ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
January 11, 1995
ALAMO RENT-A-CAR, INC.,
)
)
Petitioner,
)
v.
)
PCB 95—13
)
(Provisional Variance)
ILLINOIS ENVIRONMENTAL
)
PROTECTION AGENCY,
)
)
Respondent.
ORDER OF THE BOARD (by C. A. Manning):
Pursuant to Section 35(b) of the Environmental Protection
Act (Act) (415 ILCS 5/35(b)), Alamo Rent—A—Car, Inc. (Alamo) has
requested that the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency
(Agency) recommend that the Board grant a provisional variance to
allow Alamo’s gasoline dispensing operation (service station) to
continue operating even though it did not install operational
vapor recovery equipment by November 1, 1994. This provisional
variance is being requested because petitioner has contracted for
the purchase and installation of vacuum assist vapor recovery
equipment, but that the equipment was not available before the
compliance deadline. This request for a provisional variance and
the Notification of Recommendation was filed with the Board by
the Agency on Tuesday, January 10, 1995. Pursuant to Section
35(b) of the Act, the Board must issue the variance within two
(2) days of this filing.
Specifically, the Agency recommends that we grant Alamo a
forty—five (45)-day provisional variance for its facility located
at 6525 South Cicero Avenue, Chicago, Cook County, Illinois in
the Chicago metropolitan statistical area from the Stage II vapor
recovery requirements, as set forth in 35 Ill. Adm. Code 218.586,
for the period beginning December 23, 1994, and continuing for
forty-five (45)-days or until the required vapor recovery
equipment is installed, whichever comes first.
This recommendation is essentially that the Board extend a
previously—granted provisional variance that expired December 22,
1994. The docket number of the previous provisional variance was
PCB 94-353, granted on December 1, 1994.
Upon receipt of the request, the Agency issued its
recommendation, notifying the Board that the failure to grant the
requested forty—five (45)—day provisional variance would impose
an arbitrary or unreasonable hardship on the petitioner.
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
2
responsibilities in standard variances.
(~
415 ILCS 5/35(b) &
36(c)). 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 notifying the
Board that a denial of the requested relief would impose an
arbitrary or unreasonable hardship, the Board hereby grants the
petitioner a provisional variance from 35 Ill. Adm. Code 218.586,
subject to the following conditions:
1. The term of this provisional variance shall commence on
December 23, 1994, and continue for forty—five (45)-days or
until the required vapor recovery equipment is installed,
whichever comes first.
2. The petitioner shall notify the Agency upon
installation of the Stage II gasoline vapor recovery
equipment, by sending notification addressed as follows:
Mr. Terry Sweitzer, P.E.
Manager, Air Monitoring Section
Illinois Environmental Protection Agency
Division of Air Pollution Control
P.O. Box 19276
Springfield, Illinois 62794—9276
IT IS SO ORDERED.
I, Dorothy M~Gunn, Clerk of the Illinois Pollution Control
Boar4~do hereby certi~that the above order was adopted on the
//~~i~’day of ____________________________, 1995, by
a vote of
~
~Dorothy H. c~nn,
17~
Clerk
Illinois Po~.ution Control Board