ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
June
23,
1971
Village of
Deerfield
vs.
)
PCB
71—63
Environmental Protection Agency
Opinion of the Board
(by Mr.
Kissel):
On March
26,
1971, the Illinois Pollution Control Board received
a petition
frotn the Village of Deerfield requesting a variance from
Section 9(c)
of the Environmental Protection Act and from the Rules
and Regulations Governing
the Control of Air Pollution,
Deerfield
has asked permission
to burn approximately
325 dead and diseased
elm trees in
a storage
and garage area in the village.
The trees
are
to be burnt in an area
25 feet in diameter,
approximately 500
feet from the nearest residence or manufacturing building.
This Board has held that the risk
of further infection caused
by diseased
trees
is sufficient hardship in itself to justify the
open burning of such trees,
as compared to the relatively minor
harm that will be caused by
the burning
(see City of Winchester
v.
EPA,
PCB 70-37).
The Board has recognized further that elm wood,
though not yet diseased,
if allowed
to accumulate may come to harbor
the elm bark beetle and thus lead
to the further spread of disease.
(Charles Fiore Nurseries,
Inc.
v.
EPA,
PCB 71—27).
Deerfield may
therefore open burn elm wood or diseased elm trees.
We grant the variance on the above grounds somewhat reluctantly,
however.
As noted in
the Agency recommendation,
the several residents
interviewed who lived within 200
to 1000
feet of the burning site
all
were opposed to
the granting of this variance.
Though the Village
in its petition stated that no residence or manufacturing facility
was located within 500
feet,
the Agency investigation showed
residences to be within 200
feet.
Further,
the petition which Deerfield presents this year
is one
which will assuredly make
a repeat performance before this Board
unless the Village takes positive steps now
to avoid the prospect of
open burning in the
future.
There are now becoming available on the
market devices known
as air curtain destructors which, by the use
of
inexpensive blowers, consume much of
the
smoke from open burning.
Those seeking open burning variances--and especially those
in the developed
2—41
Northeastern Illinois metropolitan area--should be warned that
variances will
not be granted
in
the
future,
even for diseased trees,
unless they offer proof that for some reason such
a device cannot,
reasonably be employed under the circumstances.
The Board!s hearings
on open burning regulations
still remain
open for comment from all interested parties.
Applications
for
permission to burn in accordance with
the new regulations will be
in order after adoption, which is expected in July.
The above constitutes the Board~s findings of fact and con-
clusions of
law.
The following order
is hereby entered.
1.
A variance is hereby granted until October
31,
1971,
to
the Village of Deerfield to burn
in the open air diseased elm trees
and
any elm wood, but only under the following conditions:
a.
Burning shall be done
at the site described in the petition,
i.e.
25 feet indiameter
and at least 500
feet from the
nearest residence or manufacturing facility;
b.
Burning shall be done between
the hours of noon and
4:00 p.m.,
only when the wind
is between
5 and 20 miles per hour,
only
when the
sky
is
not overcast,
and when the wind is from the
north;
a.
All burning shall be done under
the direct sapervision of
a Village employee;
d.
No
fuel of lesser quality than number two
fuel oil shall be
used to promote combustion;
e.
On or before the date of expiration of this variance,,
the
Village shall submit
a report to the Board and to the Agency
describing alternative means of disposal
for dead and
diseased trees,
the estinated cost of each method,
and
the plan adopted by
the Village
to avoid the necessity of
an open burning variance in the future.
I, Regina
E.
Ryan, Clerk
of the Illinois Pollution Control
Board,
certify that ~he Board adopted the above opinion
and
order
this
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day of
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