Lisa Madigan
AFFORNEY GENERAL,
The Honorable Dorothy Gunn
Illinois Pollution Control Board
James R. Thompson Center, Ste. 11-500
100 West Randolph
Chicago, Illinois 60601
Re :
People v. Lake Pointe Estates LLC
Dear Clerk Gunn :
Enclosed for filing please find the original and ten copies of a Notice of Filing, Entry of
Appearance and Complaint in regard to the above-captioned matter . Please file the originals and
return file-stamped copies to me in the enclosed, self-addressed envelope
.
Thank you for your cooperation and consideration
.
V
ry
truly yours,
ennifer B\
kowski
nvironmental Bureau
500 South Second Street
Springfield, Illinois 62706
(217) 782-9031
OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
STA'L'E OF ILLINOIS
January 12, 2006
1001 Fast Main, Carbondale, Illinois 62901
•
(618) 529-6400
•
TTY: (618) 529-6403
•
Fax: (618) 529-6416
RECEIVED
CLERK'S OFFICE
JAN 1 8 2000
STATE OF ILLINOIS
Pollution Control Board
JB/pp
Enclosures
500 South Second Street, Springfield, Illinois 62706
•
(217) 782-1090
•
TTY:
(217) 785-2771
•
Fax: (217) 782-7046
100 West Randolph Street, Chicago, Illinois 60601
•
(312) 814-3000
•
TFY (312) 814-3374
•
Fax: (312) 814-3806
RECEIVED
BEFORE THE ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
CLERK'S
OFFICE
JAN 1 8 2006
PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF
)
STATE OF
ILLINOIS
ILLINOIS,
)
Pollution Control Board
Complainant,
)
vs .
)
PCB No .
(Enforcement)
LAKE POINTE ESTATES LLC, an
)
Illinois limited liability corporation,
)
Respondent .
)
NOTICE OF FILING
To :
Lake Pointe Estates LLC
c/o Thomas Giacomini, R.A
.
509 Five Forks Drive
Springfield, IL 62707
PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that on this date I mailed for filing with the Clerk of the Pollution
Control Board of the State of Illinois, a COMPLAINT, a copy of which is attached hereto and
herewith served upon you . Failure to file an answer to this Complaint within 60 days may have
severe consequences . Failure to answer will mean that all allegations in this Complaint will be
taken as if 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 .
1
FURTHER, please
take
notice
that financing may be available, through the Illinois
Environmental Facilities Financing Act, 20 ILCS 3515/1 (2004), to correct the pollution alleged in
the Complaint filed in this case .
Respectfully submitted,
PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS
LISA MADIGAN,
Attorney General of the
State of Illinois
500 South Second Street
Springfield, Illinois 62706
217/782-9031
Dated: January 12, 2006
2
MATTHEW J. DUNN, Chief
Environmental Enforcement/Asbestos
Litigatio/n Division
BY : cY
A
JENNI B- BONKOWSKI
Assistan Attorney General
Environ ental Bureau
l
?r
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
I hereby certify that I did on January 12, 2006, send by certified mail, with postage
thereon fully prepaid, by depositing in a United States Post Office Box a true and correct copy
of the following instruments entitled NOTICE OF FILING, ENTRY OF APPEARANCE and
COMPLAINT :
To :
Lake Pointe Estates LLC
c/o Thomas Giacomini, R .A .
509 Five Forks Drive
Springfield, IL 62707
and the original and ten copies by First Class Mail with postage thereon fully prepaid of the
same foregoing instrument(s)
:
To :
Dorothy Gunn, Clerk
Illinois Pollution Control Board
James R. Thompson Center
Suite 11-500
100 West Randolph
Chicago, Illinois 60601
nifer BonI< wski
sistant Attorney General
This filing is submitted on recycled paper .
BEFORE THE ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF
)
ILLINOIS,
)
Complainant,
)
vs
.
)
PCB No .
(Enforcement)
LAKE POINTE ESTATES LLC, an
)
Illinois limited liability corporation,
)
Respondent.
)
ENTRY OF APPEARANCE
On behalf of the Complainant, PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, JENNIFER
BONKOWSKI, Assistant Attorney General of the State of Illinois, hereby enters her appearance
as attorney of record
.
Respectfully submitted,
PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS,
LISA MADIGAN
Attorney General of the
State of Illinois
500 South Second Street
Springfield, Illinois 62706
217/782-9031
Dated: January 12, 2006
MATTHEW J. DUNN, Chief
Environmental Enforcement/Asbestos
/'Litigation Div ion
BY
•
BONKOWSKI
nvironm ntal Bureau
Assistant Attorney General
RECEIVED
CLERK'S OFFICE
JAN 1 8 2006
STATE OF ILLINOIS
Pollution Control Board
RECEIVED
BEFORE THE ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD CLERKS OFFICE
JAN 1 8 2006
PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS,
)
STATE OF ILLINOIS
Pollution Control Board
Complainant,
)
v .
)
PCB No . dG (32'
(Water-Enforcement)
LAKE POINTE ESTATES LLC, an Illinois
)
limited liability company,
Respondent
.
)
COMPLAINT
Complainant, PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, by LISA MADIGAN, Attorney
General of the State of Illinois, complains of Respondent, LAKE POINTE ESTATES LLC, an
Illinois limited liability company, as follows
:
COUNTI
NPDES PERMIT VIOLATIONS
This Complaint is brought by the Attorney General on her own motion and at the
request of the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency ("Illinois EPA"), pursuant to the terms
and provisions of Section 31 of the Illinois Environmental Protection Act ("Act"), 415 ILCS 5/31
(2004)
.
2
.
The Illinois EPA is an agency of the State of Illinois created by the Illinois
General Assembly in Section 4 of the Act, 415 ILCS 5/4 (2002), and charged
inter alia,
with the
duty of enforcing the Act in proceedings before the Illinois Pollution Control Board ("Board") .
3
.
This Complaint is brought pursuant to Section 31 of the Act, 415 ILCS 5/31 (2004),
after providing the Respondent with notice and the opportunity for a meeting with the Illinois
EPA
.
1
4 .
Lake Pointe Estates LLC is an Illinois limited liability company in good standing
.
The company is engaged in the development of the "Lake Pointe Subdivision" in Springfield,
Sangamon County, Illinois
.
Section 12 of the Act, 415 ILCS 5/12 (2004), provides the following prohibitions
:
No person shall
:
(f)
Cause, threaten or allow the discharge of any contaminant into
the waters of the State, as defined herein, including but not limited
to, waters to any sewage works, or into any well or from any point
source within the State, without an NPDES permit for point source
discharges issued by the Agency under Section 39(b) of this Act,
or in violation of any term or condition imposed by such permit, or
in violation of any NPDES permit filing' requirement established
under Section 39(b), or in violation of any regulations adopted by
the Board or of any order adopted by the Board with respect to
the NPDES program
.
6
.
Section 309 .102(a) of the Board's Water Pollution Regulations, 35 111. Adm. Code
309.102(a), provides :
a)
Except as in compliance with the provision of the Act, Board
regulations, and the CWA, and the provisions and conditions of
the NPDES permit issued to the discharger, the discharge of any
contaminant or pollutant by any person into the waters of the
State from a point source or into a well shall be unlawful
.
7 .
The federal Clean Water Act regulates the discharge of pollutants from a point
source into navigable waters and prohibits such point source discharges without an NPDES
permit. The United States Environmental Protection Agency ("USEPA") administers the
NPDES program in each State unless the USEPA has delegated authority to do so to that
State. The USEPA has authorized the State of Illinois to issue NPDES permits through the
Illinois EPA in compliance with federal regulations, including 40 CFR 122.26 .
2
8 .
Storm water discharges are regulated by 40 CFR 122 .26, which requires a
person to obtain an NPDES permit and to implement a stormwater pollution prevention plan for
construction activity including clearing, grading and excavation :
(a)
Permit requirement
(1)
Prior to October 1, 1994, discharges composed entirely of
storm water shall not be required to obtain a NPDES
permit except
:
(ii)
A discharge associated with industrial
activity (see § 122 .26(a)(4)) ;
(4)
Discharges through large and medium municipal separate
storm sewer systems
.
.
.
.
(9)
(i) On and after October 1, 1994, for discharges composed
entirely of storm water, that are not required by paragraph
(a)(1) of this section to obtain a permit, operators shall be
required to obtain a NPDES permit only if
:
(B)
The discharge is a storm water discharge
associated with small construction activity pursuant
to paragraph (b)(15) of this section
;
(b)
Definitions
:
(14)
Storm water discharge associated with industrial activity
means the discharge from any conveyance that is used for
collecting and conveying storm water and that is directly
related to manufacturing, processing or raw materials
storage areas at an industrial plant
.
.
. . The following
3
categories of facilities are considered to be engaging in
"industrial activity" for purposes of paragraph
(b)(14) ;
(x) Construction activity including clearing, grading and
excavation, except operations that result in the disturbance
of less than five acres of total land area
.
Construction
activity also includes the disturbance of less than five
acres of total land area that is a part of a larger common
plan of development or sale if the larger common plan will
ultimately disturb five acres or more
;
(15)
Storm water discharge associated with small construction
activity means the discharge of storm water from
:
(i)
Construction activities including clearing, grading,
and excavating that result in land disturbance of
equal to or greater than one acre and less than five
acres. Small construction activity also includes the
disturbance of less than one acre of total land area
that is part of a larger common plan to
development or sale if the larger common plan will
ultimately disturb equal to or greater than one and
less than five acres
.
9
.
The Illinois EPA had issued construction permits to Lake Pointe Estates LLC for
the installation of 2,002 feet of sanitary sewer for plats 4 and 5 on April 12, 2002, of 1,030 feet
of sanitary sewer for plat 7 on May 2, 2003, and 864 feet of sanitary sewer for plat 8 on August
15, 2003. Each construction permit included the following special condition: "The Permittee to
Construct shall be responsible for obtaining an NPDES
Storm Water Permit prior to initiating
construction if construction activities associated with this project will result in the disturbance of
one (1) or more acres total land area."
4
10 .
Subsequent to April 2002, and continuing through at least August 2005, there
have been ongoing construction activities at the subdivision including clearing, grading, and
excavating that resulted in land disturbances of greater than one acre. The measures or
controls provided to prevent or minimize pollution from storm water runoff at the subdivision
were inadequate. Plats 4 and 5 are approximately 11 .9 acres in total land area. Plats 7 and 8
are approximately 13 .7 acres in total land area
.
11
.
After the company submitted applications and proposed pollution prevention
plans to the Illinois EPA, the Illinois EPA issued storm water NPDES permits to Lake Pointe
Estates LLC for plats 4, 5 and 7 on July 3, 2003, and for plat 8 on October 14, 2003 . Each
permit required the implementation of specified site stabilization and management practices to
control storm water runoff and the continuation of maintenance, monitoring and inspections to
ensure the effectiveness of the measures or controls provided
.
12 .
Commencing on some date prior to April 2002, and continuing until subsequent
site stabilization via the implementation of a storm water pollution prevention plan and/or natural
vegetative processes and other means, by failing to maintain adequate erosion controls at its
site as required by its NPDES Permit, Lake Pointe Estates LLC has caused, threatened or
allowed the discharge of any contaminant into the waters of the State in violation of its NPDES
permit, and has thereby violated Section 12(f) of the Act, 415 ILCS 5/12(f) (2004), as well as
Section 309.102(a) of the Board's Water Pollution Regulations, 35 III . Adm. Code 309.102(a)
.
5
PRAYER FOR RELIEF
WHEREFORE, Complainant, the PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, respectfully
request that the Board enter an order against the Respondent, LAKE POINTE ESTATES LLC,
an Illinois limited liability company
:
A .
Authorizing a hearing in this matter at which time the Respondent will be
required to answer the allegations herein ;
B
.
Finding that Respondent has violated the Act and regulations as alleged herein
;
C .
Ordering Respondent to cease and desist from any further violations of the Act
and associated regulations
;
D .
Assessing against Respondent a civil penalty of fifty thousand dollars ($50,000)
for each violation of the Act, and an additional penalty of ten thousand dollars ($10,000) for
each day during which each violation has continued thereafter ; and
E
.
Granting such other relief as the Board may deem appropriate .
Respectfully submitted,
PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS,
ex rel.
LISA MADIGAN,
Attorney General
of the State of Illinois
MATTHEW J. DUNN, Chief
Environmental Enforcement/Asbestos
Litigation Divison
BY
THOMAS DAVIS, Chief
Environmental Bureau
Assistant Attorney General
Of Counsel
:
JENNIFER BONKOWSKI
500 South Second Street
Springfield, Illinois 62706
217/782-9031
Dated
:
/ //
i;
6
