INOIS POLLUTION

CONTROL BOARD

F:

AIR QUALITY STANDARDS

CLEAN-UP: AMENDMENTS TO

. CODE PART 243

}

R09-19

}

(Rulemaking - Air)

NOTICE OF FILING

TO: Mr. John C. Therriault

nois

11-500

istant

Clerk

of the Board

Illinois Pollution Control Board

100 W. Randolph Street

Hearing Officer

nois Pollution Control Board

100 W. Randolph Street

to 11-500

Chicago,

Illinois 60601

IL)

ICE LIST)

CE that I have today filed with the Office of t

ois Pollution Control Board POST-HEARING COMMENTS O

LINOIS ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATORY GR

Environmental Regulatory Group, copies

of which are herewi rved upon you.

itted,

Dated: June 8, 2009

By.

D. Plod

Alec M. Davis

Katherine D.

General Counsel

Monica T. Rios

AL

DGE DW

3150

Roland Avenue

215 East Adams Street

Post Office Box 5776

ois

62701

7) 522-5512

(217) 523-4900

ois 62705

THIS FILING SUBMITTED ON RECYCLED

PAPER

Electronic Filing - Received, Clerk's Office, June 8, 2009

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POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD

IN THE MATTER OF:

)

UALITY STANDARDS

CLEAN-UP: AMENDMEN

35 ILL. ADM. CODE PART 243

O

)

)

)

POST-HEARING COMMENTS OF THE

NOIS ENVIRONMENTAL

REGULATORY

GROUP

NOW COMES the Illinois

through its attorneys, Alec M.

Davis and HODGE DWY

Post-Hear

IVER, and submits its

nts in the above-captioned

matter to the Illinois Pollution

Control

"Board"), stating as follows:

ON

me

Board

rds Clean-

The Illinois Environmental

Protection Agency ("Illinois EPA"

proposed to amend the air qu

ambient air quality standards established lay the

Statement of

Reasons, In the Matter of Air Quality Standards Cyan-Up;

An2endinents to 35 Ill. A(hn. Code rt 243, R09- 9

at 4 (II1.Pol.Co

2 008). The first hearing held

in dais matter occurred March 10, 2009.

quest

ironmental Regulatory Group ("IERG°'), by

and

R09-19

(Rulemaking - Air)

"IERG") would like to thank the

oard") for the opportunity to submit these comments

andards for pa

gency") has

ead

n. Code

Part 243 ("Part 243") to "...reflect current national

earing conce

esult of

rences between the proposal and the

r Quality Standards (`

the Agency

made revisions

Electronic Filing - Received, Clerk's Office, June 8, 2009

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on

April

8,

2009 to more

precisely

conform its proposal to the form and substance of the

United States Environmental Protection Agency's ("U.S. EPA") NAAQS. IERG

su

s the des

substance to the NAAQS.

adopted on April 30, 1971, the Illinois E

and the Board have expressed the intent to adopt

I

identical to the NA

Standards

among other things, concluded the

following:

state and federal standards is obviously desirable

to adopt standards in Illinois that are identical in

ois Standards

that are substantively

S. In the Board's opinion in In the .Matter (?f

Proposed

Air

Quality

72-7), adopted on July 10, 1975, the Board discussed the need for statewi

disagreemet

achieving

federa

In light of the above considerations, the PCB today

is

proposing

adoption

of the federal standards.

," Board Newsletter #47, cited in

In

the

Matter

of

Proposed Air Quality Standards, R72-7 at 4-5 (111.Pol.Control.Bd.

July 10, 1975).

The Board then proceeded

to adopt the federal

The proposal by the Agency

aking appears to continue the espoused

o maintain

uniformity between state and federal standards, "...unless

there is solid

ground for disagreement..." IERG supports the

Agency's proposal, but would

encourage the Agency

and the Board to take this opportunity to update the standards

for

oxides, n

on

monoxide as well.

standards for sulfur oxides,

nitrogen dioxide, and carbon

monoxide have not been substantively

revised by the U.S. EPA, but

Electronic Filing - Received, Clerk's Office, June 8, 2009

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clarifications have been adopted in recent years that should be incorporated into Illinois'

standards to avoid confusion and possible misinterpretation. Following are more specific

comments regar

the

Agency's proposal and the matter of updating the standards for

sulfur oxides, nitrogen dioxide, and carbon monoxide.

SECTION

243.120`1

IERG suggests the following changes to the Agency's April 8, 2009 revised

proposal for the P

and PM,.5 standards:

PM10 Standards. The primary

and secondary ambient air quality

standards for PM, o arei-s a maximum 24-hour average

150 micrograms per cubic meter. The standards

the expected

number of days per calendar year

with a

24-hour average concentration above 150 micrograms per

equal to or less than one, as measured and

ining conformance with

o shall

be

rporated by

1

of days per calendar year wi

ed when the

ge

concentration above 150 micrograms per

cubic

less than one, as determined

in accordance with

_.5_Standards.

The primary and secondary

ambient air qua

standards for PM2 5 are:

1)

An annual arithmetic mean concentration of 15.0

micrograms per cubic meter;-ate as measured

and

determined in conformance with subsection

(d) below,

centration of 35

micrograms per

il

Electronic Filing - Received, Clerk's Office, June 8, 2009

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d) PM2,5 Measurement

Method: f&r-P-M25. For determining

conformance with the PM2,5 ambient air quality

standards, PM2.5

shall be measured by the method described in 40

CFR

50,

ndix L (incorporated by reference in Section 243.108).

liance with the standards is determined

using the methods

procedures described in 40 CFR 50, Appendix

N

incorporated

reference in Section

243.108).

ry and secondary

PM?-5

standards

are met

less than or equal to 15.0

L!gl

when the annual arithmetic mean concentration as

determined in accordance with 40 CFR 50, Ap endix

24-hour primary and secondary PMZ25 standards are

98th percentile 24-hour concentration, as

determined in accordance with 40 CFR 50, Appendix N of

les

11.

2009 revised

proposal for the 8-hour ozone standards:

Standards. The primary

and

secondary

ambient air quality

standards for ozone areiý 0.075 parts per million (ppm) daily

oncentrations, measured and

determined in accordance with subsection (b) below.

Measurement Method.

reference method specified by 40 CFR Part 50, Appendix D, or an

ethod as described in 40 CFR Part 50, Section 50.1,

cribed by 40 CFR Part 53 (2003),. T

ondary ambient air quality standards are met when

Ozone shall be measured by athe

the 3-year

average of the annual fourth-highest daily maximum 8-

hour average ozone concentration is less than or equal to 0.075

pnm,_and-as determined usin

0-3=,40 CFR Part 50, Appen

Section 243.108

Electronic Filing - Received, Clerk's Office, June 8, 2009

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LEAD (SECTION 243.126)

IERG suggests the following changes to the Agency's April 8, 2009 revised

he lead standards:

a)

b)

standards for lead and its

compounds

arei-s 0.15 micrograms per

cubic

meter, maximum arithmetic mean over a rolling three

calendar month eý riod ra-ge measured and determined over a

three year period.

ary and secondary ambient air quality

Measurement Method. For determining conformance with the

uality standards for lead and its compounds,

lead and

ds shall be measured

by a reference method based on

on 243.108 of this P

secondary ambient air quality stan

ndix Rsha4be

3 as

by

for a 3-year

0.15 micrograms per cubic meter as

°ithmetic 3-month

mean concentra

ion 243.108 of this Part).

The current sulfur oxides

standards in Section 243.122 were adopted by the

Board

on July 10, 1975, and according to the Board,

t

federal standards." Board Opinion,

In the Matter

R72-7 at 14.

The

EPA

has reviewed and revised the cri

re "....identical to the

ed Air

ands,

is upon which

its

sulfur

oxides

air quality standards are based and

has determined that revisions of the standards were

not warranted,

other than several minor technical changes. 61 Fed.

Reg. 25566 (May 22,

Electronic Filing - Received, Clerk's Office, June 8, 2009

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1996). These changes it

parts per million rather than

conventions, and speei

d secondary standards in terms of

grams per cubic meter,

adding explicit rounding

completeness and handling conventions. The U.S. EPA

also declared its intention to retain the block averaging convention for the 24-hour,

annual, and

3-hour standards, and therefore,

added

clarifying language to eliminate future

confusion

suggests that

Illinois' sulfur

oxides

standard

be stated solely

egard. Id. at 25576.

parts per million to be consistent with, and improve understanding of, U.S. EPA's 1996

determination. The State's current standard is expressed in micrograms

and paren

ubic meter

n parts per

million. The number

of significant digits is not the same

between the two units of measure, which affects rounding conventions that can

rpretation

of data.

Further, for the purpose of its own data handling, the Agency

measures,

and reports sulfur dioxide data in terms of parts per trillion, At the

Matter, the Agency seemed to be making a case

the standard in micrograms per cubic meter, implying that

not

doing so

would

somehow

impact its

t, In the Matter of Air

lity Standards Clean-Up:: Amendments to 35

Ill. Adrn.

Code.Part

243, R09-19 at 24,

29,31

rol.Bd. April 28, 2009) (cited hereafter as "Tr."). IERG believes this

concern to be ove

recognized protocol for dete

modeling program is a planning tool and is not a

mpliance with the air quality standards. Whether

the State's air quality standards

are expressed in parts per million or micrograms per

eter should have no impact on the

Agency's ability to conduct modeling.

Electronic Filing - Received, Clerk's Office, June 8, 2009

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Similarly, IERG believes that Illinois needs to clearly

address

riding

convention

ounded up) - is applicable to the primary annual sulfur oxide NAAQS. 40

convention - to three decimal places (fractional parts equal

to or greater than 0.0005 ppm

C.F.R. 0.4(a) (2008); see also 40 C.F.R. §§ 50.4(b), 50.5(x). Illinois'

adoption of the

sulfur oxides rule. The U.S. EPA has amended its rule to clarify that the

same clarification will not only help avoid confusion,

but

it

will also result in the

codification of the method the Agency currently uses.

The U.S. EPA has ovided further clarification in the sulfur

oxides NAAQS by

ess and data handling criteria. For example, the

specifies that at least 18 of 24 hourly values must be available to compute a 24 hour

average. 40 C.F.R. § 50.4(4). It further specifies

how

missing data a

led. Id. IERG understands that the Illinois

dard would simply

IERG encourages the Agency and the

de the U.S. EPA's data com teness and data handling criteria into the

In the November 15, 1994 Federal Register Notice reproposing the sulfur oxides

standard, the U.S. EPA addressed the

issue

of

block averages versus

running averages for

the 3-hour, 24-hour and annual standards. 58 Fed. Reg. 58958 (Nov. 15, 1994). In

ed:

Although the wording of the original 24-hour, 3-hour, and arm

standards was ambiguous on the matter, the earliest actions of the EPA.

signify that

the block averaging convention was intended for these

Electronic Filing - Received, Clerk's Office, June 8, 2009

* * * * * PC #2 * * * * *

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standards (OAQPS,1986), and block averages have generally been used in

ing the standards.

.S. EPA then stated, "[t]o eliminate any future questions on this aspect of the

uage is being proposed in the regulation (40 CFR 50.4 and

50.5)." Id. The NAAQS now reads, in part: "[t]he 24-hour averages shall be determined

from successive nonoverlapping

24-hour blocks starting at midnight each calendar

day...." 40 C.F.R.

§

50.4(b). The standard similarly defines

the averaging periods for

the annual and 3-hour standards.

EPA also explicitly recognized that "the

use

of

the alternative, running averages, would

represent

that the

wor

block-averaging convention, the U.S.

61 Fed. Reg. at 25576.

e State's su

s. Mr. David

Kolaz, testifying on behalf of IERG at the Apri

28,

2009

hearing, stated that the Illinois EPA has been interpreting the State standard as

based on a running average time period, while the U.S.

using block

averages. Tr. at I I-14, Ex

David

2 and 3; see also Pre-Filed Testimony of

the Matter of

Air Quality ý tandards Clean-Up: Anzendrnents to 35 Ill.

Adrn. Code Part 243, R09-19 at 2-3 and Attachment

1 (111.Po1.Control.Bd. April 14,

ony"). At

hearing, the Illinois EPA seemed to s

discrepancy was irrelevant, as states are permitted to

have standards stricter than the

0

and 25-26. IERG does not deny that this is the case.

However, upon review of the Board records

relating to the Illinois sulfur oxides standard,

IERG

has

been

unable to locate any instance where the Illinois EPA stated

was to have a standard for sulfur oxides

that is

ent

g ent than the federal standard.

Electronic Filing - Received, Clerk's Office, June 8, 2009

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Nor is there any apparent record of

justification for such a more stringent standard.

Rather, as described above, the promulgation of the State

based on being

standard was

ical to that of the U.S. EPA. Because U.S.

EPA's standard is based

on a block average interpretation,

IERG suggests that Section 243.122 be amended

accordingly to remove

the ambiguity. In the alternative,

should the Agency not concur

change to a block averaging

interpretation, it should be prepared

to justify the

need for a more stringent

state than federal standard.

VI.

ION 243.124)

for nitrogen

1985. 50 Fed.

rounding conve

g. 25544

d handling methodologies similar

in

greater detail above

for sulfur oxides. The standard is al

pillion and stated parenthetical

meter.

illion standard,

the U.S. EP

.053, instead of 0.05, parts

per million.

olaz

on behalf of

er million as the State standard

in its

quality reports. Tr, at

29; Kolaz Testimony at 4-5.

Accordingly, IERG

recommends that the Agency

and the Board modify

Illinois' codified nitrogen

dioxide

tly 0.05 ppm) to

conform to the NAAQS.

IERG would

recommend that the State

standard not

the micrograms per cubic

meter

parenthetical, as it does nothing

to add clarity. The

lack of need

June

19, 1985). The standard

includes block averaging,

sio

Electronic Filing - Received, Clerk's Office, June 8, 2009

* * * * * PC #2 * * * * *

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parenthetical micrograms per cubic meter is further supported

by the U.S.

EPA's

pra

to not express the standards in both parts per million an

gaseous pollutants since the

time

the nit

s

ubic meter for

ide NAAQS was last

updated.

For

example, the 1-hour NAAQS ozone standard was stated in parts per million and

parenthetically in micrograms per cubic meter when it was published in 1979. 44 Fed.

Reg.

8202.

The

8-hour

NAAQS ozone standard published

on

July 18, 1997 was

expressed solely in parts per million. 62 Fed. Reg. 38856. Also, as mentioned ear

the

sulfur oxides standard

revised

on

May 22, 1996 was expressed of

per million. 61 Fed. Reg. 25566. The latest ozone standard adopted on March 27,

2008

ed only in parts per million. 73 Fed. Reg. 16436. Clearly, the U.S. EPA is

g attention to reliance on the "parts per million"

nomenclature. For Illinois to

delete the micrograms per cubic meter reference for nitrogen dioxide will not create a

substantive

inconsistency between the State and

OXIDE (SECTION 243.123)

oxide NAAQS in 1985,

choosing to express the standard in parts per million and parenth

cubic

meter. 50

Fed. Reg. 37501 ept. 13, 1985). This is t

currently expressed in the State standard.

sta

of the way

it

hat time, the

U.S.

EPA also updated the

e data completeness and handling criteria. Nothing was stated

about

block averages, but the U.S. EPA uses

a running non-overlapping approach to

interpreting compliance

our standard. IERG advocates expressing the

carbon

monoxide standard solely

in terms of parts per million for the reasons spec

10

Electronic Filing - Received, Clerk's Office, June 8, 2009

* * * * * PC #2 * * * * *

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ions of sulfur oxides and nitrogen

dioxide. We also suggest that the

rounding convention and data completeness

and data handling components

of the U.S.

rporate

stly, we believe

that the State rule should also specify

that

the 8-hour standard is determined

using non-overlapping

running averages.

V1

CL

ports the efforts of the

Agency to update the State's air

standards. This effort,

however, should be extended beyond

the Agency's initial

proposal to include

clarifications to Illinois'

sulfur oxides, nitrogen dioxide, and carbon

11 afford

the public and regulated

community a much clearer

uality

standards.

will then more accurately

reflect t

thods and to

interpret

the standards, with one exception.

Unlike its current practice

of interpretir

standard

on a running average basis,

the Agency will need to adopt

the

block

averaging approach.

Electronic Filing - Received, Clerk's Office, June 8, 2009

* * * * * PC #2 * * * * *

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G offers these comments

to facilitate achieving the intent of the proposed

rovide conformity

ois' and the U.S.

EPA's standards, as

stated lay the Board at the time

the

State's

standards were

lly adopted RG

appreciates the opportunity to comment.

may arise.

ill be pleased

to answer any questions that

Respectfully submitted,

REGULATO

ILLINOIS ENVIRONME

Dated: June 8,

2009

By:

/s/Alec M. Davis

One of Its Attorneys

Post Office Box 5776

gfield, Illinois 62705

)523-4900

I ERG-00 I/R

Dockets/Pitings/R09-L9/IERG's Post-Hearing

Comments

Electronic Filing - Received, Clerk's Office, June 8, 2009

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E Old` SERVICE

Hodge, the undersigned, hereby certify that

I have served the

attached

POST-HEARING COMMENTS OF THE ILLINOIS ENVIRONMENTAL

OU

u pon:

on behalf of the Illinois

Environmental Regulatory Group,

Mr. John T. Therriault

stant Clerk of the

Board

Illinois Pollution Control Board

100 West Randolph Street

via electronic mail on June 8, 2009; and upon:

othy J. Fox

Matthew J.

Dunn, Chief

g Officer

Office of the Attorney General

100

W. Randolph Street.

r

to 11-500

Chicago,

Illinois 60602

mental Protection Agency

1021 North Grand

76

gfield,

Illinois 62794-9276

by deposit

Illinois on

June

documen

62702

ge prepaid, in Springfield,

gton Street,

of Natural Resources

ounces Way

a

I ERG-001\R DocketsTilings\RQ9-19NOF & COS-IERG's

Post-Hearing Comments

Electronic Filing - Received, Clerk's Office, June 8, 2009

* * * * * PC #2 * * * * *