ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
April 29, 1982
QUALITY READY MIX,
)
Petitioner,
v.
)
PCB 81—161
ILLINOIS ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY,
Respondent.
ORDER OF THE BOARD (by I. Goodman):
Quality Ready Mix (Quality) filed a
petition on October 16,
1981 to extend its recently expired variance from Rule 502(a) of
Chapter 2: Air Pollution for an additional year. Quality had
been granted that variance on November 10, 1976 until September 2,
1981 (PCB 76—224), On October 22, 1981, the Illinois Environ-
mental Protection Agency (Agency) moved to dismiss the Petition
due to informational defects. Instead, the Board allowed Quality
forty—five days from October 22, 1981 to cure the defects.
Quality amended its Petition on December 8, 1981, One objection
to the variance petition, dated March 4, 1982, was received.
Further inquiries disclosed that the objector did not desire a
public hearing and no hearing was held. No other public comments
were received and the Agency filed its Recommendation on March 8,
1982.
Quality disposes of untreated lumber from scrapped railroad
boxcars at its place of business, 1330 Tenth Avenue, Fulton,
Illinois, which adjoins the East Clinton railroad switch yards.
Quality has installed a permanent air curtain destructor and a
concrete pit to handle burning the wood waste, Quality estimates
that no more than eight cars are dismantled per week, each of
which generates approximately ten cubic yards of unpainted and
untreated lumber, The alternative to burning
would
be to dispose
of the waste lumber in a landfill, Quality
alleged
that the cost
of transporting and disposing of the lumber in landfills would
create
an arbitrary and unreasonable hardship. The nearest
landfills are approximately seventeen miles away in Whiteside
County, Illinois or Clinton County, Iowa. Quality estimates
that
disposal costs would increase from $10.00 per railroad car
to
$60.00 per railroad car scrapped
if it
must
resort to land-
filling.
As for environmental harm,
Quality estimated that for
46— 193
2
each ton of this woodwaste burned at its facility approximately
4.6 pounds of particulate matter, 0.2 pounds of hydrocarbons,
and 9.0 pounds of nitrogen oxide is emitted.
The Agency agreed that landfilling these wastes was prohibi-
tively costly, but suggested no other alternative. Although
none of its air monitoring stations are near enough to reflect
Quality’s burning activities, the Agency confirmed that no addi-
tional deterioration in ambient air quality would result if this
variance is extended, especially since Quality is located in an
attainment area.
In reviewing this petition, the Board finds that nothing
has changed since its previous reviews. It further finds that
Quality has demonstrated a continued need for variance from Rule
502(a) and that denial at this time would impose arbitrary and
unreasonable hardship. However, since this is the fourth time
Quality has so petitioned, the Board advises Quality to partici-
pate in any future rulemaking of the openin9 burnin9 regulations
relevant to its petition or to initiate a site—specific rule-
making during the period of this variance.
This Opinion constitutes the Board’s findings of fact and
conclusions of law in this matter.
ORDER
Petitioner, Quality Ready Mix, is granted variance from
Rule 502(a) of Chapter 2: Air Pollution from September 2, 1981
until September 1, 1983, subject to the following conditions:
1. Petitioner shall continue to comply with the provisions
contained in the November 10, 1976 Board Order in PCB 76-224,
which are incorporated herein.
2. Within forty—five days of the date of this Order,
Petitioner shall execute and forward to the Illinois
Environmental Protection Agency, Enforcement Programs,
2200 Churchill Road, Springfield, Illinois 62706,
a Certificate of Acceptance and Agreement to be bound
to all terms and conditions of this variance. This
forty-five day period shall be held in abeyance for
any period this matter is being appealed. The form
of the certificate shall be as follows:
CERTIFICATE
I, (We),
_________________________________,
having read
the Order of the Illinois Pollution Control Board in PCB 81—161,
dated
_____*
,
understand and accept the said
conditions thereto binding and enforceable.
46— 194
3
Petitioner
By: Authorized Aqent
~i’itle
Date
IT IS SO ORDERED.
I, Christan L. Moffett, Clerk of the Illinois Pollution
Control ,Board, hereby ce tify the above Order was adopted on
the
~?4~’
day of
_____________,
1982 by a vote of ~ 0,
Christan L. Moff
Clerk
Illinois Pollutio ‘~ontrol Board
46—195