Formal Complaint

FORMAL COMPLAINT PACKAGE This formal complaint package of the Illinois Pollution Control Board (Board) consists of four parts: · · · · Explanatory Materials Formal Complaint--Form Notice of Filing--Form Documentation of Service--Form These materials are for general informational purposes only and do not constitute legal advice or substitute for the provisions of any statute, rule, or regulation. This formal complaint package is available on the Board's website (www.ipcb.state.il.us) and from the Board's Clerk. EXPLANATORY MATERIALS Any person can file a formal complaint with the Board. When you file a formal complaint, you, as the "complainant," start an enforcement action before the Board. A formal complaint filed by anyone other than the Illinois Attorney General or a State's Attorney (e.g., one or more individual citizens, an association, a citizens group, or a corporation) is known as a "citizen's enforcement action." By filing a formal complaint, you assume the responsibility to prove to the Board that the individual or entity you are complaining about, called the "respondent," has committed a violation. Your formal complaint must specifically allege which provision of the following you believe the respondent has violated: · · · · The Environmental Protection Act (Act) The Board's regulations A Board order A permit issued by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) IEPA is not required to investigate your allegations. The Board cannot provide you with legal advice. If the Board accepts your formal complaint, you will generally need to prepare and file other documents with the Board, as well as formally present your case at a public hearing. Board employees cannot prepare these documents for you or speak on your behalf. Preparing, Filing, and Serving a Formal Complaint To start an enforcement action before the Board, you must take the following steps: Step 1--Prepare three documents: a formal "complaint"; a "notice of filing"; and "documentation of service." American LegalNet, Inc. www.FormsWorkFlow.com Step 2--"File" (e.g., deliver by U.S. Mail) the three documents from Step 1 with the Board's Clerk. Step 3--"Serve" (e.g., deliver by U.S. Mail with a recipient's signature recorded) copies of the three documents from Step 1 on the alleged polluter (i.e., the respondent). Step 4--Step 4 is necessary only if the "documentation of service" that you filed as part of Step 2 showed that service on the respondent had been initiated but not yet completed (i.e., at Step 2, you did not yet have, e.g., the U.S. Postal Service's delivery confirmation signed by the recipient). Therefore, if you did not have the documentation of completed service when you performed Step 2, you must perform Step 4: file with the Board's Clerk another "documentation of service"--when that documentation becomes available to you--showing that service on the respondent was completed. Each of these steps is further explained below. Step 1--Prepare the Documents. To prepare your Formal Complaint, Notice of Filing, and Documentation of Service, you may use the forms that follow or create your own. Any documents you create must contain all of the information called for by the forms. A Formal Complaint sets forth your allegations against the respondent and the relief you would like the Board to order. A Notice of Filing notifies the respondent that you have filed the complaint with the Board. The Notice of Filing form in these materials also includes information specific to citizen's enforcement actions. Documentation of Service provides written proof to the Board that you have served the complaint on the respondent. The Board's requirements for the contents of these three documents are set forth in its procedural rules (35 Ill. Adm. Code 101.302(b)(3), 101.304(d)(1)-(2), 101.Appendices D & E, 103.204), which are located on the Board's website. Step 2--File. "Filing" is the term used when a party (e.g., you as the complainant) delivers a document to the Board's Clerk to be placed in the official record of the proceeding; "service" is the term used when a party delivers a copy of that same document to another party to the proceeding (e.g., the alleged polluter as the respondent). Once you have completed Step 1, you must "file" the Formal Complaint, the Notice of Filing, and the Documentation of Service with the Clerk. You may file these three documents in one of two ways: (1) in paper; or (2) electronically through the "Clerk's Office On-Line" (COOL). If you file in paper, the original of each of the three documents and three copies (4 total = 1 original + 3 copies) of each document must be delivered to the Clerk at the following address: Pollution Control Board, Attn: Clerk 100 W. Randolph Street James R. Thompson Center, Suite 11-500 Chicago, Illinois 60601-3218 The original of the paper Formal Complaint must bear the pen-and-ink signature of the person filing the document. You can file the paper documents with the Clerk by American LegalNet, Inc. www.FormsWorkFlow.com delivering them in person, placing them in the U.S. Mail, or using a third-party commercial carrier (e.g., FedEx, UPS). If you file each of the three documents electronically through COOL, no paper original or paper copy of any of the documents needs to be delivered to the Clerk. COOL is located on the Board's website. To file an electronic document (e.g., Microsoft Word, PDF), you must upload the document on COOL (not e-mail the document to the Clerk). You will first need to obtain a State of Illinois digital signature certificate--a link for doing so is available through COOL. The Board's filing requirements for the Formal Complaint, the Notice of Filing, and the Documentation of Service are set forth in its procedural rules (35 Ill. Adm. Code 101.302, 101.1000-101.1050), which are located on the Board's website. Step 3--Serve. As noted, the person you are complaining about is called the "respondent." Your formal complaint may identify more than one respondent. When you "file" the three documents with the Board's Clerk (Step 2), you must also "serve" a copy of each document on each respondent. Accordingly, for Step 3, you must deliver to each respondent one paper copy of the Formal Complaint, one paper copy of the Notice of Filing, and one paper copy of the Documentation of Service. You must serve these documents upon each respondent by (1) U.S. Mail with a recipient's signature recorded by the U.S. Postal Service upon delivery; (2)