ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
    November
    29, 1988
    FEDERAL PAPER
    BOARD
    COMPANY,
    INC.,
    )
    Petitioner,
    )
    v.
    )
    PCB 87—208
    ILLINOIS ENVIRONMENTAL
    )
    PROTECTION AGENCY,
    )
    Respondent.
    )
    JAMES W.
    GLADDEN, JR., PERCY L. ANGELO, AND SCOTT
    3.
    FRANKEL, OF
    MAYER, BROWN
    & PLATT, APPEARED ON BEHALF OF THE PETITIONER.
    BOBELLA GLATZ AND LISA
    E. MORENO APPEARED ON BEHALF OF THE
    RESPONDENT.
    OPINION AND ORDER OF THE BOARD
    (by J. Marlin)
    This matter comes before the Board on
    a Petition
    for
    Variance filed
    by Federal Paper Board Company,
    Inc.
    (Federal) on
    December
    30,
    1987.
    In
    its Petition Federal seeks variance from
    requirements
    of Sections
    9(a) and 9(b)
    of the Illinois
    Environmental Protection Act (Act)
    as well as
    35 Ill.
    Adm.
    Code
    215.401,
    215.405(b)
    and 215.407(b).
    The Illinois Environmental
    Protection Agency
    (Agency) filed
    its Recommendation on October
    20,
    1988.
    The Agency recommends
    that the Board grant a variance
    as requested by Federal.
    A public hearing was held
    in this
    matter on October
    19,
    1988
    in Ottawa which
    is located
    in LaSalle
    County;
    no members
    of the public were present.
    Federal operates
    a folding carton printing plant
    in
    Marseilles.
    The plant employs 114 people and utilizes three
    rotogravure printing presses.
    Federal’s number one printing
    press
    is the subject of this vaziiance.
    Presses number
    two and
    number three are equipped with afterburners and are operating
    in
    compliance with Board regulations.
    (Pet.,
    p.
    1—2;
    R.
    13).
    Federal’s number one press emits
    an average
    of 339 tons per year
    of volatile organic material
    (VOM).
    According
    to the Agency,
    its
    allowable emission rate
    is
    118.6 tons per year.
    (Ag.
    Rec.,
    p.
    2—
    3).
    However,
    Federal claims that
    its excess emissions only
    amount
    to 168 tons per year.
    (Pet.,
    p.
    4;
    R.
    13).
    At one time, Federal had considered shutting down
    its
    Marseilles
    plant, however,
    in August of
    1987 Federal decided
    to
    keep the plant open and operate
    it on
    a limited basis.
    Specifically, Federal decided not to operate
    its number one press
    after December
    31,
    1987.
    Nevertheless, after subsequent
    study
    Federal determined
    that
    it. was necessary to operate
    all three
    presses
    in order
    to keep the Marseilles plant open;
    Federal had
    93—649
    2
    concluded that
    it would lose efficiency and business volume
    if
    it
    only operated
    two of the three presses.
    This decision was made
    in October
    of 1987.
    (Pet.,
    p.
    2—3;
    R.
    13).
    Federal’s plan
    to achieve compliance for its number one
    press
    is
    to install and utilize
    an afterburner
    on that press.
    At
    hearing,
    a Federal engineer testified that the afterburner has
    already been installed on press number
    one.
    (R.. 8).
    According
    to Federal,
    approximately $300,000 were spent on the afterburner
    system
    for press number one.
    (R.
    9).
    Due
    to the testing and
    startup time needed for this afterburner,
    Fed~era1has requested
    that
    it be granted variance through October
    31,
    1988.
    The Agency
    has no objections
    to this request and
    it similarly wishes
    to
    amend
    its Recommendation to reflect that change.
    (R.
    14).
    Federal claims that
    if
    it had shut down press number one to
    comply with
    the December
    31, 1987 deadline,
    ten jobs would have
    been lost at the Marseilles plant.
    In addition, Federal asserts
    that the plant’s production would have been seriously affected,
    thereby placing
    its economic viability
    in jeopardy.
    (Pet.,
    p.
    5—
    6;
    R.
    13).
    In its Recommendation,
    the Agency points out that Federal
    is
    located
    in LaSalle County which
    is an attainment area
    for
    ozone.
    The Agency states that the air quality
    in northeastern
    Illinois’ nonattainment area would not be affected by
    a variance
    due
    to the fact that press number one was
    to be shut down
    for
    some time so that the press could
    be upgraded and the afterburner
    installed.
    (Ag. Rec.,
    p.
    5).
    The Agency also asserts
    that if
    the Board were to grant a variance,
    the variance would not have
    to be submitted
    to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as
    a
    State Implementation Plan
    (SIP)
    revision.
    However,
    if such
    submittal
    is
    required,
    the Agency concludes that “this variance
    would be approved as
    a SIP revision by USEPA,
    particularly since
    Marseilles
    is located
    in an area which
    is classified as
    attainment for ozone”.
    (Ag.
    Rec.,
    p.
    6).
    Federal claims that
    the environmental
    impact due
    to the emissions of press number one
    is
    de minimus.
    (Pet.,
    p.
    5;
    R.
    13).
    Given
    the circumstances ot this case,
    the Board
    finds that
    a
    denial
    of
    a variance would impose an arbitrary or unreasonable
    hardship on Federal.
    Therefore,
    the Board will grant
    Federal
    variance
    from 35 Ill.
    Adm.
    Code 215.401,
    215.405(b),
    and
    215.407(b)
    for the period from December 31,
    1987 until October
    31,
    1988.
    Although Federal has requested variance from Sections
    9(a) and 9(b)
    of the Act,
    the Agency only recommends variance
    from the Board’s regulations.
    The Board believes
    that. variance
    from its
    regulations alone
    is sufficient to remedy Federal’s
    hardship concerns.
    93—65
    fl
    3
    ORDER
    Federal Paper Board Company,
    Inc.
    is hereby granted variance
    from 35 Ill.
    Adm.
    Code 215.401,
    215.405(b),
    and 215.407(b)
    for
    the time period beginning December
    31,
    1987 and ending October
    31, 1988, subject
    to the following condition:
    Within 45 days of
    the date of the Board’s Order, Federal
    shall execute a Certificate of Acceptance and send that
    Certificate to:
    Illinois Environmental Protection Agency
    Enforcement Programs
    2200 Churchill Road
    P.O. Box 19276
    Springfield,
    IL
    62794—9276
    This Variance shall be void
    if Federal fails
    to execute and
    forward the Certificate within
    the 45—day period.
    The 45—day
    period shall be held
    in abeyance during any period that this
    matter
    is being
    appealed.
    The form of the Certificate of
    Acceptance shall be
    as follows:
    Certificate of Acceptance
    The Federal Paper Board Company,
    Inc.,
    having received the
    November
    29, 1988 Order
    of the Illinois Pollution Control
    Board
    in PCB 87—208 hereby accepts that Order
    and agrees
    to
    be bound by all the terms and conditions thereof.
    The Federal Paper Board Company,
    Inc.
    By:______________________________
    Authorized Agent
    Title
    Date
    Section 41 of the Environmental Protection Act,
    Ill.
    Rev.
    Stat.
    1985 ch.
    111 1/2
    par.
    1041, provides for appeal of final
    Orders of
    the Board within
    35 days.
    The Rules of the Supreme
    Court
    of Illinois establish filing requirements.
    IT
    IS SO ORDERED.
    93—651
    4
    I, Dorothy M.
    Gunn, Clerk of the Illinois Pollution Control
    Board,
    hereby certif~jthat the above Opinion and Order was
    adopted on the~9~
    day of
    _______________,
    1988,
    by
    a vote
    Dorothy M/Gunn, Clerk
    Illinois ~o11ution Control Board
    93—652

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