ILLINOIS

POLLUTION

CONTROL

BOARD

February

14,

1973

U.

S.

DEPAPTEENT

OF AGRICULTURE,

Sd7d’~N

1.1:

NT\T1ONAL

FOREST

Peti

tioner,

vs.

)

PCB 72—426

eJ

IRONELNTAL

PROTECT

IFON

PGLNCY

Responoent.

Jerry

Clutts

for

the

Petitioner

Thoni;s

J.

Immel,

Assistant

Attorney

General

fot

the

EPA

OPINIGN

AUG

DRUGS

OF

THE

BOARD

(by

Er.

Henss)

Shawnee

Naticnai

Forest,

an

aqency

of

the

U.

S.

Forest

Gervice,

U.

S.

Deoartrient

of

Auriculture,

con~ro1s

an

area

of

some

240,000

acres

throuchout

a

ten

county

area

of

southern

Illinois.

The area

is used by

the public

for recreational

activities

and

is also used for the sale

of

tir~’ber.

Shawnee

occasionally accuiros tracts

of land which contain buildings

in disrepair

and routinely contracts

for

the salvage and demo-

lition of these structures.

Following

our adoption of Open

Burning Regulations

Shawnee prohibited

the open burning

of

these buildings.

This resulted in

a lack of bidding for the

buildings,

because the value of

the salvageable material was

not sufficient

to offset the cost

of disposal of the remaining

refuse.

Shawnee National Forest has,

therefore,

requested

a

variance from Section

502

of Chapter

2 of the Regulations

of

the Pollution Control Board

so that Shawnee may conduct open

burning

to dispose of

15 structures

spread out over

a five

county area

of the forest.

The Illinois Environmental

Protection

Agency has recommended

that the variance be denied.

Evidence established that

the

15 buildings

in question were

old,

dilapidated houses,

garages and outhouses at about

12

locations.

The beildings

are located

in

a very sparsely

settled part of our State and some are so remote that they may

be

reached

only by dirt paths.

The U.

S.

Forest Service in the

past has burned similar

structures under

its

routine procedures.

The

burninq

is conducted during winter months when there

is

a

7

—

99

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—2—

minimal danger of fire spreading to the surrounding area

and

the burning takes place only under atmospheric conditions

which will facilitate dispersion of the emissions.

A fire

control technician with fire fighting eriuipment is present

during the burning.

The U.

S. Forest Service is recognized

as a fire fighting agency and is ecuipped with

a 4—wheel

drive vehicle carrying 250 gallons of water and a small high

pressure pump along with various other hand

tools, back-pack

water pumps and other fire fighting equimment.

Debris

remaining after the fire

is placed under ground and

it

is not

too

long before the area

is covered with natural vegetation.

The U.

S. Forester who testified in favor of

the

variance

said that budgetary problems would prevent the removal of the

buildings for as

much

as two years if the buildings could not

be burned.

Removal of the material to

a landfill or use of an

air curtain destructor at the site would involve

the

moving of

heavy eauipment over the trails and through streams causing

damage to the forest ecology.

An air curtain destructor could

only be moved into

some of the areas during

a

time

when the

trails were dry——the time of the year ween there is

an increased

danger of forest fires.

The testimony indicated that unauthorized persons occupy

these abandoned buildings causinq a drug problem and increased

nollution from their poor sanitation habits.

This unauthorized

occupancy also creates

a fire hazard.

We

see no reason to deny this variance.

The structures

are relatively small and the fire ordinarily consumes them within

the period of one hour.

Emissions

from this

type of fire in a

very sparsely settled part of the State do not seem particularly

alarming.

To deny the variance will simply result in

a different

type of ecological problem—-the pollution and health problems

caused by unauthorized occupants,

the damage to natural trails

and streams.

Section 504

of our Open Burning Fegutat~onprovides ~tbe

Environmental Protection Agency

may

grant

aermits for open Ps

fo

.

.management in prairie or forest ecology~.

It has e~en

suggested that under Section 504 the EPf has authorile’

to

:~x~.aai:

a permit

to a governmental agency for such burning of re~h~:.

do

not

decide

that

issue

here.

There

may

be

a proceeding

to

amend the Open Burning Regulations within the near future

anb the

issue will be appropriately raised in any such proceeding.

7

-—

100

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—3

ORDER

It

is

ordered

th~t

the

Petition

for

Variance

be

granted

for

the

period

of

one year from the date of this Order upon

condition that Petitioner exercise all precaution

to reduce

the

hazard of

forest

or prairie fire and to conduct the open

burning at a time when atmospheric conditions will facilitate

the rapid dispersion of the emissions.

I, Christan

L. Moffett, Clerk of the Illinois Pollution

Control Board, hereby certify the above Opinion and Order was

adopted

this

/~‘~

dry

of

February,

1973

by

a

vote

of

3

to

~

7

1O~

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