ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
    December 4, 1997
    LEHIGH PRESS CADILLAC,
    Petitioner,
    v.
    ILLINOIS ENVIRONMENTAL
    PROTECTION AGENCY,
    Respondent.
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    PCB 98-75
    (Provisional Variance - Air)
    ORDER OF THE BOARD (by C.A. Manning):
    Pursuant to Section 35(b) of the Environmental Protection Act (Act) (415 ILCS 5/35(b)
    (1996)), Lehigh Press Cadillac (petitioner), located at 25th Avenue and Lexington Avenue,
    Broadview, Cook County, Illinois, has requested that the Board grant a provisional variance
    from permit condition (3)(c) of its air operating permit and 35 Ill. Adm. Code
    218.407(a)(1)(E). Such request for a provisional variance and the notification of
    recommendation were filed with the Board by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency
    (Agency) on December 3, 1997. Pursuant to Section 35(b) of the Act, the Board must issue
    the variance within two (2) days of this filing.
    Pursuant to Section 35(b) of the Act (415 ILCS 5/35(b) (1996)), the Agency, by and
    through its Director, Mary A. Gade, seeks a provisional variance to allow petitioner to
    continue to operate its printing facility while repairs are made on its pollution control
    equipment.
    Upon receipt of the request by the petitioner, the Agency issued its recommendation,
    notifying the Board that due to unforeseen, temporary, and uncontrollable circumstances,
    failure to grant the requested provisional variance would impose an arbitrary or unreasonable
    hardship on the petitioner. The Agency recommends that the Board grant the requested
    provisional variance with specified conditions.
    Specifically, the Agency recommends that the Board grant petitioner a 14-day
    provisional variance for its Cook County facility from the air pollution control requirements,
    as set forth in permit condition (3)(c) of its air operating permit and 35 Ill. Adm. Code
    218.407(a)(1)(E). This variance period shall begin on December 1, 1997, and expire on
    December 14, 1997.
    Provisional variances are by their very nature temporary. The responsibilities of the
    Agency and the Board in these short-term provisional variances are different from the
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    responsibilities in standard variances. See 415 ILCS 5/35(b), 36(c) (1996). In provisional
    variances it is the responsibility of the Agency to make the technical determinations and a
    finding of arbitrary or unreasonable hardship. The Board’s responsibility is to adopt a formal
    order, to assure the formal maintenance of the record, to assure the enforceability of the
    variance, and to provide notification of the action by a press release.
    Having received the Agency recommendation that a denial of the requested relief would
    impose an arbitrary or unreasonable hardship, the Board hereby grants the petitioner a
    provisional variance from permit condition (3)(c) of its air operating permit and 35 Ill. Adm.
    Code 218.407(a)(1)(E), subject to the following conditions:
    1.
    The term of this provisional variance shall commence December 1, 1997, and
    expire on December 14, 1997.
    2. Petitioner shall notify the Agency in writing of the exact dates for repair and
    down time for the KATEC thermal oxidizer controlling printing presses. Such
    notification shall be given at least 24 hours before the thermal oxidizer is shut
    down for repairs, and may be sent via facsimile to Mr. Kunj Patel at 217/782-
    6348.
     
    3. Petitioner shall try to minimize uncontrolled volatile organic material (VOM)
    emissions from the six presses during the afterburner repair by appropriately
    scheduling the printing operations to lower the VOM emissions as much as
    possible to reduce any potential odor problem.
    4. During the shut down, petitioner shall keep the following records, and submit
    such records to the Agency within seven days of bringing the thermal oxidizer
    back on line:
    a. Actual amounts of VOM emitted to the atmosphere;
     
    b. The actual time the thermal oxidizer is shut and the actual time the
    thermal oxidizer is restarted and brought back on line; and
     
    c. A list of associated emission units in operation during the period
    specified in (b) above.
    5. Petitioner shall conduct a stack test after repairs are completed to show that the
    control efficiency of the thermal oxidizer has remained the same or improved
    due to the repair work.
    6. Petitioner shall submit the records and stack test results to:
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    Illinois Environmental Protection Agency
    Bureau of Air
    Attention: Mr. Kunj Patel
    1021 N. Grand Avenue East
    Springfield, IL 62702
    IT IS SO ORDERED.
    Section 41 of the Environmental Protection Act (415 ILCS 5/41 (1996)) provides for
    the appeal of final Board orders to the Illinois Appellate Court within 35 days of service of this
    order. Illinois Supreme Court Rule 335 establishes such filing requirements. See 145 Ill. 2d
    R. 335; see also 35 Ill. Adm. Code 101.246, Motions for Reconsideration.
    I, Dorothy M. Gunn, Clerk of the Illinois Pollution Control Board, hereby certify that
    the above order was adopted on the 4th day of December 1997, by a vote of 6-0.
    Dorothy M. Gunn, Clerk
    Illinois Pollution Control Board

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