ILLiNOIS POLLUTION

CONTROL BOARD

March

11,

1971

)

MILES LABORATOaIES,

INC.

)

)

v.

)

#PCB

70—51

)

ENVIRONMENTAL

PROTECl’ION

ACENCY

)

)

OLIN

CORPORATION

)

)

v.

IIPCB

70-48

)

ENV 1W)NMENTAL

PROTECTION

AC; ENC ‘V

)

)

Dissenting

Opinion

(by

Mr.

ihimelli’)

The

Board on

March

3,

1971

granted

Olin Corporation

a one-year

variance

to use us

1.l5’!~.sulrur

real

during

episodrs

as

if it

met the

1. 0

sulfur

coal regulations.

in

my opinion,

this

u: don does

not

place

the

importance

upon

episode

control

that

should

be

given

by this

Hoard.

Air pollution

episodes

are

disaster

conditions

anti have

caused

illness

and

death

It’

people.

The

Thanksgiving

iI’66

episode

in

New York

was

probably

responsible

for

24

deaths

each

clay for

seven

days.

The

great

Lonth’n

tiisast”:’

of 1952

JclIJe(i between

:1, 500 and 4, 000 persons

(Virginia

llrc,ciine,

Environment,

.Ian.

—

Feb.,

1971,

p.

18,

20).

Raw

data,

upon

which

this

Hoard

has urged

an

instilule

invesligation,

indicates

that some

125

excess

deaths

may

have

orc’urreci in

the

Chicago

Nov.

6—12,

1969

episode.

The Board’s

opinion

by

Mr.

Currie,

argues

that

Olin has

a firm

gas

contract

and thus

cannot

burn the

low

sulfur

coal

in the

ordinary

(‘Otil’St’

Of

flLiSifl*S5.

C;as contracts

usually bind the gas

company to supply

the

gas but getierai ly

set

only

minimum

and maximum

quantities

to be

used.

(‘ertainly

Olin

could

either

(I) burn up its

coal in some

programmed

l’ashion

oi•

2) purchase

additional

lower

sulfur

coal

and blend

it with the

1.

15C. rozd

to

achieve

an average

of

1. 0

sulfur.

•I’ht’

majority

l3oard

opinion argues

that

the

1

sulfur

coal

is needed

~,

v

in the

“unlikel’.

event”

of a gas outage.

This

argument is really

an

“gtiiiient

against

the very

regulation

which this Board

in its

wisdom

1-~

---

just

enacted on

November 24,

19Th.

If the Board’s

new regulation

requiring

a four day supply

of low sulfur coal is not needed in cases

where the

gas

supply

has a proven

record of great reliability

then

the

regulation

ought

to be amended through established procedures.

The Environmental

Protection

Agency,

in opposing this variance

stated,

“The fact remains,

however,

that

the Board’s

regulations

expressly require

coal having less

than 1

sulfur

content;

Those regulations

are

very recently adopted.

Furthermore,

they were

adopted after numerous public hearings

and the

receipt of a great deal of evidence.

Accordingly,

the Board’s decision to require less than

1

sulfur

coal must

be accepted as being current

and

well-founded.

Finally,

to allow this petition

would be encouraging others

who have

greater

than 1

sulfur coal on hand to petition for a

variance.

The line

must be drawn somewhere,

and

the Board has recently drawn it.”

/

-

~

~

Jacob

V.

Dumeile

Member

Illinois

Pollution

Control Board

I,

Regina E.

Ryan,

Clerk of the minois

Pollution Control,

certify that

Mr.

Jacob

D.

Dumelle

submitted the

Dissenting Opinion this

/k4

day

of March,

1971.

4,:

—~

•.•,4~4

‘.—

Regina E.

Ryan

C)efrk

Illinois

Pollution

Control

Hoard

1-ZN