ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
    December 16, 1999
    COMMONWEALTH EDISON
    COMPANY (Zion Power Station),
    Petitioner,
    v.
    ILLINOIS ENVIRONMENTAL
    PROTECTION AGENCY,
    Respondent.
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    PCB 00-99
    (Provisional Variance - Water)
    ORDER OF THE BOARD (by C.A. Manning):
    Pursuant to Section 35(b) of the Environmental Protection Act (Act) (415 ILCS 5/35(b)
    (1998)), Commonwealth Edison Company, Zion Power Station (petitioner), located in the City of Zion,
    Lake County, Illinois has requested that the Board grant a provisional variance. The petitioner seeks a
    provisional variance from the permit requirements of 35 Ill. Adm. Code 309.154 to allow it to construct
    a new zebra mussel control system with an approved copper ion system to replace its existing chlorine
    feed control system. Petitioner asserts that the copper discharge is a temporary one to test the new
    equipment prior to the onset of cold weather. The request for a provisional variance and the notification
    of recommendation were filed with the Board by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (Agency)
    on December 14, 1998. Pursuant to Section 35(b) of the Act (415 ILCS 5/35(b) (1998)), the Board
    must issue the variance within two days of this filing.
    Pursuant to Section 35(b) of the Act (415 ILCS 5/35(b) (1998)), the Agency, by and through
    its Director, Thomas Skinner, petitioner seeks a provisional variance from the National Pollutant
    Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Permit requirement, as set forth in 35 Ill. Adm. Code
    309.154(a), (b).
    The Agency recommends that the Board grant the requested provisional variance with specified
    conditions. The Agency agrees that the modification to the zebra mussel control system is necessary.
    The recommendation states that “Zion Power station’s reissued NPDES Permit will allow for the
    operation of this replacement system. However, given that this Permit is still pending issuance, testing of
    the new system will require a provisional variance”.
    The Agency anticipates that the requested provisional variance would have minimal
    environmental impact on the receiving stream. The Agency is unaware of any public water supplies that
    the requested provisional variance would adversely impact. The Agency maintains that grant of a
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    provisional variance would violate no federal laws. The Agency believes that denial of the requested
    provisional variance would create an arbitrary or unreasonable hardship on the petitioner.
    Specifically, the Agency recommends that the Board grant petitioner a 21-day provisional
    variance for its Lake County facility from 35 Ill. Adm. Code 309.154(a), (b), which prohibits the
    construction of any new treatment works, disposal well, or wastewater source without an NPDES
    Permit. This variance period shall commence on a date in the middle of December 1999, and shall
    continue for a period of 21 days.
    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. See 415 ILCS 5/35(b), 36(c) (1998). 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 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 309.154(a), (b), subject to conditions.
    1.
    The purpose of this provisional variance is to allow the construction of a new zebra
    mussel control system with an approved copper ion system to replace the existing
    chlorine feed control system. The term of this provisional variance shall commence
    upon the start of testing which is scheduled to begin in the middle of December 1999
    and continue for a period of 21 days.
    2.
    Petitioner shall limit copper concentration from Outfall 001 and Outfall 002 to 19.8
    ug/L. Copper concentration shall be sampled twice a day for the first three days and
    then once per day thereafter until testing is completed.
     
    3.
    If a violation is detected, testing of the copper ion zebra mussel control system shall
    cease and petitioner shall evaluate and immediately contact the Agency before
    continuation of completion of test.
     
    4.
    Petitioner shall notify Matthew Wertman, Maywood regional office, by telephone, at
    708/338-7900, at the start of testing and the completion of testing the copper ion zebra
    mussel control system. Petitioner shall confirm this notice in writing within five days,
    addressed as follows:
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    Illinois Environmental Protection Agency
    Bureau of Water, Compliance Assurance Section
    Attention: Dan Ray
    1021 N. Grand Avenue East
    P.O. Box 19276
    Springfield, Illinois 62794-9276
    Petitioner shall execute a copy of a certificate of acceptance of this provisional variance
    and forward that copy to the Agency addressed as is the written notice required in the
    above condition; petitioner shall forward that copy within ten days of the date of this
    order of the Board, and the certificate of acceptance shall take the following form:
    CERTIFICATION
    I (We), _________________________________, hereby accept
    and agree to be bound by all terms and conditions of the order of the
    Pollution Control Board in PCB 00-99, December 16, 1999.
    ___________________________
    Petitioner
    ___________________________
    Authorized Agent
    ___________________________
    Title
    ___________________________
    Date
    5.
    Monitoring results of all testing and dates shall be tabulated and submitted to the
    Agency for the variance period. This information shall be sent to the address noted
    above in condition 4.
    IT IS SO ORDERED.
    Section 41 of the Environmental Protection Act (415 ILCS 5/41 (1998)) provides for the
    appeal of final Board orders to the Illinois Appellate Court within 35 days of service of this order.
    Illinois Supreme Court Rule 335 establishes such filing requirements. See 172 Ill. 2d R. 335; see also
    35 Ill. Adm. Code 101.246, Motions for Reconsideration.
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    I, Dorothy M. Gunn, Clerk of the Illinois Pollution Control Board, hereby certify that the above
    order was adopted on the 16th day of December 1999 by a vote of 6-0.
    Dorothy M. Gunn, Clerk
    Illinois Pollution Control Board

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