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PCB
05-85
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(Variance-Water)
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RECE~vED
CLERK’S OFFICE
MAR 152005
STATE OF ILLiNOIS
Pollution Control Board
NOTICE
Dorothy M. Gunn, Clerk
Illinois Pollution Control Board
James R. Thompson Center
100 West Randolph Street, Suite. 11-500
Chicago, Illinois 60601
Jeffrey C. Fort
Sonnenschien Nath & Rosenthal
8000 Sears Tower
233 South Wacker Drive
Chicago, Illinois 60606-6404
Letissa Carver Reid
Soimenschien Nath & Rosenthal
8000 Sears Tower
233 South Wacker Drive
Chicago, Illinois 60606-6404
PLEASE TAKE NOTICE
that I have today filed with the Office of the Clerk of the Pollution
Control Board the
POST-hEARING BRIEF
ofthe Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, copies of
which is herewith served upon you.
DATED: March 14, 2005
Illinois Environmental Protection Agency
1021 North Grand Avenue East
Post Office Box 19276
Springfield, Illinois 62794-9276
217-782-5544
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS
By:
J~9Allen
~1I2~2~
Day
~
Assistant Counsel
Division ofLegal Counsel
BEFORE THE ILLINOIS POLLUTION
CITGO PETROLEUM CORPORATION and
)
PDV MIDWEST REFINING, L.L.C.,
Petitioners,
ILLINOIS ENVIRONMENTAL
PROTECTION AGENCY,
Respondent.
THIS FILING IS SUBMITTED ON RECYCLED PAPER
BEFORE THE ILLINOIS
MAR
15
200
CITGO PETROLEUM CORPORATION and
PDV MIDWEST REFINING, L.L.C.,
STATE
oiiutjon
OF
ControlILLINOISBoard
Petitioners,
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PCB
05-85
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(Variance-Water)
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ILLINOIS ENVIRONMENTAL
)
PROTECTION AGENCY,
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Respondent.
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POST-HEARING BRIEF OF THE ILLINOIS ENVIRONMENTAL
PROTECTION AGENCY
NOW COMES the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (“Illinois EPA”) by one of
its attorneys, James Allen Day, and files its Post-Hearing Brief. The Illinois EPA recommends
that the Illinois Pollution Control Board (“Board”) GRANT the variance requested by CITGO
Petroleum Corporation and PDV Midwest Refining, L.L.C. (Hereafter, referred to jointly as
“Petitioner” or “CITGO”). The petition filed by the Petitioner satisfies the petition content
requirements set forth in 35 Ill.Adm.Code 104.204. Pending its satisfactory response to certain
technical questions posed by the Board’s technical unit on March 3, 2005, the Petitioner has
carried its burden under Section 35 ofthe Illinois Environmental Protection Act (“Act”) (415
ILCS 5/35 (2004)) that compliance with 35 Iii. Adm. Code 302.208(g) and 302.407 would
impose an arbitrary or unreasonable hardship on CITGO.
I. BACKGROUND
On November 8, 2004, CITGO filed a Petition for Variance (“petition”) relating to its
operation ofa petroleum refineryin Lemont, Illinois. Upon its initial review ofthe petiiotn, the
)
)
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Illinois EPA noted several deficiencies which would preclude a recommendation that the Board
grant the petition forvariance. Over the course ofthe following months, representatives ofthe
Illinois EPA and CITGO met on several occasions to negotiate changes to the petition that would
be necessary in order for the Illinois EPA to recommend that the Board grant the petition. The
parties reached agreement on the additional information, documents and testimony with which
CITGO could augment its petition in order to achieve Illinois EPA support for the petition.
However, CITGO declined to formally amend its petition with the materials informally provided
to the Illinois EPA during these negotiations. Therefore, on February 4, 2005, the Illinois EPA
filed its Recommendation in this matter, urging the Board to deny the petition due to several
specific deficiencies. On Thursday, March 24, 2005, the Board conducted a hearing in this
matter. During the hearing, CITGO offered all the documents and testimony it had previously
discussed informally with the Illinois EPA.
II.
ARGUMENT
In its Recommendation, the Illinois EPA noted two key reasons whyit could not support
CITGO’s petition. First, the Illinois EPA found that CITGO had not adequately supported its
contention that a binding consent decree required the installation ofair pollution control
equipment that prompted the variance petition. With the introduction ofthe executed consent
decree into the record ofthis matter, CITGO has now resolved this deficiency. Second, the
Illinois EPA found the compliance plan set forth in CITGO’s petition to be inadequate. On
February 17,
2005,
CITGO filed the pre-filed testimony ofClaude Harmon and James B. Huff,
along with fifteen numbered exhibits. CITGO’s Exhibit 7 consists of a detailed compliance plan.
This new compliance plan is the product of a series of meetings and negotiations between
2
CITGO representatives and Illinois EPA staff. The new compliance plan fully resolves the
Illinois EPA’s concerns regarding the inadequacy ofthe compliance plan set forth in the petition
for variance.
III. CONCLUSION
The burden ofproofin a variance proceeding is on the Petitioner to demonstrate that
compliance with the rule or regulation would impose an arbitrary or unreasonable hardship. See,
415 ILCS
5/35(a),
35 Ill. Adm. Code 104.238. The Illinois EPA recommends that the Board find
that the Petitioner has met its statutory burden to demonstrate that compliance with the Board’s
regulations regarding water quality standards would impose an arbitrary or unreasonable
hardship on the CITGO.
Wherefore, forthe reasons stated above, the Illinois EPA recommends that the Board
GRANT the variance requestedby CITGO.
Respectfully submitted,
ILLINOIS ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
~
Ja es Allen Day
istant Counsel
Division ofLegal Counsel
Dated: March 14, 2005
1021 N. Grand Ave. East
P.O. Box 19276
Springfield, Illinois 62794-9276
217/782-5544
3
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STATE OF ILLINOIS
COUNTY OF SANGAMON
)
)
)
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PROOF OF SERVICE
I, the undersigned, on oath state that I have served the attached
POST-HEARING BRIEF
upon the person to whom directed, by placing a copy in an envelope addressed to:
Dorothy M. Gunn, Clerk
Illinois Pollution Control Board
James R. Thompson Center
100 West Randolph Street, Suite. 11-500
Chicago, Illinois 60601
Jeffrey C. Fort
Soimenschien Nath & Rosenthal
8000 Sears Tower
233 South Wacker Drive
Chicago, Illinois 60606-6404
Letissa Carver Reid
Sonnenschien Nath & Rosenthal
8000 Sears Tower
233 South Wacker Drive
Chicago, Illinois 60606-6404
and mailing it from Springfield, Illinois on March 14, 2005, with sufficient postage affixed for
first class mail.
SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN TO BEFORE ME
this fourteenth day ofMarch, 2005
Notary Public
:~:
OFFICIAL SEAL
BRENDA BOEHNER
NOTARY PUBLIC, STATE OF ILLINOIS
:~:MVCOMMISSION EXPIRES 11-14-2OO5:~:
THIS FILING IS SUBMITTED ON RECYCLED PAPER
