ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
    April 19, 2007
    L.W. PAUL SUPPLY CO., INC.,
    Petitioner,
    v.
    ILLINOIS ENVIRONMENTAL
    PROTECTION AGENCY,
    Respondent.
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    PCB 07-99
    (UST Appeal)
    ORDER OF THE BOARD (by T.E. Johnson):
    On April 2, 2007, L.W. Paul Supply Co., Inc. (Paul Supply) timely filed a petition asking
    the Board to review a March 7, 2007 determination of the Illinois Environmental Protection
    Agency (Agency).
    See
    415 ILCS 5/40(a)(1) (2004); 35 Ill. Adm. Code 105.402, 105.406. The
    Agency’s determination concerns Paul Supply’s underground storage tank (UST) site located at
    11120 Richland Avenue in Worth, Cook County. For the reasons below, the Board accepts Paul
    Supply’s petition for hearing.
    Under the Environmental Protection Act (415 ILCS 5 (2004)), the Agency determines
    whether to approve proposed cleanup plans for leaking UST sites, as well as requests for cleanup
    cost reimbursement from the State’s UST Fund, which consists of UST fees and motor fuel
    taxes. If the Agency disapproves or modifies a submittal, the UST owner or operator may appeal
    the decision to the Board.
    See
    415 ILCS 5/40(a)(1), 57-57.17 (2004); 35 Ill. Adm. Code
    105.Subpart D. In this case, the Agency partially denied Paul Supply’s request for
    reimbursement from the UST Fund regarding the Worth site. The denied amount is $11,936.89.
    Paul Supply asserts that the Agency’s determination that Paul Supply’s application lacked
    supporting documentation is erroneous, arbitrary, and capricious. Further, according to the
    petition, because Paul Supply submitted an application for reimbursement, not a budget, the
    Agency erred in concluding that the Agency could not determine if the $11,936.89 would be
    used for corrective action activities in excess of those required to meet the minimum
    requirements of Title XVI of the Act. Paul Supply’s petition meets the content requirements of
    35 Ill. Adm. Code 105.408.
    The Board accepts the petition for hearing. Paul Supply has the burden of proof.
    See
    35
    Ill. Adm. Code 105.112(a). Hearings will be based exclusively on the record before the Agency
    at the time the Agency issued its determination.
    See
    35 Ill. Adm. Code 105.412. Accordingly,
    though the Board hearing affords petitioner the opportunity to challenge the Agency’s reasons
    for its decision, information developed after the Agency’s decision typically is not admitted at
    hearing or considered by the Board.
    See
    Alton Packaging Corp. v. PCB, 162 Ill. App. 3d 731,
    738, 516 N.E.2d 275, 280 (5th Dist. 1987);
    Community Landfill Co. & City of Morris v. IEPA,
    2
    PCB 01-170 (Dec. 6, 2001),
    aff’d sub nom.
    331 Ill. App. 3d 1056, 772 N.E.2d 231 (3rd Dist.
    2002).
    Hearings will be scheduled and completed in a timely manner, consistent with the
    decision deadline (
    see
    415 ILCS 5/40(a)(2) (2004)), which only Paul Supply may extend by
    waiver (
    see
    35 Ill. Adm. Code 101.308). If the Board fails to take final action by the decision
    deadline, Paul Supply may deem its request granted.
    See
    415 ILCS 5/40(a)(2) (2004).
    Currently, the decision deadline is July 31, 2007, which is the 120th day after the Board received
    the petition.
    See
    35 Ill. Adm. Code 101.300(a), 105.114. The Board meeting immediately
    before the decision deadline is scheduled for July 26, 2007.
    Unless the Board or the hearing officer orders otherwise, the Agency must file the entire
    record of its determination by May 2, 2007, which is the 30th day after the Board received the
    petition.
    See
    35 Ill. Adm. Code 101.300(a), 105.410(a). If the Agency wishes to seek additional
    time to file the record, it must file a request for extension before the date on which the record is
    due to be filed.
    See
    35 Ill. Adm. Code 105.116. The record must comply with the content
    requirements of 35 Ill. Adm. Code 105.410(b).
    IT IS SO ORDERED.
    I, Dorothy M. Gunn, Clerk of the Illinois Pollution Control Board, certify that the Board
    adopted the above order on April 19, 2007, by a vote of 3-0.
    Dorothy M. Gunn, Clerk
    Illinois Pollution Control Board

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