ILLINOIS ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

RECEIVED

CLERK'S

OFFICE

1021 NORTH GRAND AVENUE EAST, P

.O . Box 19276, SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS 62794-9276

- ( 217) 782-33APR ) 0 2007

JAMES R

. THOMPSON CENTER, 100 WEST RANDOLPH, SUITE 11-300, CHICAGO, IL 60601 -(312) 814-6026

Rot) R . BLAGOJEVICH, GOVERNOR

DOUGLAS P . SCOTT, DIRECTOR

Pollution

STATE OFControl

ILLINOIS

Board

April 5, 2007

Michael McCambridge

Illinois Pollution Control Board

James R. Thompson Center

100 W. Randolph Street, Ste 11-500

Chicago, IL 60601

RE

: Illinois EPA's ("Agency") Comments on R06-16, 17, and 18

Dear Mr. McCambridge :

On June 30, 2006, the Agency filed extensive comments in the consolidated identical-in-

substance rulemaking under docket R06-16, 17, and 18

. On December 20, 2006, the Board

adopted the rules, and they were subsequently published in the Illinois Register on January 12,

2007 . The Agency appreciates the Board's consideration of its comments filed on June 30, 2006

and acknowledges that the vast majority of the Agency's comments were incorporated into the

rules

. However, it appears that a handful of significant comments were not addressed

. Because

the comment period has expired, I was not certain of the appropriate procedure to follow to

express our concerns, so I am putting them to you in the form of a letter .

The Agency is particularly concerned about the following seven items that we do not feel were

addressed by the Board :

1 . Section 702.120(b)(3)

(our original comment #3 on R06-18) describes what an applicant

must do if they are required to have a permit (including new applicants or permittees with

expiring permits) :

a. 35 Ill . Adm . Code 702

.120(b)(3) requires new facilities or those with expiring permits

to

703comply

.157

.

with

It appears

the interim

that the

status

requirement

requirements

to comply

at 35

with

Ill

.

the

Adminterim

. Code

status

703.153standards-

may be more appropriate under Section 702

.120(b)(2) since this section specifically

refers to a facility with interim status that is applying for a permit

.

b. 35 Ill. Adm. Code 702

.120(b)(3) also requires these facilities to comply with Sections

702

.120 through 702 .124, 703 .125, 703 .126, 703.150, 703

.151, 703 .152, 703 .186,

and 703 .188

. These regulations are not specifically cited in the federal equivalent at

40 CFR 270

. 1 0(a)(3) . Therefore, even if the equivalent federal regulation (40 CFR

270. 1

0(a)(3)) is fundamentally flawed (because a new facility or one with an expiring

permit would not follow the interim status requirements), the Illinois equivalent is not

consistent with it

.

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---

c. As written, 35 Ill . Adm. Code 702.120(b)(3)

leaves out a significant amount of

critical information that needs to be provided in an application for a new or expiring

permit . The Agency felt that Section 702

.120(b)(3) should be revised to require the

applicant to address the requirements in 35 Ill

. Adm. Code 702 Subpart B : Permit

Applications and 35 Ill . Adm . Code 703 Subpart D : Applications,

not just portions of

Parts 702 and 703 .

2 . Section 703

.350(c)(1), General Information (our original comment #12 on R06-18)

: The

Section

& 703.110

does

(from

not include

40 CFR

the

270following

.6)

. Please

regulationsrefer

to the

: 703table .160

we

(from

included

CFR

in

270our

.1)

originaland

702.104

703commentsSections

.350(c)(1)

702

. In

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should

order

and

to

have

703be .110

consistent

been

(from

revised

with

40

to

CFR

the

include

federal

270.6)Section

.

regulations,

703.160

35

(from

111

. Adm40

.

CFR

Code270.1)

and

3 . Section 705

.302(a)(4)(I) (our original comment #30 on R06-18) indicates that all subsections

of Section 705

.144 (Administrative Record for Draft Permits or Notices of Intent to Deny)

apply . The corresponding federal regulation at 40 CFR 124

.204(d)(9) states, "All paragraphs

(of 40 CFR 124 .9) apply

; however, in the context of RCRA standardized permits, the

reference to draft permits is 40 CFR 124

.204(c) instead of 124 .6 ." Therefore, this subsection

of the State regulation is not identical in substance to the equivalent federal regulation and

should have been revised accordingly . NOTE

: This type of "exception statement" for a

standardized permit is made in the preceding Section 705

.302(a)(4)(H) (40 CFR

124 .204(d)(8)) .

4 . Section 727

.100(b) (our original comment #41 on R06-18)

: States that a facility with interim

status

as provided

must comply

in Subpart

with

S

the

of

requirements

35 111

. Admof .

35

CodeIll724

. Adm

. This

. Code

is consistent

725 instead

with

of

the727

. . .

except

corresponding federal regulation at 40 CFR 267 .2 . However, it is unclear why a regulation

directed at a facility with interim status (Section 727

.100(b)) would refer to the Special

Provisions for Cleanup (the regulations for CAMUs, temporary units, etc

.) in Subpart S of

Part 724 (or 40 CFR 264)

. Neither Subpart S of Part 724 nor Section 725

.101 (Purpose,

Scope, and Applicability) make any reference to an exception to the interim status standards

in Subpart S of Part 724.

5 . Section 727 .170(f)(1), Biennial Report

(our original comment #46 on R06-18) : This

subsection states, "The report must cover facility activities during the previous calendar year

and must include the following information

:" This is consistent with the equivalent federal

regulation at 40 CFR 267 .75(a)

. Thus, as written, the Agency (and/or USEPA) would only

receive information regarding facility activities for every other year .

2

---

The federal regulations for other permitted facilities at 40 CFR 270

.30(1)(9) and 264 .75

require a biennial

report . However, the State equivalents at 35 III . Adm . Code 703

.246(c)

and 724 .175 require an annual report be provided

. Therefore, in order to be consistent with

the existing State regulations for other permitted facilities, and in order to receive

information regarding facility activities for each year, the Agency feels that Section

727.170(f)(1) should have been reworded to specify that an

annual report must be provided

.

Section 20 .1 of the Environmental Protection Act (415 ILCS 5/20

.1) requires the Agency to

compile and make available an annual report regarding certain hazardous waste operations

.

If we are only receiving biennial reports from facilities, how to we effectively put together

our annual reports? Additionally, the financial assurance requirements in Section 727

.240(c)

require annual updates to account for inflation

. Again, how would the Agency check

compliance with that requirement if a site only provides closure cost estimates biennially?

6 . Section 727 .900(e) (our original comment #56 on R06-18)

: subsection (e) contains the

alternate secondary containment requirements for containment buildings . It states, "the

Agency must, in writing, allow the use of alternatives to the requirements for secondary

containment . . . The equivalent federal regulation at 40 CFR 267.1104

states, "the

Regional Administrator may waive the requirements for secondary containment

. . ."

Therefore, as written, the requirements in 727 .900(e) are not consistent and are arguably less

stringent than the equivalent federal regulations

. Section 727 .900(e) should have been

revised to read, "Agency may waive the requirements for secondary containment

. . ." in

order to be consistent with the federal regulations .

7 . Section 727

.900(b)(2) (our original comment #59 on R06-18) : subsection (h)(2) states, "The

containment building also meets the requirements of Sections 727 .290(f)(1), (f)(2)(A),

and

(f)(2)(B)

." This is consistent with the equivalent federal regulation at 40 CFR 267 .1107(b),

which refers to 40 CFR 267 .195(a), (b)(1) & (2) .

However, section 727 .290(0(2) (and the

federal equivalent) states that in order to meet the requirements of (f)(1), all of the

requirements of (f)(2) (i .e.,

subsections (f)(2)(A) thru (f)(2)(D)) must be met . The

requirements in Section 727 .900(h)(2) (and the federal equivalent) are not internally

consistent, and appear to contradict themselves

. It appears that 40 CFR 267 .1107(b) and 35

Ill . Adm . Code 727 .900(h)(2) reference the wrong subsections of the secondary containment

regulations for tanks

. We believe they should have been revised to reference 40 CFR

267 .195(a) and (b) and 35 111 . Adm . Code 727 .290(f)(1) and (f)(2), respectively .

Additionally, the Agency again wishes to voice the general concern that the current format of

Part 727 is extremely difficult to follow . It is not consistent with the format of the federal

regulations at all, which makes it very difficult for both the Agency and the regulated community

to follow . When this Part is reopened at some point in the future, the Illinois EPA would suggest

that the Part he restructured to follow the format of the federal regulations .

If you have questions or comments regarding this letter or wish to discuss this further, please do

not hesitate to contact me . Otherwise, I would appreciate you letting me know if there is

anything we could be doing to fixing the items addressed above .

3

---

im Geving

Assistant Counsel

Division of Legal Counsel

(217) 782-5544

Cc :

Rob Watson

Steve Nightingale

4