The Illinois Pollution Control Board Thursday ruled against Community Landfill and the city of Morris and ordered both to pay civil penalties.
Under the ruling, the city must pay a civil penalty of $399,308 within 60 days (by Aug. 17).
The amount of the penalty is equal to the taxes and fees the city collected from Community Landfill between 2001 and 2005.
Community Landfill was ordered to pay a civil penalty of $1,059,534. The penalty equals the amount it would have paid for $17.4 million in financial assurance during that period, less the premiums it did pay
In addition, the city and Community were ordered to provide $17.4 million in financial assurance for the closure of the landfill within 60 days and provide cost estimates of closure and post-closure care of the landfill.
The city council has scheduled a special meeting for 7 p.m. Monday in city hall to discuss the ruling. The meeting will be in closed session, with any action to be taken in open session.
City Attorney Scott Belt said he did not want to comment until discussing the ruling with the council. Mayor Richard Kopczick was on vacation Friday and unavailable for comment.
In its ruling, the Pollution Control Board said, “The Board finds that it is appropriate under all of the circumstances to recover from the City the monies it received from 2001-2005, amounting to $399,308.98.
“The People have made their case that the City knew or should have known that further disposal activities on the site were being conducted without proper financial assurance during these years.”
The portion of the landfill Community operated on the east side of Ashley Road only accepted construction debris and contaminated soil during that period.
That portion of the landfill on the west side of Ashley Road, which accepted household waste starting in about 1982, had reached capacity and stopped taking waste in 1999. However, the landfill is still not properly closed.
The city-owned landfill, consisting of two parcels totaling 119 acres, was developed in the 1970s. The city attempted to run a landfill on the parcel on the east side of Ashley Road.
Prior testimony indicated that, in 1980, the last year the city ran a landfill on the east parcel, it lost about $150,000. This resulted in the city entering a lease agreement with Community Landfill in June of 1982.
Community accepted household waste in the 64-acre parcel on the west side of Ashley Road under the 17-year agreement with the city. In 1994, the city and Community reached an agreement to re-open the parcel on the east side of Ashley Road.
At a council meeting in November 1994, aldermen voted 4-4 on the question of re-opening the east parcel, with then Mayor Robert Feeney breaking the tie and voting yes.
The issue of financial assurance has been pending since 2001, when the Illinois EPA refused to accept Frontier Insurance bonds.
Community Landfill sought to reduce the amount of financial assurance required for the closing and maintenance of the landfill to $7 million. In 2001 the Pollution Control Board ruled the financial assurance should not be reduced from the $17.4 million figure.
Due to the lack of financial assurance, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency denied Community a permit to operate the east parcel of the landfill. The Pollution Control Board upheld that decision in December of 2001.
Community argued that Frontier’s bonds had been accepted in August of 2000 and Frontier continued to be licensed by the Illinois Department of Insurance.
In April of 2003, the Illinois Attorney General’s office filed a complaint against the city and Community, charging them with failing to provide adequate financial assurance and post closure costs.
On Feb. 16, 2006, the Board issued an interim opinion and order granting
summary judgment in favor of the state.
In the ruling, the PCB said, "The purpose of financial assurance is to provide a guarantee to the State that funds will be available in the event a landfill owner or operator fails to perform needed closure and post closure or to address any other environmental problems that may
occur during and after the operating life of the landfill."
The PCB affirmed its order on June 1, 2006.
The Board held a hearing on the issues of appropriate remedy from Sept. 11-13, 2006.
Community argued it has no money to pay the civil penalty, it can’t operate the landfill and, therefore, cannot raise additional revenues.
The city argued that it never operated the landfill.
The PCB ruled that, while Morris did not operate the landfill on daily basis, "Morris had discretion regarding the decisions at the site and took responsibility for some of the ancillary
site operations, such as the treatment of leachate from the landfill. The Board
finds that the grand sum of Morris' conduct rises to the level of 'operation' as
anticipated by the Board in using that term."
There is a lawsuit pending in Grundy County Circuit Court concerning some of these plus other issues.
Last August, the city filed a complaint seeking to have Bob and Ed Pruim, owners of Community Landfill, held personally liable for any problems at the landfill and any damages incurred by the city.
The Environtech Landfill currently being operated along Ashley Road is completely separate from Community Landfill and is not involved in any of these matters.