By SUE TREIMAN
A reporter for the Suburban Trib, a
three-time weekly supplement to the
Chicago Tribune, Ms. Treiman resides in
Evanston.
Where to file them and how the state processes them
Pollution complaints
The Environmental Protection Agency, the Attorney General's Office, the Pollution Control Board, and other state agencies all have a role in the state's procedures for dealing with grievances about pollution
THE FIGHT WAS OVER. On March 24, 1976, the state Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Granite City Steel Company, located near St. Louis, shook hands and made up. The company, it was agreed, would undertake $17 million in renovations to curb its pollution, while the Pollution Control Board would quietly retire two air pollution suits pending against Granite City Steel. It was a happy ending to a pollution problem that had plagued the area for years — driving property values down and nearby residents out to areas where the breathing was easier.
But the resolution of the Granite City case did not clear the files for the EPA. Last year 2,833 citizens filed complaints with the EPA as of mid-November on everything from odor problems to suspected degradation of water supplies. A great number, 1,200 instances, involved suspected violations of the air pollution control statutes. Only 12 citizens took advantage of a provision unique to Illinois law, that permits individuals to skip the EPA investigative process and initiate legal actions against pollution violators directly before the Pollution Control Board.
"We have a public relations job to do here, where 1 just don't think we've done enough," says Illinois EPA Director Richard Briceland, who was appointed by Gov. Dan Walker. Neither he, nor his counterparts at the Pollution Control Board, the Attorney General's Office, or the federal EPA have seen the number of complaints they feel are warranted. Yet Briceland maintains that air and water pollution rank high on the list of public concerns, edged out only by inflation and unemployment.
State government, especially, is amply provided with avenues for pollution grievances. Illinois is noted for its outstanding, if complex, environmental control structure. Its foundation is three-tiered, with the EPA, the Pollution Control Board and the Institute for Environmental Quality. All three were born with passage of the Environmental Protection Act in 1970. Under its provisions, the EPA is the enforcement agency, responsible for monitoring pollution problems, enforcing standards and issuing permits. Separate divisions within the agency are concerned with separate problems: the air pollution control division, water pollution control division, land/ noise pollution control division, and the public water supplies division. When there is a violation, the agency takes its evidence to the Attorney General's Office, specifically, to the environmental control division. The attorney general files complaints before the Pollution Control Board, the judicial arm of the state pollution system. The board considers three types of actions: (1) enforcement actions, to bring polluters into compliance with pollution guidelines; (2) variances or temporary licenses to pollute granted while the polluter meets a compliance schedule; and (3) permit actions, which are usually orders to apply for and / or obtain a permit.
The board has the power to levy fines, to issue cease and desist orders (legal orders to end pollution), to draw up compliance schedules and to deny or require permits. It does not have the power to enforce its decision, though polluters who disobey its orders may be prosecuted.
Set apart from both the agency and the board is the ivy-shrouded Institute for Environmental Quality, the research agency. The institute cannot enforce or initiate action, but it can research problems brought to it, and one of its major duties is drafting economic impact statements that must accompany pollution law revisions.
A citizen can conceivably voice pollution complaints to any or all of the state agencies, but the EPA is by far the most likely to act on problems. During the first 11 months of 1976, 363 public water supply questions, 109 land pollution complaints, 291 noise pollution tion incidents, 1,200 air pollution problems and 870 water pollution grievances reached the agency, the majority of them from the greater Chicago area. The most painless way to report these, says Jim Dalluge, public information officer in the agency's public affairs division, is to phone him at the state EPA office in Springfield, or to call the nearest regional EPA division, or the like liest of the pollution divisions. The EPA does provide a written complaint form. It's a simple affair asking the nature, duration, and suspected source of pollution. Nuisance complaints, those the agency considers annoying but not dangerous, usually prompt a polite letter asking the complainer to take his troubles to local officials. But Dalluge says the real pollution problems get results,
The EPA administers five pollution control divisions. Headquarters are in Springfield, but you can also call the nearest regional office. Phone numbers are listed below. Numerals indicate the type of pollution control.
Springfield (Public affairs division)—Citizen assistance, Jim Dalluge: 217 / 782-5562
* Pollution control divisions: air—1; land-2;
noise—3; public water supply—4; water---5
18 / January 1977 / Illinois Issues
which take the form of investigations by
trained pollution detectives.
A citizen with a serious complaint can
sidestep the agency and go directly to the
environmental control division in the
Attorney General's Office, either in Springfield or in Chicago. Division head Russ
Eggers points out that his section is proud of
its winning record, and screens complaints
very carefully before taking them to the
board. Eggers says he prefers to take
complaints over the phone, "so you can talk
and get necessary answers on the spot." The
Chicago office is considerably more active
than its downstate counterpart. Only one
investigator is stationed downstate, while
more than a dozen patrol the northern third
of the state.
Of course, any pollution complaint that
doesn't constitute a real health hazard is apt
to end up in the wastebasket. The state and
federal governments, and various environmental groups, keep lengthy files on pollution standards. These can be duplicated, or
at least browsed through, for the asking —
sometimes for a small copying fee. It's wise
to bone up on these, advises Eggers.
The Environmental Protection Agency
maintains files on potential polluters, and on
routine surveillance activities. Most of these
files are located in Springfield, but copies
will be supplied in most cases upon written
request. The Pollution Control Board also
keeps records on its actions. These are open
for inspection at the board's downtown
Chicago offices during business hours.
Informal complaints filed with the board
are routinely referred to the EPA, says
Earon Davis, assistant to board chairman
Jacob Dumelle. But formal complaints are
treated seriously, the few that are filed by
private citizens. Davis says the confusing
legal tangle of board requirements discourages private citizens from filing.
"Rarely does a citizen take the time and
trouble unless he's an attorney," Davis says.
The burden of proof in such cases is upon the
complainant, whether he files a general
grievance on a pollution situation, or a
specific one on a particular instance of
pollution. Proof requires some technical
expertise in pollution matters, much research and time, and at least some expense.
The absolute minimum cost for filing a
formal complaint is estimated at $20 and
cases are rarely concluded within six
; months. Board member James Young of
Springfield admits it's an arduous task for
a citizen to file for himself. "You don't have
to have a lawyer to file a complaint, but the
guy on the other side almost always does,
and chances are, it's a damned good lawyer.
Since all is decided on the rules of evidence,
you handicap yourself without an attorney,"
warns Young.
A serious complainer can often get help from environmental groups, the most active
of which is the Chicago-based watchdog group, Citizens for a Better Environment
(CBE). Director Barry Grever says 20 cases
have gone to the board from his group. He
vows there will be more this year. CBE
attorney Helga Huber says the cases often
involve instances where the state pollution
agency has failed in its pollution surveillance
and enforcement duties.
Other state agencies will hear other
pollution complaints. The brand new
division of nuclear safety, buried in the
Department of Public Health, is happy to
receive grievances about possible health
violations in storage, disposal and transport
of nuclear wastes. The division is headed by
Gary Wright and headquartered in Springfield. The state Agriculture Department
takes complaints on pesticide problems,
while the Conservation Department is
anxious to hear about pollution threatening
to fish or wildlife.
The U.S. EPA will be happy to hear out
serious pollution grievances. Enforcement
Chief James McDonald, who covers the
entire Midwest region, says every problem is
investigated. He says problems can be
reported "simply by picking up the phone."
Normally, however, only a problem of great
magnitude is likely to prompt federal action.
A budding crop of environmental groups,
nurtured by the back to earth movements of
the late sixties, are starting to come into their
own. Most are based in Chicago, and they
will counsel interested persons on the proper
channels for complaints. Business and
Professional People for the Public Interest,
which monitors everything from government corruption to pollution, gets high
marks from the U.S. EPA for "keeping us at
our task" says McDonald. Citizens for a
Better Environment is active in filings before
the Pollution Control Board. The Lake
Michigan Federation is willing to help out
on some water pollution problems. The
group is a confederation of environmental
groups in states bordering on Lake Michigan. Other groups — the Illinois Environmental Council, Sierra Club, League of
Women Voters and Wildlife Federation
among them — can help supply background
for pollution complaints. Few of these
groups will initiate legal action for private
citizens.
For those who shun government or
environmental groups, there's always local
government. Most towns and villages boast
environmental control ordinances dealing
with everything from leaf burning to public
water supply contamination. And even if an
ordinance doesn't already exist, Jim Dalluge
says that "any Illinois town can declare
anything a nuisance and make it illegal."
EPA Director Briceland says that the
environment is an area where the power of
the press is clearly visible. He says floods of
complaints follow journalistic exposes on
pollution problems, and the situation works
in reverse. There's no absolutely foolproof way to gain a sympathetic ear regarding a
pollution problem. Despite praise heaped
upon Illinois for its progressive environmental legislation, says Briceland, environmental law is, after all, a new field, "where
the textbooks are just being written. It's a
system fraught with red tape," he admits.
And some cases do get swallowed up amid
the bureaucracy. But, he says, the proper
amount of persistence can cut right through
it — and it has.ž
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