ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD

August

6,

1987

THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS

)

AT CHICAGO,

Petitioner,

V.

)

PCB 87—117

ILLINOIS ENVIRONMENTAL

PROTECTION AGENCY,

)

Respondent.

ORDER OF THE BOARD

(by 3. Anderson):

On August

5,

1987,

the University of Illinois at Chicago

(UIC)

filed

a petition for variance from 35

Iii. Adm. Code

809.903

to allow

it

to sterilize hazardous

(infectious) hospital

waste by means of hypochiorite sterilization, rather than

sterilization by use of an autoclave or ethylene oxide unit as

provided

in the rule.

While UIC has requested hearing, the Board finds that the

present petition is too inadequate

to be scheduled

for hearing.

1)

The Board believes that U1C has misconceived the purposes of

a variance under

the Act.

Variances are granted to allow

a

source time

to come into compliance with rules as written,

the length of the variance being

limited

to five years.

This

petition does not contain a compliance plan, or specify the

length ~

time for which variance

is requested.

It would

appear that ~1ICseeks authorization to use its proposed

alternative sterilization method for the indefinite

future.

If so, th~proper procedural mechanism by which

to seek this

relief is

a petition for rule change pursuant to 35 Ill. Adm.

Code 102.101. et seq.

The Board would additionally note,

however,

that in some instances persons have filed petitions

for variance simultaneously with petitions for rule change,

the petition for rule change being the “compliance

plan’s

in

the variance proceeding.

In such cases

the variance petition

requests relief

for five years or until

such earlier time as

the Board takes final action on the petition for rule

change.

The Board has, on some occasions, granted variance

relief of this type.

2)

One element of the petition’s hardship allegations involves

allegations concerning relative costs,

but many of these

allegations are not supported by data.

80—129

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—2—

3)

Use of the proposed sterilization system would modify UIC’s

wastewater discharge and air emissions, and UIC states that

it

is currently negotiating with various permitting

authorities concerning the acceptability of these discharges

and emissions.

Any additional information which UIC

possesses

in this regard should be provided

to the Board to

buttress UIC’s alleg~tionsconcerning environmental effect.

4)

The petition’s caption should conform to that above.

If

an amended petition curing the above deficiencies is not

filed within

45 days of

the date of this Order, this petition

will be subject

to dismissal.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

J.

D. Dumelle dissented.

I, Dorothy

M.

Gunn, Clerk

of the Illinois Pollution Control

Board, h~rebycertify that the above Order was adopted on

the

(~~-

day of

“~~~—i--

,

1987,

by a vote of

~5—/

s Pollution Control Board

80—130