ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BO7~RD
June
22, 1989
IN THE MATTER OF:
LIMITS TO VOLkTILIT’Y OF
)
R83—30
G1~SOLINE
ORDER OF THE BOARD
(by
J.D.
Dumelle):
On ~pril
27, 1989,
the Pollution Control Board accepted
the
above—docketed proposal
for rulemaking
filed
by the Chicago Lung
1~ssociationand ordered
the Hearing Officer
to establish
a
hearing schedule.
Pdso,
the Board noted that within
21 days
of
the date of that Order,
any person could
request that
an Economic
Impact Study
(ECIS)
be prepared or
not.
During that period,
seven comments
(P.C.
30 through
36) were
submitted.
Two comments
(P.C.
37
and 38) were
submitted after
the twenty—one day period.
P.C.
30, from an interested
member
of
the public,
requested the Board
to determine that
a EcIS
not
be
prepared.
P.C.s
31—37,
from potentially affected
industry,
raised
several questions
about
the economic impact of the
proposal
and requested
that the Board
require
that an EcIS be
prepared.
Finally,
P.C.
38, from the proponent,
noted that the
record contains much useful information on economic
impact and
that the hearings scheduled
for July 17 and 21 will provide
further
opportunity
for proponents
and opponents
of the rule
to
address economic impact.
Pursuant
to Section 27(a)
of the Environmental Protection
~ct
(~.ct),within
60 days of
the date the Board accepts
a
Proposal
for hearing,
the Board must determine whether
an EcIS
should be conducted.
Section 27(a)
further states
in relevant
pa r
t,:
The Board
shall reach
it decision based
on
its
assessment of the potential economic impact
of
the rule,
the potential
for consideration of
the economic impact absent such
a study,
the
extent,
if
any,
to which
the Board
is free
under
the statute authorizing the rule
to
modify the substance of the rule based upon
the conclusions
of such
a study,
and any other
Considerations
the Board deems appropriate.
The Board may,
in addition,
identify specific
issues
to be addressed
in the study.
However,
at any time prior
to
the close of the
record during the rulemaking proceeding,
the
100—307
—2—
Board may determine
that: an economic
impact
study should be prepared,
if the proposal has
been substantially modified
or
if
information
in the record indicates that an economic
impact study would
be advisable.
If the Board
determines
that an economic impact study
should be conducted,
the Department
shall
prepare an economic impact study
in accordance
with “An Act in relation
to natural
resources,
research data collection and environmental
studies”,
approved July 14,
1978,
as amended.
Based upon these statutory considerations,
the Board
today
decides that an EelS need not be prepared
at this time.
The
public comment received
to date contains a fair amount of
economic discussion.
Moreover,
the Board anticipates
the
introduction
at the scheduled hearings
of additional
evidence
relating
to
the potential
economic impact of
the rule.
While
acknowledging the questions raised by the public comment,
the
Board would prefer
to review that additional
evidence before
deciding
to commit state resources
to the preparation of an
EcIS.
~.spreviously noted, Section
27(a)
provides that the Board
shall determine not only whether
an EcIS shall be prepared,
but
also that
it may additionally
~identify
specific issues
to
be
addressed
in the study”.
The Board will be
in a better position
to make
an
informed decision on both of these questions after
economic issues are discussed
at the mid—July hearings.
However,
as the Board
has
a statutory obligation
to make a decision within
60 days of
the acceptance
of the proposal,
the Board
today
decides
that an EcIS need
not be prepared
at this time.
If after
the hearings the Board determines
that an EcIS would
be
advisable,
the Board will
at
that time so order.
IT
IS
SO ORDERED.
I,
Dorothy M.
Gunn,
Clerk
of the Illinois Pollution Control
Board, hereby certify
that t~ above Order was adopted
on
the
____________
day of
___________,
1989
by
a vote
of
7 ~
.
~.
Dorothy M./Aunn, Clerk
Illinois ~6llution
Control Board
100—308