William L. Blaser

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION By William L. Blaser

ILLINOIS PARKS, in their legacy of natural beauty, provide the citizens of our state with primary examples of environmental protection. Their value as showcases of the environment is directly dependent on commitment to excellence.

In your roles as park officials and in mine as director of the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency we share concerns as members of a very real partnership.

Partnerships flourish best on understanding. In view of that I particularly appreciate this opportunity to discuss some fundamentals of the Illinois pollution control program with you.

The Illinois Environmental Protection Act, passed by the 76th General Assembly and signed into law by Governor Richard B. Ogilvie effective July 1, 1970, reflects a large and growing concern by the majority of Illinoisans for a better physical environment needed to insure a quality level of living.

Unlike programs in some other states, the Illinois Act provides excellent protection against unreasonable and arbitrary actions by government officials. Environmental matters are so complex and the consequences potentially severe enough that no one person should be given power to arbitrarily decide the fates and fortunes of the people of the state.

The Act provides for major decisions to be made in the crucible of public scrutiny, through open hearings under courtroom-like rules of evidence, sworn testimony, and cross-examination.

The Act provided reasonable and adequate checks and balances by creating three independent agencies to deal with pollution in Illinois:

(1) The Institute for Environmental Quality is the research arm of the program, commissioning studies and compiling sound background data on pollution problems, their effects, and possible solutions.

(2) The Pollution Control Board is the decision-making body, setting standards based on public testimony and scientific evidence and judging complaints and alleged violations. The five full-time paid members of the board constitute the court of original jurisdiction for pollution litigation in the state. It is the only body of its kind in the nation.

(3) The Environmental Protection Agency is both a service and enforcement agency.

Though the latter function commands more public attention, the services offered are an equally important facet of the pollution fight in our state. The EPA reviews and approves plans for control installation, certifies eligibility for special tax incentives, administers state and federal grant programs, and monitors pollution levels throughout the state.

As the policing arm of the pollution control program, the EPA encourages voluntary compliance with state laws and standards by investigating potential and actual pollution sources and ultimately by legal prosecution against violators.

The Agency has nearly 370 employees located in the Springfield headquarters and field offices in Chicago, Rockford, Aurora, Peoria, Champaign, Collinsville and Herrin.

To improve their effectiveness, the EPA has been streamlined into five control divisions dealing separately with air, water, land and noise pollution and public water supplies.

Of particular interest to you as park officials are the openburning regulations adopted September 2 by the Illinois Pollution Control Board.

The new regulations prohibit the burning of leaves, trees, grass, shrubbery, and other landscape wastes within municipal boundaries. The restriction extends one mile beyond the corporate limits of those municipalities with a population of at least 1,000, according to the latest federal census. Such areas are defined in the regulations as "restricted."

The new rules, effective September 17, 1971, emphasize that local government has the statutory authority and obligation to assist the EPA in enforcing the open-burning regulations. For that matter, local officials share with the EPA enforcement responsibilities for all portions of the Environmental Protection Act, as well as Pollution Control Board regulations.

William L. Blaser is Director of the Illinois Environmental Protection. Agency.

Illinois Parks and Recreation 4 January/February, 1972

Some exemptions from the open-burning rules include: fires to combat or limit existing fires; campfires and recreational, domestic fireplace and cooking fires; the burning of waste gases, provided anti-pollution equipment is employed; and small open flames for heating tar, welding, acetylene torches, and highway safety flares. Farm burning is allowed only if there is no economical alternative available.

It is important to note that the Environmental Protection Act, as passed by the legislature in 1970, expressly prohibited all open-burning with minor exceptions. But the Act also wisely provided a procedure by which further exceptions could be granted through adoption of regulations by the Pollution Control Board. These new open-burning regulations represent a lawful relaxation of the restrictions imposed by the 1970 statute. They were proposed by our Agency and adopted with some modification.

The following types of fires are now authorized, providing open-burning permits are obtained from the Illinois EPA: instruction in fire-fighting methods; testing fire extinguishing equipment; testing flares, signals and experimental incinerators; fire control research; research or management of prairie or forest ecology; the destruction of oil slicks; and the burning of landscape wastes.

The burning of landscape wastes in areas defined earlier as restricted is prohibited unless conducted with an air curtain destructor or comparable emission control device. Such devices will be mandatory after next July 1, according to the new regulations. The air curtain destructor method consists of a deep pit equipped with a blower unit that forces air across the pit at an angle. The air entering the pit that way causes a rolling action of the fire. Any particulate matter produced is recycled into the pit and reburned. The fire burns at

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temperatures between 2,000 and 2,200 degrees fahrenheit.

Air curtain destructors provide efficient means of incineration, and are readily available in both portable and stationary models at moderate cost. A permit is necessary to install and operate this device.

Permit applications for open-burning and air curtain destructors are available from the EPA.

Residents of those communities without refuse collection services have until July 1, 1972, to comply with those portions of the new rules dealing with incinerating landscape waste. This "relief" measure was adopted by the Pollution Control Board at the urging of the EPA. It applies only to single family properties and does not include garbage or trade waste.

I began by mentioning our partnership and the need for understanding. It is my hope that this sketch of the state pollution control program, together with the explanation of the new state open burning regulations, will prove useful. Realizing, however, that time and space prevent extensive detail here, I hope you will feel welcome to write to me with specific questions : William L. Blaser, director, Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, 2200 Churchill Road, Springfield 62706.

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