BEFORE
THE
ADMINISTRATIVE
ILLINOIS
POLLUTION
CITATION
CONTROL
BOARD
JUN
15
009
ILLINOIS
ENVIRONMENTAL
)
Pollution
r01S
PROTECTION
AGENCY,
)
Cl
)
Complainant,
)
)
AC
09-43
v.
)
)
(IEPA NO.
79-09-AC)
THE
BLICKHAN
FAMILY
CORPORATION,
)
INC.
and
BLICK’S CONSTRUCTION
CO.
)
INC.,
)
Respondents.
NOTICE
OF
FILING
TO:
Mr. John
Therriault
Assistant
Clerk
of the
Board
Illinois
Pollution
Control
Board
100
West Randolph
Street
Suite
11-500
Chicago,
IL 60601
(SEE
PERSONS
ON
ATTACHED
CERTIFICATE
OF SERVICE
LIST)
PLEASE
TAKE
NOTICE
that
I have today
filed
with the Office
of the
Clerk
of
the
Illinois
Pollution
Control
Board a
Petition
to Contest
Administrative
Citation,
copies
of which
are
herewith served
upon
you.
Dated:
June
12,
2009
Respectfully
submitted,
THE
BLICKHAN
FAMILY
CORPORATION,
INC. and
BLICK’S
CONSTRUCTION
CO.
INC.,
Respondents
\(c(
Jon
Sletto
One—-
His
Attorneys
Jon
S.
Faletto
Hinshaw
&
Culbertson
LLP
416
Main Street,
6th
Floor
Peoria,
IL 61602
309-674-1025
80284209v1
887676
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REcv
BEFORE
THE
ILLINOIS
POLLUTION
CONTROL
BOARD
CLERS
OFFICE
ADMTNJSTRATIVE CITATION
15
20UQ
ILLINOIS
ENVIRONMENTAL
)
STATE
OF
ILLINOIS
PROTECTION
AGENCY,
)
POl/tj
Control
Board
Complainant,
)
)
AC 09-43
v.
)
)
(JEPA NO.
79-09-AC)
THE
BLICKHAN
FAMILY
CORPORATION,
)
INC.
and
BLICK’S
CONSTRUCTION
CO.
)
INC.,
)
Respondents.
PETITION
TO
CONTEST
ADMINISTRATIVE
CITATION
NOW
COMES
Respondents,
THE BLICKHAN
FAMILY
CORPORATION,
INC.
and
BUCK’S
CONSTRUCTION CO.
INC.,
by
and
through
their attorneys,
HNSHAW
&
CULBERTSON
LLP,
and
pursuant
to
35 Iii.
Admin
Code
§108.204,
hereby
contest
the
Administrative
Citation
(“AC”)
improperly
issued
by
Complainant,
ILLINOIS
ENVIRONMENTAL
PROTECTION
AGENCY
(“IEPA”),
in the above-entitled
case
and
in
support
thereof,
states
as
follows:
1.
On
or about
May
6,
2009, Complainant
IEPA
filed
an
AC
with
the Illinois
Pollution Control
Board
(“Board”)
alleging,
inter alia,
that
the
Respondents
owned
and
operated
a
“facility”
which constitutes
an “open
dump”
operating
without
an IEPA-issued
Operating
Permit.
See Administrative
Citation,
Illinois Environmental
Protection
Agency
v. The BLickhan
Family
Corporation,
Inc.
&
Blick
Construction
Co.
Inc., (IEPANo,
79-09-AC).
2.
The
AC
issued
by
JEPA
failed
to identify
the location
of
the
alleged
“facility”
that
constitutes
an
“open dump”
other
than
a
reference
to
the
“Quincy/Blick’s
Construction
Co.
Inc.”
3.
Attached
to the
AC
was the March
17,
2009
Inspection
Report of
JEPA Official
Paul
Eisenbrandt,
which
provided
additional
detail regarding
the alleged
violations
of §21(p)
of
80284
197v1
887676
67628
the Illinois Environmental
Protection Act
(“Act”) cited
in
the
AC. The Inspection
Report
also
provided
additional
detail
regarding
the
general locations
where
JEPA Official
Eisenbrandt
claims
to have
observed
the
alleged violations.
4.
As
more
fully
identified and described
in the Inspection
Report
of IEPA Official
Paul
Eisenbrandt,
the alleged violations
of
§21(j))
of
the
Act were identified
as
involving
the
placement or
abandonment
of certain materials
characterized
by Mr.
Eisenbrandt
as
not
meeting
the
“definition of
clean construction
and demolition debris”
at the subject
location(s).
5.
Contrary
to the conclusions
or characterizations
reached
by
IEPA
inspector
Eisenbrandt, the
material he
observed was not
“waste” material
and
instead,
was valuable scrap
metal
and
other
materials being stored
temporarily
for later sale, reuse,
or recycling.
Additional
materials
observed
at the
subject properties
by
IEPA inspector
Eisenbrandt met
the
definition of
“clean
construction
or
demolition
debris”
as
that
term is defined in
Section 3.160(b) of
the Act
(415 ILCS
5/3.16((b)),
and did not
constitute “waste”
materials
because they
were being used as
fill
material
outside of a setback
zone or were in the
process
of
being separated or processed
for
return
to the
economic
mainstream
in the form
of raw materials or
products, as expressly
provided by
Section 3.160(b)
oftheAct
(415 ILCS
5/3.16((b)).
6.
Section 108.206 of
the Board’s
Regulations applicable
to Administrative Citations
provides,
in
relevant
part, “A
.formal
Petition
to
Contest
must include any
reasons
why the AC
recipient
believes the AC was
improperly
issued, including:
...
(b)
The AC
recipient
did
not cause
or
allow
the alleged
violations;
... and (d) the alleged
violation
was
a
result of
uncontrollable
circumstances.”
(35 Ill. Admin.
Code
§108.206(a)(b)).
7.
The
Respondents
in this proceeding
were
not
engaged in
“open dumping” by
consolidating
“refuse”
from one or more
sources at a disposal
site
that
does not fulfill the
80284197v1
887676
67628
requirements
of a
sanitary
landfill. As stated
in Section 3.385 of the
Act,
“refuse”
means waste.
(415 ILCS
5/3.385),
While
the Respondents
own certain parcels of
property in the area
believed
to have been
visited on March 17,
2009 by
Mr.
Eisenbrandt, there
were no instances of
“waste,”
as that
term
is defined by Section
3.535
of the
Act (415 ILCS 5/3.535),
being “open dumped”
as
prohibited by Sections
2 1(a)
or
(p)
of the Act (415 ILCS
5/21(a)
&
(p)),
on
the subject property.
8.
Therefore,
the AC
was
improperly
issued to
Respondents.
Alternatively, if
such
violations
occurred
as alleged, the
Respondents did
not cause or allow
the alleged
violations
or
they occurred
as a
result
of uncontrollable
circumstances
within the meaning of
35 Ill. Admin.
Code
§
108.206(d).
WHEREFORE,
Respondents
THE BLICKHAN
FAMILY
CORPORATION, INC.
and
BUCK’S
CONSTRUCTION
CO.
INC.,
request that the
Illinois Pollution
Control Board enter
an
Order dismissing
the
Administrative
Citation
as
improperly
issued
pursuant to
§31.1 of the
Act
and implementing
regulations, and
denying the
civil penalties and
any
other
relief
sought
therein.
Dated:
June 12, 2009
Jon S.
Faletto
Hinshaw &
Culbertson LLP
416
Main Street,
6th Floor
Peoria,
IL 61602
309-674-1025
Respectfully
submitted,
THE
BLICKHAN
FAMILY
CORPORATION,
INC. and
BUCK’S
CONSTRUCTION
CO.
INC.,
Respondents
By:/Jon
S)Falo
Ono3heir
AWôrneys
80284197v1
887676 67628
BEFORE THE ILLINOIS
POLLUTION
CONTROL BOARDCLp
5
OF1’P
ADMINISTRATIVE
CITATION
JUN
152009
ILLINOIS ENVIRONMENTAL
)
PROTECTION AGENCY,
)
STATE
OF
ILLINOIS
)
r0uUjOfl
Control
Board
Complainant,
)
)
AC 09-43
v.
)
(IEPA NO. 79-09-AC)
THE BLICKHAN FAMILY CORPORATION,
)
INC. and BLICK’S
CONSTRUCTION
CO.
)
INC.,
)
Respondents.
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
I,
Jon
S.
Faletto, the undersigned, hereby certify that I have served the attached Petition
to
Contest Administrative Citation upon:
Michelle M. Ryan, Esq.
Assistant
Counsel
Illinois
Environmental Protection Agency
1021 North Grand
Avenue East
P.O.
Box 19276
Springfield,
IL
62794-9276
John
T. Therriault
Assistant Clerk of the Board
Illinois
Pollution Control Board
James R.
Thompson Center
100W.
Randolph
St.,
Ste. 11-500
Chicago, IL
60601
By
depositing
said documents in the United States Mail, postage prepaid, in Peoria,
Illinois,
on
June 12, 2009.
Jon
80284210v1
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67628