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Panhandle Eastern Pipe Line Co. v. Illinois Environmental Protection Agency

Case Date: 06/05/2000
Court: 4th District Appellate
Docket No: 4-99-0517

5 June 2000

NO. 4-99-0517

IN THE APPELLATE COURT

OF ILLINOIS

FOURTH DISTRICT

PANHANDLE EASTERN PIPE LINE COMPANY,
                         Petitioner,
                         v.
THE ILLINOIS ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY and THE ILLINOIS POLLUTION
CONTROL BOARD,
                         Respondents.		 )
)
)
)
)
)
)
)		 Administrative Review
from the Illinois
Pollution Control board
No. 98-102

JUSTICE McCULLOUGH delivered the opinion of the court:

Pursuant to section 41(a) of the Illinois EnvironmentalProtection Act (Act) (415 ILCS 5/41(a) (West 1998)), section 3-113(a) of the Administrative Review Law (735 ILCS 5/3-113(a) (West1998)), and Supreme Court Rule 335 (155 Ill. 2d R. 335), petitionerPanhandle Eastern Pipe Line Company brings this direct review of adecision of the Illinois Pollution Control Board (Board). TheBoard upheld a denial by the Illinois Environmental ProtectionAgency (IEPA) of petitioner's application to revise a permit. Thiscourt has allowed the Illinois Environmental Regulatory Group tofile a brief as amicus curiae.

The issues are whether (1) the appeal should be deniedbecause petitioner has expressly abandoned any challenge to the Board's second ground for upholding the denial of application; (2)the IEPA lacked authority to reconsider emission limitations in apreviously issued permit in general and because petitioner did notseek timely review of that permit when issued; and (3) federalregulations for prevention of significant deterioration (PSD)became applicable because petitioner's facility exceeded theemission limitation in the previously issued permits even thoughpetitioner sought revision of those limitations because (a) thatlimitation was set to avoid PSD application and (b) it may havebeen miscalculated. We affirm.

The relevant facts are undisputed. On September 17,1987, petitioner filed with the IEPA an application for a construction permit to replace 12 of its 15 compressor engines at theGlenarm Station in Sangamon County, Illinois, with four newerengines. On February 10, 1988, the IEPA issued a constructionpermit for petitioner to replace the old engines and imposed threespecial conditions: (1) to avoid the application of federal PSDrules (40 C.F.R.