ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
    November 6,
    1975
    SOUTHERN ILLINOIS POWER COOPERATIVE,
    )
    Petitioner,
    )
    v.
    )
    PCB 75—352
    ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY,
    Respondent.
    OPINION AND ORDER OF THE BOARD
    (by Mr. Dumelle):
    This case comes before the Board on a Petition for Variance
    filed by Southern Illinois Power Cooperative
    (“SIPCO”)
    on
    September 9,
    1975.
    Variance is sought from Rule 207(a)(4-5),
    Chapter
    2, Pollution Control Board Rules and Regulations,
    which limits t~eamount of NO
    from new fuel combustion sources
    to 0.70 ibs/lO
    BTU when soli~fuel
    is utilized.
    An Agency
    Recommendation to grant the variance was filed on October
    30,
    1975.
    No hearing was held.
    SIPCO owns and operates an electric power generating facility
    on The Lake of Egypt
    in Williamson County,
    Illinois.
    Electricity
    is produced with a 100 MW steam-turbine plant consisting of
    three 33 MW units with cyclone fired boilers and mechanical
    collectors with electrostatic precipitators to control particulates.
    Construction of a fourth unit, with a rated capacity of 175 MW,
    is planned for the fall of 1975, with completion scheduled
    for June,
    1978.
    The new facility plans to burn Illinois coal
    and coal refuse
    (gob)
    at not less than 25
    by weight of total
    fuel,
    in cyclone boilers.
    As a result of using gob as fuel in
    the new boilers, SIPCO claims it will be unable to comply with
    Rule 207(a) (4—5)
    and is unable to obtain a construction permit
    from the Agency.
    SIPCO has proposed a regulatory modification in Rule
    207 as it applies to new sources which would permit the utilization
    of gob refuse.
    This proposal, published in Environmental
    Register No.
    110, September 25,
    1975, has been designated
    R75-10.
    Variance is now sought from the substantive rule to
    allow initiation of on-site construction after a construction
    permit is issued.
    19
    —
    255
    —2—
    The Agency Recommendation points out the Illinois new
    source standard for NO~tracks the Federal standard.
    In
    January,
    1975, however,
    the Federal standard was revised to
    exempt new sources from the 0.70 lb/b6 BTU requirement when
    such source
    is burning at least 25
    by weight coal refuse
    (40 FR No.
    11,
    P.
    2803).
    The proposed regulation would
    adopt this newly promulgated exemption.
    sIPCO alleges that to burn gob effectively a cyclone
    type furnace must be utilized, but that such furnace will not
    comply with the new source standard.
    Agency calculations
    (utilizing AP-42) estimate NOx emissions from the new unit
    at 2.75 lbs/lU6 BUT of NO2.
    The difference is attributed to
    the low level of volatile material in the gob, and abnormally
    low temperature for a cyclone boiler.
    An Agency monitor at
    Marion, eight miles north of the plant, and dispersion modeling
    indicate no ambient air quality problems.
    The NO~annual
    arithmetic mean at Marion was 0.013 ppm, compared to the
    standard of 0.05 ppm
    (100 ug/m3).
    The combined ~ffect of
    Units
    1-4
    is estimated to contribute only
    5 ug/m
    to the annual
    standard.
    An environmental analysis prepared for SIPCO revealed
    similarly low concentrations.
    The Agency points out that the economic benefit to SIPCO
    and its instances by burning gob will result in lower electric
    rates
    in rural southern Illinois.
    The Petitioner alleges that
    numerous deposits of refuse coal materials situated
    in Southern
    Illinois are a health and safety hazard,
    and that the burning
    of such refuse at SIPCO’s facility eliminates these dangers,
    improves the landscape and enables utilization of the energy
    contained therein.
    On the basis of the facts presented here we find that SIPCO
    has made out a sufficient case of unreasonable and unnecessary
    hardship to warrant a variance from Rule 207(a) (4-5).
    The grant
    of such a variance will have little detrimental effect on the
    air quality in Williamson County, will help ease the nation’s
    energy shortage,
    and help eliminate the hazards associated with
    gob piles,
    slush ponds and other coal mining refuse deposits.
    In granting this variance, however, it is not our intent to
    indicate a prejudgment of the merits of the regulatory proposal
    in R75-10.
    A disposition of that proceeding must wait until
    after hearings have been held and public comment received.
    This Opinion constitutes the Board’s findings of fact and
    conclusions of law.
    19—
    256
    —3--
    ORDER
    Variance is granted Southern Illinois Power Cooperative from
    Rube
    207(a) (4-5) Chapter
    2,
    Pollution Control Board Rules and
    Regulations.
    The length of this variance shall be for one year
    from the date of this Order, or until the Board acts on R75-bO,
    whichever is
    sooner.
    Southern Illinois Power Cooperative shall
    obtain all necessary permits.
    IT IS SO ORDERED.
    I, Christan
    L.
    Moffett, Clerk of the Illinois Pollution Control
    Board, hereby certify the above Opinion and Order were adopted on the
    ~4’
    day of November,
    1975 by a
    vote
    of
    .4/p
    Q~’s~nL?iof~t’~
    Illinois Pollution
    ol Board
    19— 257

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