ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD

June 18,

1976

DEERE

AND

COMPANY,

Petitioner,

v.

)

PCB 76—82

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY,

Respondent.

OPINION AND ORDER OF THE BOARD

(by Mr.

Goodman):

This matter comes before the Board upon a Variance Petition

filed by Deere and Company

(Deere)

on March 26,

1976 requestinc

variance from Rule 205(f),

Rule 103(a) and Rule 103(h)

of Chapter

2 Air Pollution Control Regulations

(Regulations)

from June

1 until

October 29,

1976.

Deere requests the variance for their facility known as

the

Plow

and Planter Works which

is located in Moline, Illinois,

ir

Rock Island County.

The purpose of the variance is to ~11ow

DeerE:.

to perform research and development work on

a pilot solvent recovery

system.

The goal of this work is to capture and reuse photochemically

reactive material.

At the present time the installation is

in

compi~-

ance with the Board’s Regulations under Rule 205(f).

Deere now

proposes to switch to the use of photochemically reactive material

in

order

to test the pilot solvent recovery system.

The use of this

photochemically reactive material would cause the flowcoat painting

system’s emissions

to violate Rule 205(f).

The pilot solvent

recovery

system consists of

a carbon adsorption system that will receive

emissions from the flowcoater at

a rate of 800 cfm.

This amounts to

approximately

5

of the volume of the photochemicaily reactive

material emissions from the flowcoater during the time the re-

covery system is being used.

Deere estimates the maximum

emission

rate of such photochemically reactive material during the period of

22—169

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the requested variance would be about 77 pounds per hour.

The maxi-

mum allowable emission rate for photochemically reactive materials

under Rule 205(f)

is

8 pounds per hour.

The test period is necessary,

according to Deere,

to ascertain

whether an 85

control efficiency can be achieved.

Periodically

the charcoal bed will have to be totally removed and transported to

a laboratory to extract the recovered solvents.

Deere has found that

the non-photochemically reactive solvents are not adsorbed by the

carbon as readily as the photochemically reactive materials.

In

addition, because the solvents are driven from the adsorbing medium

by steam stripping and the steam is then separated from the solvent

vapors by condensation, water soluble solvents are not

a suitable

subject for recovery.

Deere’s research into the operation of a solvent recovery system

would result in very favorably long—range consequences with respect

to elimination of hydrocarbons from the atmosphere.

Testimony at

recent regulatory hearings concerning ozone indicate that the reduc-

tion of all types of hydrocarbons from the atmosphere may be necessary

to eliminate the ozone problem as it now exists

(R75—5).

The unreason

able and arbitrary hardship claimed by Deere in this case is the

necessity, without a variance, to install some sort of abatement

equipment such as an afterburner during the duration of the experi-

mental work.

The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency

(Agency)

in its

May

28,

1976 Recommendation agrees with Deere’s estimation of the

situation and proposes that Deere be granted the requested variance.

In addition, the Agency points out that variance from Rule

103(a)

is

unnecessary once variance from the underlying substantive standard,

Rule 205(f),

is granted.

Furthermore, the Agency points out that the

Board in the past has consistently denied variances from the require-

ment of obtaining an operating permit such as in Rule 103(b).

Another

point brought out by the Agency in its Recommendation is the

fact that

the period of time requested in the variance petition includes the

months of high ozone incidence

in certain areas

of the state.

The

Agency requests that Deere be required to cease all operations of

its flowcoat painting operation during the period of any applicable

ozone alert which occurs between June

1 and October 29,

1976.

Considering the importance of the proposed experimental work

to.be done by Deere and the unreasonable and arbitrary hardship

which would be

incurred by Deere if it were forced to put in tempo-

rary abatement equipment during this time, the Board will grant

22— 170

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—3—

Deere variance from Rule 205(f)

of Chapter

2 of the Regulations from

June

1,

1976 until November

1,

1976.

This Opinion constitutes the findings of fact and conclusions

of law of the Board in this matter.

ORDER

It is the Order of the Pollution Control Board that

1.

Deere and Company be granted variance from Rule 205(f)

of Chapter

2 of the Air Pollution Control Regulations for

its Plow and Planter Works

in Moline,

Illinois, from June

1,

1976 until November 1,

1976 except that should an ozone

alert be called by the Illinois Environmental Protection

Agency for the area including the aforesaid facility, Deere

and Company shall cease all flowcoat painting operations at

the facility during the duration of said alert.

2.

Variance from Rules

103(a) and 103(b)

of Chapter

2

of the Air Pollution Control Regulations is hereby denied.

3.

Within 35 days of the date of this order,

Petitioner

shall execute and forward to the:

Control Program Coordinator

Division of Air Pollution Control

2200 Churchill Road

Springfield, Illinois

62706

A Certification of Acceptance and agreement to be bound to

all terms and conditions of the variance.

The form of said

Certification shall be as

follows:

CERTIFICATION

I,

(We)

having

read and fully understanding the Order of the Illinois

Pollution Control Board in PCB 76-82 hereby accept said

Order and agree

to be bound by all the terms and conditions

thereof.

SIGNED________________________

TITLE_________________________

DATE__________________________

22—171

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Mr. Dumelle dissented.

I, Christan L. Moffett,

Clerk of the Illinois Pollution

Control Board, hereby cert1ify the above Opinion and Order

were adopted on the

/~‘~

day of

,

1976 by a

vote of

41/

Illinois Pollution Co

1 Board