On January 21, 2010, the Illinois Pollution Control Board found that Info Corner Materials, Inc. ("ICM") violated the Illinois Environmental Protection Act and ordered ICM to pay $3,000 in civil penalties.
The penalty resulted from an administrative citation that was filed by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency concerning ICM’s disposal facility located on Bachmann Drive, just north of the junction of North Dirksen Parkway and Peoria Road, in Springfield Township, Sangamon County, Illinois. Illinois EPA alleged that ICM violated the Illinois Environmental Protection Act by causing or allowing the open dumping of waste in a manner resulting in litter. Illinois EPA also alleged that this was ICM's second open dumping violation.
To contest an administrative citation, a defendant must file a petition with the Pollution Control Board no later than 35 days after being served with the administrative citation. If the defendant fails to do so, the Pollution Control Board must find that the defendant committed the violations alleged and impose the corresponding civil penalty.
Because ICM failed to file a petition with the Pollution Control Board, the Board found that ICM committed the alleged violations and imposed the $3,000 penalty for a second violation.
Stay tuned to the Illinois Environmental Law Blog for more news and developments.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Thursday, January 28, 2010
President Obama Renews Call for Clean Energy and Climate Change Legislation
After last night's State of the Union Address, there should be no doubt that President Obama is going to stay the course on his agenda. He renewed his call for Congress to pass clean energy and climate change legislation:
"Next, we need to encourage American innovation. Last year, we made the largest investment in basic research funding in history -– (applause) -- an investment that could lead to the world's cheapest solar cells or treatment that kills cancer cells but leaves healthy ones untouched. And no area is more ripe for such innovation than energy. You can see the results of last year's investments in clean energy -– in the North Carolina company that will create 1,200 jobs nationwide helping to make advanced batteries; or in the California business that will put a thousand people to work making solar panels.
"But to create more of these clean energy jobs, we need more production, more efficiency, more incentives. And that means building a new generation of safe, clean nuclear power plants in this country. (Applause.) It means making tough decisions about opening new offshore areas for oil and gas development. (Applause.) It means continued investment in advanced biofuels and clean coal technologies. (Applause.) And, yes, it means passing a comprehensive energy and climate bill with incentives that will finally make clean energy the profitable kind of energy in America. (Applause.)
"I am grateful to the House for passing such a bill last year. (Applause.) And this year I'm eager to help advance the bipartisan effort in the Senate. (Applause.)
"I know there have been questions about whether we can afford such changes in a tough economy. I know that there are those who disagree with the overwhelming scientific evidence on climate change. But here's the thing -- even if you doubt the evidence, providing incentives for energy-efficiency and clean energy are the right thing to do for our future -– because the nation that leads the clean energy economy will be the nation that leads the global economy. And America must be that nation. (Applause.)"
Stay tuned to the Illinois Environmental Law Blog for more news and developments.
"Next, we need to encourage American innovation. Last year, we made the largest investment in basic research funding in history -– (applause) -- an investment that could lead to the world's cheapest solar cells or treatment that kills cancer cells but leaves healthy ones untouched. And no area is more ripe for such innovation than energy. You can see the results of last year's investments in clean energy -– in the North Carolina company that will create 1,200 jobs nationwide helping to make advanced batteries; or in the California business that will put a thousand people to work making solar panels.
"But to create more of these clean energy jobs, we need more production, more efficiency, more incentives. And that means building a new generation of safe, clean nuclear power plants in this country. (Applause.) It means making tough decisions about opening new offshore areas for oil and gas development. (Applause.) It means continued investment in advanced biofuels and clean coal technologies. (Applause.) And, yes, it means passing a comprehensive energy and climate bill with incentives that will finally make clean energy the profitable kind of energy in America. (Applause.)
"I am grateful to the House for passing such a bill last year. (Applause.) And this year I'm eager to help advance the bipartisan effort in the Senate. (Applause.)
"I know there have been questions about whether we can afford such changes in a tough economy. I know that there are those who disagree with the overwhelming scientific evidence on climate change. But here's the thing -- even if you doubt the evidence, providing incentives for energy-efficiency and clean energy are the right thing to do for our future -– because the nation that leads the clean energy economy will be the nation that leads the global economy. And America must be that nation. (Applause.)"
Stay tuned to the Illinois Environmental Law Blog for more news and developments.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
U.S. Senators Introduce Resolution Disapproving EPA's Endangerment Finding on Greenhouse Gases
Ever since the election of Senator-Elect Scott Brown in Massachusetts (and the loss of the Democratic supermajority in the Senate), people have been asking if climate change legislation will be passed by Congress anytime soon. According to a recent column in the Chicago Tribune, even the chief executive of Exelon Corp. "admitted last week that his cherished cap-and-trade plan for cutting carbon emissions has encountered 'serious trouble.'
As I have reported on this blog, U.S. EPA may decide to implement a plan by itself, based on its endangerment finding that greenhouse gases pose a threat to human health and welfare. However, to block such a plan by EPA, several senators recently introduced a resolution, S.J. Res. 26, to disapprove the endangerment finding:
"Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That Congress disapproves the rule submitted by the Environmental Protection Agency relating to the endangerment finding and the cause or contribute findings for greenhouse gases under section 202(a) of the Clean Air Act (published at 74 Fed. Reg. 66496 (December 15, 2009)), and such rule shall have no force or effect."
The resolution was introduced by Senator Lisa Murkowski (Republican-Alaska) and has 39 co-sponsors including two Democrats (Senators Ben Nelson from Nebraska and Mary Landrieu from Louisiana).
Stay tuned to the Illinois Environmental Law Blog for more news and developments.
As I have reported on this blog, U.S. EPA may decide to implement a plan by itself, based on its endangerment finding that greenhouse gases pose a threat to human health and welfare. However, to block such a plan by EPA, several senators recently introduced a resolution, S.J. Res. 26, to disapprove the endangerment finding:
"Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That Congress disapproves the rule submitted by the Environmental Protection Agency relating to the endangerment finding and the cause or contribute findings for greenhouse gases under section 202(a) of the Clean Air Act (published at 74 Fed. Reg. 66496 (December 15, 2009)), and such rule shall have no force or effect."
The resolution was introduced by Senator Lisa Murkowski (Republican-Alaska) and has 39 co-sponsors including two Democrats (Senators Ben Nelson from Nebraska and Mary Landrieu from Louisiana).
Stay tuned to the Illinois Environmental Law Blog for more news and developments.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
U.S. EPA Orders Dairy to Comply with Clean Water Act
According to an agency press release, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued an order under the Clean Water Act to Westridge Dairy LLC, 2114 Ames Road, Red Bud, Illinois. Westridge is a "medium-sized concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO) in the Kaskaskia River watershed in central Illinois with approximately 700 mature dairy cows."
U.S. EPA ordered the dairy "to stop all unauthorized waste discharges and to comply with the Clean Water Act. EPA also ordered the facility to apply to the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency for a permit to discharge wastewater."
The order resulted after U.S. EPA "inspected the facility in April and found that Westridge was not using best management practices to prevent the discharge of manure and other animal production waste. EPA also discovered that the facility did not have a state wastewater discharge permit."
Stay tuned to the Illinois Environmental Law Blog for more news and developments.
U.S. EPA ordered the dairy "to stop all unauthorized waste discharges and to comply with the Clean Water Act. EPA also ordered the facility to apply to the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency for a permit to discharge wastewater."
The order resulted after U.S. EPA "inspected the facility in April and found that Westridge was not using best management practices to prevent the discharge of manure and other animal production waste. EPA also discovered that the facility did not have a state wastewater discharge permit."
Stay tuned to the Illinois Environmental Law Blog for more news and developments.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
U.S. EPA Proposes New Smog Standards
On January 19, 2010, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency published in the Federal Register a proposed rule that would set more stringent standards for ground-level ozone, more commonly known as smog. U.S. EPA is proposing these new standards after reconsideration of limits set by the Bush administration in 2008.
Specifically, "EPA proposes that the level of the 8-hour primary standard, which was set at 0.075 ppm in the 2008 final rule, should instead be set at a lower level within the range of 0.060 to 0.070 parts per million (ppm), to provide increased protection for children and other ‘‘at risk’’ populations against an array of O3-related adverse health effects that range from decreased lung function and increased respiratory symptoms to serious indicators of respiratory morbidity including emergency department visits and hospital admissions for respiratory causes, and possibly cardiovascular-related morbidity as well as total nonaccidental and cardiopulmonary mortality."
U.S. EPA also proposes that the "secondary O3 standard, which was set identical to the revised primary standard in the 2008 final rule, should instead be a new cumulative, seasonal standard expressed as an annual index of the sum of weighted hourly concentrations, cumulated over 12 hours per day (8 am to 8 pm) during the consecutive 3-month period within the O3 season with the maximum index value, set at a level within the range of 7 to 15 ppm-hours, to provide increased protection against O3-related adverse impacts on vegetation and forested ecosystems."
According to a fact sheet prepared by U.S. EPA, "ozone is found in two regions of the Earth’s atmosphere – at ground level and in the upper regions of the atmosphere. Both types of ozone have the same chemical composition (O3). While upper atmospheric ozone forms a protective layer from the sun’s harmful rays, ground level ozone is the main component of smog. Ground-level ozone is not emitted directly into the air, but forms through a reaction of nitrogen oxides (NOx), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), carbon monoxide (CO) and methane (CH4) in the presence of sunlight. Emissions from industrial facilities and electric utilities, motor vehicle exhaust, gasoline vapors, and chemical solvents are the major man-made sources of NOx and VOCs."
Stay tuned to the Illinois Environmental Law Blog for more news and developments.
Specifically, "EPA proposes that the level of the 8-hour primary standard, which was set at 0.075 ppm in the 2008 final rule, should instead be set at a lower level within the range of 0.060 to 0.070 parts per million (ppm), to provide increased protection for children and other ‘‘at risk’’ populations against an array of O3-related adverse health effects that range from decreased lung function and increased respiratory symptoms to serious indicators of respiratory morbidity including emergency department visits and hospital admissions for respiratory causes, and possibly cardiovascular-related morbidity as well as total nonaccidental and cardiopulmonary mortality."
U.S. EPA also proposes that the "secondary O3 standard, which was set identical to the revised primary standard in the 2008 final rule, should instead be a new cumulative, seasonal standard expressed as an annual index of the sum of weighted hourly concentrations, cumulated over 12 hours per day (8 am to 8 pm) during the consecutive 3-month period within the O3 season with the maximum index value, set at a level within the range of 7 to 15 ppm-hours, to provide increased protection against O3-related adverse impacts on vegetation and forested ecosystems."
According to a fact sheet prepared by U.S. EPA, "ozone is found in two regions of the Earth’s atmosphere – at ground level and in the upper regions of the atmosphere. Both types of ozone have the same chemical composition (O3). While upper atmospheric ozone forms a protective layer from the sun’s harmful rays, ground level ozone is the main component of smog. Ground-level ozone is not emitted directly into the air, but forms through a reaction of nitrogen oxides (NOx), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), carbon monoxide (CO) and methane (CH4) in the presence of sunlight. Emissions from industrial facilities and electric utilities, motor vehicle exhaust, gasoline vapors, and chemical solvents are the major man-made sources of NOx and VOCs."
Stay tuned to the Illinois Environmental Law Blog for more news and developments.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
U.S. Supreme Court Denies Request to Close Locks on Same Day Asian Carp DNA Found in Lake Michigan
On January 19, 2010, the U.S. Supreme Court entered a one-sentence order (page 3 of this list of orders) denying the State of Michigan's request for preliminary injunction that would have immediately closed locks and gates leading to Lake Michigan. Michigan requested these actions to prevent Asian carp from getting into the lake.
On the same day, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced that the multi-agency Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee "received information from the University of Notre Dame about one positive environmental DNA result for silver carp in Calumet Harbor approximately one-half mile north of the Calumet River and one more at a location in the Calumet River north of O’Brien Lock." According to the Corps, the Regional Coordinating Committee "is now working to respond to the most recent eDNA results, including consideration of:
· Rapid deployment of intensive netting, including electrofishing and specialized netting alternatives, in the area near O’Brien Lock to reduce the possibility that a selfsustaining population might be established.
· Continued research into scientific advances to apply detection systems that will allow participating agencies to pinpoint the exact location and numbers of carp. Current eDNA testing does not yet provide this information.
· Planning to develop the concept of how existing structures, such as locks, could be operated in a way that would minimize the risk of carp migration while the U.S. Coast Guard, local public safety and emergency responders, needed cargo, and other traffic transits the waterway;
· Expedited construction of new electric dispersal Barrier IIB to complement existing barriers, and severance of culverts and other bypass routes in the event of flooding, that might allow carp entry from adjacent waterways. Interim obstructions will be completed this year;
· Accelerate development of possible biological controls for Asian carp; and
· Continued efforts to assess 'ecological separation' as a long-term strategy that blocks invasive species from transferring between the Great Lakes and Mississippi River watersheds while still allowing cargo and 'clean traffic' to pass, leveraging the Corps of Engineers’ Great Lakes and Mississippi River Interbasin Transfer Study."
More coverage of these events can be found in the Associated Press's article on these issues.
Stay tuned to the Illinois Environmental Law Blog for more news and developments.
On the same day, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced that the multi-agency Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee "received information from the University of Notre Dame about one positive environmental DNA result for silver carp in Calumet Harbor approximately one-half mile north of the Calumet River and one more at a location in the Calumet River north of O’Brien Lock." According to the Corps, the Regional Coordinating Committee "is now working to respond to the most recent eDNA results, including consideration of:
· Rapid deployment of intensive netting, including electrofishing and specialized netting alternatives, in the area near O’Brien Lock to reduce the possibility that a selfsustaining population might be established.
· Continued research into scientific advances to apply detection systems that will allow participating agencies to pinpoint the exact location and numbers of carp. Current eDNA testing does not yet provide this information.
· Planning to develop the concept of how existing structures, such as locks, could be operated in a way that would minimize the risk of carp migration while the U.S. Coast Guard, local public safety and emergency responders, needed cargo, and other traffic transits the waterway;
· Expedited construction of new electric dispersal Barrier IIB to complement existing barriers, and severance of culverts and other bypass routes in the event of flooding, that might allow carp entry from adjacent waterways. Interim obstructions will be completed this year;
· Accelerate development of possible biological controls for Asian carp; and
· Continued efforts to assess 'ecological separation' as a long-term strategy that blocks invasive species from transferring between the Great Lakes and Mississippi River watersheds while still allowing cargo and 'clean traffic' to pass, leveraging the Corps of Engineers’ Great Lakes and Mississippi River Interbasin Transfer Study."
More coverage of these events can be found in the Associated Press's article on these issues.
Stay tuned to the Illinois Environmental Law Blog for more news and developments.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Environmental Register for December 2009
The Illinois Pollution Control Board has issued its Environmental Register publication for December 2009.
The Environmental Register features a letter from Chairman Girard, an appellate court update, a rulemaking update, a summary of actions of the Board, a summary of new cases, and the Board's calendar. The Environmental Register also contains "Restricted Status" and "Critical Review" lists of sewers or lift stations in the state. It also contains a notice that the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency proposes to list several dedicated nature preserves as "Class III: Special Resource Groundwater."
Stay tuned to the Illinois Environmental Law Blog for more news and developments.
The Environmental Register features a letter from Chairman Girard, an appellate court update, a rulemaking update, a summary of actions of the Board, a summary of new cases, and the Board's calendar. The Environmental Register also contains "Restricted Status" and "Critical Review" lists of sewers or lift stations in the state. It also contains a notice that the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency proposes to list several dedicated nature preserves as "Class III: Special Resource Groundwater."
Stay tuned to the Illinois Environmental Law Blog for more news and developments.
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