ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
January 10, 1985
REPUBLIC STEEL CORPORATION
and LTV STEEL COMPANY,
)
Petitioners,
v.
)
PCB
84—111
ILLINOIS ENVIRONMENTAL
)
PROTECTION AGENCY,
)
)
Respondent.
MR.
JAMES
T.
HARRINGTON,
ROOKS, PITTS
& POUST, APPEARED FOR
PETITIONER;
MR. PETER
E. ORLINSKY~ATTORNEY—AT—LAW, APPEARED FOR RESPONDENT.
OPINION AND ORDER OF THE BOARD
(by B. Forcade):
On July 30,
1984, Republic Steel Corporation and LTV Steel
Company (“Republic”) fi1ed~a petition fQr variance from 35
Ill.
Adm. Code §212.451 until December 31, 1988.
On October
5,
1984,
the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (“Agency”)
filed a
Recommendation that variance be granted until December 31, 1987,
with certain conditions.
Hearing was held October 26, 1984, no
members of the public attended.
Republic owns and operates an integrated steel mill on the
south side of Chicago at 116th Street and Burley Avenue.
The steel
mill employs approximately 4,000 people at various facilities
designed to convert iron ore and scrap into finished steel.
One
part of the steel mill
is
a 44—inch mill hot scarfing machine.
The hot scarfing
machine utilizes a flame to remove impurities
from slabs of steel prior to final rolling.
In the process of
removing these impurities,
iron oxide in the form of particulate
matter is emitted.
These emissions
are
ducted through a wet
scrubber for the removal of particulate matter prior to emission
to the atmosphere
(Pet., ¶~1—4;
R.
11—14).
The Board has adopted regulations regarding emissions from
hot scarfing machines at
35 Ill. Mm. Code 212.451:
All hot scarfing machines shall be controlled
by pollution control equipment.
Emissions
from said pollution control equipment shall
not exceed
69 mg/dscm
(0.03 grIdscf) during
hot scarfing operations.
62-275
2
Republic conducted tests
in 1975 and 1981 respecting emissions
from the hot scarfing machines, using two different test methods
(Pet.,
Ex.
5
&
6; R 24—28):
October 14, 1975
0.0413 gr/dscf
October 16,
1975
0.0339 gr/dscf
October 20,
1975
0.0194 gr/dscf
April 23,
1981
0.0411 gr/dscf
April
23,
1981
0.1063 gr/dscf
April
23, 1981
0.0442 gr/dscf
Based on these tests~Republic estimates its current emissions
at 0.04 gr/dscf
(R.
28), the Agency averaged the 1981 tests and
concluded emissions are 0.06 gr/dscf
(Rec.
¶5);
either value
exceeds the 0.03 gr/dscf limitation of §212.451.
Based on the 0.06 gr/dscf emission values and Republic’s
operating procedures, the Agency calculated actual, allowable and
excess emissions (Rec.,
¶5),
as follows:
gr/dscf
lb/hr
ton/yr
Actual
0.06
2.0
5.48
Allowable
0.03
1.0
2.74
Excess
0.03
1.0
2.74
Republic’s calculations agreed
(R.
31, Ex.
7).
In
1981, Republic secured an engineer’s estimate of the cost
to modify the existing equipment to achieve compliance
(Ex. 4).
The 1981 estimate of approximately $1 million, inflated to 1984
by use of the construction cost index,
is approximately $1.3
million for capital expenditures alone
(R. 14-15).
Installation
time
is estimated at two years
(Pet, ¶14),
and would involve some
down time that might interfere with production
(R.
21).
Republic’s facility is located
in an area which is designated
as nonattainrnent for particulates.
It is a heavy industrial area
with the nearest residences approximately 1/2 mile to the northeast.
The nearest air monitoring station, Washington High School,
also
is located about 1/2 mile to the northeast.3 In
1983,
the annual
geometric mean for particulates was 93 ug/m
.
The Board’s par-
ticulate r~gulations,Section 243.121, provide ~ primary standard
of
75 ug/m
and a secondary standard of 60 ug/m
.
Board regulations
establish 24—hour maximum concentrations of particulates that are
not to be e~ceededmore than once per year;
the ~rimary standard
is 260 ug/m
and the secondary standard 150 ug/m
.
The 260
standard was exceeded twice in 1983 at Washington School,
but had
not been exceeded in 1984 as of the date of the Agency’s recom-
mendation
(Rec,
p.
4).,
In
an effort to evaluate the impact of the excess scarfing
emissions, Republic conducted several modelling analyses
(Ex.
8—13).
62-278
3
The worst—case model predicted a maximum off—p~opertyimpact,
virtually adjoining ~he facility, of 0.14 ug/m
on the annual
average and
2.1 ug/m
on the 24—hour second highest value
(Ex.
13,
R.
59—60).
At Washington School, approximately th~nearest
human habitation,
the worst3case impacts are 0.05 ug/m
on the
annual average and 0.6 ug/m
on the 24—hour second highest value
(Ex. 13,
R.
64—65).
All of these impact values are below the
level USEPA considers significant for new permitting of PSD
facilities
40
CFR 51.18, and Appendix
5,
III,
(A),
(1982)
and
ambient measurement of particulates
(45 FR 52709, August
7,
1980).
The Agency does not believe these emissions would have a
significant impact on air quality
(Rec.,
¶10).
Republic submits that the substantial expenditures to comply
would
impose an arbitrary and unreasonable hardship in view of
the insignificant impact on air quality.
The Agency agrees.
As
a method of compliance, Republic intends to file a request for
site—specific regulatory relief
(Pet.
¶18).
The Agency requests
that Republic be required to file such a request by December 31,
1984,
as
a condition of the variance.
The Board will not require
submission of
a site-specific proposal as a condition of the
variance.
However, the Board clearly anticipates Republic will
expeditiously pursue a site—specific proposal.
The Board believes
that Republic may receive a final decision on whether or not
site—specific relief is
justified within approximately one year,
if such relief is diligently pursued.
Consequently, the Board
will grant variance for that term.
If problems develop, Republic
may file for extension of that time period.
Since the Board has some confusion as to the legal distinction
between Republic and LTV,
a separate signature line is provided
for each
in the certification.
This Opinion constitutes the Board’s findings of fact and
conclusions of law on this matter.
ORDER
Republic Steel Corporation and LTV Steel Company are hereby
granted a variance
from
35
Ill. Adm. Code 212.451, subject to the
following conditions:
1.
This variance shall expire July 1,
1986,
or 60 days
after any final Board Order on a request for site—
specific regulatory relief for Republic’s 44—inch
hot scarfing machine, whichever is earlier.
2,
Within 30 days of the date of this Order, Republic
shall apply to the Illinois Environmental Protection
Agency for an operating permit for its hot scarfing
machine,
3.
Within
45
days of the date of this Order, Republic
Steel Corporation and LTV Steel Company shall execute a
82-277
4
Certification of Acceptance and Agreement to be bound
to all terms and conditions of this variance.
Said Certification shall be submitted to the Agency
at 2200 Churchill Road,
Springfield,
Illinois 62706.
The 45 day period shall be held in abeyance during any
period that this matter is being appealed.
The form
of said Certification shall be as follows:
CERTIFICATION
I,
(We) __________________________________,
hereby accept
and agree to be
bound
by all terms and conditions of the Order
of the Pollution Control Board in PCB 84—111, January 10,
1985.
Petitioner
—
Petitioner
—
Republic Steel
LTV Steel
Authorized Agent
Authorized Agent
Title
Title
Date
Date
IT IS SO ORDERED,
I,
Dorothy
M. Gunn,
Clerk
of
the
Illinois Pollution Control
Board, hereby certify that the abov
Opinion and Order was
adopted on the
~
day
of
________________,
1985 by a
~
~.
Dorothy M. G~/nn,Clerk
Illinois Pollution Control Board
62-278