ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
September
13, 1989
CAN-AN INDUSTRIES,
INC.,
)
)
Petitioner,
)
v.
)
PCB 89—25
ILLINOIS ENVIRONMENTAL
PROTECTION AGENCY,
Respondent.
OPINION AND ORDER OF THE BOARD
(by B. Forcade):
This matter
is before the Board on the February
2, 1989
petition of Can—Am Industries,
Inc.
(“Can—Am”).
That petition
seeks relief from 35
Iii. Adm. Code 215.204(j)
and 201.144 as
they pertain to VOM (volatile organic materials)
emission from
various parts painting processes in Can—Am’s facility in Adams
County.
Can—Am submitted its filing fee on February 16, from
which date the statutory time period began
to run.
See Ill. Rev.
Stat.
ch. lll~,par.
1038(a).
Two members of the public submitted objections on February
27, 1989.
The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency
(“Agency”)
filed
its recommendation on April
3,
1989,
requesting
that variance be granted with certain conditions.
One of the
reporting conditions of the recommendation was slightly modified
at hearing.
R.
26—27.
The public hearings occurred April
24 and
July
17,
1989.
No member of
the public attended.
R.
31.
Neither
Can—Am
nor
the Agency submitted post—hearing briefs.
Can—Am Operations
The Can—Am plant
is located in Adams County, partially
within the City of Quincy.
Can—Am manufactures agricultural and
off—road construction vehicle wheels.
The plant
is on about
69
acres,
has a floor area of about 880,000 square feet, and employs
about
650 people.
It
is within a short distance of residential
and commercial properties.
Can—Am paints about
98 percent of
its metal products.
It
uses about 61,000 gallons per year of various types of coatings
in numerous colors, avery small portion of which are specified
by military contracts upon which Can—Am
is bidding.
It
also uses
about
15,000 gallons per year of volatile solvent
to clean
its
equipment.
Can—Am applies these coatings by use of hand—held
spray guns,
automatic spray booths, direct application,
and flow
coaters.
The coatings range
in VOM content from 3.5
to 7.0
lbs/gal
(pounds per gallon), Can—Am’s daily emissions average
4.38 lbs/gal and range up to 6.0 lbs/gal.
103—11
—2—
The nearest ozone monitor
is in Quincy.
The 1987 and 1988
ozone data from that station indicate no excursions above the
ambient air quality standard of 0.12 ppm (parts per million).
The four highest of 1,500 1987 readings were
0.09,
0.089, 0.085,
and 0.085 ppm.
Adams County is an ozone attainment area.
40 CFR
81.314
(1988).
Can—Am submitted an air permit application to the Agency on
July 13,
1988, which the Agency denied on August 22.
This
variance proceeding followed a December 13,
1988 compliance
conference b2tween the Agency and Can—Am.
The Regulations and Requested Relief
Section 215.204(j)
of the Board’s regulations would allow a
maximum rate of
3.5 lbs/gal VOM emissions from Can—Am’s
miscellaneous metal parts coating operations.
Section 201.144
prohibits operation of an emissions source without first
obtaining a permit from the Agency.
Can—Am requests
a variance
from these provisions until December
31,
1989,
at which time
it
will have achieved compliance with the VOM limitation of Section
215.204(j).
The Agency has recommended variance from the
substantive provisions
of Section 215.204(j)
and from Section
215.211(b), which sets the date by which compliance with the
substantive rules must be achieved.
The Board has been reasonably informed in this proceeding of
the difficulties
in achieving immediate compliance with the
substantive requirements of Section 215.204(j); accordingly,
the
Board will evaluate relief from that provision.
Neither party
has articulated a rationale or supporting
facts
to justify relief
from Section 215.211 or
201.144.
Therefore,
the Board will not
evaluate relief from those sections.
Plan For Compliance
Can—Am states that it has spent two years studying ways
to
comply with the limitations of
35 Ill.
Adm.
Code 2l5.204(j)(4)
and has been hampered by the fact it requires coatings in many
different colors and the fact that it was unable to obtain
compliant coatings to fulfill military contracts upon which
it
was bidding.
The military contracts specify the coatings which
it must use.
Until
recently, Can-Am has been unable
to obtain
coatings with VOM contents of less than 3.5 lbs/gal
to offset the
high—VOM coatings which are specified
in contracts.
In December,
1988,
Can—Am was informed by its supplier that new technology was
available which would produce coatings with
a VOM content below
the 3.5
lbs/gal,
limit
of
35
Ill.
Adm. Code 215.204(j)(4).
Can—Am has converted three of
its coatings to
a high—solids
formulation.
Can—Am has considered the installation of
a carbon
absorption system to control VOM emissions.
However, because of
the configuration of
its plant,
it would
take three such systems
103—12
—3—
to achieve compliance at a cost of $480,000 each which Can—Am
considers prohibitive and the Agency agrees.
In view of the fact that Can—Am has shown good—faith efforts
to come into compliance and is constrained by military contract
bidding,
as well as that
it employs 650 people, Can—Am believes
that denial of the requested variance would result in the loss of
its market and the consequent closing of its plant.
The Agency
believes that denial would constitute an arbitrary and
unreasonable hardship.
Can—Am proposes to come into compliance with 35 Ill. Adm.
Code 2l5.204(j)(4) through the internal offset provisions
of
35
Ill. Adm. Code
215.207.
35
Ill. Adm. Code
215.207 states,
in
pertinent part:
a)
Owners
or
operators
of
coating
lines
subject
to
Section
215.204
may
comply
with
this
section
rather
than
with
Section
215.204.
The
methods
or
pro-
cedures
used
to
determine
emissions
of
volatile
organic
material
under
this
Section
shall
be
approved by
the Agency
in
accordance
with
35
Ill.
Adm.
Code
201.
Emissions
of
volatile
organic
material
from sources
subject
to
Section
215.204
are
allowable,
notwithstanding
the
limitations
in
Section
215.204,
if
the
combined
actual
emissions
from
selected
coating
lines
at
the
coating
plant, but not
including coating lines
or
other
emission
sources
constructed
or
modified after July 1,
1979,
is less than
or
equal
to
the
combined
allowable
emissions
as
determined
by
the
following
equations:...
Can—Am will convert
16 of its highest usage colors
to high—solids
coatings on the following schedule:
three colors by April
1,
1989 and three additional colors every
two months
thereafter,
with compliance achieved by December
31,
1989.
Can—Am proposes to limit
its VOM emissions to 4.38 lbs/gal
on a daily average during
the term of
the variance.
To ensure
VOM emissions are minimized,
Can—Am states
it will monitor
its
emissions on
a daily basis;
review its painting schedule
in
advance and revise
the schedule to lower
the daily average
emissions whenever possible; and maintain and submit to the
Agency emissions and usage
reports.
Can—Am
has begun testing and formulating high—solids
coatings and has set up a painting area for the applications of
compliance coatings.
Can-Am also proposes
to install, by April
103—13
—4—
1,
1989, devices
to reclaim the solvent
that is used to flush
painting lines and equipment when coatings are changed.
The Agency believes that the requested variance need not be
submitted as a SIP (State Implementation Plan)
,
but should be
approvable as a SIP revision, particularly since Can—Am is
located in a long—standing ozone attainment area.
Conclusion
Based on the facts contained in the record
the Board finds
that immediate compliance would impose an arbitrary and
unreasonable hardship on Can-Am.
Therefore,
the Board will grant
Can—Am
a variance from 35
Ill. Adm. Code 2l5.204(j)(4)
until
December 31,
1989, subject to the requested conditions.
This Opinion constitutes the Board’s
findings of fact and
conclusions of law in this matter.
ORDER
The Board hereby grants Can—Am Industries,
Inc.
a variance
from 35
Ill. Adm. Code 2l5.204(j)(4) until December
31,
1989,
subject
to the following conditions:
1.
By April
1,
1989, Can-Am shall install on
its
coating
lines
a
system
for
the
recovery
of
solvents
used
to
clean
and
flush paint
lines and equipment;
2.
By
April
1,
1989,
Can—Am shall convert
3
colors of
its coatings
to coatings with a
VOM content of less than 3.5 lbs/gal;
3.
By
June
1,
1989,
and
every
two
months
thereafter,
Can-Am
shall
convert
3
additional
coatings
to
coatings
with
a
VOM
content
of
less
than
3.5
lbs/gal,
such that
on December
31,
1989,
Can—Am’s
daily
emission
rates
meet
an
average
of
3.5
lbs
VOM/gal,
as
required
by
35
Ill.
Adm. Code 215.207;
4.
Can—Am
shall
maintain
daily
records
detailing
the
VOM
content
(lb/gal)
and
solids
content
(vol
)
of
each
coating,
amounts
of
each
coating
used,
and
the
actual
and
allowable
VOM
emissions
(lb/day);
5.
Can—Am
shall,
to
the
extent
possible,
schedule
its
use
of
coatings
so
as
to
keep
the daily average emission rate
for
VOM at or below 4.4 lb/gallon;
103—14
—5—
6.
Can—Am shall submit a quarterly report to
Dick
Jennings,
IEPA,
Air
Division,
5415
North University, Peoria, Illinois 61614,
beginning
July
1,
1989
detailin.g
the
progress achieved
in converting to high—
solids coatings; and
7.
Within
45
days
after
the
date
of
this
Opinion
and
Order,
Can—Am
Industries,
Inc.
shall
ex-ecute and send
to:
Illinois Environmental Protection Agency
Attention:
Thomas Davis
Enforcement Programs
2200 Churchill Road
Springfield,
IL
62794—9276
a
certificate
of
acceptance
of
this
variance
by
which
it
agrees
to be bound
by
the
terms
and
conditions
contained
herein.
This
variance
will
be
void
if
Can—Am
Industries,
Inc.
fails
to execute
and
forward
the
certificate
within
the
45—day
period.
The
45—day
period
shall
be
in
abeyance
for
any
period
during
which
the matter
is
appealed.
The
form
of the certification shall be as follows:
CERTIFICATION
I,
(We)
,
having
read
the
Opinion
and
Order
of
the
Illinois
Pollution
Control
Board
in
PCB
89—25,
dated
September
13,
1989,
understand
and
accept the said Opinion and Order,
realizing that such acceptance
renders all terms and conditions
thereto binding and enforceable.
Petitioner
Authorized Agent
Title
Date
Section 41 of the Environmental Protection Act,
Ill.
Rev.
Stat.
1985,
ch. l1l~,par.
1041,
provides for appeal of final
Orders of the Board within
35 days.
The Rules
of the Supreme
Court of Illinois establish
filing requirements.
103—15
—6—
IT IS SO ORDERED.
I, Dorothy M. Gunn,
Clerk of
the Illinois Pollution Control
Board, hereby certify that the above/Opi~gnand Order was
adopted on the
/2~-~-~
day of
~
,
1989, by a
vote of
~—~o
‘.
~
~.
Dorothy
M. G~n, Clerk
Illinois Pol~IutionControl Board
103—16