Opinion ID: 2003432
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 8

Heading: Counts I, II and III of the Original Plaintiffs' Amended Complaint

Text: Counts I and III of the original Kane County plaintiffs' amended complaint contend that the preliminary construction activities at issue would be ultra vires in nature and would otherwise constitute the unauthorized and unlawful expenditure of public funds. [10] In support of both these contentions, the original plaintiffs argue that in the absence of the required section 404 permit, SWANCC, an intergovernmental agency established to bring about the efficient and environmentally sound collection, transportation, processing, storage and disposal of municipal waste, is without the authority to engage in preliminary balefill-related construction. They argue that any such activity would violate the Clean Water Act, which prohibits any balefill-related activity without the required section 404 permit. Thus, the original plaintiffs conclude that any such construction would be ultra vires in nature and an unlawful expenditure of public funds. SWANCC counters that it is an agency established pursuant to the Intergovernmental Cooperation Act and whose charter authorizes it to, inter alia, plan, construct and manage waste facilities to serve the member municipalities. Moreover, SWANCC notes that this general grant of authority nowhere sets forth that SWANCC cannot engage in preliminary tree-felling or monitoring activities without first obtaining all the required permits to develop the anticipated waste disposal facility. The decision to engage in such preliminary activities, according to SWANCC, is a discretionary one made in anticipation of eventually acquiring the section 404 permit. As such, SWANCC argues that it is not subject to attack as being ultra vires or an unauthorized or unlawful expenditure of public resources. We agree with SWANCC that it is within its discretion to engage in preliminary construction activities in preparation of its ultimate goal of developing and operating the balefill. How SWANCC, charged with the development of municipal waste facilities, goes about achieving this goal is a matter for SWANCC's discretion to the extent that its activities do not violate any State or Federal laws and is otherwise consistent with its charter. ( Chicago Allis Manufacturing Corp. v. Metropolitan Sanitary District of Greater Chicago (1972), 52 Ill.2d 320, 328, 288 N.E.2d 436 (the wisdom of the means chosen to accomplish a lawful end is a judgment for the legislature to make).) What the original plaintiffs are essentially asking this court to rule is that SWANCC cannot engage in activities not precluded by any Federal or State law because it is not a good idea. This we will not do. Regardless of this court's assessment whether SWANCC will eventually obtain the section 404 permit, we will not sit as a superlegislature and second-guess the decisions of SWANCC to the extent they reasonably purport to achieve a legitimate purpose in a lawful manner. In count II of the original plaintiffs' amended complaint, however, they assert that the preliminary construction activities at issue, the felling of trees and the drilling of monitoring wells, is unlawful because doing so violates section 404 of the Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. § 1344 (1988); 40 C.F.R. § 230 (1994)). This argument, however, does not withstand scrutiny. Section 404 of the Clean Water Act, in pertinent part, requires that the Army Corps of Engineers issue a permit before any standing waters can be filled in conjunction with the development and/or operation of a waste disposal facility. (40 C.F.R. § 230.1 (1994).) While the standing waters cannot be filled without the required section 404 permit, this is not the case regarding the felling of trees or the drilling of monitoring wells. Neither of these activities has anything to do with filling waterways subject to the protections of the Clean Water Act, and thus, whether SWANCC has procured the required section 404 permit has no bearing on the lawfulness of these preliminary construction activities. Consequently, we hold that counts I, II and III of the original plaintiffs' amended complaint are insufficient as a matter of law to serve as the basis for a temporary restraining order.