ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD.

January

6,

1994

BELL

,

INCORPORATED,

)

)

Petitioner,

v.

)

PCB 94—14

(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)), Bell Fuels,

Incorporated has

requested that the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency

(Agency) reconmend that the Board grant a provisional variance to

allow Bell Fuels,

Incorporated’s gasoline dispensing operations

(service station) to continue operating even though it did not

install operational

vapor

recovery equipment by November 1,

1993.

Such request for a provisional variance and the Notification of

Recommendation was filed with the Board by the Agency by fax on

Tuesday, January

4,

1994, followed by a hard copy on Wednesday,

January

5,

1994.

Pursuant to Section 35(b) of the Act, the Board

must issue the variance within two

(2) days of this filing.

Specifically, the Agency recommends that we grant Bell

Fuels,

Incorporated a forty—five (45)—day provisional variance

for its facility located in Kane County in the Chicago

metropolitan statistical area from the Stage II vapor recovery

requirements,

as set forth in 35 Ill.

Adin. Code 218.586, for the

period beginning December 16, 1993,

and continuing for forty-five

(45) days or until the required vapor recovery equipment is

installed, whichever conies first.

This recommendation is essentially that the Board extend a

previously—granted provisional variance that expired December 15,

1993.

The docket number of the previous provisional variance was

PCB 93-210, granted on December 16,

1993.

The Agency’s provisional variance recommendation states that

Bell Fuels,

Incorporated has requested a provisional variance on

behalf of its service station in the Chicago area, located as

follows:

County

City or Village

Street Address

Kane

Maple

Park

44

West

Highway 64

Upon receipt of the request, the Agency issued its

recommendation,

notifying the Board that the failure to grant the

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2

requested forty-five (45)—day provisional variance would impose

an arbitrary or unreasonable hardship on Petitioner.

The Agency

recommendation states that installation of Stage II vapor

recovery

equipment

~t

the

Bell

Fue1s~Incorporated

facilities

is

not

possible

by the November 1,

1993

deadline

for

compliance

because vapor recovery equipment and the crews necessary to

install it were not available before the compliance deadline.

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.

(~g415 ILCS 5/35(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 formal 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

218.586,

subject

to

the

following

conditions:

1.

The

term

of

this

provisional

variance

shall

commence

on

December 16,

1993, and

it

shall

expire

on

the

date

the

Petitioner

completes

the

required

installation

of

vacuum

assist

Stage

II

vapor

recovery

equipment,

or

after

forty-

five

(45)

days

have

elapsed,

whichever

comes

first;

2.

The Petitioner shall notify the Agency of the

installation of the vapor recovery equipment, by sending

notification

addressed

as

follows:

Mr. Terry Sweitzer, P.E.

Manager,

Air

Monitoring

Section

Illinois

Environmental

Protection

Agency

Division of Air Pollution Control

P.O. Box 19276

Springfield,

Illinois

62794—9276

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3

IT

IS

SO

ORDERED.

I, Dorothy N.

Gurin,

Clerk

of

the

Illinois

Pollution

Control

Bo~r~,do hereby

that the above order was adopted on the

~~-A-

day of

1994, by a vote of

~

Dorothy M. Guj~,Clerk

Illinois Po)~tionControl Board