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

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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