[Ord. No. 87-9, 6-15-1987]
The following terms or words shall have the meanings ascribed to them as follows:
(A) 
APPLICANT
Is any person, firm or partnership, association, corporation, company or organization of any kind who files a request for site approval pursuant to this Code.
(B) 
HAZARDOUS WASTE DISPOSAL SITE
Is a site at which hazardous waste is disposed. "Hazardous Waste" is waste as defined in the Illinois Environmental Protection Act, (hereinafter referred to as Act) as amended.
(C) 
IEPA
Is the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency.
(D) 
REGIONAL POLLUTION CONTROL FACILITY
Is any waste storage site, sanitary landfill, waste disposal site, waste transfer station or waste incinerator that accepts waste from or that serves an area that exceeds or extends over the boundaries of any local general-purpose unit of government. For purposes of this Code a local general-purpose unit of government is Monroe County. A Regional Pollution Control Facility is also any facility defined as such in the Act.
(E) 
REGIONAL POLLUTION CONTROL HEARING COMMITTEE
Is the committee appointed by the County Board whose function is to attend the public hearings on requests for site approval, make factual findings, and make recommendations regarding the requests for site approval to the County Board.
In addition, all other words used in this Code and defined in the Act shall have the same definitions and meanings as found in 415 ILCS 5/1.
[Ord. No. 87-9, 6-15-1987]
(A) 
A minimum of twelve (12) complete copies of requests for site approval, including twelve (12) copies of all site plans, exhibits, and maps, shall be filed in the office of the Monroe County Clerk. Upon receipt of any such request for site approval, the County Clerk shall date stamp same and immediately deliver eight (8) copies of the request for site approval to the Chairman of the County Board, one copy of the request for site approval to the Plan Commission, one copy to the hearing officer, one copy to the office of the State's Attorney, and one additional copy of the request for site approval to each municipality within one and one-half (1 1/2) miles of the proposed facility.
(B) 
A copy of the request for site approval shall be made available for public inspection in the office of the County Clerk and members of the public shall be allowed to obtain a copy of the request for site approval or any part, thereof upon payment of the actual cost of reproduction. All copying requests shall be fulfilled by the County Clerk within a reasonable time from the time of the request.
(C) 
Requests for site approval shall be of the form as provided by the Plan Commission and shall include the following:
(1) 
A written petition on 8 1/2" x 11" paper which sets forth:
(a) 
The identification of the applicant and owner, and if the proposed site is owned in trust, the beneficiaries;
(b) 
The legal description of the proposed site and a street address or some other reasonable description of where the proposed site is located;
(c) 
A description of the proposed facility, its operation and the expected longevity thereof;
(d) 
The area to be served by the proposed facility and a statement of the needs of such area for such a facility;
(e) 
A list of the existing Regional Pollution Control Facilities within the area proposed to be served and, with respect to each such facility, the following information shall be provided; location, size, owner and/or operator, type of pollution control facility, remaining capacity, probable life of the proposed facility, and types of wastes received;
(f) 
The expected types, amounts and methods of treatment or storage of all wastes proposed for the site and the origins of these wastes;
(g) 
A description of the geologic and hydrogeologic character of the site including core samples, the monitoring plans, including any background analyses for ground water, surface water and air;
(h) 
Reasons supporting approval of the application;
(i) 
A prayer for site approval.
(2) 
The request for a permit made to the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, if any such request has been made.
(3) 
A site plan showing details of the proposed facility including but not limited to:
(a) 
Cross sections;
(b) 
All existing wells within five hundred (500) feet of the site;
(c) 
All monitoring wells;
(d) 
Fences, buildings and other structures;
(e) 
Roads, entrances, and driveways; and
(f) 
Core sample locations on and within two hundred (200) feet of the site.
(4) 
A detailed topographic survey of the subject site and the surrounding area within five hundred (500) feet which indicates land use and, if applicable, the boundary of the 100-year flood plain as determined by the Illinois Department of Transportation.
(5) 
A statement of the plan of operation for the proposed facility, including but not limited to the following:
(a) 
Method of landfilling, incineration, resource recovery or other process;
(b) 
Hours of operation;
(c) 
Personnel;
(d) 
Litter, vector, dust and odor control;
(e) 
Surface drainage and erosion control;
(f) 
Fire control;
(g) 
Corrective actions for spills and other operational accidents;
(h) 
If applicable, the stages of development or use;
(i) 
An end use plan.
(6) 
A statement or report of traffic information regarding the proposed site including the anticipated number of vehicles and their size, weight and direction of movement.
(7) 
All studies, maps, reports, permits or exhibits which the applicant desires the County Board to consider at the public hearing.
(8) 
A description of the insurance policies carried by the applicant to cover single accidents, such as fires or explosions, and non-sudden accidental occurrences.
(9) 
If the site is a proposed hazardous waste facility, a copy of the Resource Conservation Recovery Act Contingency Plan.
(10) 
An application fee of Two Hundred Fifty Thousand Dollars ($250,000.00) to cover notice costs, court reporter costs, transcription costs, county consultant costs, hearing officer costs, and other expenses incurred by the County of Monroe in conducting the review of the request for site approval, the subsequent public hearing, and the site approval decision, provided however, that any portion of the application fee that remains unexpended at the conclusion of the hearing process shall be returned to the applicant. Should there be any additional costs incurred by the County over the amount paid by the applicant in the application fee, the applicant shall bear any and all additional costs.
(D) 
No application for site approval shall be deemed to have been filed or accepted for filing unless all of the requirements of this Code applicable thereto shall have been met and the County Clerk shall not give a receipt or other indication of filing until such time as it is determined that the application complies with the requirements of this Code. Within a reasonable period of time after delivery of an application, the County Clerk shall advise the applicant:
(1) 
Either that the application is complete and that it has been accepted for filing, designating the date of filing, or
(2) 
That the application is not complete, specifying wherein it is deficient.
(E) 
In order to give members of the public an opportunity to make informed written comment pursuant to Chapter 415, Section 5/39.2 of the Illinois Compiled Statutes and to give members of the public and departments of the County an opportunity to prepare adequately and fairly for the public hearing hereinafter described, the applicant must fully comply with all application requirements as set forth in Section 31-7-2(C), hereof. Failure to comply with said application requirements shall render such required information inadmissible at said public hearing.
(F) 
No request for site approval may be amended to add additional data or reports once the request for site approval has been filed with the County Clerk. However, an applicant may withdraw his request for site approval at least fourteen (14) days before the first scheduled hearing and may file a new request for site approval. Upon withdrawal of a request for site approval, any unexpended portion of the application fee shall be returned to the applicant. The refiling of a request for site approval puts into operation all the requirements set forth in this Code as pertains to any new request for site approval.
[Ord. No. 87-9, 6-15-1987]
(A) 
Upon receipt of a copy of a request for site approval, the Chairman of the Planning Commission shall notify the following County Departments of such receipt:
(1) 
Health Department.
(2) 
Highway Department.
(3) 
State's Attorney's Office.
(B) 
The Planning Commission shall be the department responsible for coordinating review of the request for site approval by the aforementioned departments and is authorized to call inter-departmental meetings and set deadlines for the submittal of reports and recommendations.
(C) 
The aforementioned departments may attend the public hearings and may ask such questions as needed to assist in reaching their recommendations.
(D) 
The aforementioned departments are authorized to prepare and submit reports and recommendations in response to the request for site approval. Preliminary reports prepared by County departments and retained consultants summarizing and analyzing the request for site approval, reports, studies, exhibits and any written comments filed with the County Clerk, concerning the appropriateness of the proposed site, shall be filed with the County Clerk no later than ten (10) days in advance of the date set for hearing. In the event that the tenth (10th) day prior to the date set for public hearing falls on Saturday, Sunday, or holiday, the next working day shall be considered the day that reports shall be filed. Copies of departmental reports shall be available for public inspection in the office of the County Clerk. Members of the public shall be allowed to obtain copies of the reports upon payment of the actual cost of reproduction.
(E) 
The County departments and consultants retained by the County are authorized to present testimony at the public hearing as hereinafter described.
[Ord. No. 87-9, 6-15-1987]
All reports, studies, exhibits, or other evidence or copies thereof, other than testimony, which any other person desires to submit for the record at the public hearing must be filed with the County Clerk at least ten (10) days before the public hearing and shall be available for public inspection in the office of the County Clerk. In the event that the tenth (10th) day prior to the date set for public hearing falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or holiday, the next working day shall be considered the day that reports, studies, and exhibits must be filed. The County Clerk shall date stamp any reports, studies, exhibits or other evidence upon receipt. In the case of documentary evidence, members of the public shall be allowed to obtain copies of said documents upon payment of the actual cost of reproduction.
[Ord. No. 87-9, 6-15-1987]
(A) 
No sooner than ninety (90) days but no longer than one hundred eighty (180) days from the date of filing of the request for site approval with the County Clerk, a public hearing shall be held by the Regional Pollution Control Hearing Committee.
(B) 
The Regional Pollution Control Hearing Committee shall consist of five (5) members of the Planning Commission which are appointed by the County Board.
(C) 
Within ten (10) working days of the date a request for site approval is filed, the Chairman of the County Board shall determine the date, time and location upon which such public hearing shall be held, but in any event the initial public hearing must be scheduled no sooner than ninety (90) days but no later than one hundred eighty (180) days from the date the request for site approval was filed with the County Clerk.
(D) 
The Chairman of the County Board shall notify the County Clerk of the date upon which such hearing shall be held and shall request the County Clerk to cause such notice of such hearing to be made as follows:
(1) 
Published legal notice in a newspaper of general circulation published in the County at least once per week for three (3) successive weeks prior to the date set for hearing. Such notice shall consist of the following:
(a) 
The name and address of the person, partnership or corporation requesting site location approval;
(b) 
The owner of the site, and in case ownership is in a land trust, the names of the beneficiaries of said trust;
(c) 
The legal description of the site;
(d) 
The street address of the property, and if there is no street address applicable to the property, a description of the site with reference to location, ownership or occupancy or in some other manner that will reasonably identify the property to residents of the neighborhood;
(e) 
The nature and size of the proposed development;
(f) 
The nature of the activity proposed;
(g) 
The probable life of the proposed activity;
(h) 
The time and date of the public hearing;
(i) 
The location of the public hearing;
(j) 
A statement that all copies of evidence other than testimony to be submitted at the public hearing must be filed with the County Clerk at least ten (10) days before the public hearing.
(2) 
Certified mail to all members of the General Assembly from the district in which the proposed site is located;
(3) 
Certified mail to the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency; and
(4) 
Certified mail to all municipalities and townships within one and one-half (1 1/2) miles of the proposed facility.
(E) 
The Monroe County State's Attorney shall appoint the hearing officer for the public hearing on the request for site approval. The hearing officer shall preside over the public hearing and shall make any decisions concerning the admission of evidence and the manner in which the hearing is conducted subject to this Code. The hearing officer shall make all decisions and rulings in accordance with fundamental fairness. The hearing officer may exclude irrelevant, immaterial, incompetent or unduly repetitious testimony or other evidence. No ruling of the hearing officer shall be appealable to the County Board.
(F) 
The applicant for site location approval shall have the burden of going forward with evidence of the suitability of the site location for the proposed use.
(G) 
Any person appearing at such public hearing shall have the right to give testimony and comment on the suitability of the site location for the proposed use. Any person shall have the right to be represented by an attorney at said public hearing. Such attorneys shall have the right of reasonable cross examination. Opportunity for any persons appearing at such public hearing to cross examine any witness shall be limited by the hearing officer.
(H) 
Conduct of the public hearing shall be substantially as follows:
(1) 
Call to order.
(2) 
Introduction of the hearing committee and hearing officer.
(3) 
Recognition of the applicant and identification of the request for site approval.
(4) 
Recognition of fees, notices, and date of filing of the request for site approval.
(5) 
Recognition of the County and other parties wishing to testify and any other reports, exhibits, maps, or documents of record as filed pursuant to this Code. All parties, including members of the public, intending to testify or cross examine must sign in or submit written notification of said intent to the Monroe County Board on or before the first day of the public hearing. Should the public hearing extend beyond one (1) day, additional parties or members of the public, not of record as of the first day of the public hearing will not be allowed to present testimony or cross examine.
(6) 
The applicant, the County, and other parties may make an opening statement.
(7) 
The Committee shall then hear testimony from the applicant and/or any witnesses the applicant may wish to call. Upon the close of the applicant's testimony, other parties may offer expert witnesses and evidence they may wish to present. These other parties may or may not be represented by counsel. Upon the close of the applicant's and other parties' testimony and evidence, the County may present any witnesses and evidence it wishes to present. Members of the public, of record, as set forth in Section 31-7-5(H)(5), may then present oral comment to the hearing committee. The hearing officer shall decide the order of presentation of testimony subject to this Code.
(8) 
All witnesses shall testify under oath. Testimony may include the use of exhibits. All witnesses shall be subject to reasonable examination as follows: direct, cross examination, redirect, recross, etc. After all parties have presented testimony, reasonable rebuttal, sur-rebuttal, etc., may be allowed at the discretion of the hearing officer.
(9) 
Should any issues, facts, data, or other evidence arise during the course of the public hearing, which were not apparent or reasonably foreseeable by a party from the request for site approval as filed with the County Clerk, such situation may constitute grounds for a recess in the public hearing for a period not to exceed five (5) working days.
(10) 
Summary statements by applicant, other parties and the County, subject to limitations as imposed by the hearing officer.
(11) 
Rebuttal statement, if any, by the applicant, subject to limitations as imposed by the hearing officer.
(12) 
Hearing closed.
[Ord. No. 87-9, 6-15-1987]
(A) 
The County Clerk shall receive written comment from any person concerning the appropriateness of the proposed site. Upon receipt of any such written comment the County Clerk shall date stamp same and shall file written comment and the postmarked envelope in which comment is received.
(B) 
Copies of such written comments shall be made available for public inspection in the offices of the County Clerk, and members of the public shall be allowed to obtain a copy of any written comment upon payment of actual cost of reproduction.
(C) 
Any written comment received by the County Clerk or postmarked no later than thirty (30) days after the date of the last public hearing shall be made part of the record at the public hearing as hereinafter described and the County Board shall consider any such timely written comments in making its final determination concerning said request. In the event that the thirtieth (30th) day falls on a Saturday, Sunday or a federal holiday, the next day on which mail is delivered shall be considered the thirtieth (30th) day for purposes of this paragraph.
[Ord. No. 87-9, 6-15-1987]
(A) 
The County Clerk shall responsible for keeping the record of said hearing.
(B) 
The record shall consist the following:
(1) 
The request for site location approval as described in Section 31-7-2(C) hereof;
(2) 
Proof of notice as described in Section 31-7-5(D) hereof;
(3) 
Proof of notice by applicant pursuant to Section 39.2(b) of Chapter 415 of the Illinois Compiled Statutes;
(4) 
Written comments filed by the public and received by the County Clerk or postmarked within thirty (30) days of receipt of the filing of a request for site location approval;
(5) 
All reports, studies, exhibits or documents received into evidence at the public hearing;
(6) 
The transcript of the public hearing;
(7) 
Findings of fact and recommendations of the Regional Pollution Control Hearing Committee; and
(8) 
The Resolution containing the final decision of the County Board.
(C) 
The County Clerk shall be responsible for certifying all copies of the record of the public hearing.
[Ord. No. 87-9, 6-15-1987]
(A) 
After the public hearing and any continuation thereof, the Monroe County Board of Commissioners shall hold a public review meeting for purposes of establishing findings of fact and a recommendation concerning the site approval request. Any findings of fact and recommendation shall be supported by the record.
(B) 
The Board of Commissioners shall base its decision on the following criteria:
(1) 
The facility is necessary to accommodate the waste needs of the area it is intended to serve;
(2) 
The facility is so designed, located and proposed to be operated that the public health, safety and welfare will be protected;
(3) 
The facility is located so as to minimize incompatibility with the character of the surrounding area and to minimize the effect on the value of surrounding property;
(4) 
The facility is located outside the boundary of the 100-year floodplain as determined by the Illinois Department of Transportation, or the site is flood proofed to meet the standards and requirements of the Illinois Department of Transportation and is approved by the Department;
(5) 
The plan of operations for the facility is designed to minimize the danger to the surrounding area from fire, spills, or other operational accidents;
(6) 
The traffic patterns to or from the facility are so designed as to minimize the impact on existing traffic flows; and
(7) 
If the facility will be treating, storing or disposing of hazardous waste, that an emergency response plan exists for the facility which includes notification, containment and evacuation procedures to be used in case of an accidental release.
(C) 
The County Commissioners shall consider the record from the public hearing and shall make a determination concerning a site approval request at least within one hundred eighty (180) days from the County Clerk's receipt of the site approval request. The County Board may conditionally approve any request for site approval provided such conditions are not inconsistent with regulations promulgated by the Illinois Pollution Control Board. Any determination by the County Board shall be supported by the record.
(D) 
No determination by the County Board of a site approval request may be reconsidered.
[Ord. No. 87-9, 6-15-1987]
(A) 
All expenses incurred by the County in conducting the review of the request for site approval, the subsequent hearing, and the site approval decision shall be paid from the application fee as provided in this Code.
(B) 
Upon termination of any proceedings under the hearing process, a final accounting and summary of all authorized expenditures and reimbursements shall be presented to the appropriate County Board committees.
(C) 
Any portion of an application fee not required for reimbursement to the County for costs or expenses incurred by the County under the hearing process shall be returned to the applicant. Should there be costs and/or expenses in excess of the amount paid by the applicant in the application fee, the applicant shall bear any and all additional costs.
(D) 
In order to properly administer the application fee received with respect to the hearing process and procedure set forth herein, the County Treasurer is hereby authorized and directed to receive and hold such application fees for administration subject to the review and approval of the County Commissioners.
(E) 
In order to expedite payment of all bills incurred as a result of administering the hearing process, all bills and questions concerning billing should be directed to the Planning Commission.
[Ord. No. 87-9, 6-15-1987]
In order to ensure fundamental fairness, compliance with the Act, and to protect the public interest, the County Board, by majority vote of members present and voting, may waive any of the above rules.