ILLINOIS

ENVIRONMENTAL

PROTECTION

AGENCY

1021

NORTH

GRAND

AVENUE

EAST,

P.O. Box

19276,

SPRINGFIELD,

ILLINOIS

62794-9276

— (

21

7)

782-3397

JAMES

R.

THOMPSON

CENTER,

100

WEST RANDOLPH,

SUITE 11-300,

CHICAGO,

IL 60601

—

(31

2) 814-6026

DOUGLAS

P.

SCOTT,

DIRECTOR

217/782-3397

TDD217/782

9143

ECEVED

-

CLERK’S OFFICE

MAR

23

2O9

March

20,

2009

STATE

OF

ILLINOIS

Pollution

Control

Board

Dr.

G. Tanner

Girard

Acting

Chairman

Illinois

Pollution

Control

Board

100

West

Randolph

Street

Chicago,

Illinois

60601

RE:

R07-19

&

R08-19:

Request

to Expedite

to

Avoid

Federal

Sanctions

Dear

Dr. Girard:

I am

writing

to

emphasize the

urgent

need

for

the adoption

of

two

pending

rulemakings

in

front

of

the

Illinois

Pollution

Control

Board

(Board)

on

Nitrogen

Oxides

(NOx)

Reasonably

Available

Control

Technology

(RACT).

Specifically,

the

two

rules

are:

1.

R07-19:

NOx

Emissions

from

Stationary

Reciprocating

Internal

Combustion

Engines

and

Turbines:

Amendments

to 35

IAC

Section

201.146

and

Parts

211

and

217; and

2.

R08-19:

Amendments

to 35

Ill. Adm.

Code

217,

Nitrogen

Oxides

Emissions,

and 35

IAC

211.

The

State

of

Illinois

faces

potential

dire

consequences

in

the

form

of

federal

sanctions

should

either

of these

rules

fail

to

be adopted

prior

to September

24,

2009.

Please

find

attached

a

March

12,

2009

letter

sent

to

me

from

the

Bharat

Mathur,

Acting

Regional

Administrator, United

States

Environmental

Protection

Agency

(USEPA)

Region

V.

The

letter

provides

background

information

and

also

expresses

the

urgent

need

for

adoption

of

these

rules.

Note

that

the USEPA

letter

clearly

outlines

that

the first

of

these

sanctions

will

commence

September

24,

2009,

and

further

sanctions

follow

shortly

thereafter,

and are

automatic.

Needless

to

say,

these

sanctions

are

serious

and

would

jeopardize

Illinois’

efforts

to

receive

federal

stimulus

money

from

the American

Recovery

and Reinvestment

Act

of 2009

(ARRA).

The

time

available

to

avoid

the implementation

of

sanctions

is

very

short.

Sanctions

can

best

be

avoided

if

the Board

acts

quickly

to adopt

the NOx

RACT

rules.

I

encourage

the

Board

to

adopt

the

above-referenced

NOx

Rules

as quickly

as possible

to

avoid

the

imposition

of

the

sanctions.

ROCKFORD

—4302

North

Main Street,

Rockford,

IL

61103

— (815)

987-7760

0

DES

PLAINES

—9511

W. Harrison

St., Des

Plaines,

IL 60016

—(847)

294-4000

ELGIN

—595

South

State, Elgin,

IL 60123

— (847)

608-3131

PEORIA

—5415

N. University

St., Peoria,

IL 61614—

(309)

693-5463

BUREAU

OF

LAND

- PEORIA

—

7620 N.

University

St.,

Peoria,

IL

61614—

(309)

693-5462

CHAMPAIGN

—2125

South First

Street,

Champaign,

IL 61820—

(217)

278-5800

SPRINGFIELD

—4500

5.

Sixth

Street Rd.,

Springfield,

IL

62706

—(217)

786-6892

e

COLLINSVILLE

—2009

MaIl Street,

Collinsville,

IL

62234

—(618) 346-5120

MARION

—2309

W.

Main St.,

Suite

116,

Marion,

IL 62959

—(618)

993-7200

PRINTED

ON RECYCLED

PAPER

---

Please

let

me

know

of any

actions that

I may

take

to aid in

the Board’s

adoption

of these

rules in

as

quick

a marmer

as

possible.

I

sincerely

appreciate

your

efforts

as we continue

forward

on

our

joint mission

to protect public

health

and

the

environment.

truly

yours,

Attachment

Scott

Director

2

---

MAR

1

2

2009

Douglas P. Scott,

Director

Illinois

Environmental Protection Agency

1021 North Grand

Avenue

East

P.O.

Box 19276

Springfield, Illinois

62794-9276

Dear

Mr.

Scott:

The

State of Illinois needs to address the findings of failure to

submit

required ozone

State

Implementation

Plan (SIP) elements

previously

identified by the U.S.

Environmental

Protection Agency

in a

March

17, 2008,

letter

and in

a March

24, 2008, final rule

(73 FR

15416).

The

final rule began a

sanctions clock

that, if not terminated

or

stayed by EPA,

will result

in the

implementation of

several sanctions in the Chicago and Metro-East St.

Louis

8-hour ozone

nonattainment

areas, as early as September 2009. I am

sending this

letter to request expedited

action by

the Illinois

Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) and the Illinois Pollution

Control

Board (IPCB) to

complete the ozone

SIP development

and

adoption process for the

missing SIP

elements

(discussed

below) to avoid implementation

of

sanctions.

Failure

to submit the following

SIP elements were identified in the

March

17, 2008, letter

and the

March 24,

2008, final rule.

1.

Chicago

ozone

nonattainment

area:

a.

an 8-hour ozone

Reasonable Further Progress (RFP)

plan

b.

an 8-hour ozone

attainment

demonstration

c.

Volatile Organic Compounds

(VOC)

Reasonably Available Control Technology

(RACT)

rule certification (or new rules for source categories lacking existing

RACT rules) for

source

categories

covered

by Control Technique Guidelines

(CTGs) issued prior to September 15, 2006, or for major non-CTG sources

d.

Nitrogen Oxides (NOx) RACT rules

2.

Metro-East

St. Louis

ozone

nonattainment

area:

a.

NOx RACT rules

The

specific timing

for the various sanctions that could

be

triggered

if Illinois

continues

to

fail to adopt

and

submit

the

required SIP

elements

are as

follows.

.

UNITED STATES

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

AGENCY

REGION

5

77 WEST JACKSON BOULEVARD

CHICAGO.

IL

60604-3590

REPLY TO

THE

ATTENTION OF

R- 1

9J

RecycIedIRecyctabe

• Printed with

Vegetable

Oil

Based

Inks

on

100% Recycled Paper

50%

Postconsurner)

---

2

If, by

September

24,

2009,

Illinois

has

not

submitted

all

of

the

required

SIP

elements

listed

above

(including

final,

adopted

VOC

and

NOx

RACT

rules

where

applicable),

pursuant

to

section

179(a) of

the

Act

and

40

CFR

52.31,

the

new

source

offset

sanction,

identified

in

section

I

79(b)(2)

of

the

Act,

will

apply

in

the

Chicago

and

Metro-East

St.

Louis

areas.

The

increased

new

source

emissions

offset

ratio

(2:1)

will

make

it

more

difficult

for

new

sources

to

locate

in

the

nonattainment

areas.

If,

by

six

months

after

imposition

of the

first

sanction,

Illinois

has

not

submitted

the

required

SIP

elements,

highway

sanctions

will

be

implemented

in

accordance

with

40

CFR

52.31.

This

may

adversely

affect

Federal

funding

of

new

highway

projects,

including

highway

project

funding under

the

American

Recovery

and

Reinvestment

Act

of

2009,

and

would

restrict

the

types

of

highway

projects

that

the

State

and

local

governments

can

implement.

Finally,

if

by

March

24,

2010,

Illinois

has

not

submitted

the

required

SIP

elements

and

EPA

has

not

approved

these

SIP

revisions,

section

110(c)

of

the

Act

provides

for

EPA

to

promulgate

Federal

Implementation

Plans

(FIPs)

to replace

the

missing

SIP

elements.

If

it

is

necessary

for

EPA

to

promulgate

a

FIP,

EPA

may

pay

the

costs

of

developing

and

promulgating

this

plan

with section

105

funds

that

would

otherwise

be

given

to

Illinois.

EPA is very concerned

that

the

time

available

to

avoid

the

implementation

of

sanctions

in

this

case

is

very

short.

We

look

forward

to

working

closely

with

Illinois

to

ensure

that

the

Act’s

requirements

are

met

in

a

timely

manner

and

to

avoid

adverse

consequences

of failure

to do

so.

If

you

have

any

questions

about

this

issue,

please

contact

me

or

Cheryl

Newton

at 312-353-6730.

Sincely,

/

Bharat Mathur

Acting

Regional

Administrator

cc:

Laurel

Kroack,

Director

Bureau

of

Air,

Illinois

EPA

.