ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD

April 29, 1982

QUALITY READY MIX,

)

Petitioner,

v.

)

PCB 81—161

ILLINOIS ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

AGENCY,

Respondent.

ORDER OF THE BOARD (by I. Goodman):

Quality Ready Mix (Quality) filed a

petition on October 16,

1981 to extend its recently expired variance from Rule 502(a) of

Chapter 2: Air Pollution for an additional year. Quality had

been granted that variance on November 10, 1976 until September 2,

1981 (PCB 76—224), On October 22, 1981, the Illinois Environ-

mental Protection Agency (Agency) moved to dismiss the Petition

due to informational defects. Instead, the Board allowed Quality

forty—five days from October 22, 1981 to cure the defects.

Quality amended its Petition on December 8, 1981, One objection

to the variance petition, dated March 4, 1982, was received.

Further inquiries disclosed that the objector did not desire a

public hearing and no hearing was held. No other public comments

were received and the Agency filed its Recommendation on March 8,

1982.

Quality disposes of untreated lumber from scrapped railroad

boxcars at its place of business, 1330 Tenth Avenue, Fulton,

Illinois, which adjoins the East Clinton railroad switch yards.

Quality has installed a permanent air curtain destructor and a

concrete pit to handle burning the wood waste, Quality estimates

that no more than eight cars are dismantled per week, each of

which generates approximately ten cubic yards of unpainted and

untreated lumber, The alternative to burning

would

be to dispose

of the waste lumber in a landfill, Quality

alleged

that the cost

of transporting and disposing of the lumber in landfills would

create

an arbitrary and unreasonable hardship. The nearest

landfills are approximately seventeen miles away in Whiteside

County, Illinois or Clinton County, Iowa. Quality estimates

that

disposal costs would increase from $10.00 per railroad car

to

$60.00 per railroad car scrapped

if it

must

resort to land-

filling.

As for environmental harm,

Quality estimated that for

46— 193

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2

each ton of this woodwaste burned at its facility approximately

4.6 pounds of particulate matter, 0.2 pounds of hydrocarbons,

and 9.0 pounds of nitrogen oxide is emitted.

The Agency agreed that landfilling these wastes was prohibi-

tively costly, but suggested no other alternative. Although

none of its air monitoring stations are near enough to reflect

Quality’s burning activities, the Agency confirmed that no addi-

tional deterioration in ambient air quality would result if this

variance is extended, especially since Quality is located in an

attainment area.

In reviewing this petition, the Board finds that nothing

has changed since its previous reviews. It further finds that

Quality has demonstrated a continued need for variance from Rule

502(a) and that denial at this time would impose arbitrary and

unreasonable hardship. However, since this is the fourth time

Quality has so petitioned, the Board advises Quality to partici-

pate in any future rulemaking of the openin9 burnin9 regulations

relevant to its petition or to initiate a site—specific rule-

making during the period of this variance.

This Opinion constitutes the Board’s findings of fact and

conclusions of law in this matter.

ORDER

Petitioner, Quality Ready Mix, is granted variance from

Rule 502(a) of Chapter 2: Air Pollution from September 2, 1981

until September 1, 1983, subject to the following conditions:

1. Petitioner shall continue to comply with the provisions

contained in the November 10, 1976 Board Order in PCB 76-224,

which are incorporated herein.

2. Within forty—five days of the date of this Order,

Petitioner shall execute and forward to the Illinois

Environmental Protection Agency, Enforcement Programs,

2200 Churchill Road, Springfield, Illinois 62706,

a Certificate of Acceptance and Agreement to be bound

to all terms and conditions of this variance. This

forty-five day period shall be held in abeyance for

any period this matter is being appealed. The form

of the certificate shall be as follows:

CERTIFICATE

I, (We),

_________________________________,

having read

the Order of the Illinois Pollution Control Board in PCB 81—161,

dated

_____*

,

understand and accept the said

conditions thereto binding and enforceable.

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3

Petitioner

By: Authorized Aqent

~i’itle

Date

IT IS SO ORDERED.

I, Christan L. Moffett, Clerk of the Illinois Pollution

Control ,Board, hereby ce tify the above Order was adopted on

the

~?4~’

day of

_____________,

1982 by a vote of ~ 0,

Christan L. Moff

Clerk

Illinois Pollutio ‘~ontrol Board

46—195