ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD

March

2,

1989

IN THE MATTER OF:

)

THE PETITION OF THE CITY OF

)

HAVANA FOR A SITE—SPECIFIC RULE

)

R88—25

CHANGE TO THE COMBINED SEWER

)

OVERFLOW REGULATIONS

)

ORDER OF THE BOARD

(by M. Nardulli):

Section 27(a)

of the Environmental Protection Act

(“Act”)

has recently been amended by P.A.

85—1048

to give the Board

exclusive authority

in deciding whether

an EcIS should be

performed for

a rulemaking.

Since that change became effective

January

1,

1989,

Resolution 89—1 sets forth the procedure that

the Board will utilize

for rulemakings which were filed prior

to

1989 and

for which an EcIS determination had

not been made by the

Department

of Energy and Natural Resources

(“DENR”).

In part,

the amendments

to the Act provides:

The

Board shall determine whether

an

economic impact study should be

conducted.

The Board

shall reach its

decision based

on

its assessment of the

potential economic consideration of the

economic impact absent such

a study,

the

extent,

if any,

to which

the Board

is

free under

the statute authorizing

the

rule

to modify the substance of the rule

based upon the conclusions of such a

study,

and any other considerations the

Board deems appropriate.

The Board may,

in addition,

identify specific issues to

be addressed

in the study.

Section 27(a)

of the Act.

(as amended by

P.A.

85—1048)

It

is upon these criteria that the Board must make

its EcIS

determination

in this matter.

On September

1,

1988,

the City of Havana

(“Havana”)

filed

a

petition

for site—specific relief from

35 Iii.

Adm.

Code

306.305(a)

and 306.306(c) Combined Sewer Overflow Regulations.

On December

27,

1988,

the Department of Energy and Natural

Resources filed

a negative declaration

for a formal economic

impact study (“EcIS”)

in this matter.

The DENR stated

that a

negative declaration was appropriate because

“the net economic

97-85

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—2—

impact of the regulation

is favorable and the costs of compliance

are small or are borne entirely by the proponent of the

regulation.” No formal letter of concurrence with this decision

was filed

in this matter by the Economic and Technical Advisory

Committee (“ETAC”).

However,

it

is within the Board’s knowledge

that ETAC did concur with the negative declaration subsequent

to

the January

1,

1989 date on which P.A.

85—1048 went into

effect.

As

a consequence of ETAC not filing

a concurrence with

the negative declaration, the Board included

this matter

in

Resolution 89—1 and has prepared this order.

Neither the Agency

nor Havana made comment on the appropriateness

of an EcIS.

After consideration of DENR’s negative declaration and the

proposal

for rulemaking,

the Board presently believes that the

presentation of economic information at hearing should be

sufficient for

its consideration of the economic impact of the

proposed rule.

The Board therefore finds that the preparation of

an ECIS need not be conducted in this matter

at this time.

IT

IS SO ORDERED.

I,

Dorothy M Gunn, Clerk of the Illinois Pollution Control

Board, hereby certify that the above Order was adopted on the

~

day of

______________________,

1989,

by

a vote of

~

-o

Ill

Control Board

97—36