ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD

December 11,

1975

MARAThON

OIL COMPANY,

(ROBINSON REFINERY),

)

Petitioner,

)

v.

)

PCB 75—398

)

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

)

AGENCY,

Respondent.

)

OPINION AND ORDER OF ThE BOARD

(by

Mr.

Zeitlin):

Petitioner Marathon Oil Company

(Marathon)

filed its

Petition for Variance on October 14,

1975, seeking relief

from the carbon monoxide emission standards in Rule 206(c)

of Chapter

2: Air Pollution,

of the Pollution Control Board

(Board) Rules and Regulations.

PCB Regs., Ch.

2,

Rule 206(c),

(R71-23, 1972).

A Recommendation was filed by the Environmental

Protection Agency

(Agency)

on November 14,

1975.

No hearing

was held in this matter.

Marathon has previously been granted similar relief for

its Robinson Refinery,

in a Variance granted January

9, 1975.

Marathon Oil Co.

V.

EPA, PCB 74-147,

15 PCB 169

(1975).

The

Board in that Opinion described Marathon’s operations at the

Robinson Refinery, particularly the fluid catalytic cracking

unit and its catalyst regenerator unit which give rise to

carbon monoxide emissions in excess of the standard in

Rule 206(c).

Marathon emitted approximately 130,000 parts

per million

(ppm)

of CO, with the standard set at 200 ppm CO.

Although Marathon claims that emissions are now lower,

due

to.

a catalyst change,

that claim is unsubstantiated, and we may

assume that Marathon’s present emissions are approximately

the same as

those noted in the prior Opinion.

In PCB 74-147 the Board granted Marathon a Variance from

Rule 206(c)

from January

9,

1975 until January

9, 1976.

That

Variance was based on findings that a denial of the Variance

would work

a considerable hardship on Marathon,

and that

Marathon’s compliance plan

——

a CO boiler costing in excess

of $4,000,000.00

—-

would be adequate to allow compliance with

19

-

444

---

—2—

the Board’s 200 ppm CO standard.

Marathon now claims that

delays beyond its control, and beyond the control of its

contractor, have delayed completion of the CO boiler until

late May,

1976,

(Agency Rec., Exhibit C).

Marathon asks that

a new Variance be granted, allowing it until September

1,

1976,

to allow shakedown and de-bugging of the new CO boiler.

We feel that the grant of a further Variance is justified.

The hardship on which we based our earlier decision in PCB 74-147

remains adequate to justify such a Variance, and Marathon has

shown continuing good faith in its attempts to fulfill its

compliance plan as quickly as possible.

Marathon has complied

with all the conditions of the earlier Variance, including the

posting of a $100,000.00 performance bond and the submission

of monthly progress reports to the Agency.

There remains, however, one additional consideration

which must be examined in light of decisions reached by the

Board subsequent to the grant of the Variance in PCB 74—147:

Will the grant of this Variance allow Petitioner to interfere

with the attainment or maintenance of the national ambient air

quality standard for CO?

See, King-Seeley v.

EPA, PCB 75-159,

16 PCB 505

(1975)

(Interimöi~der).

Petitioner’s air quality

testing program indicates that the ambient air in the vicinity

of the Robinson Refinery never approached the ambient air

quality standard for CO, on either a one-hour or an eight-hour

basis, under the worst conditions.

The Agency concurs

in this

finding, based on Petitioner’s sampling,

(Recommendation at 5).

The Agency does not sample CO in Air Quality Control Region

74,

(Southeast Illinois Intrastate), which includes Marathon’s

Crawford County location.

Illinois Environmental Protection

Agency,

1974 Annual Air Quality Report, 131—138

(1975).

The

emission inventory for that area does, however,

show few total

CO emissions in that area.

Id.at

3,

37,

42.

On these

facts,

and our finding regarding thiair quality of Crawford County

in PCB 74—147, we feel that the grant of this Variance will

not interfere with attainment or maintenance of the ambient

air quality standards

in the area to be affected.

We will retain in effect the conditions of the earlier

Variance,

and will grant this Variance until June 30, 1976.

We agree with the Agency that Marathon has shown no

justification for the requested date of September

1,

1976.

This Opinion constitutes the findings of fact and

conclusions of law of the Board in this matter.

19- 445

---

—3—

ORDER

IT IS THE ORDER OF THE POLLUTION CONTROL

BOARD

that Petitioner

Marathon Oil Company be granted a Variance from Rule 206(c) of

Chapter

2: Air Pollution, for its Robinson, Illinois Refinery,

for the period January 9,

1976 to June 30,

1976, subject to the

conditions shown in PCB 74-147; and further requiring that Petitioner

shall apply to the Environmental Protection Agency for a fluid

catalytic cracking unit operating permit by January

9,

1976.

I, Christan L. Moffett, Clerk of the Illinois Pollution

Control Board,

hereby certify

he ab ye Opinion and Order were

adopted on the

1j1~

day of

___________

1975 by a vote of ~

Illinois Pollution

trol Board