VILLAGE

OF BRIDGEVIEW.

7500

SOUTH OKETO AVENUE

BRIDGEVIEW,

ILLINOIS 60455

708-594-2525

DEC 23

2004

STATE OF ILLINOIS

VILLAGE

PRESIDENT

Pollution Control Board

STEVEN

M.

LANDEK

CLERK

December 21, 2004

7~j)

CLAUDETTE

STRUZIK

Illinois

Pollution

Control

Board

TRUSTEES

SUite

11-500

WAYNE

F.

GRABINSKI

James

R.

Thomson

Center

NORMA J.

PINION

100 West

Randolph Street

JAMES

A. CECOT~

Chicago,

Illinois

60601

MICHAEL

J.

PTICEK

Re:

Amendments

to 35 IL Adm.

Code

901 and

910 / Docket R03-

MARY M. SU1TON

Proposed New and

Updated Rules

for Measurement

HAROLD

P.

ROBISH

and

Numerical

Sound

Emission

Standards;

Comments

of the

Village of Bridgeview

Mr.

Chairman

and

Members

of the

Board:

Please

be’ advised that

I

am

the

attorney

for the

Village

of’ ~ridgeview

(the

‘9btillage~)‘vfrhich

has

r~viewec1the

pró,posed

rulemaking

in

the

above

~thatter~ári~i

~i~’‘alarthEd~a~~to~ft

~

thi’~urrent

businesses

and

future

developments

within

the

Yillage.

We

are

concerned that

lo’~veringthe bar for evidence ‘of noL~e

~ollution

in private

suits

brought

under

the

Board’s

numeric

noise

standards

and

in

nuisance

actions

will

encourage

unwarranted

legal

actions

before

the

Board

on the basis

of faulty noise measurements

We

have

reviewed

and

concur

with

the

comments

and

testimony

provided

by

John

Henriksen,

Executive

Director

of

the

Illinois

Association

of Aggregate

Producers

(the

“IAAP”),

regarding

Part

910

and support

the alternative

proposed language

offered by the

IAAP.

Specifically,.

1.

We object to the proposed

amendment to Part

910

which does

not require

non-agency

personnel

who

conduct sound

measurements

to

be

trained

and

experienced

in

sound

measurement

techniques

and

equipment

We

note

that

the

Illinois

Environment

Protection

Agency

(the

“TEPA”) rule

containing

the

qualifications

for IEPA personnel

who

conduct

so~indmeas~irements,Section

951

101, provides

Agency

personnel

conducting

sound

meastiremei~its shall

have

been

~trained

arid

experienced

in~ the

current

‘~te~hhi4ue~

á~d’pri~i~l~

~bf~

~oli~d,

éä~ethé~t à~d~’’

‘

A

WELL

BALANCED

GOMMUNITY

---

the

selection

and

operation

of

sound

measuring

instrumentation.

Although

no

State

approved

licensing

or certification

process exists

for

personnel

who

conduct

sound

measurements,

Part

910

should at

least

incorporate

the

minimal

requirements

outlined

in

Section

951.101.

Given that

data gathered

by non-agency personnel may serve as grounds

for a

nuisance

noise

action

brought

to

the Board

or for

a lawsuit,

such

persons

should

possess

some basic

level

of training

and

experience.

We

concur

with

the

testimony

provided

by

the

IAAP and

Vibra

Tech,

Inc.

that

sound measurements

gathered

by

anyone

without

some

basic level

of training

and experience

are of questionable validity

and should not

be

considered as valid evidence of noise levels by this Board or by a court of

competent

jurisdiction.

Therefore,

we

support

the

IAAP’s

proposed

alternative

language

for

Part 910.101,

stating:

Personnel

who

conduct

sound

measurements

in

order

to

show

comiliance

with

the Board’s

noise

standards

in

Part

900 and

901 must

be trained

and experienced in the current

techniques

and

principles

of sound

measurement

and

in

the

selection

and

operation

of

sound

measuring

instrumentation.

2.

We

object

to new

Section

910.104,

Measurement

Techniques

for

35

Ill.

Adm.

Code

900,

which

states

that

while

sound pressure

level

measurements

are not

required

to

establish

a violation

of the

Board’s

nuisance

noise

standard

under

35

Ill.

Adm.

Code

900.102,

these

measurements

may

be

used

as

“corroborating

evidence.”

Although

Section

910.104

requires

that

a

person

conducting

sound

pressure

measurements

comply

with

the

instructions

of

the

sound

pressure

measurement

equipment

manufacturer,

the

sound

measurement

techniques

in

Section

910.105

are

considered

only

as

“guidance”

for

gathering

such data.

As stated

on page

5

of the “Proposal

Overview” for

this

rulemaking,

“the

proposed

approach

deviates

from

the

detailed

sound

measurement

requirements

specified

in

Part

951”,

rules

that

govern the

IEPA’s

enforcement

activities

for nuisance

noise.

We

believe

unwarranted

nuisance

actions

pose

a

serious

threat

to

existing

businesses

and

may add unnecessary

cost

and

delay

to future

development, not

only within

the Village, but

elsewhere throughout

the

State.

As

such,

we

see no basis

for allowing

such

actions

to proceed

on

the basis

of evidence that

would not be

allowed in

actions brought by the

IEPA.

We

agree

with

the

IAAP

that

proposed

Section

910.104

compounds

the

problems

created

by

the

lack

of

a

training

and

experience

requirement

for

non-agency

persons

who

conduct

sound

2

---

measurements.

Sound pressure

measurements

taken

by

persons

with

no training

and

experience

are inherently unreliable.

Of even less value

are measurements

taken

by persons

who

do

not

have

to

comply

with

either Section 910.105 or Section 951.104.

Therefore,

we

support

the

IAAP’s

proposal

that

Section

910.104

be

amended to state as follows:

Sound

pressure

level

measurements

are

not

required

to

establish

a violation

of 35

Ill. Adm.

Code 900.102

(nuisance

noise).

However,

sound

pressure

level

measurements

may

be

introduced

as

corroborating

evidence

when

alleging

a

violation

of 35

Ill.

Adm.

Code

900.102.

If sound

pressure

level

measurements

are

collected,

manufacturer’s

instructions

must be followed for the equipment

used and

35

Ill.

Adm.

Code

910.105

may

bc

used

as

guidance

in

gathering

data.

In

addition.

sound

measurements

used

to

establish

a violation

of 35

Ill.

Adm.

Code

900.102

must

be

obtained

in accordance with

either:

~

35 Iii. Adm. Code 910.105; or

j~

35

Ill. Adm.

Code 951.104.

We thank you very much for your careful

consideration

these

comments

and ask that

they be included in the record of this rulemaking.

in

ent

Cai

kar

Village

Attorney

VC:les

cc:

Hon. Steven

M. Landek, Mayor

3