ELR Citation: ELR 20905
No(s). 71-163 (Ill. App. Ct. Oct 10, 1973)

The Illinois Environmental Protection Act's provision requiring a permit from the state Environmental Protection Agency to install or operate equipment capable of causing pollution is neither unconstitutionally vague nor an illegal delegation of legislative authority. The sections of the Act which grant discretionary power to the state Pollution Control Board to impose variable monetary penalties, however, do represent a constitutionally invalid delegation of judicial power to an administrative agency, since the statute evidences a complete lack of standards to guide the Board in imposing fines. The general rule is that a delegation of authority to impose fines is constitutional if there are strict standards limiting administrative discretion, or if the penalty is merely a matter of a specified amount or simple calculation. The court notes that the $5,000 penalty in this case was particularly arbitrary since the defendant asphalt company company was operating in a non-polluting manner and had merely failed by inadvertence to obtain an installation permit.

A dissent argues that the $10,000 limit on the fine which can be imposed for a given violation and the availability of judicial review are adequate safeguards against an abuse of power by the Board, and that the fining provisions of the Act are therefore constitutional. The dissent further claims that because of its location this asphalt plant was interfering with the health and property of nearby residents, and that the penalty imposed was thus not arbitrary.

For a concurrent ruling on this question by a different district of the same court, see Waukegan v EPA, 3 ELR 20788; for a contrary ruling by another district, see Ford v. EPA, 3 ELR 20208.

Counsel for Appellant
Howard W. Campbell
Terry R. Black
Craig & Craig
101-104 Stump Building
Mt. Vernon, IL 62864

Counsel for Appellee
William J. Scott Attorney General
Larry R. Eaton Asst. Attorney
Thomas J. Immel Chief, Environmental Control Division
500 S. 2nd Street
Springfield, IL 62701