ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
February 3, 2005
PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS,
Complainant,
v.
BATH INCORPORATED, an Illinois
corporation,
Respondent.
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PCB 05-139
(Enforcement - Land, Cost Recovery)
ORDER OF THE BOARD (by G.T. Girard):
On January 25, 2005, the Office of the Attorney General, on behalf of the People of the
State of Illinois (People), filed a complaint against Bath Incorporated.
See
415 ILCS 5/31(c)(1)
(2002); 35 Ill. Adm. Code 103.204. The complaint concerns Bath Incorporated’s landfill facility
at 901 Walnut Street, Decatur, Mason County. For the reasons below, the Board accepts the
complaint for hearing.
Under the Environmental Protection Act (Act) (415 ILCS 5/1
et seq
. (2002)), the
Attorney General and the State’s Attorneys may bring actions before the Board to enforce
Illinois’ environmental requirements on behalf of the People.
See
415 ILCS 5/31 (2002); 35 Ill.
Adm. Code 103. In this case, the People allege that Bath Incorporated is liable for past, present,
and future response costs incurred by the State pursuant to Section 22.2 of the Act (415 ILCS
5/22.2 (2002)). The People ask the Board to find Bath Incorporated liable for the response costs
incurred by the State and for damages in an amount equal to three times removal costs.
The Board finds that the complaint meets the content requirements of the Board’s
procedural rules and accepts the complaint for hearing.
See
35 Ill. Adm. Code 103.204(c), (f),
103.212(c). A respondent’s failure to file an answer to a complaint within 60 days after
receiving the complaint may have severe consequences. Generally, if Bath Incorporated fails
within that timeframe to file an answer specifically denying, or asserting insufficient knowledge
to form a belief of, a material allegation in the complaint, the Board will consider Bath
Incorporated to have admitted the allegation. 35 Ill. Adm. Code 103.204(d).
The Board directs the hearing officer to proceed expeditiously to hearing. Among the
hearing officer’s responsibilities is the “duty . . . to ensure development of a clear, complete, and
concise record for timely transmission to the Board.” 35 Ill. Adm. Code 101.610. A complete
record in an enforcement case thoroughly addresses, among other things, the appropriate remedy,
if any, for the alleged violations, including any civil penalty.
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IT IS SO ORDERED.
I, Dorothy M. Gunn, Clerk of the Illinois Pollution Control Board, certify that the Board
adopted the above order on February 3, 2005, by a vote of 4-0.
Dorothy M. Gunn, Clerk
Illinois Pollution Control Board