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ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD

Jack Lavin, Director

Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity

620 East Adams Street, S-6

Springfield, Illinois 62704

Re :

Request for Economic Impact Study for

: Proposal of Vaughan& Bushnell

Manufacturing Company of Amendment to A Site-Specific Rule 35 Ill .Adm.

Code 901.121 (R06-11)

Dear Director Lavin

:

The Pollution Control Board (Board) received a site-specific rulemaking proposal

filed by the Vaughan & Bushnell Manufacturing Company (V&B). V&B's October

20, 2005 proposal seeks to amend the noise regulation the Board adopted for the

company in 1985, codified at 35 Ill . Adm. Code 901 .121. The current rule limits V

& B's operating hours, and the company wants to add a third shift and begin around-

the-clock operation . .

V&B is a manufacturer of striking tools at a forging shop built in 1940 that is located

at the intersection of Davis and Main Streets, Bushnell in McDonough County .

V&B states that its facility consists of ten drop hammers capable of producing up to

2,500 lbs. of force. The facility is V&B's primary production facility, and is located

in an area of Bushnell that is primarily industrial. V&B states it is the largest

employer in Bushnell, currently employing two hundred and thirty people

.

I am writing to request that your Department conduct an economic impact study

concerning this proposal .

Since 1998, Section 27 (b) of the Environmental Protection Act has required the

Board to

:

1. "request that the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity

(formerly the Department of Commerce and Community Affairs) conduct a

study of the economic impact of the proposed rules. The Department may

within 30 to 45 days of such request produce a study of the economic impact

of the proposed rules. At a minimum, the economic impact study shall

address a) economic, environmental, and public health benefits that may be

achieved through compliance with the proposed rules, b) the effects of the

proposed rules on employment levels, commercial productivity, the

economic growth of small businesses with 100 or less employees, and the

State's overall economy, and c) the cost per unit of pollution reduced and the

---

variability of company revenues expected to be used to implement the

proposed rules ; and

2. conduct at least one public hearing on the economic impact of those rules . At

least 20 days before the hearing, the Board shall notify the public of the

hearing and make the economic impact study, or the Department of

Commerce and Economic Opportunity's explanation for not producing an

economic impact study, available to the public . Such public hearing may be

held simultaneously or as a part of any Board hearing considering such new

rules." 415 ILCS 5/27(b) (2002)

.

The Board is in the process of scheduling a hearing in this rulemaking . I would

greatly appreciate a response from you concerning DCEO's position on whether it

will perform the economic impact study . V&B requested that the Board expedite its

handling of this rule; the Board would like to handle both economic and merit issues

in a single hearing. So, the Board as well as the company would appreciate your

early response to this request

.

The Board appreciates DCEO's recent timely and considered response to similar

requests we have made concerning other pending rulemakings. The Board

appreciates that fiscal constraints may prevent DCEO from conducting economic

studies in every rulemaking. But, as I have pointed out before, a review of Board

rulemaking opinions and orders since then would reveal that the Department's

decision not to perform economic impact studies has not been questioned at any

Board hearing .

If I, or my staff, can provide you with any additional information, please let me

know. While the Board can proceed to hold hearings while awaiting your decision,

the Environmental Protection Act does not allow the Board to complete its

rulemaking process without your Department's input

.

Thank you for your early response.

Sincerely,

G. Tanner Girard

Acting Chairman, Pollution Control Board

Cc: Dorothy M. Gunn, Clerk

Erin Conley, Rules Coordinator

.