from the

egg producing portion of the farm was approximately $3,000.

Chicken waste, which accumulates at the rate of 1/4 pound

per day, per chicken, is retained on the floor of the chicken

house in a volume six inches high extending the full length and

width of the chicken house. In the past, chicken waste has been

removed from the house at a frequency varying between once each

month to once each five months. The waste is removed from the

chicken house and is hauled to the farm fields in a Brady Manure

Hauler. It then is spread on the surface of the land in the

fields. As a result of the operation of the egg producing facility,

there have been odors produced from the chicken waste which have

affected some of the nearby residents on various occasions.

There are approximately twelve residents in the neabby area who

have experienced odors on the average of two times per week emitted

from Becker~sfarm. The odor has caused some of them to feel

nauseous and they have been unable to carry on normal recreational

activities in and around their homes on those occasions when the

odor is present.

The chicken house Is ventilated through the use of six

ceiling fans which draw the aIr through the chicken house and

exhaust directly into the outside air without pollution control

of any type.

Approximately 74 chickens die each month and are retained

in the chicken house In plastic bags. They are periodically

removed from the premises by the Star Disposal Company.

Occasionally, chickens escape from the chicken house and die in

the surrounding fields, Their carcasses, on occasion, have con-

tributed to the odor from the facility. Prior to 1968, dead

chickens were disposed of by incineration and by burial, Inciner-

ation was discontinued because of complaints by nearby residents,

Burial was discontinued when the disposal service was employed.”

Terms Of Settlement

“The parties hereby stipulate and agree that the settle-

ment of the above-entitled enforcement action shall be as set

forth below. This proposed settlement is expressly conditioned

upon, and effective only with approval thereof in all respects

by the Illinois Pollution Control Board; however, Becker has

proceeded to implement the program hereinafter described during

the pendency of this litigation. The parties further stipulate

---

—4—

that all statements contained herein shall be null, void and

of no effect and shall not be used in any further litigation

in the event that the Board fails to approve the following

terms of settlement in all respects:

a. Whenever field access permits, manure will be removed

from the chicken house and hauled to the fields and spread at

least once weekly.

b. Manure will in all instances be hauled to the west

field of the farm, which is the area most remote from the

populated area, and shall be applied

at

a reasonable rate so as

not to cause surface or ground water pollution.

c. Whenever soil conditions permit, the manure will be

incorporated into the soil immediately after spreading.

d. The manure hauling schedule will be arranged in such

a manner as to avoid interfering with outdoor recreation

activities of neighbors, and under no circumstances will manure

be hauled on weekends or after 6:00 p.m. daily.

e. Manure will be hauled only when the wind direction is

prevailing in a direction which

is

away from nearby residential

f. Egg laying operations will terminate no later than

July 1, 1974.

g. All manure will be completely removed from the

chicken house within two weeks of the termination of this final

laying cycle, but in no event later than July 15, 1974.

h. Nothing herein shall be construed as not allowing

Respondent to terminate the egg laying cycle prior to July 1,

1974.

i. In all instances, the Dead Animal Disposal Act will

be complied withI11. Rev. Stat., ch. 8, par. 149—167 (1971)

j.

Respondent agrees to pay a penalty of $800 for all

violations alleged in the complaint upon the adoption of this

stipulation by order of the Pollution Control Board.

k. This settlement in no way provides or exempts

Be.~ner

from any other obligations it may incur under the laws of

Illinois and specifically any future violations of the ETv~~

mental Protection Act.”

No citizens attended the hearing. There was

no ci!:izen

testimony concerning odors or the stipulated statement about

odors, Violation of Section 9(a) of the Environmental Protection

11—266

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—5—

Act is not proven by the facts submitted. However, the emission

of objectionable odors from Becker’s poultry farm is stipulated

by the parties in the instant case. The Board interprets the

Stipulation concerning odorous emissions from Respondent’s poultry

enterprise as a violation of Section 9(a) of the Environmental

Protection Act.

This poultry enterprise is located on land that is in

transition between agricultural and industrial use, with economic

factors pressing toward the latter. ~chieving compliance by

liquidation is usually not desirable, but this is being done in

the instant case because of current egg marketing conditions,

and prior contractual arrangements to construct an Industrial

Park on the site after July

1,

1974. During the interim to

July 1, 1974, Becker will follow practices to abate objectionable

odors, as specified in items a, b, c, d, and e in the Terms of

Settlement. We find that these practices are reasonable, as is

the requirement in item g that all manure shall be removed from

the chicken house promptly after the final laying cycle is com-

pleted.

This Opinion constitutes the findings of fact and con-

clusions of law of the Board.

ORDER

IT IS THE ORDER of the Pollution Control Board that:

1. Respondent shall follow

thee

compliance program

stipulated in items a, b, c, d, e, g, and i under

the above Terms Of Settlement.

2. Egg laying operations shall terminate according to

stipulated items

f and h in the

above Terms Of

Settlement.

3. Respondent

shall pay a penalty

of $800.00 for

violations of Section 9(a) of the Environmental

Protection Act. Payment of this penalty is to

be made within sixty (60) days of the

issuance

of this Order by

the Pollution Control

Board.

Payment shall be made by certified check to:

Illinois Environmental Protection

Agency, Fiscal

Services, 2200 Churchill Road,

Springfield,

Illinois 62706.

I, Christan L. Moffett,

Clerk of the Illinois Pollution Control

Board, hereby certify that the above Opinion and Order

was adopted

on the ~4~.day ~

1974, by a vote of ~ toQ~.

~

Christan L. Moff~/Clerk

11—261