ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
    February 27,
    1992
    WARREN’S SERVICE (Mercer County),
    )
    Petitioner,
    v.
    )
    PCB 92—22
    )
    (Underground Storage
    ILLINOIS ENVIRONMENTAL
    )
    Tank Reimbursement)
    PROTECTION AGENCY,
    )
    Respondent.
    ORDER OF THE BOARD
    (by J. Anderson):
    On February
    7,
    1992,
    Warren
    Service
    filed
    a
    petition
    for
    review of an Underground Storage Tank Reimbursement Determination
    for its facility located at 3rd and 5th Streets in Mercer County,
    Sherrard, Illinois.
    A review of the correspondence filed to date
    in this matter
    indicates
    there may be some confusion as to the
    nature of a proceeding of this type before the Board.
    In
    proceedings
    before
    the
    Board,
    the
    burden
    is
    upon
    the
    Petitioner to establish
    at
    a
    formal hearing,
    by oral testimony
    under oath or by properly submitted written documents,
    that the
    disputed costs
    should be paid under
    the terms
    of
    the
    Illinois
    Environmental Protection Act, and applicable regulations.
    So far,
    Petitioner has not asserted reasons why such costs should have been
    paid.
    In order to prevail at hearing, the Petitioner must present
    facts
    and arguments
    as to why those costs should be paid.
    The
    Board hearing is not an informal informational hearing at which the
    Agency will explain its actions.
    The hearing is more in the nature
    of a court proceeding with testimony under oath and questions of
    the witnesses.
    This Board cannot provide
    legal advice or legal
    assistance to the Petitioner.
    The Petitioner bears the burden of
    providing information to support its position.
    The initial burden
    at hearing to explain why the costs were not paid is not upon the
    Agency.
    Hearing must be scheduled within 14 days of the date of this
    Order and completed within 60 days of the date of this Order.
    The
    hearing officer shall inform the Clerk of the Board of the time and
    location of the hearing at least 40 days in advance of hearing so
    that public notice of hearing may be published.
    After hearing, the
    hearing
    officer
    shall
    submit
    an
    exhibit
    list,
    and
    all
    actual
    exhibits to the Board within
    5 days of the hearing.
    Any briefing
    schedule
    shall
    provide
    for
    final
    filings
    as
    expeditiously
    as
    possible and in no event later than 70 days from the date of this
    Order.
    2
    If after appropriate consultation with the parties,
    the
    parties fail to provide an acceptable hearing date or if after an
    attempt the hearing officer is unable to consult with the
    parties, the hearing officer shall unilaterally set a hearing
    date in conformance with the schedule above.
    This schedule will
    only provide the Board a very short time period to deliberate and
    reach a decision before the due date.
    The hearing officer and
    the parties are encouraged to expedite this proceeding as much as
    possible.
    Within 10 days of accepting this case, the Hearing Officer
    shall enter a Hearing Officer Scheduling Order governing
    completion of the record.
    That Order shall set a date certain
    for each aspect of the case including:
    briefing schedule,
    hearing date(s),
    completion of discovery
    (if necessary)
    and pre-
    hearing conference
    (if necessary).
    The Hearing Officer
    Scheduling Order may be modified by entry of a complete new
    scheduling order conforming with the time requirements below.
    The hearing officer may extend this schedule only on a
    waiver of the decision deadline by the petitioner and only for
    the equivalent or fewer number of days that the decision deadline
    is waived.
    Such waivers must be provided in writing to the Clerk
    of the Board.
    Any waiver must be an “open waiver” or a waiver of
    decision until a date certain.
    Because of requirements regarding the publication of notice
    of hearing, no scheduled hearing may be canceled unless the
    petitioner provides an open waiver or a waiver to a date at least
    120 days beyond the date of the motion to cancel hearing.
    This
    should allow ample time for the Board to republish notice of
    hearing and receive transcripts from the hearing before the due
    date.
    Any order by the hearing officer granting cancellation of
    hearing shall include a complete new scheduling order with a new
    hearing date at least 40 days in the future and at least 30 days
    prior to the new due date and the Clerk of the Board shall be
    promptly informed of the new schedule.
    Because this proceeding is the type for which the Illinois
    Environmental Protection Act sets a very short statutory deadline
    for making a decision, absent a waiver, the Board will grant
    extensions or modifications only in unusual circumstances.
    Any
    such motion must set forth an alternative schedule for notice,
    hearing, and final submissions, as well as the deadline for
    decision, including response time to such a motion.
    However, no
    such motion shall negate the obligation of the hearing officer to
    establish a Scheduling Order pursuant to the requirements of this
    Order,
    and to adhere to that Order until modified.
    This Order will not appear in the Board’s Opinion Volumes.
    IT IS SO ORDERED.
    3
    B. Forcade dissented.
    I, Dorothy M. Gunn,
    Clerk of the Illinois Pollution Control
    Board
    hereby certj~ythat the above Order was adopted on )the
    7~day of
    _________________,
    1992, by a vote of
    ~,—/
    Dorothy M. ~inn, Clerk
    Illinois Po~lutionControl Board

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