ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
January 11,
1995
INDIAN REFINING
LIMITED PARTNERSHIP,
Petitioner,
V.
)
PCB 95—37
(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)), Indian Refining Limited Partnership
has requested that the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency
(Agency) recommend that the Board grant a provisional variance to
allow Indian Refining Limited Partnership to continue operating
during a period of petroleum refinery repairs.
Such request for
a provisional variance and the Notification of Recommendation was
filed with the Board by the Agency on Tuesday, January 10,
1995.
Pursuant to Section 35(b)
of the Act, the Board must issue the
variance within two
(2) days of this filing.
Specifically1 the Agency recommends that we grant Indian
Refining Limited Partnership a forty—five
(45)-day provisional
variance for its Lawrence County facility from the open burning
regulations, as set forth in 35 Ill. Adm. Code 237.120
(f), for
the period from December 10,
1994,
and continuing for forty-five
(45)-days or until the required repairs to the flare head of
flare #3 are completed, whichever comes first.
The Agency’s provisional variance recommendation states that
Indian Refining Limited Partnership operates a petroleum refinery
in Lawrenceville, Lawrence County,
Illinois.
The provisional
variance is being requested so that petitioner may operate one of
its waste gas flares without its steam injection system, which
keeps the flare smokeless.
Indian Refining Limited Partnership
seeks the provisional variance to operate flare #2 without the
steam injection system for a period of
forty-five
(45)—days or
until the required repairs to the flare head of flare #3 are
completed,
whichever comes first.
Upon receipt of the request, the Agency issued its
recommendation, notifying the Board that due to unforeseen,
temporary and uncontrollable circumstances,
failure to grant the
requested forty—five
(45)—day provisional variance would impose
an arbitrary or unreasonable hardship on the petitioner.
Provisional variances are by their very nature temporary.
2
The responsibilities of the Agency and the Board in these short—
term provisional variances are different from the
responsibilities in standard variances.
(~
415 ILCS 5/35(b)
&
36(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 the
petitioner a provisional variance from 35 Ill. Adm. Code 237.120
(f) from forty-five (45)-days or until the required repairs to
the flare head of flare #3 are completed, whichever comes first,
subject to the following conditions:
1.
The term of this provisional variance shall commence on
December 10,
1994 and it shall expire on the date the
petitioner completes the required repairs to the flare head
of flare #3, or after forty—five
(45) days have elapsed,
whichever comes first;
2.
Flare #2, which is equipped with an infrared camera,
shall be continuously monitored visually on the television
screen in the flare control shack to assure it remains lit.
This continuous monitoring shall be logged by each
responsible shift. This log shall be made available to the
Agency for review upon request;
3.
Should there be a flame—out on flare #2, this shall be
reported immediately to the Agency’s Emergency Response
Unit.
Every effort shall be made to relight the flare as
soon as possible. Such an incident shall also be reported by
telephone to the Collinsville Regional Office at 618/346-
5120 or the Marion District Office at 618/993—7200 within 24
hours;
4.
The petitioner shall notify the Agency at either the
District or Regional office by telephone when the flare head
on flare #3 has been replaced and is back in service. This
notification shall be followed up in writing with a full
summary report for the entire period covered by the
provisional variance. Such notification shall be sent to:
Illinois Environmental Protection Agency
2309 W. Main
Marion, Illinois
62959
Attention:
Scott Arnold
3
IT IS SO ORDERED.
I, Dorothy M.
Gunn, Clerk of the Illinois Pollution Control
Board, do hereby certify
hat the above order was adopted on the
//~—
day of
(
~
,
1995,
by a vote of
________.
Dorothy M.
G)~in,Clerk
Illinois PoLlution Control Board