Sierra Club v. ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL

936 N.E.2d 670, 403 Ill. App. 3d 1012
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedAugust 24, 2010
Docket3-09-0120
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 936 N.E.2d 670 (Sierra Club v. ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Court of Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Sierra Club v. ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL, 936 N.E.2d 670, 403 Ill. App. 3d 1012 (Ill. Ct. App. 2010).

Opinions

JUSTICE LYTTON

delivered the opinion of the court:

Peoria Disposal Company (PDC) filed a petition with the Illinois Pollution Control Board (Board) to delist residue resulting from the treatment of electric arc furnace dust (EAFD) as a hazardous waste for disposal purposes. The Board issued an order granting PDC’s petition. Sierra Club and Peoria Families Against Toxic Waste (collectively referred to as the opposition groups) seek reversal of the Board’s order, arguing that the Board erred in (1) failing to consider the factors set forth in section 27(a) of the Illinois Environmental Protection Act (Act) (415 ILCS 5/27(a) (West 2008)); (2) not requiring PDC to address future permit modifications; (3) finding that local citing approval was not required; and (4) not requiring reopener language. PDC and the Board argue that the opposition groups do not have standing to appeal the Board’s order. We find that the opposition groups have standing but affirm the Board’s order on the merits of the case.

BACKGROUND

In 1989, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) issued a permit to PDC to operate a waste stabilization facility (WSF) near Peoria, Illinois, for the storage and treatment of hazardous and nonhazardous waste. On April 25, 2008, PDC filed a delisting adjusted standard petition under section 28.1 of the Act (415 ILCS 5/28.1 (West 2008)). In the petition, PDC asked the Board to delist K061 hazardous waste, EAFD, an emission from the production of steel in electric arc furnaces, after the EAFD is treated and stabilized. The residue resulting from PDC’s treatment is referred to as “electric arc furnace dust stabilized residue” (EAFDSR).

On June 12, 2008, IEPA filed a response generally supporting the petition. The Board conducted a public hearing on PDC’s petition on August 18, 2008. PDC presented two witnesses at the hearing. PDC’s first witness was Laura Curtis, a senior environmental engineer for RMT, Inc., an environmental energy and engineering firm that provides consulting services to businesses like PDC. PDC retained her to evaluate the new process it developed for stabilizing EAFD waste. She summarized the delisting process. She also testified about the chemical process involved in stabilizing EAFD waste and the tests she performed to determine if PDC’s process successfully removed the hazardous properties from the waste. She concluded that PDC’s treatment of the EAFD waste renders it nonhazardous and subject to delisting.

PDC’s next witness was Ajit Chowdhury, a chemical engineer. He testified that PDC hired him to develop a new technology to stabilize EAFD, which he did. He described the chemical process involved in stabilizing EAFD. He testified that the process he created permanently stabilizes the EAFD.

Twenty-seven other individuals presented public comments at the hearing. Some of those individuals were members of the opposition groups, who expressed concerns about the delisting petition. After the hearing ended, the Board accepted written public comments. Many written public comments came from members of the opposition groups. In addition to the public comments, IEPA issued a recommendation, asking the Board to grant PDC’s delisting petition.

On January 8, 2009, the Board issued a 103-page opinion and order granting PDC’s delisting petition subject to several conditions. In re RCRA Delisting Adjusted Standard Petition of Peoria Disposal Co. Ill. Pollution Control Bd. Op. AS 08 — 10 (January 8, 2009) (hereinafter Board Order). In its summary, the Board stated:

“Based on a thorough review of this record, the Board finds that PDC has met the legal tests for delisting under Section 28.1 of the Environmental Protection Act *** and Section 720.122 of the Board’s hazardous waste regulations ***. PDC has demonstrated that (1) the treatment residue does not meet any of the criteria under which K061 EAF dust was listed as hazardous waste; (2) there is no reasonable basis to believe that factors other than those for which the K061 waste was listed warrant retaining the treatment residue as a hazardous waste; and (3) the treatment residue exhibits no characteristics of hazardous waste. The scientific evidence presented to the Board shows that the treatment residue meeting the Board’s designated delisting levels does not pose a substantial present or potential threat to human health or the environment when considering all of the relevant factors.” Board Order, Ill. Pollution Control Bd. Op. AS 08 — 10, at 2.

The Board imposed several conditions upon PDC, including (1) requiring analytical proof that every batch of EAFDSR leaving PDC’s facility does not contain chemical concentrations in excess of those found to be safe, (2) adding dioxins and furans to the constituents for which PDC will have to test, (3) tightening the description of disposal facilities that may receive delisted treatment residue, and (4) narrowing the instances when PDC can alter its stabilization process without having to first petition the Board to justify an amendment to the delisting. Board Order, Ill. Pollution Control Bd. Op. AS 08 — 10, at 2.

In its order, the Board considered many concerns raised in public comments. One of those concerns was whether reopener language used in delistings granted by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) should be included in PDC’s delisting. The Board found that USEPA reopener language was “unnecessary here to ensure protection of human health and the environment.” Board Order, Ill. Pollution Control Bd. Op. AS 08 — 10, at 77. The Board explained that “Illinois’ comprehensive environmental regulations, supplemented by corrective action and injunctive authorities under the Act, provide the ability to promptly detect and remedy problems of the sort the reopener is designed to address.” Board Order, Ill. Pollution Control Bd. Op. AS 08 — 10, at 78. The Board further found that Illinois’ system of environmental governance does not lend itself to reopener language. Board Order, Ill. Pollution Control Bd. Op. AS 08 — 10, at 78.

Next, the Board addressed concerns raised by the opposition groups that PDC did not provide sufficient evidence to satisfy the factors set forth in section 27(a) of the Act (415 ILCS 5/27(a) (West 2008)). The Board stated that it “carefully considered the information in this record in view of the Section 27(a) factors, as required by Section 28.1(a) and finds that the delisting may be granted consistent with those factors.” Board Order, Ill. Pollution Control Bd. Op. AS 08 — 10, at 81. The Board then went on to specifically discuss the location of the facility, its effect on drinking water and potential air emissions, the technical feasability of treating the EAFD with PDC’s new technology and the economic reasonableness of PDC’s treatment proposal. Board Order, Ill. Pollution Control Bd. Op. AS 08 — 10, at 81-85.

Next, the Board considered the opposition groups’ concern that PDC will need permit modifications if the adjusted standard is granted.

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Related

Sierra Club v. ILL. POLLUTION CONTROL BD.
957 N.E.2d 888 (Illinois Supreme Court, 2011)
Sierra Club v. Illinois Pollution Control Board
2011 IL 110882 (Illinois Supreme Court, 2011)
Sierra Club v. ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL
936 N.E.2d 670 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2010)

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Bluebook (online)
936 N.E.2d 670, 403 Ill. App. 3d 1012, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/sierra-club-v-illinois-pollution-control-illappct-2010.