ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD

May 8, 1975

MT. CARMEL PUBLIC UTILITY COMPANY,

Petitioner,

v.

)

PCB 75-41

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY,

INTERIM OPINION AND ORDER OFRespondent

THE BOARD0 (by Mr. DuInelle)

This petition for variance was filed on January

27,

1975~. It contains a waiver from a right to decision within

ninety days. Petitioner, Mt. Carmel Public Utility Company

(Mt. Carmel), seeks an extension of a variance from Rule 2—

2.53 of the Rules and Regulations Governing the Control of

Air Pollution and from Rule 203(g) (1) (B) of Pollution Control

Board Regulations, Part II, Chapter 2 until December 31,

1975.

The City of Mt. Carmel, located in Wabash County,

operates a facility for generating electricity and supplying

process steam. The facility’s boilers No. 1 and 4, the

subject of this petition, utilize approximately 25,000 tons

of coal per year with an approximate ash and sulfur content

of 7.5 and 2.28, respectively. Heating value of the coal

is 12,026 BTUt5 per pound.

This operation has been the subject of numerous prior

Board actions. For purposes of brevity the reader is referred

to our Opinion in PCB 74-280, 14 PCB 211 for a summary of

these actions. That Opinion, issued on October 17, 1974,

granted Mt. Carmel a variance from Rule 2-2.53 until April

30, 1975 but required additional evidence to justify granting

the variance for the full extent of the requested period

(October 31, 1975). In this petition, Mt. Carmel seeks to

supply such evidence and further seeks a new extension until

December 31, 1975.

Mt. Carmel’s compliance program consists of two steps.

First, it intends to retire Boiler No. 4 upon the completion

of an interconnection with Central Illinois Public Service

(CIPS) at its substation at Albion. Second, it proposes to

install equipment to control particulate emissions from

Boiler No. 1.

16 —599

---

—2—

The petition contains an extensive explanation of Mt.

Carmel’s attempts to secure completion of the interconnection.

Segments of this interconnection have been constructed

and

completed. A 69 KV transmission

line from the Company~s

generating

station at Mt. Carmel to

a substation located at

the Amax Coal Mine near the Village

of Keensburg was completed

before January 30, 1973 as

ordered by the Board in an Order

entered on November 11,

1971 and extended on October 31,

1972. Another segment of 69 KV line

from the Amax Coal Mine

to the eastern terminal point of a proposed 138 KV line has

also

been completed, Mt. Carmel alleges that a third phase

of

this construction program

—

the

acquisition of easements

required for the 138

NV

line ran into opposition

from

landowners along the proposed route. The petition records

the

protracted legal steps, beginning on October

4, 1972,

taken by Mt. Carmel to effectuate

the necessary

condemnations.

Filing

of the condemnation judgments with respect to the

last remaining parcels of land was finally accomplished on

October 1, 1974. Meanwhile, clearing operations and some

erection of

H-frame structures

for the 138 Ky line

were

commenced in early August, 1974. In the middle

of

November

bad weather forced a temporary discontinuance, and construction

operations have continued intermittently as the weather

permits. Mt. Carmel expects to complete construction by

December 31, 1975. Mt. Carmel alleges that it

has already

expended a sum totalling

over

$850,000

in the

construction

of

this interconnection. It

estimates additional expenditures

for completion of the

138 KV line at

$40,000,

The

Environmental Protection Agency, in

a Recommendation

filed March 11, 1975, stated that

it is

of the opinion

Mt.

Carmel has made reasonable progress toward completing the

interconnection,

and that the delays

did

not appear to have

been

caused

by

the Comeany. Accordingly

it

recommended the

grant of a variance for :Boiier No.

4.

We agree that a

variance would

be appropriate here, since the petitioner has

acted in good

faith, at a considerable expense and for a

period of time stretching over several years, to achieve

compliance.

We note that, unlike

other cases

in which

we have

denied variances

based on interconnection proposals, the

petitioner here

has

actually progressed toward construction

and

completion

of

the necessary lines as opposed to simply

awaiting the approval of

an

interconnection

agreement.

16—600

---

—3—

(See City of Highland v. EPA, PCB 73-288, 13 PCB 167 (July

25, 1974) and City of Carlyle v. EPA, PC~73-264 (January

16, 1975)

With respect to Mt.

Carmel’s

compliance program

for

Boiler No. 1, the

Agency

has recommended denial of

the

variance on the ground that the boiler can now operate on

iueL oil.

It recommended that the Company continue to seek

Thean

allocationAgency

grantedby

workingMt.

Carmelwith athepermitIllinoisto convertEnergy thisOffice0

boiler from

coal

to dual fuel on January 16, 1974, it was

taken

out of

service October

30, 1974

and

conversion was

completed

by January 10, 1975 at a cost of oVer $4:L,000

(~p~ndifnr~s

to December 31,

1974)

Mt. Camel has now

poseponea the fuel oil operation of th.is boiler as a result

of supply ~

ff1

~‘ii1 f~

i

~

,

and now proposes a. program to install

particulate

control equipment to achi.eve compliance with

Rule 203(g) (1) (B)

.

Ou.r Order of October :L7, 1974 in ICE ~

280, cirantina Mt. Cammel a. varier cc extension, critlc:Lzed.

that petition for its omission of any discussion of the

possibility

of installing such control devices,

The instant

petition satisfies that omission,

Moreover, ii: indicates

that a mechanical dust collector for the system has already

been ordered, at a cost of $15,510, with delivery expected

the last week in February, 1975. In addition, a new induced

draft fan

has been ordered, with delivery expected by July

1,

1975. Mt. Carmel alleges that since this latter delivery

cannot be accomplished prior to the period of peak demand,

the particulate control system cannot he completed

prior to

the winter of 1975.

in its petition and in a reply to the Agency P~~mm~nd~tthn,

filed on March 20, 1975, Mt.

Cannel

related its attempts to

secure additional fuel oil, It expressed limited confidence

in

the promise of aid :Erom the Illinois Energy Office in

obtaining an additional allocation of fuel oil since the

Federal Energy Administration had already denied an

application

on December 3, 1974, It did indicate, however, that it had

written to the Illinois Energy Office and asked for advice

and assistance in gaining the additional allocation.

We are of the opinion that

Mt.

Carmel has made out a

case that it cannot at this time secure the necessary allocation

to run its Boiler No. 1 on fuel oil. Again we find the

sufficient degree of good faith here, both in the original

conversion of the boiler and in the instant progress toward

installation of control equipment, to normally warrant the

grant, of a variance until the controls are installed, or

until an additional allocation is obtained.

16

—601

---

—4—

We feel precluded, however, by a recent United States

Supreme Court case, from granting a variance beyond July 1,

1975

—-

the date Illinois, is to have attained national

primary ambient air standards under the Clean Air Act

--

without a showing that the variance will not jeopardize such

national standards. Train v. National Resources Defense Council,

et al., 43 LW 4467 (April 16, 1975). In this instance, no

information has been submitted indicating ambient air quality

with respect to particulates with which to enable us to make

such a determinatidn, We therefore remand this case to

allow the city 120 days within which to supply such data.

Finally, Mt.

Carmel requests the release of a $500,000

performance bond required by the Board on November 11,

1971.

It cites the fact that

it has already spent over one million

dollars on its compliance plan

-

compared to an original

estimate of $680,000. It expects the completion of the

program to cost an additional $100,000, including $60,000

for the particulate control system on Boiler No. 1 and

$40,000 for additional expenditures for the completion of

the 138 NV line. It also cites expected difficulty in

refinancing a $270,000 bond issue due December 1, 1975 if

the performance bond is not released because of the contingent

liability involved. In light of Mt. Carme1~s past performance,

we accept the Agency Recommendation to lower the performance

bond and lower it to $25,000.

This Interim Opinion constitutes the Board’s findings

of fact and conclusions of law.

ORDER

It is the Order of the Pollution Control Board that:

1. Petitioner, Mt. Carmel Public Utility Company,

supply the Board, within 120 days of the date

~of

this Order,

with ambient air quality information with respect to particulates.

2. The Mt. Carmel Public Utility Company performance

bond posted in PCB 7l-l5R to guarantee completion of its

program of compliance shall be in the amount of $25,000

instead of $500,000 heretofore required under PCB 74-280.

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

Control Board, hereby certify ~he above Interim Opinion and

Order were adopted on the ~~day

of May, 1975 by a vote of

A

Christan L. Moffe~t.;~~Clerk

/

Illinois Pollutionl Oôntrol Board