ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
February 14, 1974
CITIES SERVICE OIL COMPANY,
)
Petitioner,
vs.
)
PCB 73—495
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY,
Respondent.
Charles A. Purser, Attorney, on behalf of Petitioner;
Peter Orlinsky, Attorney, on behalf of Respondent.
OPINION AND ORDER OF THE BOARD (by Mr. Seaman)
On November 19, 1973, Cities Service Oil Company filed
its Petition For Variance, seeking therein variance from
Rules 205(a) and 205(b) (1) of the Air Pollution Regulations
until June 1, 1974.
Petitioner is the owner and operator of what is known
as the Waterway Terminals, Inc. facility, located at 5101
South Harlem Street, Forest View, County of Cook, Illinois.
At
said facility, Petitioner operates a petroleum products
terminal for the storage and transportation of such products
as motor gasoline and fuel oils. The facility includes two
storage tanks for regular gasoline, one storage tank for
premium gasoline, four storage tanks for #2 fuel oil, one
storage tank for #1 fuel oil and two truck loading racks.
Petitioner states that, per month, an average of 153,000
barrels of motor gasoline and 63,700 barrels of fuel oils
are stored and subject to transportation from its facility to
the consumer market. Petitioner estimates that as a result
of said operations, approximately 127,750
pounds per month
of organic material, in the nature of hydrocarbons, may be
discharged.
Petitioner controls discharges into the atmosphere by
using submerged loading pipes at its loading rack and
pressure vacuum vents and a vapor sphere in connection with
its storage tanks.
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—2—
Petitioner’s facility is subject to Rule
205, and
pursuant to said Rule, Petitioner filed the requisite
application for operating permit and received a permit
to operate the subject facility. Petitioner’s compliance
program stated that by December 31, 1973, its terminal
would cease handling motor gasoline, thus removing the
source of any possible regulated hydrocarbon emissions.
Petitioner, now alleges that i~twill not be able to
transfer all motor gasoline operations from the subject
Waterway Terminal facility until June 1, 1974, for the
following reasons beyond its control:
1. Petitioner’s loading racks at its Lemont facility,
which handle a portion of Petitioner’s gasoline distribution,
have been unexpectedly shut down for a prolonged period,
forcing Petitioner to transfer its gasoline from Lemont
to the Waterway Terminal facility.
2. Gasoline from the Waterway Terminal is to be
transferred to Petitioner’s Des Plaines terminal. However,
due to construction delays and failure to receive construction
permits, operation of the Des Plaines terminal has been
delayed.
On the basis of discussions between Agency surveillance
personnel and personnel at the Lemont and Des Plaines
facilities, the Agency believes that Petitioner’s time
schedule is not unreasonable and recommends that the variance
be granted.
Petitioner alleges that fai1~ire to receive the variance
it is requesting would impose an arbitrary and unreasonable
hardship in that Petitioner would have to immediately cease
gasoline operations at its Waterway Terminal facility or
expend $150,000 to install floating roof tanks even though
it plans to cease operation by June 1, 1974.
We are satisfied that it would be a wasteful expenditure
of money to require Petitioner to install floating roof tanks
when such installation probably could not be completed prior
to the date Petitioner intends to cease gasoline operations.
The subject facility is located in an industrial area
at least 1/2 mile from the nearest residence. We are dispc~d
to grant the variance requested, subject to certain conditi~:~:,
particularly in view of the current shortage of gasoline~
It would also be a hardship on bhose persons dependent
c;~
gasoline from the subject terminal to cut off their sou:;:o9.
Of
supply.
11
274
—3—
Petitioner’s request for variance from the provisions
of Rule 205(b) (1) of the Air Pollution Regulations has
been rendered moot by the modification thereto ordered
by this Board on December 20, 1973 (R. 73-6).
This Opinion constitutes the findings of fact and
conclusions of law of the Board.
ORDER
IT IS THE ORDER of the Pollution Control Board that
Petitioner, Cities Service Oil Company, be granted a
variance from the provisions of Rule 205(a) of the Air
Pollution Regulations to enable Petitioner to operate the
subject Waterway Te~j.zraIun?il June 1, 1974, subject to
the following condftions:
1. Petitioner shall,-beginning on March 1, 1974,
submit monthly reports to the Agency, detailing therein
the p±bgress it has made toward curtailing the motor
gasoline operation at its Waterway Terminal.
2. Petitioner shall notify the Agency on the date
it ceases all ~gasoline operations at its Waterway Terminal.
I, Christan L. Moffett, Clerk of the Illinois Pollution
C~ntro1Board, certify that the abov 0 nion and Order
was adopted on this
i4~-
day of
________________,
1974
by a vote of
_______________
11 —275