ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD

July 29,

1993

THE KNAPHEIDE MANUFACTURING,

COMPANY,

Petitioner,

v.

)

PCB 93—141

(Provisional Variance)

ILLINOIS ENVIRONMENTAL

PROTECTION AGENCY,

Respondent.

ORDER OF THE BOARD

(by C.

A.

Manning):

Pursuant to Section 35(b)

of the Environmental Protection

Act

(Act)

(415 ILCS 5/35(b)), the Illinois Environmental

Prot~ctionAgeilcy

(Agency),

by and through its Director, Nary

A.

Gade,

seeks a provisional variance for the Knapheide

Nanufacturing Co.

(Knapheide)

in order to allow

it to continue

operating during the Great Flood of

1993.

The Agency

Recommendation and a motion to amend and supplement were dated

July 28,

1993.

The Board hereby grants the motion to amend and

supplement.

Specifically, the Agency recommends that we grant Knapheide

a 45-day provisional variance for its Quincy,

Illinois facility

from the construction and operating permit and permit review

requirements and the volatile organic material emissions

limitations,

as set forth in

35 Ill. Adm.

Code 201.142 through

201.164 and 215.204,

beginning July

28,

1993 and running through

September

10,

1993.

The Agency’s provisional variance recommendation states that

Knapheide operated

a metal shaping,

forming, welding and

fabrication facility

in West Quincy,

Missouri.

Due to the

flooding along

the Nlississippi River,

however,

the petitioner was

forced to suspend those operations because

its Missouri site is

now under sixteen feet of water.

Knapheide has located an

alternative facility directly across the Mississippi River

in

Quincy,

Adams County,

Illinois at which it could temporarily

resume operations.

The Agency recommendation states that the

alternative facility

is located about three miles from the

flooded Missouri facility,

that the Quincy,

Illinois area

is

presently in compliance with the National Ambient Air Quality

Standard for ozone,

and that the expected environmental impact of

the provisional variance

is minimal.

Upon receipt

of the request, the Agency issued its

recommendation,

notifying the Board that the failure to grant the

requested 45-day provisional variance would impose an arbitrary

or unreasonable hardship on Petitioner.

---

2

Provisional variances are by their very nature temporary.

The responsibilities of the Agency and the Board in these short-

term provisional variances are different from the

responsibilities

in standard variances.

See 415 ILCS 5/35(b)

&

(C)

(1992)

(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

normal 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 notifying the

Board 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 201.142

through 201.164 and 215.204, beginning July 28,

1993 and running

through September

10,

1993.

The Agency recommendation did not include the customary

recommendation that the Board grant the provisional variance

subject to conditions,

and the Board does not add conditions to

the grant.

The Board notes that Knapheide does not have a compliance

plan,

but

is

in the process of developing one.

Also,

Knapheide

anticipates seeking another 45—day provisional variance,

and may

have the need to seek

a

“regular” variance.

(Application,

¶~J

8—

9.)

In such event the Board will make every effort to expedite

the handling of any variance Knapheide may file,

and we encourage

Knapheide to consult with Board staff for procedural guidance as

it prepares its petition.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

I,

Dorothy

M.

Gunn,

Clerk of the Illinois Pollution Control

Board,

do hereby~ce.~tifythat the

bove order was adopted

by the

Board on the

~=.-?/

~

day of _____________________________

,

1993,

byavoteof

1~L’-o

•

Dorothy

M. ~\mnn, Clerk

Illinois P~,4.utionControl Board