REc~vED
CLERKS OFRCE
BEFORE THE ILLINOIS POLLUTION
CONTROL BOARD
~y
092005
VERNON and ELAINE
ZOHFELD,
)
STATE OF
ILLINOiS
Pollution Control Board
Complainants,
)
v.
)
PCB
______
)
(Citizen’s Enforcement, Air)
BOB DRAKE, WABASH VALLEY SERVICE
)
COMPANY, MICHAEL J. PFISTER,
)
NOAH D. HORTON, and
STEVE KINDER,
)
)
Respondents.
)
COMPLAINT
NOW COME Complainants, VERNON and ELAINE ZOHFELD (hereinafter
collectively “Zohfelds”), through their undersigned attorney, and for their Complaint against
Respondents BOB DRAKE
(hereinafter “Drake”), WABASH VALLEY SERVICE COMPANY
(hereinafter “Wabash Valley”),
MICHAEL J. PFISTER (hereinafter “Pfister”), NOAH D.
HORTON (hereinafter “Horton”), and
STEVE KINDER (hereinafter “Kinder”), state as follows:
1.
This Complaint is brought by the Zohfelds pursuant to
Section
31
of the Illinois
Environmental Protection Act (hereinafter “Act”), 415
ILCS
5/31.
2.
The Zohfelds are and have been residents ofthe County of Hamilton, State ofIllinois,
at all times
relevant to this Complaint.
3.
Until 2000, the Zohfelds owned and ran an equine breeding business located in
Hamilton County which is
adjacent to property owned by Drake.
They bred and raised
thoroughbred horses until they were
about two years old, initially trained them at a racetrack to
race, and then sold them at auction to trainers and others as racehorses.
4.
Respondent Drake is and has been a resident ofthe County ofHamilton,
State of
Illinois, at all times relevant to this Complaint.
5.
Drake owns a forty-four acre tract ofland (hereinafter referred to as “field”) adjacent
to the property ofthe Zohfelds, located in Hamilton County,
Illinois.
6.
Wabash Valley is an agricultural cooperative with at least one office located in
Hamilton
County.
7.
Wabash Valley transacts business by engaging in the selling and application of
agrichemicals including, but not limited to, chemical pesticides and/orherbicides (hereinafter
collectively referred to as “agrichemicals”) to
fields in various counties of Illinois, including
Hamilton County.
8.
The movement of agrichemical spray particles and vapors offtargeted fields by air is
referred to
as “spray drift” or “drift” or “over drift”.
9.
Pfister is a resident ofthe County ofHamilton, State of Illinois.
10.
Horton is a resident of the County of Saline,
State of Illinois.
11. Kinder is a resident of the County ofHamilton, State ofIllinois.
12. Pfister and Horton were and/or are agents ofor are employed by Wabash Valley to
drive spray equipment used to apply agrichemicals to Drake’s field.
Kinder is
and was the
supervisor ofPfister and Horton, and is and was responsible for directing their work, including
with respect to
when and how to
apply the agrichemicals to Drake’s field.
13.
On or about May
8,
2000,
and at other times known better to Respondents,
at
Drake’s express request and with his
knowledge,
support, and involvement,
and in his presence,
Wabash Valley, Pfister, Horton and Kinder sprayed agrichemicals, including, but not limited to,
2
Butyrac-200
(a listed hazardous air pollutant), RoundUp Ultra,
Bicep II Magnum, Aatrex, and
Celatom MP-79
(which includes diatomaceous earth and crystallinesilica) on and around Drake’s
field, in a manner that allowed the agrichemicals to,
and in fact ensured that they would, drift and
cloud onto and
across the adjacent property owned and occupied
by the Zohfelds.
14.
The agrichemicals
came in contact with Elaine Zohfeld’s person by
absorption
through the skin, by Elaine Zohfeld’s ingestion ofblackberries that were covered with the
pollutants, and by aspiration.
The direct contact ofthe agrichemicals upon the person ofElaine
Zohfeld has caused serious and permanent injuries to her health.
15.
The agrichemicals also came in contactwith the Zohfelds’ horses by absorption
through the skin,
by ingestion of grass and plants that were overdrifted, and by aspiration, thus
causing severe and permanent injuries to all ofthe horses.
Among other things, two of the
horses have died as a direct result ofthe air pollutants, and the entire herd has been rendered
incapable ofperforming as racing or breeding stock, also as a direct result ofcoming into contact
with the air pollutants.
The incident ended the business affairs of Complainants’ equine breeding
business.
16.
The agrichemicals also came in contact with and contaminated numerous beneficial
plants upon Zohfelds’ property.
Because ofingestion of the plants by Elaine Zohfeld and by
the Zohfelds’ horses, Elaine Zohfeld and theirhorses have suffered severe and permanent injuries
and damages.
17. The Zohfelds have also suffered a loss of enjoyment of their property by
being
exposed to these agrichemical air pollutants.
The Zohfelds live
in fear that their property will be
overdrifted by agrichemcials whenever Drake has his field sprayed.
Whenthe Zohfelds are home
and if they see
and/or hear sprayer trucks on Drake’s field, they run to get their horses inside the
barn and to close theirwindows in their home, and then they stay secluded and sequestered
inside until the spraying ends and the pollutants settle,
which seriously
disrupts their enjoyment
of theirproperty.
The Zohfelds have had to
move their horses’ grazing area to the other side of
their farm to try
to minimize further damage being done to
their horses from future sprays.
Also,
the Zohfelds have not planted any new garden plants or additional trees or plants on their
property for fear that they will be polluted and
be made unfit to eat.
18.
The chemicals sprayed onto Zohfelds’ property are contaminants as that term is
defined in
Section 3.06 ofthe Act, 415 ILCS
5/3.06.
19. The overdrift events have occurred many times, both before and afterthe May 8,
2000 incident.
It is the Zohfelds’ belief,
better known to these Respondents, that their property
is overdrifted
virtually every spring by the hazardous and careless actions ofthe Respondents.
20. By causing and/or allowing agrichemicals to drift and cloud onto the adjacent property
owned and occupied by the Zohfelds, Bob Drake, Wabash Valley Service Company, Michael J.
Pfister, Noah D. Horton, and Steve Kinder have caused or tended to cause air pollution as that
term is defined in Section
3.02 of the Act, 415 ILCS
5/3.02,
and have violated Section 9(a) of the
Act, 415
ILCS 5/9(a), and Section 20 1.141
ofthe Illinois Pollution Control Board’s regulations,
35
Iii. Adm. Code 201.141.
Request For Relief
WHEREFORE, the Complainants, VERNON and ELAINE ZOHFELD, respectfully
request that this Board enter an
order against the Respondents, BOB DRAKE, WABASH
4
VALLEY SERVICE COMPANY, MICHAEL J. PFISTER, NOAH D. HORTON, and STEVE
KINDER, as follows:
A.
Authorize a hearing in this matter at which time the Respondents will be required
to answer the allegations herein;
B.
Find that the Respondents have violated the Act and regulations as alleged herein;
C.
Order Respondents to cease and desist from any further violations ofthe Act and
associated regulations;
D.
Assess against each Respondent civil penalties offifty thousand dollars
($50,000.00) for each violation ofthe Act and regulations;
E.
Award to Complainants their costs and reasonable attorney’s fees; and
F.
Grant such other and further relief as the Board deems appropriate.
Respectfully submitted,
Vernon and Elaine Zohfeld,
Complainants,
By
their attorney,
HEDIN(
LAW OFFICE
By~
Hedinger Law Office
2601
South Fifth Street
Springfield, IL
62703
(217) 523-2753 phone
(217) 523-4366 fax
BEFORE THE ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOA~
c
E ~V ED
CLERK’S OFFICE
VERNON and ELAINE ZOHFELD,
)
)
MAY092005
Complainants,
)
STATE OF ILUNOIS
PQI~,itioflControl Board
v.
)
PCB
_____
)
(Enforcement, Air)
BOB DRAKE, WABASH VALLEY SERVICE
)
COMPANY,
MICHAEL J. PFISTER,
)
NOAH D. HORTON, and STEVE KINDER,
)
)
Respondents.
)
NOTICE OF COMPLAINT
TO:
Steve Kinder
do Wabash Valley Service Company
909 N. Court St.
Grayville, IL 62844
Notice is hereby given of the filing with the Illinois Pollution Control Board of
the accompanying Complaint.
You are hereby notified that you may be required to
attend a hearing at a date set by the Board.
“Failure
to file an
answer to
this Complaint within 60 days may have severe
consequences.
Failure to answer will mean that all allegations in the complaint will be
taken as admitted for purposes of this proceeding.
If you have any questions about this
procedure, you should contact the hearing officer assigned to this proceeding, the Clerk’s
Office or an attorney.”
Any documents you file in this proceeding must be served upon the undersigned
counsel for Complainants.
Counsel for Complainants:
tephen
.
Hedinger
Stephen F. Hedinger
Hedinger Law
Office
2601
South Fifth
Street
tel:
(217)523-2753
fax:
(217)523-4366
hedinger@cityscape.net
RECE~VED
BEFORE THE
ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL
BOARD
CLERK’S OFFICE
VERNON and ELAINE
ZOHFELD,
)
MAY
092005
)
STATE OF ILLINOIS
Complainants,
)
Pollution Control Board
v.
)
PCB
______
)
(Enforcement, Air)
BOB DRAKE, WABASH VALLEY SERVICE
)
COMPANY,
MICHAEL J. PFISTER,
)
NOAH D.
HORTON,
and STEVE KINDER,
)
)
Respondents.
)
NOTICE OF COMPLAINT
TO:
Wabash Valley Service Company
909 N.
Court St.
Grayville, IL
62844
Notice is hereby given ofthe filing with the Illinois Pollution Control Board of
the accompanying Complaint.
You are hereby notified that you may be required to
attend
a hearing at a date set by the Board.
“Failure to
file an answer to this Complaint within 60 days may have severe
consequences.
Failure to answer will mean that
all allegations in the complaint will be
taken as admitted for purposes ofthis proceeding.
If you have any questions about this
procedure, you
should contact the hearing officer assigned to this
proceeding, the Clerk’s
Office or an attorney.”
Any documents you file in
this proceeding must be served upon the undersigned
~e.Hedin~~/~
Stephen F. Hedinger
Hedinger Law Office
2601
South Fifth Street
tel:
(217)523-2753
fax:
(217)523-4366
hedinger@cityscape.net
BEFORE
THEILLINOISPOLLUTIONCONTROL BOA
~~ED
VERNON
and
ELAINE ZOHFELD,
)
MAY
092005
Complainants,
STATE
OF ILLINOIS
)
Pollution
Control Board
v.
)
PCB
______
)
(Enforcement, Air)
BOB DRAKE, WABASH VALLEY SERVICE
)
COMPANY,MICHAEL J. PFISTER,
)
NOAH D.
HORTON, and STEVE KINDER,
)
)
Respondents.
)
NOTICE OF COMPLAINT
TO:
Bob
Drake
Route 2, Box 253
McLeansboro, IL62859
Notice is hereby given of the filing with the Illinois Pollution
Control Board of
the accompanying Complaint.
You are hereby notified that you may be required to
attend a hearing at a date set by the Board.
“Failure to file an
answer to this
Complaint within 60 days may have severe
consequences.
Failure to answer will mean
that all allegations in the complaint will
be
taken as admitted for purposes of this proceeding.
If you have any questions about this
procedure, you
should contact the hearing officer assigned to this proceeding, the Clerk’s
Office or an attorney.”
Any documents you file in this
proceeding must be served upon the undersigned
counsel for Complainants.
Counsel forComplainants:
Stephen F. Hedinger
Hedinger Law Office
2601
South Fifth
Street
tel:
(217)523-2753
fax:
(217)523-4366
hedinger@cityscape.net
BEFORE THE
ILLINOIS
POLLUTION CONTROL
~
VERNON and
ELAINE
ZOHFELD,
)
MAY
092005
Complainants,
)
Pollulion Control Board
v.
)
PCB_____
)
(Enforcement, Air)
BOB
DRAKE, WABASH VALLEY SERVICE
)
COMPANY, MICHAEL J. PFISTER,
)
NOAH
D. HORTON, and STEVE KINDER,
)
)
Respondents.
)
NOTICE OF COMPLAINT
TO:
Noah D.
Horton
1014 Beulah
Eldorado, IL 62930
Notice is
hereby given of the filing with the Illinois Pollution Control Board of
the accompanying Complaint. You arehereby notified thatyou maybe required to
attend a hearing at a date set by the Board.
“Failure to file
an answer to this Complaint within 60 days may have severe
consequences.
Failure to answer will mean that all allegations in the complaint will be
taken as admitted forpurposes of this proceeding.
Ifyou have any questions about this
procedure, you should contact the hearing officer assigned to this proceeding, the Clerk’s
Office or an attorney.”
Any documents you file in this proceeding must be served upon the undersigned
counsel for Complainants.
Counsel for Complainants:
Stephen F. Hedinger
HedingerLaw Office
2601
South Fifth Street
tel: (217)523-2753
fax: (217)523-4366
hedinger@cityscape.net
BEFORETHE ILLINOISPOLLUTION CONTROL
BOA~~~~ED
VERNON
and
ELAINEZOHFELD,
)
MAY
092005
Complainants,
STATE OF ILLINOIS
)
Pollution Control Board
V.
)
PCB
I~1~
)
(Enforcement, Air)
BOB
DRAKE,
WABASH VALLEY SERVICE
)
COMPANY,MICHAEL J.PFISTER,
)
NOAH D. HORTON, and STEVE KINDER,
)
)
Respondents.
)
NOTICE OF COMPLAINT
TO:
Michael J. Pfister
R.R.
2
McLeansboro, IL 62859
Notice is hereby given of the filing with the Illinois Pollution Control Board of
the accompanying Complaint. You arehereby notified that youmay be required to
attend a hearing at a date set by the Board.
“Failure to file an answer to this Complaint within 60 days may have severe
consequences.
Failure to
answer will mean that all allegations in
the complaint will be
taken as admitted for purposes of this proceeding.
Ifyou
have any questions
about this
procedure, you should contact the hearing officer assigned to this
proceeding, the Clerk’s
Office or an attorney.”
Any documents you file in
this proceeding must be served
upon the undersigned
counsel forComplainants.
~ingec~~~
Counsel forComplainants:
Stephen F. Hedinger
HedingerLaw
Office
2601
South Fifth Street
tel:
(217)523-2753
fax: (217)523-4366
hedinger@cityscape.net
RECE~VED
CLERK’S OFFICE
BEFORE THE ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
MAY
092005
VERNON and ELAINE ZOHFELD,
)
STATE OF ILLINOIS
Pollution
Control Board
Complainants,
)
v.
)
PCB
______
)
(Enforcement, Air)
BOB
DRAKE, WABASH VALLEY SERVICE
)
COMPANY, MICHAEL J. PFISTER,
)
NOAH D. HORTON, and STEVE KINDER,
)
)
Respondents.
)
NOTICE
OF FILING AND PROOF OF SERVICE
The undersigned certifies that an original andnine copies of the foregoing Notice
of Complaintand Complaint, and of this Notice of Filing, wereserved upon the Clerk of
the Illinois Pollution Control Board, and one copy to each of the following parties of
record in this cause by enclosing same in an envelope addressed to:
Dorothy Gunn, Clerk
Wabash Valley Service Company
Illinois Pollution Control Board
909 N. Court Street
James R. Thompson Center
Grayville, IL 62844
100 W. Randolph St., Suite 11-500
Chicago, IL 60601
Bob Drake
Steve Kinder
Route 2,Box 253
doWabash Valley Service Company
McLeansboro, IL62859
909 N. Court Street
Grayville, IL 62844
Michael J. Pfister
Noah D. Horton
R.R. 2
1014Beulah
McLeansboro, IL 62859
Eldorado, IL62930
with postage fully prepaid, and
by depositing
said
envelope in
a
U.S.
Post Office Mail
Box in
Springfield, Illinois before 5:30 p.m. on ~
May, 2005.
Step
n F. Heding~’
Hedinger Law Office
2601
South Fifth Street
Springfield, IL 62703
(217) 523-2753 phone
(217) 523-4366 fax
This document preparedon recycled paper
