ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL
BOARD
March
14,
1972
ENVIRONMENTAL
PROTECTION
AGENCY
V.
AIRTEX PRODUCTS,
INC.
)
PCB 71—325
and
CITY
OF FAIRFIELD
)
Dissenting Opinion by Jacob
D.
Durnelle
On March
14
the Board voted to vacate part of its order of
February
3 by
a vote of 3-i.
I dissented in that vote because
it was wrong for the Board to have taken an unnecessary restrictive
view of its power to fashion a remedy after
a finding of
pollution
and because it was inconsistent with the Board’s prior history and
decisions of taking
a broad view of its authority to act.
Vacated
as if it was never entered was
a directive compelling Airtex to
cease and desist from discharging any and all cyanide compounds
from one of its plants in Fairfield,
Illinois.
In a post-hearing motion Airtex contended that since the
Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA)
in its opening statement at
the hearing in this matter disclaimed the entry of
a prospective
cease and desist order
the Board was without authority
to enter
such an order.
I emphatically disagree with the Board’s modification of its
earlier order and hold to the proposition that the fashioning of
a
remedy is discretionary with the Board and only with
the Board.
The EPA and other parties may suggest or recommend Board action but
they cannot set the
limits of Board action.
The authority for Board
exercise of discretion in deciding individual cases is clearly ex-
pressed in the Environmental Protection Act and the Board is able
to
so structure
a remedy that the accomplishment of the legisla-
tion’s purpose will be thereby furthered.
Unquestionably the
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legislative
fabric was
left to be adorned by the ad hoc adjudication
of particular situations.
The Environmental Protection Act puts
the
respondent
on
notice,
even in the face of an EPA disclaimer,
as
to the breadth of the remedial order which the Board may
issue.
The Board
in making its determination based on the evidence and
testimony adduced at the hearing has the power to “enter
such anal
order,. .as
it shall deem appropriate under
the
circumstances.”
Such an order may include
a directive
to cease and desist from2yiola-
tions of the Act as well as the imposition of money penalties.
The
Board’s
ambit
of authority in fashioning a remedy
is
thus clearly
drawn
and
cannot be circumscribed
by
a party to an action or even
by the agreement of both parties in the action.
Of the manifold
responsibilities, charges,
and areas of authority which the General
Assembly gave to the Pollution Control Board the selection of an
appropriate remedy would appear to be
a power especially preserved
for the exercise of administrative discretion.
I have noted before and
I must reiterate that this Board
is too prone to issue
a tough clean-up order with
a follow—up
undercutting the order.
The question of the propriety of the
cease and desist order in this case,
if not universally agreed
upon,
is at the very least arguable
to the point of allowing
the
Appellate Court
to decide the issue.
This
Board must retain its
statutorily granted
prerogative of exercising discretion in adapting
remedy
to violation.
N.L.R.B.
v.
Seven-Up Bottling Co.
of Miami,
Inc.31 would be
an excellent case for this Board to be guided by in this instance.
There the U.S.
Supreme Court dealt with an administrative agency’s
authority in drawing a remedy for violations of federal
labor
law.
In that case the NLRB applied
a formula with respect to payment of
back wages for which there was no precedent.
The Supreme Court
upheld the agency’s discretion in choice of remedy and said that
“remedies must be functions of
the purposes
to be accomplished,” and
further that
“in fashioning remedies to undo the effects of violations
of the Act the Board must draw on enlightenment gained from
experience.”
How simple yet important
is that key phrase “functions
of the purposes.”
iT
Ill,
Rev.
Stat. Ch. lll—l/2~ 1033(a).
2
Ill.
Rev.
Stat.
Ch. lll—l/2~ 1033(b).
Such order may include
a direction to cease and desist from
violations of the Act or of
the Board’s rules and regulations
and/or the imposition by the Board of money penalties
in
accord with Title XII of this Act.
The Board may
also revoke
the permit
as
a penalty for violation.
If such order includes
a reasonable delay during which
to correct a violation,
the
Board may require
the posting of sufficient performance bond
or other securi?y to assure the correction of such violation
within the time prescribed.
3
97 L.Ed.
377
(1953)
4
—60
Another consideration in this case
is
the importance of
a
cease and desist order when dealing with a hazardous toxic substance
like
cyanide.
When
a
discharger
may
be
continuing
a
violation
or,
more generally, where it
is
desirable
that
a
public right be affirmed
in a specific factual context,
the cease and desist order
is not only
proper but essential.
One of
the tests
for entry of
a cease and
desist order is whether the Board could reasonably conclude
from
the evidence that it was necessary to prevent further violations.
In this
case there was no control or treatment of cyanide discharges
and any further plating operations using any cyanide compounds would
result in
a violation of the cyanide ban regulation.
Use of
a
cease and desist order in such
a case is vital
to protect the welfare
of the public.
The Board has asserted and exercised its broad discretionary
power to mould remedies suited to the practical needs of the particular
individual situations
in earlier cases.
Without
a compelling showing
it should not now pause and retrench.
1/
/
/
Jacob D. Dumelle
(
I, Christan L. Moffett, Clerk of the Illinois Pollution Control
Board, hereby certify the above Dissenting Opinion was submitted on
the~Ø_day of March,
1972.
Christan L. Moffett, ~érk
Illinois Pollution Control Board
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