Wells Mfg. Co. v. Pollution Control Bd.

• Decision Date: 21 April 1977
• Docket Number: No. 76--440,76--440
• Citation: 48 Ill.App.3d 337,6 Ill.Dec. 497,363 N.E.2d 26
• Parties: , 6 Ill.Dec. 497 WELLS MANUFACTURING COMPANY, Petitioner-Appellant, v. The POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD et al., Respondents.
• Court: United States Appellate Court of Illinois

Page 26

363 N.E.2d 26

48 Ill.App.3d 337, 6 Ill.Dec. 497

WELLS MANUFACTURING COMPANY, Petitioner-Appellant, v. The POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD et al., Respondents.

No. 76--440.

Appellate Court of Illinois, First District, Fourth Division.

April 21, 1977.

Joseph S. Wright, Jr. and Michael D. Freeborn, Chicago, for petitioner-appellant.

William J. Scott, Atty. Gen. of Ill. by Michael A. Benedetto, Jr., Asst. Atty. Gen., for respondent-appellee Environmental Protection Agency.

DIERINGER, Presiding Justice.

This is an appeal from an order of the Illinois Pollution Control Board (Board). The order of the Board found Wells Manufacturing Company (Wells) to be in violation of sections 9(a) and (b) of The Environmental Protection Act (Ill.Rev.Stat.1975, ch. 111 1/2, pars. 1009(a)(b)) and assessed a fine of $9,000. It also found Wells to be in violation of Rule 103(b)(2) of the Board's Air Pollution Regulations and required an abatement plan, performance bond and certain progress reports.

The issues on appeal are (1) whether the findings of the Board are in error, (2) whether the Board's dismissal of the permit appeal and finding of a violation for failure to have a permit were in error, (3) whether the Board's abatement order and related requirements were in error, and (4) whether the fine of $9,000 was in error.

The facts of the case are, Wells operates an iron foundry in Skokie, Illinois, about one-half mile from the village of Morton Grove. The plant is located in an area zoned for heavy industry and was constructed in 1947. The plant produces from 500 to 1,000 types of castings for a large variety of industries. The plant employs about 500 workers who work in three shifts, around the clock. The payroll is between 5 and 6 million dollars per year. The principal complainants in this suit are the people who live in the village of Morton Grove. Their complaints brought the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency and the other defendants into the suit. It is their contention the foundry operation causes offensive odors to be released into the air and this causes them to feel ill. After extensive hearings before the Board, it found Wells guilty of releasing offensive odors from the plant and guilty of failing to possess an operating permit, as required by section 9(b) of the Environmental Protection Act.

The standards for 'unreasonable interference with the enjoyment of life or property' (Ill.Rev.Stat.1975, ch. 111 1/2, par. 1003(b)) were set by our Supreme Court in Incinerator, Inc. v. Pollution Control Board (1974), 59 Ill.2d 290, 319 N.E.2d 794, where the court said the Board should take into account (1) the character and degree of injury to, or interference with the protection of the health, general welfare and physical property of the people; (2) the social and economic value of the pollution source; (3) the suitability or unsuitability of the pollution source to the area in which it is located, including the question of priority of location in the area involved; and (4) the technical practicability and economic reasonableness of reducing or eliminating the emissions, discharges or deposits resulting from such pollution source. In the instant case we feel the Board has not amply considered all of these factors before coming to its decision. We shall apply them on review.

There were a number of witnesses for the Environmental Protection Agency, including residents of the area and personnel from Niles West High School. They all testified they did have some mild discomfort which they attributed to the odors that came from Wells. Wells changed the makeup of the resin they used in April of 1971. It is agreed by both sides that the main source of the unpleasant odor was the resin. Four sets of tests by an independent consultant at various times over a four year period after April, 1971, showed the odor emission was cut from 60 to 90 percent. The odor which was emitted could only be detected within the immediate area of the plant. It is hard for us to believe such changes could not be detected.

The social and economic value of the plant is evident from the opinion of the Board itself. After noting the employment of Wells and its annual payroll, as well as Wells' importance to the various industries Wells supplies, the Board goes on to say:

'The Board finds the unrefuted evidence presented sufficiently establishes the social and economic value of the Wells facility as a source of necessary industrial parts and as an employer.' Pollution Control Board (PCB--403, 418), pg. 11.

The third criteria is the suitability of the area and the question of the priority of location. The Wells facility was constructed and in operation in 1947. It is located in an area which is zoned for heavy...