ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
July 20,
1995
IN THE MATTER OF:
)
JOINT PETITION OF SOLAR
)
AS 94-2
CORPORATION AND THE ILLINOIS
)
(Adjusted Standard
-
Air)
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
)
AGENCY FOR ADJUSTED
)
STANDARDS FROM 35 ILL. ADM.
CODE.
)
218,
SUBPART PP.
)
MARK
LATHAN
OF GARDNER, CARTON & DOUGLAS APPEARED ON BEHALF OF
PETITIONER, SOLAR CORPORATION;
SHEILA G. KOLBE APPEARED ON BEHALF OF PETITIONER, ILLINOIS
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY.
OPINION
AND
ORDER OF THE BOARD
(by N. McFawn):
This matter is before the Board on a petition for adjusted
standard filed by Solar Corporation
(Solar)
on February 14,
1994,
as amended on January
3,
1995,
and joined by the Illinois
Environmental Protection Agency (Agency)
on February 28,
1995.
The petitioners request that Solar be given an adjusted standard
front the air emission control requirements of
35 Ill. Adm. Code
Part 218 Subpart PP for its manufacturing facility located in
Libertyville, Lake County,
Illinois.
The Board’s responsibility in this matter arises from the
Environmental Protection Act
(Act)
(415 ILCS 5/1 et seq.).
The
Board
is charged therein to “determine, define and implement the
environmental control standards applicable in the State of
Illinois”
(Section 5(b)
of the Act) and to “grant.. .an adjusted
standard for persons who can justify such an adjustment”
(Section
28.1(a) of the Act).
Thus, the Board is charged with the
authority to grant individual adjusted standards which are
different from the Board’s generally applicable regulations.
Although usually granted as permanent relief, the adjusted
standard is not adopted as
a rule under the Administrative Code.
Rather, the opinion and order granting, and oftentimes
conditioning, the relief requested serves both a regulatory and
an enforcement function.
Based upon the recorC before us
and upon review of the
factors involved in the consideration of adjusted standards, the
Board finds that petitioners, most particularly Solar, have
demonstrated that the adjusted standard sought is warranted.
The
adjusted standard accordingly is granted, subject to the
conditions outlined in the order.
ADJUSTED
STANDARD
PROCEDURE
Section 28.1 of the Act provides that a petitioner may
request, and the Board may adopt,
an environmental standard that
is:
(a) applicable solely to the petitioner, and
(b) different
from the standard that would otherwise apply to petitioner
pursuant to a rule of general applicability.
Such a standard is
called an adjusted standard.
The general procedures that govern
an adjusted standard proceeding are found at Section 28.1 of the
Act and within the Board’s procedural rules at 35 Ill. Adm.
Code
Part 106.
Where, as here,
the regulation of general applicability does
not specify a level of justification required from a petitioner
to qualify for an adjusted standard, the Act at Section 28.1
(C)
specifies four demonstrations that must be made by a successful
petitioner.
They are:
(1)
Faetors
relating to that petitioner are substantially
and significantly different from the factors relied
upon by the Board in adopting the general regulations
applicable to that petitioner;
(2)
The existence of those factors justifies an adjusted
standard;
(3)
The requested standard will not result in environmental
or health effects substantially and significantly more
adverse than the effects considered by the Board in
adopting the rule of general applicability; and
(4)
The adjusted standard is consistent with any applicable
federal law.
(415 ILCS 5/28.1(c))
PROCEDURAL HISTORY
Solar originally filed a petition for adjusted standard on
February 14,
1994.
On March
3,
1994,
the Board issued an order
finding this petition deficient,
and directing Solar to submit an
amended petition by April 15,
1994.
On April
1,
1994,
Solar and
the Agency moved for an extension of time to file an amended
petition,
i.e.,
until May 27,
1994.
That motion was granted by
Board order
or
Apr11 24,
1994.
Arter several more joint motions
requesting additional time to file, all of which were granted,
Solar filed its amended petition on January
3,
1995, which was
accepted by the Board on January 11,
1995.
During the time intervening the initial filing and the
amended petition, Solar and the Agency negotiated regarding the
3
relief requested by Solar.
Prior to the amended petition being
filed, the Agency reviewed the draft of the same and asked that
Solar prepare a Technical Support Document
(TSD) which would
provide additional support for the adjusted standard sought by
Solar.
The fifth joint extension of time filed October 26,
1994
and
granted by the Board on November 3,
1994 was to afford Solar
time to prepare such TSD.
The TSD was filed along with the
January
3,
1995 amended petition.
Solar requested trade secret
protection for two exhibits attached to the TSD, pursuant to 35
Ill. Adm. Code 120.201, which has been afforded by the Board
since that time.
At the time the amended petition was filed, Solar and the
Agency still had some unresolved underlying issues.
They
successfully resolved those issues, and on February 28,
1995,
they filed a joint motion for co-petitioner status, attached to
which was proposed language for the adjusted standard amending
the language proposed in the January
3 amended petition.
The
Board granted that motion and accepted the amended proposed
language by order dated March
9,
1995.
On April
7,
1995 a
hearing was held in this matter in Libertyville, Illinois before
hearing officer June Edvenson.
Kenneth Formanski and Greg Miller
testified on behalf of Solar, and
John Blazis testified on
behalf of the Agency.
Board Member McFawri, her assistant,
Kevin
Desharnais and technical assistant Anand Rao were present.
No
members of the public were present.
On May 3,
1095,
Solar filed
a motion to correct the transcripts, which is hereby granted.
On
May 5,
1995,
Solar and the Agency filed a joint motion to modify
the proposed adjusted standard language adding, in pertinent
part,
a specific commitment by Solar to continue its research and
development efforts to find alternatives to solvent—based
adhesives.
That motion is also hereby granted.
RULE OF GENERAL APPLICABILITY
Solar seeks
an adjusted standard from the air emission
control requirements of 35 Iii. Adm. Code Part 218 Subpart PP,
which is entitled Miscellaneous Fabricated Product Manufacturing
Processes.
The Board notes that Solar filed the initial adjusted
standard petition on February 14,
1994,
i.e.,
within 20 days of
the effective date of those RACT requirements.
Therefore,
Solar
is exempt from these requirements until the Board’s final
decision on this petition.
Absent a grant of the requested
adjusted standard, the following requirements would become
applicable to Solar:
1.
Emissions capture and control techniques which achieve
an overall reduction in uncontrolled VOM emissions of
at least 21 percent;
or
2.
Use of adhesives that do not exceed 3.5 pounds of VON
per gallon; or
4
3.
An equivalent alternative control plan which has been
approved by the Agency and the U.S. EPA in a federally
enforceable permit or as
a State Implementation Plan
(SIP)
revision.
(35 Ill.
Adm. Code 218.926.)
Of most concern to Solar is the daily weighted average
content of coating limitation of 3.5 pounds
of
volatile organic
materials
(VON) per gallon when miscellaneous fabricated products
are manufactured.
This limitation was originally adopted as RACT
in R91-7, PACT Deficiencies in the Chicago Area:
Amendments to
35 Ill. Adm. Code Part 215 and the Addition of Part 218 (July 25,
1991), and was initially applicable only to major sources with
actual VOM emissions in excess of 100 tons per year
(tpy).
In
response to the Federal Implementation Plan adopted by the U.S.
EPA, the Board later amended the applicability threshold to a
maximum theoretical emissions
(MTE)
of VON of 100 tpy or more for
Chicago-area sources in R93-9,
Omnibus Cleanup of the VON PACT
Rules Applicable to Ozone Nonattainment Areas
(September 9,1993).
In R93-14, PACT for Major Sources Emitting VON in Chicago
Nonattainment Area:
25 Tons
(January 6,
1994), the applicability
threshold for Chicago area sources was again amended to include
miscellaneous fabricated product manufacturing processes with
potential to emit
(PTE) of 25 tpy or more of VON, but which have
NTE of VOM
less
than 100 tpy.
These
25 tpy sources, which
include the Solar facility located in Libertyville, are now
regulated as major sources, and the date of compliance with
Subpart PP is March 15,
1995.
Prior to the adoption of the rules
R93-14, Solar had not been regulated by the 100 tpy rules at
Subpart PP.
In lieu of compliance with the 3.5 pound per gallon
limitation, Solar requests an emission limitation of 5.75 pounds
per gallon
(0.69 kg/i)
for sources at its Libertyville facility,
subject to certain recordceeping
restrictions.
BACKGROUND
Solar owns and operates a plant of approximately 250,000
square feet in Libertyville, Lake County,
Illinois.
At this
facility, which is approximately
35 miles north of Chicago, and
within the Chicago area source non-attainment area for ozone,
Solar employees approximately 750 persons.
There, Solar produces
custom-made,
fabric-covered plastic decorative components ror
customers manufacturing electronic home and office products, and
a wide variety of fabric—covered interior automotive products for
automotive manufacturers.
The decorative component3 produced by
Solar include speaker grills for stereos and televisions,
pressure—formed thermoplastic back enclosures for television
sets,
and other decorative molded parts and fabric wrapped sub-
assemblies.
The automotive interior products include speaker
grills,
vinyl and fabric clad door trim components, injection
molded decorative subassemblies,
seat trim components, and
electric subassemblies.
Production or these products occurs on a three—shift basis,
five days a week.
Solar is known as a “job shop” because it does
not maintain an inventory of fabric—covered plastic parts readily
available to ship on demand to its customers.
Instead, Solar
produces particular component parts upon demand.
When Solar
receives an order from one of its customers,
Solar quickly re—
tools as necessary to produce the part, produces it,
and promptly
ships the product out.
This may require Solar to make as many as
30 to 35 line changes per day.
(TSD at 4.)
At hearing, Miller,
a
senior manufacturing engineer at Solar, testified that 40 to 100
line changes can occur, depending on the product load that day.
(Tr.
at
29.)
He later explained in a different context that line
changes involve changing the “nests” for each different product
parts, and sometimes also the location of the auto—spray
machines.
(Tr. at 62.)
The production of fabric-covered plastic parts by Solar
requires the application of adhesives,
which contain and emit
VOM,
to the plastic part prior to fabric application.
Solar’s
customers’ requirements dictate the type of fabric to be applied
to various plastic parts and specifies the adhesion requirements
that must be demonstrated and provided by the adhesives used by
Solar.
Both the plastic parts and the adhesives must withstand a
wide range of temperatures and humidities.
The adhesives must
ensure that the fabric applied will adequately bond and maintain
its adhesion through the life of the plastic part.
ADHESIVES and VON EMISSIONS
Most adhesives used by Solar contain VON in amounts greater
than 3.5 pounds per gallon.
The annual VON emissions from all
adhesives for the years 1990 through 1994 were 27.35 Tons
(P),
40.15
T,
29.14 T,
44.68 T and 39.80 T per year,
respectively.
(Ex.3)
The most used adhesive is Imperial 3317, which contains
5.49 pounds per gallon of VON.
Miller estimated that Imperial
3317
is used in approximately 70 to 75 percent of Solar’s
production.
(Pr.
at 30.)
In the years 1990 through 1994,
its use
accounted for 27.35 T,
38.22 T,
29.41
T,
43.65
T, and 32.00 T per
year, respectively.
(Ex.
2) As discussed in more detail at page
6
of this opinion,
its VON content has been reduced by
approximately one half to three quarters of a pound of VON per
gallon.
(Tr. at 31.)
The total VON emissions from all sources,
including adhesives,
paints and solvents in the years 1990
through 1994 are 68.24
T,
88.90 T,
73.07 T,
89.90
T,
and 95.50 T
per year,
respectively.
(Ex.1)
6
APPLICATION OF SOLVENT-BASED ADHESIVES
To apply the adhesives to plastic parts, Solar uses either
manual spray guns or “auto—spray” machines.
The manual
application by spray guns takes place in eleven spray booths
currently permitted by the Agency.
The auto-spray machines,
of
which there are nine permitted at the time of hearing, and two
others to come on line shortly, are custom-made and deliver a
pre-measured amount or adhesives,
eliminating the over spray
incurred with manual spray guns.
However, the auto—spray
machines cannot be used in all applications because, with one
exception, they can only apply adhesives on an X/Y axis.
Manual
spray guns must be used to apply adhesives to irregularly shaped
or curved plastic parts.
(Ain.Pet. at
8; TSD at 10; Tr.
at 34-
36.)
Solar has calculated that each auto—spray machine emits
only 2.45 pounds of VON per eight hour shift,
in comparison to a
manual spray gun which emits an estimated 14.03 pounds of VON per
eight hour shift.
(Am.Pet.
at
7; TSD at 8-9;
Tr.
at 34-35.)
These calculations for VON emissions were based on material usage
observations comparing adhesive usage by auto—spray machines and
manual spray guns over a one week period.
COMPLIANCE ALTERNATIVES
To achieve compliance with the 25 ton RACT rules, Solar
investigated:
(1) reformulation of adhesives;
(2) water—based
adhesives;
(3) alternatives to adhesives; and
(4)
catalytic
oxidation.
Each alternative compliance method is discussed
below.
Reformulation of Adhesives.
Early on,
Solar began
investigating reformulating the adhesives.
Initially,
reformulation allowed Solar to reduce the VON content in the
adhesive most widely used from 6.02 to 5.49 pounds per gallon,
raising the percent of solids from 20 percent to 30 percent.
Further reduction could not be achieved without increasing the
solids content to 50 per cent, which would result in an adhesive
so viscous that it could not be applied with either the manual
gun or auto—spray.
Solar also investigated substituting acetone
for either toluene or methylene ketone; neither was technically
feasible because satisfactory bonding of the fabric to the
plastic substrate could
not
occur
without either volatile
component.
(TSD at 1-11;
Tr.
30-32; Am.Pet. at 9.)
Water-Based Adhesives.
Solar currently uses two water-
based adhesives.
Investigations began in 1987 into water-based
adhesives, resulted in Solar being able to replace
a two-
component solvent—based adhesive with a water-based adhesive,
thereby reducing emissions associated with adhesives by at least
/
10 percent.
This water-based adhesive is applied using a
laminating process, which only works well with flat, two
dimensional surfaces.
(Tr.
at 50—15.)
The second type of water-based adhesive is used to apply
vinyl to a plastic substrate in Solar’s vacuum—forming process.
Solar anticipates that two to three percent of its production
in
1996 will involve this process.
(Tr.
at
49.)
This glue has a
reportable VON content of 1.88 pounds per gallon,
compared to the
glue formerly used which had approximately 84 percent methylene
ketone, which represents approximately six pounds per gallon of
VON.
Adhesiveless Processes.
Solar also investigated
alternatives to adhesives,
conducting test trials with sonic
welding and a heat plate.
Sonic welding proved unsatisfactory
for technical and economic reasons.
Technically,
sonic welding
only works
if the plastic edges are joined at
90 degree angles.
Many of the plastic parts are not flat,
and therefore cannot be
welded in that manner.
(Tr. at 58-61.)
The capital cost for 10
sonic welding machines was estimated at $750,000, with operating
(retooling) costs of $500,000 for a total of $1,250,000.
Retooling would have to occur on an annual basis since the
products produced by Solar’s customers change year to year.
(TSD
p.13,
Am.Pet.
p.11.)
At hearing, Miller lowered that estimate to
$1 Million based upon an estimate of $3,600 per new nest,
i.e.,
retooling,
for
a total of $360,000
in annual retooling costs plus
the $750,000
in capital costs.
(Tr.
at 63.)
Solar also investigated and now uses
a heat plate to bond
cloth to plastic, which
is an adhesiveless process.
For this
process to be feasible, the plastic part must have sufficient
cross section to withstand the heat generated in bonding.
Currently,
Solar uses this process for approximately 20 per cent
of the fabric covered plastic parts.
since this process uses no
adhesives, the VOM formerly emitted in applying the fabric to
these plastic parts
is reduced to zero.
(Tr.
at 52-54.)
Catalytic Oxidation.
Solar also investigated catalytic
oxidation as add—on controls as a means of achieving 81 per cent
capture and control of VON emissions from the manual spray booths
and auto-spray machines.
The estimated costs were $25,000 and
$10,000 per ton for the manual spray guns and auto-spray
machines, respectively.
Solar believes these costs to be
economically unreasonable.
In sum,
Solar has designed and purchased new processes,
products
and
equipment to
reduce
its VON emissions,
even before
Subpart PP became applicable to the Libertyville facility.
Solar
has investigated reformulated adhesives.
In 1989,
Solar replaced
one of the adhesives frequently used,
that had a VON content of
a
6.02 pounds per gallon, with
a higher solids adhesive that has
only 5.49 pounds per gallon of VON.
(TSD
p.
at
11; Am.Pet. at
p.12.) Also,
where feasible,
Solar has replaced high VON content
adhesives with water—based adhesives, which contain virtually no
VOM.
It has automated its spraying operations to the maximum
extent possible to date,
and switched to a heat plate process for
bonding fabric to 20 percent of the fabric covered plastic parts
it produces,
eliminating VON emissions entirely from that portion
of its production.
In
a comparison of adhesive used in 1993 and 1994, two years
in which the amount of Solar’s business was relatively the same,
Solar used approximately 2,000 gallons less of adhesives in the
latter year.
Solar attributes that reduction for the most part
to the heat plate process and,
in lesser part,
to an increased
use in the auto—spray machines over the manual spray guns.
(Tr.
at 74—89.)
Solar believes that the measures taken by it over the
years to research, develop and implement alternative technologies
and adhesives represent all that is technically feasible and
economically reasonable at this time.
They also represent a
commitment by Solar to aggressively investigate and implement
processes which reduce the amount of VON emitted by their
operations.
HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS
The petitioners assert that the impact to general air
quality will be insignificant based upon the emission data of VON
from the adhesives used by Solar and that the requested adjusted
standard
will
have no adverse impact on
health
or
the
environment.
With respect to air quality, Solar estimates the maximum VON
emissions per day will be significantly less than one ton per day
should it receive the requested adjusted standard’.
Based upon
the Agency’s total daily emission
of
von
from
all sources in Lake
County at 113.62 tons,
Solar’s contribution given the requested
relief
will
be
significantly
less than one percent of the total
daily VON emissions in Lake County.
(TSD at 14.)
Based upon its
‘Solar
made this representation
at a time that it was requesting an adjusted standard
which
would have allowed it to
use a
“specialty adhesive”
with
an
emission
limit of 8.2
pounds per
gallon.
That request
was
subsequently withdrawn
because Solar learned that the
solvent in this
adhesive,
methylene chloride
was
not defined as a VOM.
Solar never
quantified how
much of its daily
VOM emissions were attributable
to
this specialty
adhesive,
but
attributed .84 tpy
to the
specialty
adhesive.
Since the
daily effect is
something less than
that represented
in the Amended
Petition, the
Board
will rely
upon Solar’s annual
representations primarily
when assessing the environmental impact of the requested adjusted
standard.
9
1993
adhesive
usage,
Solar
estimates
that
the
total
VON emissions
will
be
45.72
tpy.
If
Solar
were
to comply with Subpart PP using
adhesives
with
a
maximum VON content of
3.5
pounds
per
gallon,
the
result
would
be
VON emissions of
28 tpy,
as compared to the
1993
47.5
tpy.
The
difference
is
approximately
20
tpy
or
0.054
tons
per
day,
which
Solar
contends
would have no quantifiable
effect on ambient ozone levels in the Chicago area ozone non—
attainment area.
(Am.Pet. at
16.)
With respect to other impacts on the environment,
Solar
explained
that
its
solid
waste generation will remain the same
whether
it
complies
with
Subpart
PP
or
the
proposed
adjusted
standard.
However,
Solar explained that the proposed adjusted
standard
will
result
in
lower
energy
usage
and
costs.
Since no
compliant
adhesives
are
available,
Solar would have to attempt
compliance
using
the
81
percent
capture
and
control
compliance
alternative.
While
the
result
would
be
a
very
dilute VON
concentration in the exhaust stream,
this compliance alternative
would require using large amounts of natural gas to provide
sufficient heat for adequate VON destruction, assuming that this
air stream could in fact becaptured.
(TSD at
13; Am.Pet.
at
16.)
At hearing, the Agency stated its conclusion that the
hardship resulting from the denial of the adjusted standard would
outweigh any environmental impact from the grant of the relief
requested.
(Tr.
at 101.)
CONSISTENCY WITH FEDERAL LAW
The petitioners assert that the proposed adjusted standard
would be consistent with
federal
law.
They
assert
that
the
proposed
alternative
standard
constitutes
PACT
for the
Libertyville
facility,
and
is
therefore
consistent
with
the
federal
Clean
Air
Act.
(Am.
Pet. at 17.)
solar notes that
should the adjusted standard be granted by the Board,
it will be
submitted as
a SIP revision as the RACT rule specific to Solar,
thus comporting with federal procedural requirements.
CONCLUSION
The Board finds that the joint petitioners have demonstrated
that an adjusted standard is appropriate for the Solar facility
in Libertyville, Illinois.
They have demonstrated that no other
technologies or alternative adhesives,
other than those currently
in use,
are available at this time which are technologically
feasible and economically reasonable for Solar’s manufacturing
process.
Furthermore, they have presented proof adequate to
support the following findings by the Board on the criteria set
out Section 28.1(c)
of the Act.
10
Solar did not participate in the R93-14 rulemaking which
contains the technical support justifying
RACT
for adhesives.
However,
as Solar pointed out, that record did not contain
specific technical support about the application of fabric to
plastic parts.
Solar explained that it did not participate in
that rulemaking because it believed that Its research and
development efforts would allow it to achieve compliance with
Subpart PP.
Instead, through diligent research and development
efforts Solar has achieved reductions in its
VOM
smissions
and
is
using technology and adhesives which represent RACT for its
manufacturing operation.
We find that this evidence demonstrates
that factors relating to Solar’s operations are substantially and
significantly different from those relied upon by the Board in
adopting the rule of general applicability, and that these
factors warrant the granting of an adjusted standard.
We further find that the evidence presented by Solar
concerning its VOM emissions and the impact on air quality and
other aspects
of
the
environment
demonotrates that the proposed
alternative standard will not impact human health or the
environment
substantially
or
significantly
more
adversely
than
the
effects
considered
by
the
Board
in
adopting
Subpart
PP
in
the
R93—l4
rulemaking.
Finally,
petitioners
have
demonstrated
that
the
proposed
alternative
standard
will
be
consistent
with
federal
law.
Accordingly,
the
proposed
adjusted
standard
is granted,
subject to conditions suggested by the joint petitioners.
This opinion constitutes the Board’s findings of fact and
conclusions of law in this matter.
ORDER
Solar is hereby granted an adjusted standard from the
control requirements found at 35 Ill. Adm. Code 218.Subpart PP
for its facility located at 100 Solar Drive in Libertyville
Township, Lake County,
Illinois,
subject to the following
provisions and conditions:
1)
The emission limitation of VOM for the adhesive applied
for
joining
fabric
to
plastic
parts
at sources subject
to this adjusted standard is:
kg/l
lb/gal
Adhesive
0.69
(5.75)
2)
The above emission limitation is expressed in units of
VON per volume of ud1ie~ive
(minus
water and any
compounds which are specifically exempted from the
definition of VOM)
as applied by each adhesive
applicator.
Compounds which are specifically exempted
11
from
the
definition
of
VON
shall
be
treated
as
water
for
the
purpose
of
calculating
the
“less
water”
part
of
the
coating
composition.
3)
Compliance with this adjusted standard must be
demonstrated through the applicable coating analysis
test
methods
and
procedures
specified
at
35
Ill.
Adm.
Code 218.105(a) and the recordkeeping and reporting
requirements specified at 35 Ill. Adm.
Code
218.211(c).
4)
Solar
shall
continue
its
research
and
development
efforts regarding alternatives to solvents-based
adhesives and will utilize such alternatives as they
become available,
if and when they are technically
feasible and economically reasonable.
IT
IS
SO
ORDERED.
Section
41
of
the
Environmental
Protection
Act
(415
ILCS
5/41
(1994)
provides
for
the
appeal
of
final
Board
orders
within
35
days
of
the
date
of
service
of
this
order.
The
Rules
of
the
Supreme
Court
of
Illinois
establish
filing
requirements.
(See
also
35
Ill.
Adm.
Code
101.246
“Notions
for
Reconsideration”.)
I,
Dorothy
Gunn,
Clerk
of
the
Illinois
Pollution
Control
Board,
hereby
certify
that
opinion
and
order
was
adopted
on
the2öZZL~day
of
,
1995,
by
a
vote
of
I
ion
Control
Board