LESS THAN STANDARD SEPARATION BETWEEN 2 ACR. OPERATIONAL ERROR.

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ISSUED A DES CLRNC TO ACR X WHO WAS NE BOUND APPROX 20 MI SW OF THE POLLMAN VOR. I SAW NO OTHER ACFT WITHIN A 50 MI RADIUS OF THE PMM VOR. WHEN I RETURNED MY ATTN TO ACR X SO AS TO TRANSFER RADIO COM (AFTER ATTENDING TO THE MORE THAN 29 OTHER ACFT THAT UNEXPECTEDLY WERE MY RESPONSIBILITY WITHIN 15 MINS; I OBSERVED ACR X PROCEEDING DIRECTLY TO THE GRAND RAPIDS ARPT AT 12200' DSNDING FROM 13000' TO 9000' AS PROPERLY CLRD. ACR X WAS WITHIN 6 TO 4 MI S OF ACR Y; WHO WAS SWBND ENRTE FROM BOS TO CHI VIA V84 AT 12000'. CAUSE 1: ACR Y WAS ONE OF MANY ACFT THAT CHOSE TO FLY AT 12000' WHERE HE; UNDER NORMAL WX CONDITIONS; WOULD HAVE BEEN AT 31000' DUE TO TURB. CAUSE 2: ORD ON PRE-WARNING THE E DEP SECTOR; OF WHICH I WAS WORKING ALONG WITH A MANUAL MAN; THAT THEY WERE ABOUT TO RELEASE FOR DEP AN UNPRECENDENTED NUMBER OF ACFT WITHIN A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME CONSIDERING THE TIME OF NIGHT; PLUS THE FACT THAT ALL NIGHT LONG THE WINTER STORMS HAD CAUSED THE USUALLY DEFINED AND CONCENTRATED RUSH PERIODS TO DIMINISH TO NOTHING MORE THAN TRICKLES THAT HAD BEEN BASICALLY CONSISTENT. CAUSE 3: THE INDIVIDUAL THAT WAS LEFT IN CHARGE OF THE AREA (IN WHICH I WORK) WAS NOT IN THE POS TO ACQUIRE THE NECESSARY MANPWR THAT WAS AVAILABLE TO REOPEN SOME OF THE 5 SECTORS THAT I WAS CTLING BECAUSE HE WAS WORKING THE HIGH ALT SECTORS THAT I WAS FEEDING. CAUSE 4: ALONG WITH THE 35 DEPS FROM ORD EBND; I WAS HOLDING 6 ACFT UNEXPECTEDLY AT THE KUBBS FIX AND APPROX 12 OTHER TRANSITIONING ACFT.