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The Accidental Open Dump: An Illinois Appeals Court Upholds Administrative Penalties for Improper Storage
The Illinois Environmental Protection Act broadly prohibits open dumping, which it defines as “the consolidation of refuse from one or more sources at a disposal site” (other than an actual landfill). It also empowers the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency to issue administrative citations when the…
Susan Franzetti participated in a Lake Forest Open Lands Association’s Center for Conservation Leadership Seminar
On Saturday January 31, 2016, Susan Franzetti participated in a Lake Forest Open Lands Association’s Center for Conservation Leadership seminar where she worked with high school students who presented a spirited debate on the important environmental issues of light pollution and the use of single…
Landmark Ruling: Illinois Pollution Control Board Upholds NPDES Permit for MWGen Waukegan Generating Station
On January 19, 2017, the Illinois Pollution Control Board ruled in favor of the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (Illinois EPA) and Midwest Generation LLC (MWGen) in their defense of a third-party appeal by various environmental groups of an NPDES permit issued to the MWGen Waukegan…
How to be “eCareful” about the U.S. EPA’s New eDisclosure Portal
Since 1995, the U.S. EPA (EPA) has created incentives for regulated entities to voluntarily disclose regulatory violations. In particular, if an entity discloses a violation and corrects the problem within 60 days, the EPA will not recommend criminal charges and will reduce any penalties based…
Clarifying Regulatory Relief: Illinois Pollution Control Board Upholds Thermal Alternative Effluent Limit for Waukegan Generating Station
The Waukegan Generating Station, like many power plants, uses an “open-cycle” water intake to cool its equipment, and this results in heated effluent being returned to the water body. Heat is considered a “pollutant” under the Clean Water Act, but a thermal discharger can seek…