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ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD

October 2, 2003

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Proposed Rule. Second Notice.

OPINION AND ORDER OF THE BOARD (by T.E. Johnson):

On October 22, 2002, the City of Effingham (City), Blue Beacon International, Inc. (BBI) and Truckomat Corporation (Truckomat) (referred to collectively as “petitioners”) filed a proposal for rulemaking under Section 27 of the Environmental Protection Act (Act) (415 ILCS 5/27 (2002)), to change regulations governing fluoride found in the Board’s rules at 35 Ill. Adm. Code 302.208(g). On April 11, 2003, a hearing was held in this matter at the City Hall Council Chambers, 201 E. Jefferson, Effingham, Effingham County. A hearing on the economic impact of the proposal was held on July 18, 2003.

By today’s action the Board adopts the proposed rule for second notice pursuant to the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act (5 ILCS 100/1-1). No comments were received during first notice, and the proposal adopted here is substantively unchanged from that adopted in the Board’s July 24, 2003 first-notice and opinion order. The following opinion will explain the proposal background, summarize the first-notice proposal, and discuss the economic reasonableness and technical feasibility of the rule.

BACKGROUND

BBI and Truckomat operate truck washes in Effingham, Effingham County. The wastewater from the truck washes contains fluoride resulting from the brighteners used in washing the trucks. Petitioners state that there are no alternative replacements for these brighteners, and discontinuing their use would cause a severe negative economic impact. Pet. at 2. Petitioners further state that the site-specific fluoride level proposed will be protective of aquatic life, human health, and the environment as a whole. Pet. at 2.

The truck washes discharge wastewater produced from their operations into the City’s publicly owned treatment works (POTW). Pet. at 3. The POTW discharges treated effluent into an unnamed tributary of Salt Creek, which flows into the Little Wabash River, 37 miles upstream from the City of Flora. Pet. at 4, 7, 9. The City’s current daily fluoride effluent limit is 1.4 mg/L, the same as the 1.4 mg/L water quality standard. Pet. at 4. The City seeks an effluent limit of 4.5 mg/L subject to the averaging rule of 35 Ill. Adm. Code 304.104. Pet. at 2.

PROCEDURAL HISTORY

On October 22, 2002, the petitioners filed a petition for a site-specific rulemaking. On November 7, 2002, the Board opened regulatory docket R03-11, finding that the proposal for rulemaking met the requirements of 35 Ill. Adm. Code 102.210 and accepting it for hearing.

A hearing in this matter was held on April 11, 2003, at 201 East Jefferson Street, in Effingham, Effingham County. The petitioners and the Agency appeared and presented testimony at the hearing. No members of the public attended the hearing. The petitioners and the Agency each filed public comment after the hearing.

On July 24, 2003, the Board issued its first-notice opinion and order. The order summarized the testimony offered by the parties, and found that adoption of the petitioners’ proposed site-specific rule for the purposes of first notice, as modified by the Agency, was warranted. Specifically, the Board agreed with the Agency that granting relief from 35 Ill. Adm. Code 304.105 instead of the water quality standard, as requested by the petitioners, could lead to inconsistencies with federal law. Accordingly, the Board proposed a site-specific water quality standard rather than a new effluent limit.

The Board found that the petitioners presented information indicating that compliance with 35 Ill. Adm. Code 302.208(g) is not economically reasonable or technically feasible. The Board found that the petitioners presented evidence regarding the nature of existing water quality and consistency with federal regulations. Further, the Board found that the water quality data presented by the petitioners indicate that the requested relief is protective of the aquatic life and environment.

The first-notice publication of the rules appeared in 27 Illinois Register 13680 (Aug. 15, 2003). No public comments were received during the 45-day first-notice period [DEADLINE IS 9.29]. The Joint Committee on Administrative Review (JCAR) filed non-substantive comments addressing grammar and format changes.  

DISCUSSION

At first notice, the Board found that compliance with 35 Ill. Adm. Code 302.208(g) was not economically reasonable or technically feasible. The Board has received no additional comments discussing economic reasonableness and technical feasibility of the proposed rule. As previously discussed, the Board proposed a site-specific water quality standard, as suggested by the Agency, for first notice rather than a new effluent limit. No comments on this change to petitioners’ original proposal were received. T he Board held a hearing on July 19, 2003, to satisfy the requirements of Section 27(b) of the Act. 415 ILCS 5/27(b) (2002). The Board received no comments on the DCEO’s decision not to conduct an economic impact study on this proposed rulemaking.

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CONCLUSION

 Based on the record developed to date in this matter, the Board finds that adoption of the proposed site-specific rule is warranted. The Board proposes this rulemaking for second-notice review by JCAR.

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ORDER

The Board directs the Clerk to cause the filing of the following with the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules for its second-notice review.

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TITLE 35: ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

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SUBTITLE C: WATER POLLUTION

CHAPTER I: POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD

PART 303

WATER USE DESIGNATIONS AND SITE SPECIFIC WATER QUALITY STANDARDS

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SOURCE: Filed with the Secretary of State January 1, 1978; amended at 2 Ill. Reg. 27, p. 221, effective July 5, 1978; amended at 3 Ill. Reg. 20, p. 95, effective May 17, 1979; amended at 5 Ill. Reg. 11592, effective October 19, 1981; codified at 6 Ill. Reg. 7818; amended at 6 Ill. Reg. 11161, effective September 7, 1982; amended at 7 Ill. Reg. 8111, effective June 23, 1983; amended in R87-27 at 12 Ill. Reg. 9917, effective May 27, 1988; amended in R87-2 at 13 Ill. Reg. 15649, effective September 22, 1989; amended in R87-36 at 14 Ill. Reg. 9460, effective May 31, 1990; amended in R86-14 at 14 Ill. Reg. 20724, effective December 18, 1990; amended in R89-14(C) at 16 Ill. Reg. 14684, effective September 10, 1992; amended in R92-17 at 18 Ill. Reg. 2981, effective February 14, 1994; amended in R91-23 at 18 Ill. Reg. 13457, effective August 19, 1994; amended in R93-13 at 19 Ill. Reg. 1310, effective January 30, 1995; amended in R95-14 at 20 Ill. Reg. 3534, effective February 8, 1996; amended in R97-25 at 22 Ill. Reg. 1403, effective December 24, 1997; amended in R01-13 at 26 Ill. Reg. 3517, effective February 22, 2002; amended in R03-11, at_______Ill. Reg____,effective_______.

The fluoride general use water quality standard of Section 302.208(g) does not apply to the waters of the State that are located from the point of discharge of the POTW located at 903 E. Eichie Avenue in Effingham, Illinois, owned by the City of Effingham, to an unnamed tributary of Salt Creek, said point being located in Effingham County, T8N, R6E, Sec. 28, Lat: 39 ° 06’24”, Long: 88 ° 31’55”, to the confluence of said unnamed tributary with Salt Creek; to the confluence of Salt Creek with the Little Wabash River; to the confluence of Buck Creek and the Little Wabash River. Fluoride levels in such waters must meet a water quality standard for fluoride (STORET Number 00951) as set forth in this section.