On February 22, 2018, the Illinois Pollution Control Board accepted the parties’ stipulation and proposed settlement in People v. Illinois Fuel Co., PCB 10-86. This case concerned two coal mines, one located five miles north of Herod, Illinois in Saline County, and one located five miles southwest of Junction, Illinois in Gallatin County, Illinois. The State alleged that the mine operators violated the Illinois Environmental Protection Act by discharging effluent from the mines into waters of the State so as to cause or tend to cause water pollution and in violation of the mines’ National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits.
The parties agreed to settle the State’s claim regarding the Saline County mine. (The claims pending regarding the Gallatin County mine were not settled and are the subject of a motion for summary judgment filed by the State.) Under the settlement agreement, the defendant did not affirmatively admit the alleged violations but agreed to pay a civil penalty of $75,000 to settle the claims.
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