ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
February 19,
1981
CENTRAL ILLINOIS LIGHT COMPANY
)
(E.D.
EDWARDS
GENERATING STATION),
)
Petitioner,
)
v.
)
PCB 80—90
ILLINOIS ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
)
AGENCY,
Respondent.
MR. WILLIAM B. WOMBACHER APPEARED ON BEHALF OF THE PETITIONER.
MS. MARY V. REHMANN APPEARED ON BEHALF OF THE RESPONDENT.
OPINION
AND
ORDER OF THE BOARD
(by J.D. Dumelle):
Central Illinois Light Company
(CILCO)
filed a petition
with the Board on April
25,
1980, requesting a determination,
pursuant to Rule 203(i)(5) of Chapter 3:
Water Pollution,
that the thermal discharge from its E.D Edwards Station has
not caused, and cannot reasonably be expected to cause significant
ecological damage to the Illinois River.
Technical reports
supporting the petition were submitted to the Illinois Environmental
Protection Agency
(Agency)
shortly thereafter,
Hearings were
held on August 12 and September
29,
1980.
No members of the
public were present.
Part VI of Chapter
1:
Procedural Rules,
sets out the
requirements for this proceeding.
Exhibit B contains the
information required by Procedural Rule 602.
Based upon that
exhibit and the evidence produced at hearing, the Agency filed
a recommendation on November 17,
1980,
finding that CILCO
has made the necessary demonstration.
The Board notes that pursuant to Rule 203(i)(5),
the
owner or operator of an existing source of heated effluent
which discharges more than 0.5 billion British thermal units
per hour must demonstrate
in a hearing before the Board not
less than
5 nor more than
6 years after the effective date
of the regulation (1972) that the discharges have not caused
and cannot reasonably be expected to cause significant ecological
damage
to the receiving waters.
The hearings in this case should, therefore, have been
held in 1977 or 1978.
However, given the complexity of the
studies involved and the lack of any allegations of bad faith
or dilatory practices, the Board waives that defect.
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—2—
CILCO owns and operates the E.D.
Edwards Station which
is a coal—fired,
steam turbine electrical generating facility
consisting of
3 units located on the west bank of the Illinois
River at river mile 154.5, near Bartonville, Illinois.
Net
generating capacity of the units
is 697 megawatts
(MW).
Water from the Illinois River is used as the coolant in the
double pass, open—system condensers.
During the period of
study
(1974—1976) the station operated at an average of 52.1
of gross capacity.
At no time during the study period was the
entire station shut down.
The mean daily generation ranged
from 12.8 to 79.2
of capacity.
Unit
1 is projected to he
retired in 1995, unit
2 in 2003, and unit
3 in 2007.
The station intake volume ranged from 222.8 to 896.0
cubic feet per second
(cfs) and intake utilization ranged
from 0.9 to 24.9
of the Illinois River discharge.
Plant
discharge temperature ranged from 51.8 to 102.6°F and exceeded
the ambient river temperature by as much as 25.0°F.
The thermal plume caused by the discharge of the E.D.
Edwards Station (~T~5°F,
2.8°C)had a minimum surface area
of
2.5 acres and a maximum of 32.4 acres measured on the ten
test dates.
The maximum cross sectional area of the plume
was 28
of the river
(which occurred at the lowest measured river
flow).
The plume was detectable a maximum of 6000 feet down-
stream from the point of thermal discharge.
Under Rule 201 of Chapter
3:
Water Pollution, the permissible
size of the mixing zone is to be determined on a case—by—case
basis, hut shall not exceed an area of
26 acres nor contain more
than 25
of the river cross sectional area.
These maximums
were each exceeded once during the field surveys, but not
simultaneously.
Modelling indicates that these standards
should not be exceeded under worst case conditions,assuming
that cooling water withdrawal rates will be kept within the
limitations of Rule 201 of Chapter
3:
Water Pollution.
Studies of phytoplankton, zooplankton, macroinvertebrates,
mussels,
and fish showed little or no effect upon these biota
caused by the heated effluent discharge of the E.D. Edwards
station.
Because the plume occupies only a portion of
the river’s cross—section an adequate zone of passage exists
for fish species moving up or downstream.
A possibility of
“cold shock” effects exists, but the small winter populations
of most fish species and the multiple unit design of the station
(which makes total station shutdown unlikely) would minimize
these effects.
Based upon observed violations, the Agency indicated that
bhe potential exists for violations of water quality standards
during periods of peak demand for power
in association with
high ambient air temperatures and low river flows.
CILCO
representatives testified, however, that they have instituted a
program referred to as
“Condition 90” in an effort to reduce
or eliminate the possibility of such violations.
A copy of that
40—518
—3—
program was filed on November 24,
1980.
Based upon that,
the Board finds that CILCO has demonstrated that its activities
at the E.D. Edwards Station do not cause and cannot reasonably be
expected to cause significant ecological damage to the Illinois
River
as a consequence of thermal discharge.
This Opinion constitutes the Board’s findings of fact
and conclusions of law in this matter.
ORDER
Central Illinois Light Company has demonstrated that
the thermal discharge from its E.D. Edwards Station has not
caused and cannot reasonably be expected to cause significant
ecological damage to the Illinois River.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
I, Christan L. Moffett,
Clerk of the Illinois Pollution
Control Board,
hereby certify that the above Opinion and
Order was adop~edon the
/‘f
~
day of
______________,
1981
by a vote of
~S-o
QA~c~w~t*
Christan L. Moff
,
Clerk
Illinois Pollution
ontrol Board
40—519