ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD

March 24,

1988

GUARDIAN PACKAGING CORPORATION,

Petitioner,

v.

)

 PCB 87—190

ILLINOIS ENVIRONMENTAL

PROTECTION AGENCY,

Respondent.

MR. CLIFTON

A.

 LAKE AND HR.

 ERIC BOYD OF ROOKS,

 PITTS

AND

 POUST

APPEARED ON BEHALF OF THE PETITIONER.

MR.

JOSEPH

PODLEc~7SKI APPEARED

 ON BEHALF OF THE RESPONDENT.

OPINION

 AND ORDER OF THE BOARD

 (by Michael Nardulli):

This

matter

comes

before

the

Board

upon

November

30,

1987

Petition

 for Variance filed

 on behalf of Guardian Packaging

Corporation (hereinafter

 “Guardian”).

 Guardian requests variance

from the revised flexographic

 and rotogravure printing rule,

35

Ill.

 Adm.

 Code 215.245, which requires that sources of volatile

organic matter (hereinafter

 “VOM”)

 emissions be

 in compliance by

December

31,

 1987.

 The requested period for variance

 is until

April

1,

 1988.

Public hearing was held on January 27,

1988

 at 10;00

 a.m.

at

the Elgiri City Hall,

 Elgin,

 Illinois.

 Mr. Joshua Sachs was the

presiding Hearing Officer.

 On January 19,

 1988, prior

 to the

public hearing, the Board received

 a variance recommendation

to

grant, with conditions,

 from the Illinois Environmental

Protection Agency

(

 hereinafter “Agency”).

 The Statutory

Decision Deadline for this request

 for variance

 is March

29,

1988.

Based on the record,

 the Board finds that Guardian’s request

for variance should be granted,

 subject

 to the conditions

recommended

 by the Agency.

 The granting

 of the variance will

allow Guardian

 to avoid an arbitrary or unreasonable hardship

that would not be justified

 by the environmental impact.

BACKGROUND

Guardian is

 a flexible

 packaging manufacturing facility with

three flexographic presses and three coating

 lines which have

rotogravure printing capabilities.

 The plant is located

in

Batavia, Kane County,

 Illinois and employs ninety—nine

 (99)

87—187

—2—

people.

 The so1ven~ fraction of the inks

 used

in

 printing,

coating

 and laminating

 of plastic

 film and paper

 include

materials classified

 as VOM under

 the Illinois Pollution Control

Board’s Air Pollution Control Regulations

(35

 Ill.

 Adm.

 Code

211.122).

 The VOM emissions from

 the facility are approximately

450

 tons per year.

 Although Guardian

 is presently installing

control equipment, VOM emissions from the Guardian facility

in

Batavia

 are still uncontrolled.

VOM emissions from flexographic and rotogravure printing

operations

 in Illinois are regulated under

35

 Ill.

 Adm.

 Code

 215,

Subpart

P.

 Section 215.401

 imposes VOM emission limitation on

rotogravure

 and flexographic printing

 operations; however,

 until

recently,

 facilities such

 as Guardian, which emitted

 less than

one—thousand

 (1000)

 tons of VOM yearly

 from rotogravure and

flexographic printing operations, were exempt from these

limitations

 (35 Ill.

 Adm.

 Code

 215.402).

 Because Guardian could

not comply with the requirements

of

35

 Ill. Adm.

 Code 215.401

by

December

31,

 1987,

 it filed the instant petition

 for variance

with the Board

 on November

30,

 1987.

 In this petition, Guardian

seeks relief from 35

 Ill.

 Adm.

 Code

 215.245

 until April

1,

 1988,

to enable

it

 to install VOM control equipment

 on its presses.

Guardian believes that the proposed controls will

 satisfy the

requirements of Section 215.401 and result

 in compliance with

that rule

 at the end of

 the variance period.

 Guardian’s filing

of

 a variance petition within twenty days of the effective date

of Section 215.245 stays

 the enforcement of that rule as to the

Petitioner during

 the pendency of this variance proceeding.

 Ill.

Rev.

 Stat.

ch.

 lll1/~ar1038(b)(l985);

35

 Ill. Mm.

 Code 104.102.

PETITIONER’S COMPLIANCE PLAN

After

 a review of

 the commercially available control

technologies applicable

to

 their industry and plant, Guardian has

decided

 to control

 the yaM emissions from its printing operation

through

 a combination of thermal/catalytic

 incineration and the

use of complying material

 in one of

 the flexographic presses.

Guardian

 has contracted

 for the installation of an

 incinerator

and ancillary equipment at the Batavia

 plant.

 The incinerator

has been installed.

 Duct work,

 hooding

 and belt guards still

need

 to be installed

 to complete

 the project.

 Guardian believes

this work can be completed by April

1,

 1988.

 The transfer

to

complying material

 in one of

 the flexographic presses has already

been completed.

HARDSHIP

AND

ENVIRONMENTAL

IMPACT

Absent

grant

variance,

the

Agency

can

not

issue

1988

operating permits

 to Guardian.

 Absent operating permits,

Guardian could

 not legally conduct

 its current operations.

On

this basis,

 there would be

 unquestionable hardship associated

with denial

 of the requested variance.

87—138

—3—

Contrasting with the hardship is the

 issue of environmental

impact.

 The materials emitted

 from Guardian’s operations

 do have

slight

solvent

odor,

although

odor

complaints

have

been

recorded.

 Additionally,

 Kane County and the nearby Chicagoland

area have been designated

 as areas for which ambient

 air quality

standards

 for ozone have not been attained.

 The ozone monitor

located closest

to

 the Guardian facility

 is at Larsen Junior High

School

 in Elgin.

 In 1986 and 1987,

 no ozone exceedances were

detected

 at this monitor.

 However, there were multiple

exceedances of the ozone AAQS

 in the Chicago metropolitan area

(Air Quality Control Region)

 in 1987.

As

 a major hydrocarbon

source

 in an ozone non—attainment area, Guardian contributes,

to

an unquantified degree,

to

 the “frequent, pervasive

and

substantial” violations of the ozone ##?AAQS

 in northern

Illinois.

 Granting

 of the requested variance therefore will

adversely impact

 the air quality of Kane County,

 and surrounding

regions.

 However, Guardian’s compliance program,

 if successful,

will significantly reduce the amount of VOM emitted by this

facility.

AGENCY

RECOMMENDATION

In

 its variance recommendation of January 13,

 1988,

the

Agency agrees that the Petitioner’s compliance

 plan

is

 a workable

plan,

 that the reasons

 for delay

 in coming

 into compliance were

unforeseeable,

 arid that the

 failure

 to grant

 a variance would

result

 in an arbitrary or

 unreasonable hardship.

 The Agency also

states that

 it has reviewed the petition for variance,

the

applicable air quality standards,

 the most recent Illinois Annual

Air Quality report and all other

 information which would normally

be necessary to obtain approval of a revision to the

 SIP by

USEPA,

 and they believe

 that

 if the Board grants the variance

as

requested,

 it will

 be approved as a SIP revision should

35

 Ill.

Adm.

 Code 215.245 be approved as part of the Illinois SIP.

For

the aforementioned reasons,

 the Agency recommended

 that the

variance be granted subject to the conditions incorporated into

this Order.

SUMMARY

The Board

 notes that the environmental impact

 is relatively

small

 and the time over which Guardian would be out of

compliance,

 by the terms of the variance, would be relatively

short.

 On this basis, the Board must conclude that

 the hardship

associated with denial

 a of

 the variance, would be

 arbitrary or

unreasonable.

 The Board will grant the requested variance,

subject

 to conditions intended

 to insure that Guardian

expeditiously comes into compliance.

This Opinion constitutes

 the Board’s findings of fact and

conclusions of law

 in this matter.

87—189

—4—

ORDER

Petitioner,

 Guardian Packaging Corporation,

 is hereby

granted variance from 35

 Ill. Mm.

 Code

 215.243 subject to

the

following conditions:

1) The variance expires on April

1,

 1988.

2)

 During

 the term of this variance,

 Guardian

shall submit monthly written reports to the

Agency detailing all progress made

in

achieving compliance with

35

 Ill. Mm.

 Code

215, Subpart

 P at

 its plant located at 475

Kirk Road,

 Batavia.

 The first monthly

report will be due thirty

 (30) days

 from

the date

of

the

 Board order granting the

variance.

 These monthly reports shall

include

monthly

VOM

emission

data

from

each

printing

press.

The

first

monthly

report

shall

also

include

copies

material

data

sheets

showing

the

composition

(in

terms

percentage

solid,

solvent

and

water)

all

inks

and

coatings

used

during

the

flexographic

and

rotogravure

printing

processes.

 All of

the

above

information

shall

 be submitted to

 the Agency at the

following address:

A.

 Manager,

 Permit Section

Division of Air Pollution

Control

Illinois Environmental

Protection Agency

1340

 N. Ninth Street

Springfield,

IL

 62702,

and

B.

 Manager,

 Field Operations

Section

Division

Air

Pollution

Control

Illinois Environmental

Protection Agency

1701

S.

 First Avenue

Suite 600

Springfield,

IL

60153

Petitioner

shall

abide

all

conditions

construction

Permit

No.

86120041,

issued

April

1987.

87—190

—5—

4.

 Petitioner

 shall not operate

 the thermal

 incinerator

until

 an operating permit is issued by Agency,

pursuant

 to Section 35 Ill.

 Adrn.

 Code 201.143.

5. Within forty

 five

 (45) days after date of

 the Board

Order,

 the Petitioner

 shall

 execute and send

to:

Mr. Joseph

R.

 Podlewski,

Jr.

Enforcement Attorney

Illinois Environmental Protection Agency

1701

S.

 First Avenue

Suite

600

Maywood,

IL

60153

A certification of its acceptance

 of this variance by

which

 it agrees to be bound

 by its terms and

conditions.

 This forty—five

(45)

day

period

shall

held

 in abeyance for any period during which this matter

is being appealed.

 If the Petitioner

 fails

 to execute

and forward

 this agreement within

 the forty—five

 (45)

day period,

 the variance shall

 be void.

The

 form of the

Certification shall

 be as follows:

CERTIFICATION

Guardian Packaging Corporation hereby accepts and agrees to

be bound by all

 terms and conditions of the Order of the

Pollution

Control

Board

PCB

87—190

dated

March

 1988.

Petitioner

By:

Authorized

Agent

Title

Date

Section 41

 of the Environmental Protection Act,

 Ill.

 Rev.

Stat.

 1985 ch.

 l1l11’~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.

IT

 IS SO ORDERED.

87—19 1

—6—

I,

 Dorothy

ri.

 Gunn, Clerk of the Illinois Pollution Control

Board,

hereby

certify

that

the

above

Opinion

and

Order

was

adopted

the

_____________________

day

_____________________

1988,

vote

 —c

Illinois

Pollution

Control

Board

87—1~2