RECEIVED
CLERK'S OFFICE
ILLINOIS,
)
Pollution Control
STATE OF
ILLINOIS
Board
Complainant,
)
vs .
)
PCB No. 06-33
(Enforcement)
J & S COMPANIES, INC ., a Missouri
)
corporation, and FIRST CHOICE
)
CONSTRUCTION, INC., an Illinois
)
corporation,
)
Respondents .
)
NOTICE OF FILING
To
:
Mike Bowman
Tom LeChien
First Choice Construction, Inc .
Registered Agent for First Choice
1932 Townsley Lane
Construction, Inc
.
East St. Louis, IL 62204
120 W . Main Street, Ste. 110
Belleville, IL 62220
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 MOTION FOR DEFAULT FOR FIRST CHOICE
CONSTRUCTION, INC., a copy of which is attached hereto and herewith served upon you
.
Respectfully submitted,
PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS
LISA MADIGAN,
Attorney General of the
State of Illinois
PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF
)
FEB 1 5 2006
MATTHEW J. DUNN, Chief
Environmental Enforcement/Asbestos
Litigation Division
,KRISTEN LAUGHRIDGE GALE
Assistant Attorney General
Environmental Bureau
500 South Second Street
Springfield, Illinois 62706
217/782-9031
Dated: February 10, 2006
BEFORE THE ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
I hereby certify that I did on February 10, 2006, send by First Class 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 and MOTION FOR DEFAULT FOR
FIRST CHOICE CONSTRUCTION, INC .,
To
:
Mike Bowman
Tom LeChien
First Choice Construction, Inc .
Registered Agent for First Choice
1932 Townsley Lane
Construction, Inc .
East, St. Louis, IL 62204
120 W. Main Street, Ste . 110
Belleville, IL 62220
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
A copy was also sent by First Class Mail with postage thereon fully prepaid to
:
Carol Webb
Hearing Officer
Illinois Pollution Control Board
1021 North Grand Avenue East
Springfield, IL 62794
This filing is submitted on recycled paper
.
KRISTEN LAUGHRIDGE GALE
Assistant Attorney General
BEFORE THE ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD RECEIVED
PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS,
)
FEB 1 5 2006
Complainant,
)
Pollution Control Board
STATE OF ILLINOIS
vs .
)
No. PCB 06-33
(Enforcement - Land)
J & S COMPANIES, INC., a Missouri
)
corporation, and FIRST CHOICE
)
CONSTRUCTION, INC ., an Illinois
)
corporation,
)
Respondents .
)
MOTION FOR DEFAULT FOR FIRST CHOICE CONSTRUCTION, INC
.
Complainant, PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, by Lisa Madigan, Attorney
General of the State of Illinois, pursuant to pursuant to Section 2-1301 of the Code of Civil
Procedure, 735 ILCS 5/2-1301 (2004) and Section 101 .204(d) of the Board's Procedural Rules,
35 III. Adm. Code 101.204(d), hereby moves for Default Judgment against the Respondent,
FIRST CHOICE CONSTRUCTION, INC. In support of this Motion, Complainant states as
follows :
1
.
On September 1, 2005, the Complainant filed a Complaint with the Board,
stating a cause of action against the Respondent, FIRST CHOICE CONSTRUCTION, INC
. for
Waste Disposal Violations and Demolition Debris Violations
.
2 .
The complaint was signed for receipt on August 31, 2005 by the Respondent's
Agent. A copy of the executed certified mail receipt is attached
.
3
.
On February 1, 2006, the Complainant filed a Motion for Default with the Board
for J & S Companies, Inc. Attached to the Motion was the affidavit of IEPA Inspector
Christopher Cahnovsky, and the December 30, 2003 inspection report. Since the complaint
alleges identical violations, the Complainant respectfully requests that the previously entered
affidavit and inspection report be referenced for this Motion .
1
4
.
The Respondent, FIRST CHOICE, INC ., has not filed an Answer or other
responsive pleading and has therefore failed to timely appear, answer or otherwise plead as
required by Section 101 .204(d) of the Board's Procedural Rules, 35 III. Adm. Code 101 .204(d)
.
5 .
Due to Respondent's failure to answer, or otherwise respond to Complainant's
Complaint, Complainant is entitled, pursuant to Section 2-1301 of the Illinois Code of Civil
Procedure, 735 ILCS 5/2-1301 (2004), to have a finding of default entered against Respondent
.
6 .
The Illinois Attorney General is authorized by Section 42 of the Act, 415 ILCS
5/42 (2004), pursue civil penalties for violations of the Act :
(a) Except as provided in this Section, any person that violates any provision
of this Act or any regulation adopted by the Board, or any permit or term or
condition thereof, or that violates any determination or order of the Board
pursuant to this Act, shall be liable to a civil penalty of not to exceed $50,000 for
the violation and an additional civil penalty of not to exceed $10,000 for each day
during which the violation continues ; such penalties may, upon order of the
Board or a court of competent jurisdiction, be made payable to the
Environmental Protection Trust Fund, to be used in accordance with the
provisions of the Environmental Protection Trust Fund Act
.
The uncontested allegations of the Complaint as well as the affidavits filed with this Motion
demonstrate that Respondent has committed violations of the Act
.
7 .
By violating the Illinois Environmental Protection Act, the Respondent, FIRST
CHOICE CONSTRUCTION,
INC . is subject to civil penalties under Section 42(a) of the Act, 415
ILCS 5/42(a) (2004) and to injunctive relief under Section 42(e) of the Act, 415 ILCS 5/42(e)
(2004). The People request a civil penalty of $18,000 based upon the facts cited above
.
8 .
The Illinois General Assembly has recognized specific threats posed by improper
waste disposal . In section 20 of the Act, 415 ILCS 5/20 (2004), the Act in pertinent part states
as follows :
Sec. 20 (a) The General Assembly finds
:
(1) that economic and population growth and new methods of manufacture,
packaging, and marketing, without the parallel growth of facilities enabling an
2
500 South Second Street
Springfield, Illinois 62706
217/782-9031
Dated: February 10, 2006
ensuring the recycling, reuse and conservation of natural resources and solid
waste, have resulted in a rising tide of scrap and waste materials of all kinds
;
(2) that excessive quantities of refuse and inefficient and improper methods of
refuse disposal result in scenic blight, cause serious hazards to public health and
safety, create public nuisances, divert land from more productive uses, depress
the value of nearby property, offend the sense, and otherwise interfere with
community life and development
;
f
*
k
9
.
In this case, the improper disposal of demolition waste presented a real and
serious threat to the health and general welfare of the general public in addition to degrading
the quality of the land of the State . As noted in the complaint, the previously entered affidavit of
IEPA Inspector Christopher Cahnovsky, and the previously entered December 30, 2003
inspection report, the demolition debris was improperly disposed of a at site which was not
permitted by the Illinois EPA as a sanitary landfill nor met the requirements of the Act and
regulations and the standards promulgated thereunder
.
WHEREFORE, the Complainant, People of the State of Illinois, respectfully requests
that this Court enter a default order and, after proper notice, following a -hearing if necessary,
enter a default judgment and assess a penalty against the Respondent, FIRST CHOICE
CONSTRUCTION, INC .
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
Litigatipn ptvisior~
K4
STEN LAUGHRIDGE GALE
Environmental Bureau
Assistant Attorney General
3
