ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
    July 23, 1998
    COMMONWEALTH EDISON COMPANY
    (Dresden Power Station),
    Petitioner,
    v.
    ILLINOIS ENVIRONMENTAL
    PROTECTION AGENCY,
    Respondent.
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    PCB 99-17
    (Provisional Variance - Water)
    ORDER OF THE BOARD (by C.A. Manning):
    On July 21, 1998, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (Agency) filed a
    request for provisional variance and notification of recommendation. The Agency
    recommends that the Board grant Commonwealth Edison Company’s Dresden Power Station
    (petitioner) located in Grundy County, Illinois, a 45-day provisional variance. The provisional
    variance would allow petitioner relief from the current thermal discharge limitations thereby
    allowing petitioner 259 additional hours in which the plant’s discharges may be in the
    temperature band between 90 degrees and 93 degrees Fahrenheit, for the period beginning
    when the currently permitted 259 hours for discharges within this temperature band have been
    used, and continuing for 45 days. In making its recommendation, the Agency states that
    failure to grant the requested provisional variance will result in an arbitrary or unreasonable
    hardship.
    The Board grants petitioner a provisional variance from: (1) 35 Ill. Adm. Code
    302.211, 304.141(b) and (c); (2) special condition 2C of petitioner’s National Pollutant
    Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Permit No. IL0002224; and (3) the Board’s order in
    In the Matter of: 410(c) Petition for Dresden Nuclear Generating Station (July 8, 1981), PCB
    79-134. The Board is required, in a provisional variance, to adopt a formal order, assure
    formal maintenance of the record, assure the enforceability of the variance, and provide
    notification of the action by press release. Pursuant to Section 35(b) of the Environmental
    Protection Act (Act) (415 ILCS 5/35(b) (1996)), the Board must issue the provisional variance
    within two days of the filing.
    The Board grants the provisional variance for the period beginning when the currently
    authorized 259 hours in the temperature band between 90 degrees and 93 degrees Fahrenheit
    have been used and continuing for 45 days, subject to the following conditions:
    1.
    The term of this provisional variance shall commence upon the date that
    Commonwealth Edison Company (Dresden Power Station) completes use of the
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    presently allowed 259 hours for discharges in the temperature band between 90
    degrees Fahrenheit and 93 degrees Fahrenheit, as established by petitioner’s
    current NPDES Permit No. IL 0002224, and continuing for an additional period
    of up to 259 hours. This additional period of up to 259 hours will be available
    for utilization for 45-days from the commencement of the provisional variance
    but shall not extend beyond September 30, 1998.
    2.
    Petitioner shall notify Matthew Wertman of the Illinois Environmental
    Protection Agency’s Maywood regional office at the start of the usage and
    completion of usage by telephone at 708/338-7900. Petitioner shall confirm this
    notice in writing within five days to the address noted in paragraph three below.
    3. During the term of this provisional variance, petitioner shall document
    environmental conditions during the additional excursion hours. Intake,
    discharge, and Dresden Lock & Dam temperatures will be continuously
    monitored. Also, visual inspection of the intake and discharge areas shall be
    performed by station personnel at least three times per day during the variance
    period to assure that no significant fish mortalities result. A written summary
    of this data shall be submitted to the Agency within 30 days after the variance
    period is completed. This information shall be sent to the following address:
    Illinois Environmental Protection Agency
    Bureau of Water, Compliance Assurance Section #19
    Attention: Dan Ray
    1021 North Grand Avenue East
    P.O. Box 19276
    Springfield, Illinois 62794-9276
    4.
    If any unusual conditions are detected or observed, petitioner shall immediately
    notify the Agency. Petitioner shall investigate and document the cause and
    seriousness of the situation while providing updates as changes take place until
    the return to normal operations.
    5.
    Petitioner shall execute a copy of a certification of this provisional variance and
    forward that copy to the Agency at the same address listed in condition three;
    the petitioner shall forward that copy within ten days of the date of this order of
    the Board, and the certification shall take the following form:
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    CERTIFICATION
    I (We), _________________________________, hereby accept
    and agree to be bound by all terms and conditions of the order of the
    Pollution Control Board in PCB 99-17 dated July 23, 1998.
    ______________________________________
    Petitioner
    ______________________________________
    Authorized Agent
    ______________________________________
    Title
    ______________________________________
    Date
    IT IS SO ORDERED.
    Board Member Kathleen M. Hennessey abstained.
    Section 41 of the Environmental Protection Act (415 ILCA 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 172 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 23rd day of July 1998 by a vote of 5-0.
    Dorothy M. Gunn, Clerk
    Illinois Pollution Control Board

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