ILLINOIS
POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
December
20,
1984
IN
THE MATTER OF:
)
ROCKFORD DROP FORGE COMPANY
)
R83~30
PETITION FOR A SITE~-SPECIFIC
)
OPERATIONAL LEVEL PURSUANT
TO
CHAPTER 8,
RULE 206(d) OF THE
)
RULES
AND
REGUlATIONS OF
THE
)
ILLINOIS
POLLUTION CONTROL
BOARD
ADOPTED RULE.
FINAL OPINION
AND
ORDER.
OPINION AND
ORDER
OF THE BOARD
(by
B.
Forcade):
On August
2,
1984,
the
Board
proposed to adopt a new rule,
35
111.
Adm. Code 901.117,
which
provides site~specificrelief
from
the
Board~snoise regulations.
First notice of
this proposal
was
published
at 8
Ill,
Reg.
15274,
on
August 24,
1984.
The
first notice comment period
expired
on
October 8,
1984,
The
Administrative Code Unit
submitted
a comment on September
10,
1984, regarding Illinois Register first notice format.
No other
comments were received.
The
Board
made a non-substantive change
in the wording of the proposed
rule.
By order
of
the
Board dated October
10,
1984, the proposed
rule
was
submitted to
the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules
(“JCAR~).
JCAR
second notice
review commenced on October 22,
1984.
JCAR issued a Certification of No Objection to this rule-
making
on November
8,
1984,
ending the second notice period.
This matter comes before the Board on
a petition filed
on
November
17,
1983, by Rockford Drop Forge Company (“Rockford”)
for
a site-specific operational
level
for its forging shop as an
alternative to compliance with the noise limits contained
in
35
Ill.
Adm.
Code 901.105
(old Rule 206 of Chapter
8).
A public
hearing
was scheduled with those of three other
Illinois forging
shops
in order to conserve the time and resources of the parties
involved.
No public testimony or comments were received,
The Board
appreciates the contribution of
David G. Mueller
who
assisted in
drafting
this Opinion.
62~71
The
Department
of
Energy
and
Natural
Resources
(“DENR~)
issued
a
statement
of
negative
declaration
of
economic
impact
on
April
19,
1984,
obviating
the
need
for
an
economic
impact
statement.
On
July
18,
1984,
the
Economic
and
Technical
Advisory
Committee
concurred
with
the
DENReS
finding.
The
regulatory
scheme
for
existing
forging
operations
requires
that the Petitioner either
(i)
comply
with
the
noise
prohibitions
contained
in
Table
F of Rile 206(c) no later than fifteen months
following
the effective date of the Rule,
or
(ii)
seek a permanent
site-specific operational
level
as
provided
in Rule 206(d).
These
rules have been recodified
as
35
Ill.
Adm.
Code 901,905(c)
and
(di.
The noise prohibitions
in §901,905(c) vary for different
classes of receivers and for
daytime
and nighttime periods.
A
petition under §901,905(d) must demonstrate that it is technically
and economically infeasible
for
its shop to meet the numerical
limits of §901.905(c).
A
petition must
also propose measures to
reduce impulsive noise where possible and assess the consequential
health and welfare impacts on
the
surrounding community.
Rockford is located at
2031
Ninth Street in Rockford,
Illinois.
Rockford~sfacility occupies approximately 18 acres and has been
in operation since
1911.
At that time,
the adjacent land was
either vacant or industrial
(P.. 53).
At the present time,
the
facility is surrounded by warehousing
and manufacturing
on the
north
and
east, manufacturing on the west
and
a parking facility
and alley to the south.
The nearest Class A residences are ap-
proximately 500 feet south of Rockford’s facility
(R. 54).
There
are
85 Class A residences that receive forging noise
in excess of
the regulatory limit (Pet.
p.
8).
The facility consists of
several
buildings,
one of which houses 13
forging hammers and
13
furnaces
(R. 57).
The
forge
hammers
vary in size from 1,500
lbs.
to 4,000 lbs.
(Pet,
p.
4),
This
building has 48 rolling
steel
doors on the north and east
walls.
Ventilation is provided by
both gravity and mechanical
means
through the roof monitor
(R,
58).
Rockford currently
employs 100
people
(Pet.
p.
4).
The forging process
consists of
heating
carbon
or
alloy
steel
in
furnaces to
approximately
2350 degrees
Fahrenheit and
then
forcing
the
heated pieces
between two
dies,
The upper die
is
attached
to a guided ram and the lower
die
is
attached
to
the
forge.
The metal
is shaped through pressure
exerted
by
the
rain
or
forge
hammer,
forcing
the
workpiece
into
the
impression
on
the
dies,
The
sound
produced
through
this
process
is
impulsive
and
originates
primarily
from
the
impact
between
the
upper
and
lower
die
and
the
workpiece.
There
is
a
constant
flow
of
materials
between
the
furnace,
forge,
and
cooling
area
(R.
46).
Rockford
manufactures forgings
for railroad, farm and construction equipment,
hand tools,
trucks,
aircraft
and
ordinance (Pet.
p.
4).
The
nature
of
the
forge
operation
creates
an
extremely
hot
work
environment,
The
furnaces require a
tremendous
amount
of
S2~72
3
oxygen and emit a great deal
of
heat.
The cooling workpieces
also radiate heat into the forge
shop.
Consequently, the shop
requires extensive ventilation which is provided by the rolling
steel
doors and the roof monitor,
This system creates
a ustack
effect” whereby air flows through the open sides
of the b.iilding
and is drawn up and out through the roof
(R. 58).
This natural
ventil~tionsystem is
effective
and widely utilized by the forging
industry.
The open
sides of the building also facilitates the
free movement of material
in and out of the forge
shop.
Noise
escapes through these roof and side openings.
Rockford
currently operates its forging hammers from 6:00
a.m.
to 4:00 p.m.
five days per week,
Historically, Rockford has
operated two shifts,
from 6:00
a.m.
to 10:00 p.m.
five days per
week,
with occasional work on Saturdays from 6:00 a.m, until
4:00
p.m.
(Pet,
p.
4).
The Petitioner requests a site—specific level
that
would
allow
them
to
operate
no
more
than
12
hammers
at
any
one
time
during
the
hours
of
6:00
a.m.
to
10:00
p.m.
Monday
through
Saturday.
Production
has
fluctuated
over
the
last
few
years.
Production
levels
have declined
since
1981
as
is
shown
by
the
table
below.
Future
production
is
expected
to
be
double
the
1982
operating
levels
(Pet.
p.
5).
Total
No.
of
forgings
No,
of
Tonnage
of
all
on
hammers
blow/yr.
forgings
1980
581,524
4,652,192
4,610,667
1981
1,234,056
9,872,448
10,527,516
1982
806,613
6,452,904
7,137,098
The regulations of
the
Board define two methods of measuring
s~ind.
The definition of dB(A),
or
A
—
weighted
sound
in
decibels,
is
found
in
35
Ill.
Adm. Code 900.101,
as
is
the
definition
of
Leg,
or
equivalent
continuous
sound pressure
level
in
decibels,
Essentially,
dB(A)
measures
the noise
level
at
the
peaks
while
Leg
measures
the
average
noise
level
over
time,
including
peaks
and
background
noise.
Permissible
impulsive
sound
levels
for
existing
forge
shops
are
found
in
35
III.
Adm.
Code
90L~105,
The
impulsive
sound
level
emitted
to
residences
(Class
A
land)
cannot
exceed
58.5
Leg,
during
the
day
or
53.5
Leg at
night.
Actual
measurement
of
sound
were
taken
around
the
Rockford
facility
by
George
F.
Tamperman,
an
expert
in
the
area
of
noise-control
engineering.
Based
on
these
measurements,
Kamperman
predicted
that
the
highest
level
at
the
nearest
receiver
would
be approximately 64 Leq (R.
110).
Approximately
85
Class
residences
are
exposed
to
forging
noise
in
excess
of
the
regulatory
standard,
Eighty—five
Leg
is
the
maximum
or
“worst
case”
situation,
Rockford
has
received
no
citizen
complaints.
The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency
(“Agency”)
did receive
a citizen complaint about the Rockford facility in
1974.
This complaint did not concern
forging
noise,
but
resulted
from
a
trimming
press
that
was
operating on
a
third
shift
after
10:00
p.m.
(R,
65—66).
In 1981 Rockford
modified
their
roof
62~73
4
exhaust
system by installing consolidated steam vents,
This
modification
has
reduced
noise
from the facility
(R. 64-65),
Rockford
also
removed
the
hammers
nearest
the
closest
residences
from
the
east
and
southeast
portion
of
the
shop
(R.
67),
There
have
been
no
citizen
complaints
since
these
modifications.
Rockford
has
investigated
methods
of
compliance
with
the
Board~s noise
regulations.
To
achieve
compliance
it
would
be
necessary
to
replace
all
windows,
doors
and
siding
on
the
south,
east
and
north
walls
with
sound
deadening
material,
permanently
closing
the
upper
portions
of
the
facility
with
sound
deadening
material,
constructing
a
double-door
entrance
and
installing
accoustical
louvers
(R.
61).
Additional
mechanical
ventilation
would
have
to
be
installed
on
the
roof
(R.
62).
The
roof
currently
could
not
support
any
additional
loading
and
would
have
to
be
reinforced
(R,
60).
These
modifications
would
cost
between
$100,000
and
$300,000
(R,
110).
Material
flow
at
the
forge
would
be
greatly
altered.
Productivity
would
decrease
due
to
the
enclosed
work
environment
and
the
inhibited
material
flow
patterns
that
would
result
(R.
62),
Because
the
Rockford
facility
is
presently
obsolete
and
is
barely
competitive
with
more
modern
forge
shops,
one
of
the
Petitioner~s
probable
options
would
be
to
relocate
their
hammers
at
a
newer
facility
in
Iowa
rather
than
comply
through
modifications
(R.
71).
The
Agency,
in
their
written
comments
on
the
proposal
filed
January
23,
1984,
did
not
challenge Rockford~squalification for
site—specific relief on
the
basis
that
it is
an “existing impact
forging operation,” nor did they question the fact that the
petitioner was violating Rule 206(c),
The Agency stated that
while technologically feasible noise
reduction
measures
existed
for
forge
shops,
these
measures
were
not
technically
feasible
or
economically reasonable
for
Rockford,
The Agency also stated that
granting
the
proposed
site-specific
operational
level
would
not
endanger
the
hearing
of
area
residents,
The Board proposes granting the site-specific operational
level
requested by Rockford,
Rockford is an existing impact
forging operation which is presently in violation of §901.105(c).
While compliance
is technically possible,
its extremely high cost
makes
it economically unreasonable for Rockford at this time.
On
a practical
level, compliance measures would
decrease
production
by
impeding
the
flow of
materials
within
the
forge
shop,
create
an
unacceptable
work
environment
for
the
employees
and
probably
result
in
the
closing
of
the
facility.
The
record
indicates
that
there
have
been
no
citizen
complaints
about
the
noise
from
area
residents
since
the
implementation
of
noise
reducing modifications.
There
is
also
no
danger
of
hearing
loss
to
area
residents,
The
site-specific
operational
level
will
be
limited to 12 hammers
that
may
operate
between
6:00
a.m.
and
10:00
p.m.
Monday
through
Saturday.
62~74
No specific numerical noise level limitations
are being
imposed,
although
it
is
assumed
that
noise levels
will
approximate
those
testified
to
by
Rockford
and
its witness,
Rockford should
make
efforts
to
lessen
noise
levels
in
the
future
as
equipment
is
replaced and new technology
for
noise suppression
becomes
available.
In the event that noise
levels
from the forge shop
become excessive,
citizens
have
the
right
to initiate proceedings
to
change
the
rule
which
accompanies
this opinion.
The
operational
plan
set
out
in
this
Order
will he
incorporated
in
35
Ill, Adm.
Code
901.117,
Rockford will
be
required
to comply upon the filing
of
the
rule
with
the
Secretary
of
State
of
Illinois.
ORDER
The
Board
hereby
adopts
the
following rule,
to be
codified
as 35
Ill.
Adm.
Code
901.117,
and
instructs the Clerk to
file
the
rule
with
the
Secretary
of
State:
TITLE
35:
ENVIRONMENTAL
PROTECTION
SUBTITLE
H:
NOISE
CHAPTER
I:
POLLUTION
CONTROL
BOARD
PART
901
SOUND EMISSION STANDARDS AND
LIMITATIONS
FOR PROPERTY
LINE-NOISE-SOURCES
~ction90l.ll7
~roForeComan
~ionalLeve1
~ordDroForeComanandfutureownersoftheforin
~nois,
iththefol1owinsi~ona1
a)
~tenomorethantwelveforinhammers
~netime;and
b)
~
~of6:0Oa.m.and1O:OO,n~,Monda
Sa
rd a
IT
IS
SO
ORDERED.
I,
Dorothy
N.
Gunn,
Clerk
of the Illinois Pollution Control
Board,
hereby~c~tify
that
tI~
above
Opinion
and
Order was adopted
on the
day
of
~
1984 by a
vote
of
~
~
U~Fothy M.
G
nn,
Clerk
Illinois
Pol ution
Control
Board
62~75