ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
    November 5, 2008
    COUNTY OF JACKSON,
    Complainant,
    v.
    ALVIN VALDEZ and RUBEN J. VALDEZ,
    Respondents.
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    AC 09-9
    (Site Code No. 0778035022)
    (Administrative Citation)
    ORDER OF THE BOARD (by A.S. Moore):
    On July 31, 2008, the County of Jackson (County) timely filed an administrative citation
    against Alvin Valdez and Ruben J. Valdez (respondents).
    See
    415 ILCS 5/31.1(c) (2006); 35 Ill.
    Adm. Code 101.300(b), 108.202(c). The administrative citation concerns a property located at
    latitude 7.82693 and longitude 89.25043 near DeSoto, Jackson County, designated with Site
    Code No. 0778035022, and commonly known to the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency
    (Agency) as the “DeSoto/Alvin Valdez” site. Today, for the reasons below, the Board accepts
    for hearing the respondents’ amended petition.
    The County alleges that respondents violated Sections 21(p)(1) and (p)(7) of the
    Environmental Protection Act (Act) (415 ILCS 5/21(p)(1), (p)(7) (2006)) on June 25, 2008, by
    causing or allowing the open dumping of waste in a manner resulting in litter and the deposition
    of general or clean construction or demolition debris at the Jackson County site. According to
    the citation, Don Terry, a Field Inspector with the Jackson County Health Department, inspected
    the site on June 25, 2008. The County asks the Board to impose on respondents the statutory
    civil penalty of $1,500 for each alleged violation, for a total civil penalty of $3,000.
    On August 27, 2008, respondents filed a petition requesting a hearing to dispute the
    administrative citation. On September 16, 2008, the Board issued an order accepting the petition
    as timely filed, but finding the petition deficient because it did not provide grounds for contesting
    the administrative citation.
    See
    35 Ill. Adm. Code 108.204(b), 108.206. The Board directed
    respondents to file an amended petition remedying this deficiency by October 16, 2008, or the
    Board would dismiss the petition and enter a default order against respondents.
    See
    35 Ill. Adm.
    Code 108.404, 108.500(a).
    On October 17, 2008, the Board received an amended petition filed
    pro se
    (Am. Pet.).
    Respondents’ petition denies the alleged violations, stating that they “don’t see scrap metal as
    open litter or as being a dump”. Am. Pet. at 1;
    see
    35 Ill. Adm. Code 108.206. Respondents also
    assert that they are “are trying to fix this problem”. The Board notes that voluntary clean up
    actions performed by a respondent after a site inspection are generally neither a defense to the
    violations nor relevant to determining the civil penalty amount.
    See
    IEPA v. Jack Wright, AC
    89-227, slip op. at 7 (Aug. 30, 1990) (“The Act, by its terms, does not envision a properly issued
    2
    administrative citation being dismissed or mitigated because a person is cooperative or
    voluntarily cleans-up the site”).
    The Board accepts the amended petition for hearing. The Board directs the hearing
    officer to proceed expeditiously to hearing. The hearing officer will give the parties at least 21
    days written notice of the hearing.
    See
    415 ILCS 5/31.1(d)(2) (2006), 35 Ill. Adm. Code
    108.300.
    By contesting the administrative citation, respondents may have to pay the hearing costs
    of the Board and the County.
    See
    415 ILCS 5/42(b)(4-5) (2006); 35 Ill. Adm. Code 108.500. A
    schedule of the Board’s hearing costs is available from the Clerk of the Board and on the Board’s
    Web site at www.ipcb.state.il.us
    .
    See
    35 Ill. Adm. Code 108.504. Respondents may withdraw
    their amended petition at any time before the Board enters its final decision. If either respondent
    chooses to withdraw his amended petition, he must do so in writing, unless he does so orally at
    hearing.
    See
    35 Ill. Adm. Code 108.208. If respondents withdraw their petition after the hearing
    starts, the Board will require respondents to pay the hearing costs of the Board and the County.
    See id.
    at 108.500(c).
    The County has the burden of proof at hearing.
    See
    415 ILCS 5/31.1(d)(2) (2006); 35 Ill.
    Adm. Code 108.400. If the Board finds that respondents violated either Section 21(p)(1) or
    (p)(7) of the Act (415 ILCS 5/21(p)(1), (p)(7) (2006)), the Board will impose civil penalties.
    Because the Act specifies the civil penalty for a violation in an administrative citation action, the
    Board cannot consider mitigating or aggravating factors when determining penalty amounts.
    See
    ,
    e.g.
    , IEPA v. Stutsman, AC 05-70, slip op. at 2 (Sept. 21, 2006). The civil penalty for
    violating any provision of subsection (p) of Section 21 is $1,500 for each violation, except that
    the penalty amount is $3,000 for each violation that is the person’s second or subsequent
    adjudicated violation of that provision.
    See
    45 ILCS 5/42(b)(4-5) (2006); 35 Ill. Adm. Code
    108.500(a). However, if the Board finds that a respondent “has shown that the violation resulted
    from uncontrollable circumstances, the Board shall adopt a final order which makes no finding
    of violation and which imposes no penalty.” 415 ILCS 5/31.1(d)(2) (2006);
    see also
    35 Ill. Adm.
    Code 108.500(b).
    IT IS SO ORDERED.
    I, John Therriault, Assistant Clerk of the Illinois Pollution Control Board, certify that the
    Board adopted the above order on November 5, 2008, by a vote of 4-0.
    __________________________________
    John Therriault, Assistant Clerk
    Illinois Pollution Control Board

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