ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
    February 25, 1993
    ILLINOIS POWER COMPANY,
    )
    Petitioner,
    v.
    )
    PCB 93—36
    )
    (Provisional Variance)
    ILLINOIS ENVIRONMENTAL
    )
    PROTECTION AGENCY,
    )
    Respondent.
    ORDER OF THE BOARD (by J. C. Marlin):
    This matter comes before the Board on receipt of an Agency
    Recommendation dated February 23, 1993. The recommendation
    refers to a request from Petitioner, Illinois Power Company for a
    45-day provisional variance for its Randolph County facility from
    opacity standard and mass emission limit, as set forth in 35 Ill.
    Adm. Code 212.123 and 212.203, for the period from when
    Petitioner begins the loading of medium sulfur coal into the Unit
    1 coal bunker, and continuing for 45 days.
    Illinois Power wants to burn Illinois medium—sulfur coal on
    a trial basis. Illinois Power cannot estimate the emissions that
    will result, so it has requested, and the Agency has recommended,
    that the Board grant this provisional variance during the trial.
    Upon receipt of the request, the Agency issued its
    recommendation, finding that the failure to grant the requested
    45—day provisional variance would impose an arbitrary or
    unreasonable hardship on Petitioner.
    The responsibilities of the Agency and the Board in these
    short—term provisional variances are different from the
    responsibilities in standard variances. See Ill. Rev. Stat.
    1991, ch. 111½, pars. 1035(b) & (c). In provisional variances it
    is the responsibility of the Agency to make the technical
    determinations and finding of arbitrary or unreasonable hardship.
    The Board’s responsibility is to adopt a formal Order, to assure
    the formal maintenance of the record, to assure the
    enforceability of the variance, and to provide notification of
    the action by a press release.
    Having received the Agency recommendation finding that a
    denial of the requested relief would impose an arbitrary or
    unreasonable hardship, the Board hereby grants Petitioner a
    provisional variance from 35 Ill. Adm. Code 212.123 and 212.203,
    subject to the following conditions:
    0139-0635

    2
    1. The term of this provisional variance shall commence
    when the Petitioner, Illinois Power Company, initiates
    loading Illinois medium—sulfur coal at its Baldwin Unit 1
    plant, and it shall expire after 45 days have elapsed;
    2. The Petitioner shall notify the Agency when it begins
    loading Illinois medium—sulfur coal at its Baldwin Unit 1 in
    writing, addressed as follows:
    Mr. Donald E. Sutton, P.E.
    Illinois Environmental Protection Agency
    Division of Air Pollution Control
    2200 Churchill Road
    P.O. Box 19276
    Springfield, Illinois 62794—9276
    3. Illinois Power shall submit a stack test protocol to
    the Agency for Agency approval. The protocols should be
    sent to the Agency’s permit section at the address provided
    in paragraph 2 and the Agency’s offices in Collinsville. and
    Maywood at the following addresses:
    Mr. John Justice
    Illinois Environmental Protection Agency
    Division of Air Pollution Control
    2009 Mall Street
    Collinsville, IL 62234
    Mr. Fred Smith
    Illinois Environmental Protection Agency
    1701 S. First Avenue
    Sixth Floor
    Maywood, IL 60153
    4. Illinois Power shall submit copies of all stack test
    data acquired during the test burn period. A copy of this
    data should be sent to the Agency’s permit section at the
    address provided in paragraph 2 and the Agency’s offices in
    Collinsville and Maywood at the addresses provided in
    paragraph 3;
    5. Illinois Power shall conduct nitrogen oxides emission
    testing following the guidelines of LJSEPA Method 7;
    6. Illinois Power shall update the regional office in
    Collinsville at the address provided in paragraph B on a
    weekly basis concerning the progress of the sulfur coal
    burning. If tests at full load indicate noncompliance,
    Petitioner shall explore all possibilities, including
    derating the unit and testing at a reduced load, during the
    45-day period.
    0 I 39-0636

    3
    7. The Petitioner shall execute a copy of a Certificate of
    Acceptance of this provisional variance and forward that
    copy to the Agency addressed as is the written notice
    required in above condition 2; the Petitioner shall forward
    that copy within 10 days of the date of this Order of the
    Board, and the Certificate of Acceptance shall take the
    following form:
    CERTIFICATION
    I (We),
    hereby accept and agree to be bound by all terms
    and conditions of the Order of the Pollution
    Control Board in PCB 93-36, February 25, 1993.
    Petitioner
    Authorized Agent
    Title
    Date
    IT IS SO ORDERED.
    I, Dorothy M. Gunn, Clerk of the Illinois Pollution Control
    Board, do hereby certify that the~above order was adopted by the
    Board on the ~
    day of ~
    ~
    ,
    1993,
    by a vote of
    ~7~)
    Dorothy M. nn, Clerk
    Illinois Pollution Control Board
    0139-0637

    Back to top