ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
August 21, 2008
DYNEGY MIDWEST GENERATION, INC.
(BALDWIN ENERGY COMPLEX),
Petitioner,
v.
ILLINOIS ENVIRONMENTAL
PROTECTION AGENCY,
Respondent.
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PCB 09-9
(Permit Appeal - Air)
ORDER OF THE BOARD (by N.J. Melas):
By order of August 7, 2008, the Board accepted for hearing the July 29, 2008 petition for
review (Pet.) of a June 19, 2008 construction permit issued to Dynegy Midwest Generation, Inc.
(Dynegy) by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (Agency). See 415 ILCS 5/40(a)(1)
(2006); 35 Ill. Adm. Code 105.206(a). The Agency granted Dynegy a construction permit, with
conditions, authorizing the installation of a baghouse, scrubber, sorbent injection systems, and
associated booster fans for Unit 1 and Unit 2 boilers at the Baldwin Energy Complex, located in
Baldwin, Randolph County.
Dynegy appeals many permit conditions it alleges the Agency has inappropriately
included, citing a variety of grounds. In the body of its petition, Dynegy includes a request for
stay of contested permit conditions. Pet. at 3-5, and Exh. 2.
In its August 7, 2008 order accepting the petition for hearing, the Board reserved ruling
on the requested stay pending any Agency response. To date, the Board has received no
response from the Agency regarding Dynegy’s request for a stay. Section 101.500(d) of the
Board’s procedural rules provides that, “[w]ithin 14 days after service of a motion, a party may
file a response to the motion. If no response is filed, the party will be deemed to have waived
objection to the granting of the motion, but the waiver of objection does not bind the Board or
the hearing officer in its disposition of the motion.” 35 Ill. Adm. Code 101.500(d).
In its request for a partial stay, Dynegy notes that, “[h]istorically, the Board has granted
partial stays in permit appeals where a petitioner has so requested.” Pet. at 3-4 (citations
omitted). Stressing the risk that it will suffer irreparable harm and that the environment will not
benefit from improved pollution control, Dynegy asks “that the Board exercise its inherent
discretionary authority to grant a partial stay of the construction permit”.
Id
. at 4. Specifically,
Dynegy requests that the Board:
grant a partial stay of the construction permit, staying only those conditions or
portions of conditions indicated in Exhibit 2,
i.e
., Conditions 1.1 (b)(i), 1.4(a),
1.6-1 (a)(iii), 1.6-2(a)(ii), 1.7(e)(v), 1.7(e)(vii), 1.7(e)(viii), 1.8(b), 1.9-1, 1.9-
2(a)(i), 1.9-2(a)(ii), 1.9-2(a)(iii)(A),1.9-2(b), 1.9-2(c), 1.9-2(d), 1.9-3, 1.10-1, and
1.10-2. In the alternative, if the Board believes that it must stay the entirety of an
appealed condition rather than only the portions of the condition where so
indicated in Exhibit 2, Dynegy requests that the Board stay the entirety of each of
the conditions identified in Exhibit 2.
Id.
at 4-5.
The Board clearly has the authority to grant discretionary stays of the type requested
here. In Community Landfill Co. and City of Morris v. IEPA
, PCB 01-48, 01-49 (consol.), slip
op. at 4 (Oct. 19, 2000), the Board found "that it has the authority to grant discretionary stays
from permit conditions." The Board noted it "has previously granted or denied discretionary
stays in permit appeals, both when the Agency did and did not consent to such stays."
Id.
(citations omitted). The Board elaborated that "[t]he permit appeal system would be rendered
meaningless in many cases, if the Board did not have the authority to stay permit conditions."
Id.
The Board has reviewed the allegations in Dynegy’s stay request, as well as the specific
language requested-to-be-stayed, as detailed in Exhibit 2 to Dynegy’s petition. On the basis of
that review, and in the absence of any response to the request from the Agency, the Board grants
Dynegy's request for partial stay of the contested conditions in the construction permit for the
Baldwin Energy Complex. The Board stays those contested conditions and portions of
conditions as reflected in the edited permit filed as Exhibit 2 to Dynegy’s July 29, 2008 petition
for review and request for stay. Exhibit 2 is incorporated herein by reference as if fully set forth.
The partial stay remains in effect until the Board takes final action on the construction permit
appeal, or until the Board orders otherwise.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
I, John T. Therriault, Assistant Clerk of the Illinois Pollution Control Board, certify that
the Board adopted the above order on August 21, 2008, by a vote of 4-0.
___________________________________
John T. Therriault, Assistant Clerk
Illinois Pollution Control Board