dcl
/
Chemical
industry
oIc
August 11,2009
AUG
r,
Mr. Timothy Fox,
Hearing
Officer
Illinois Pollution
Control Board
James R. Thompson
Center
j’.
-
100 W.
Randolph, Suite 11-500
Chicago,
Illinois 60601
RE:
Rulemaking R2006-22
In the Matter
of: NOx
Trading Program:
Amendments
to 35 III. Adm.
Code
Pan
217;
Response
to
Motions
by
the Illinois
Environmental Regulatory
Group
Dear Tim:
I am writing
on behalf of the Chemical
Industry Council
of Illinois (CICI)
in
response
to the
Illinois
Pollution Control Board’s
(“Board”)
August
6, 2009 Order requesting
responses
to
the
Illinois Environmental
Regulatory
Group’s (“IERG”)
Motion for Emergency
Rule and
Motion
for
Expedited
Action
on
IERG’s Alternative
Proposal (collectively
“Motions”).
CICI would like
to
offer our support
for the Motions,
and urge the Board
to
consider
the following in ruling
on
the
Motions:
1.
CICI believes it is
in the best
interest of
business in Illinois to
adopt rules,
such as the
emergency
rule
and
alternative
proposal described
in
the
Motions, that require
NOx
allowances to
be
distributed
for
the 2009
ozone season,
as
well
as subsequent
control
periods.
2.
The CICI membership
includes companies
that are owners
or
operators
of budget
units
subject to
the
current
Subpart U. 35 III.
Admin.
Code
Part
217.Subpart
U.
3.
CICI understands
that no
sources
subject to
the
current
Subpart
U
have received
allocations
of NOx allowances
for the
2009 ozone
season, nor for
any
subsequent
years.
4.
CICI
understands that the
current version
of
Subpart
U
is
a
valid and
enforceable
regulation
in Illinois that
requires
subject sources
to hold NOx allowances
for each
ton of
NOx emitted
during the ozone
season
by
November
30 of the
applicable year.
5.
CICI
understands
that the
USEPA is
no
longer issuing
allowances for the
NOx Budget
Trading Program,
as would be
required
to satisfy the above
described requirement.
Headquarters
1400 E.
Touhy Ave.,
Suite 110, Des Plaines,
IL 60018 Tel:
847/544-5995 Fax:
847/544-5999
Springfield Office
400
W.
Monroe, Suite 205,
Springfield,
IL 62704 Tel:
217/522-5805
Fax: 217/522-5815
www.cicil.net
cici
/
flSt10
6.
CICI
understands that NOx
allowances could
potentially
be obtained through
the
purchase
of
Clean
Air
Interstate
Rule (“CAIR”)
NOx
allowances,
although
we
are
uncertain whether
those allowances would
be legally
sufficient
to
satisfy the Subpart
U
requirement to
hold NOx
SIP
Call
allowances.
Nor, even if
sufficient,
could our
members
demonstrate compliance
with the
requirement,
due to their inability
to
obtain
CAIR
compliance accounts
from the USEPA
Clean Air Markets
Division (“CAMD”),
absent
a
federally approved
trading program
in
Illinois.
7.
CICI
is
concerned
that our
members,
through no fault
of their own, may
be in violation
of
both the
law and their Clean
Air
Act Permit Program
(“CAAPP”)
permits, if immediate
action is
not
taken
to
remedy the above
described
circumstances.
The potential for
violation
of an applicable regulation
and/or
CAAPP permit
condition could subject
them
to federal,
state, or third-party
enforcement
actions, in addition
to being required
to
disclose
the
potential
liability
on
Securities
and Exchange
Commission filings.
CICI appreciates
the opportunity
to provide this
response. In light
of the above,
dcl requests
that
the Board grant IERG’s
Motion for Emergency
Rule in
order to require
that 2009 NOx
allowances be distributed
to
impacted
sources,
and grant
IERG’s Motion for
Expedited
Action
on IERG’s
Alternative Proposal
in
order to bring
NOx
SIP Call
budget
units
into the
CAIR
NOx
Ozone Season Trading
Program
for
the 2010
control
period
and
beyond.
Thank you for
your
time
and
consideration
in
understanding
this
issue.
If
you
or your staff
has
any questions concerning
this or
any other
matter,
do
not
hesitate to contact
us
in
the
Springfield office.
Sincerely,
Mark A. BieI
Executive
Director
Headquarters
1400 E.
Touhy Ave., Suite
110,
Des
Plaines,
IL
60018 Tel:
847/544-5995
Fax:
847/544-5999
Springfield
Office
400W. Monroe,
Suite 205, Springfield,
IL 62704
Tel:
217/522-5805
Fax: 217/522-5815
www.cicil.net
