ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
    August 21, 1997
    IN THE MATTER OF:
    MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE LANDFILL
    (MSWLF) RULES; AMENDMENTS TO 35
    ILL ADM. CODE 811, 813, and 848
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    R98-9
    (Rulemaking - Land)
    ORDER OF THE BOARD (by G.T. Girard, C.A. Manning, M. McFawn):
    On August 11, 1997, the Board received a joint proposal for amendments (Prop.) to the
    Board’s municipal solid waste landfill rules (35 Ill. Adm. Code 811 and 813) filed by the
    Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (Agency) and the National Solid Waste Management
    Association (NSWMA) (collectively, proponents). The proposal indicates that there are four
    reasons for the amendments: (1) to ease certain requirements that drive up costs without a
    commensurate environmental benefit; (2) to modify or eliminate requirements that the
    proponents believe are no longer technically defensible; (3) to ensure uniformity in the Board’s
    rules; and (4) to remain consistent with the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act
    Subtitle D program. Prop. at 2-3. The petition meets the information requirements of 35 Ill.
    Adm. Code 102.121 and 102.141 and shall therefore proceed to hearing.
    The proponents have also filed two motions with the proposal. The first asks that the
    Board waive the requirement that a proposal for rulemaking be accompanied by a petition with
    at least 200 signatures. See 415 ILCS 5/28(a) (1996). As the Agency is a joint proponent in
    this rulemaking and the Act does not require a proposal by the Agency to be accompanied by a
    petition with 200 signatures, the Board finds that the requirement that a petition with 200
    signatures accompany the proposal is not applicable in this case. Therefore, the request is
    denied as unnecessary.
    The second motion filed with the proposal is atypical. The proponents ask the Board to
    limit the scope of this proceeding. Specifically, the proponents state:
    NSWMA and the Agency respectfully request that the Board, in the course of
    its deliberations in this proceeding, resist efforts to significantly expand the
    reach and scope of this proposal. This proposal is not intended as the vehicle
    for the sundry “wish lists” the proponents have encountered.
    In the course of several months of pre-filing discussions, it became apparent to
    the proponents that many changes to Parts 811 and 813 other than those
    proposed herein are desired by a number of interested entities. Many of these
    changes are also desired by NSWMA members and/or the Agency. NSWMA
    and the Agency nonetheless resisted the urge to propose more ambitious or
    controversial changes. Rather, they have limited this proposal to those
    amendments which they believe are generally more obvious and less
    controversial and thus more likely to advance quickly to final adoption. In light
    2
    of the considerable economic and administrative benefits conferred by this more
    modest proposal, as outlined previously, NSWMA and the Agency oppose any
    additional proposed modification that might slow the pace of rulemaking in this
    docket. Prop. at 29-30.
    The Board notes the proponents’ desire to proceed with this rulemaking in an
    expeditious manner and to their concerns that expansion of the scope of the proposal to include
    other regulatory “wish lists” could unduly delay the Board’s deliberation. However, the Board
    will not limit the discussion of any regulatory alternatives proposed in public testimony or
    comment concerning subject matters addressed by this proposal. Therefore, at this time the
    Board agrees to limit the scope of this proceeding in that the Board will not entertain requests
    from other parties to expand the list of sections proposed for amendment. The Board will
    accept comments on the proposed language for the sections opened in the proposal including
    any potential suggestions regarding alternatives.
    Finally, the Board is, on its own motion, opening 35 Ill. Adm. Code 848.104,
    Definitions. The only changes we will be proposing are to add three statutory definitions and
    amend four definitions with the language from P.A. 89-200, effective January 1, 1996. This
    change is merely ministerial and is not intended to expand the scope of the rulemaking.
    Adding this mandatory language will eliminate the need to hold separate hearings concerning
    these legislatively-required changes.
    The Board will attach the proposal to this order today as well as placing the
    proposal on the Board’s internet home page (http://www.state.il.us/pcb/) to ensure that
    those who wish to review the proposal prior to hearing will have access. The Board
    anticipates that the public interest in this proceeding will be better served and the final
    adoption of the rule more quickly achieved if the Board proceeds in this manner.
    IT IS SO ORDERED.
    I, Dorothy M. Gunn, Clerk of the Illinois Pollution Control Board, hereby certify that
    the above order was adopted on the 21st day of August 1997, by a vote of 6-0.
    Dorothy M. Gunn, Clerk
    Illinois Pollution Control Board

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