ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
    September 3, 1998
    COMMONWEALTH EDISON COMPANY
    (Dresden Power Station),
    Petitioner,
    v.
    ILLINOIS ENVIRONMENTAL
    PROTECTION AGENCY,
    Respondent.
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    PCB 99-39
    (Provisional Variance - Water)
    ORDER OF THE BOARD (by C.A. Manning):
    On September 1, 1998, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (Agency) filed a
    request for provisional variance and notification of recommendation. The Agency
    recommends that the Board grant a 24-day provisional variance. This request is an extension
    of the provisional variance granted in PCB 99-17 on July 23, 1998. The provisional variance
    would allow the petitioner’s Grundy County facility relief from the current thermal discharge
    limitations thereby allowing petitioner 259 additional hours in which the facility’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 an additional 259 hours or through September 30, 1998,
    whichever occurs first. In making its recommendation, the Agency states that failure to grant
    the requested provisional variance will result in an arbitrary or unreasonable hardship on the
    petitioner.
    The Board grants the 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 (415 ILCS 5/35(b) (1996)), the Board must issue the provisional variance
    within two days of the filing.
    The provisional variance shall begin when the currently authorized 259 hours in the
    temperature band between 90 degrees and 93 degrees Fahrenheit have been used and
    continuing for an additional 259 hours or through September 30, 1998, subject to the
    following conditions:
    2
    1.
    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 two below;
    2.
    During the term of this provisional variance, petitioner shall document
    environmental conditions during the additional excursion hours. Intake,
    discharge, and Dresden Lock & Dam temperatures shall 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
    3.
    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.
    Petitioner should sign a certificate of acceptance of this provisional variance and
    forward that certificate to the Agency within ten days of the date of this order. The
    certification should take the following form:
    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 99-39, September 3, 1998.
    ______________________________________
    Petitioner
    ______________________________________
    Authorized Agent
    ______________________________________
    Title
    ______________________________________
    Date
    3
    IT IS SO ORDERED.
    Board Member K.M. Hennessey abstained.
    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 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 3rd day of September 1998 by a vote of 6-0.
    Dorothy M. Gunn, Clerk
    Illinois Pollution Control Board

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