ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD

December

2,

1976

SOUTHERN ILLINOIS POWER COOPERATIVE,

Petitioner,

v.

)

 PCB 76—216

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY,

Respondent.

OPINION AND ORDER OF THE BOARD

 (by Dr. Satchell):

This matter comes before the Board on

 a Petition for

Renewal of a Variance granted for one year to Southern

Illinois Power Cooperative

 (SIPCO) by the Board in PCB 75-352

(19 PCB

255)

 on November

6,

 1975.

 The Petition for Renewal

was filed on August 12,

 1976 and again sought relief from

Rule 207 (a) (4-5)

 Chapter

 2: Air Pollution Control Regulations

(Rules).

 The original petition was inadequate and SIPCO re-

sponded to the Board Order of September

2,

 1976 by filing an

Amended Petition on September 14,

 1976.

 The Agency filed its

recommendation

 to grant the variance on November

3,

 1976.

No

hearing was held.

SIPCO is incorporated under the laws of the State of

Illinois as a non-profit corporation and generates electri-

city at its plant on the Lake of Egypt

 in Williamson County

for three distribution cooperatives which serve the rural

areas in the southern one-third of Illinois.

 Presently SIPCO

uses three 33 MW units each fired by double seven-foot radial

cyclone burners equipped with mechanical multiple-cyclone dust

collectors and electrostatic precipitators.

 This equipment

permits

SIPCO

to

bUrfl

 good

 1OCLI1

coal

rn

xed

Lb

 flC)L

 less than

per

cent

coal

 refuse obtained locally from deposits

in

gob,

slurry

ponds,

etc.

from

abandoned

 mine

workings.

the

strength

the

variance

and

the

Petitioner

proposed regulatory modification of Rule 207 which would permit

the aforementioned burning of refuse, the Agency granted

 a con-

struction permit on January 26,

 1975 for the fourth unit rated

at 160 MW.

 This new facility is expected

 to exceed the NO~

emission standard of 0.70 lb/lU6 BTU of Rule 207(a) (4)

 and the

standard of Rule 207(a) (5)

 of the Rules.

—

343

—2—

The SIPCO proposed regulatory change, R75-lO, was

published in the Environmental Register No.

 110, Septem-

ber 25, 1975 and would adopt the Federal Standard exemption

from the 0.7 lb/lU6 ETU emission of N0~for new sources

burning at least 25

 coal refuse

 (40 FR No.

 11, p.

 2803).

Agency calculations estimate N0~emissions from the new

unit at 2.75 lbs/lU6 BTU when expressed as NO2.

 Dispersion

modeling and an Agency monitor at Marion,

 eight miles north

of the site,

 indicate no ambient air problems.

 SIPCO states

that Agency calculations predict the new unit would raise

the present

 3 /ug/m3 total maximum concentration of N0~to

5 Aig/m3 which

 is far below the allowable health related

standard of 100 ~ug/m3.

The beneficial use of the numerous deposits of coal

refuse in southern Illinois

 is discussed at some length

in the Opinion of PCB 75-352 and need not be repeated here.

The Board again finds SIPCO has made a sufficient case

of unreasonable and unnecessary hardship to warrant

a

variance from Rule 207(a) (4—5).

This opinion constitutes the Board~s findings of fact

and conclusions of law in this matter.

ORDER

Variance is hereby granted Southern Illinois Power

Cooperative from Rule 207(a) (4~-5) Chapter

 2: Air Pollution

Control Regulations.

 The length of this variance shall be

for five years from the date of this order, or until the

Board enters a final order in R75-l0,

 or until construction

of the fourth generating unit is completed, whichever comes

 first.

I ~

~()

oRDI:REI~)

I, Christan L.

 Moffett, Clerk of the Illinois Pollution

Control Board, hereby ce~ify the aba ~ Opinion and Order

were adopted on the

 day of

___________

 1976 by a

vote of

-c

Illinois Pollution

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344