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December 20, 2013 1 ^ 

2014 JA N -9 AM 6: 42 

The Honorable Regina A. McCarthy ^ - 

Administrator Y^^^ 'TFj,,,, ^} LF ^!^ T 

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ^' ^ ^^+ ,^t 5E^^rr 1;^Rp,j 

William Jefferson Clinton North Building Mail Code: 1101A 

1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW 

Washington, DC 20460-0001 

Dear Administrator McCarthy: 

We are writing to express our views on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 

rulemaking regarding cooling water intake structures at existing electric generation and 

manufacturing facilities. The Illinois Energy Association is a trade association representing the 

state's investor-owned electricity and natural gas utilities and power generation companies. The 

Illinois Environmental Regulatory Group represents the environmental-related interests of its 51 

member companies throughout the State, including major industrial facilities and companies in 

the chemical, food, pharmaceutical, transportation equipment, energy, heavy manufacturing, 

steel, oil, cement and power generation sectors. Representing nearly 4,000 companies, the 

Illinois Manufacturers' Association is the oldest and largest state manufacturing trade association 

in the United States and the only statewide association in Illinois dedicated exclusively to 

advocating, promoting and strengthening the business environment for manufacturers. The 

Illinois Chamber of Commerce is an Illinois statewide trade association, composed of more than 

3,500company members, which works closely with the business community in the State of 

Illinois to monitor and respond to federal and state laws and legal decisions that affect the 

business community. 

Since the Clean Water Act (CWA) section 316(b) rulemaking is nearing completion, we want to 

emphasize our interest in a final rule that provides adequately flexible compliance options. We 

encourage the Agency to finalize a rule that recognizes and implements a flexible approach when 

making best-technology available decisions. We understand that the draft final rule provides a 

suite of compliance options for reducing impingement mortality that strikes a balance between 

uniform decision making and flexible implementation. 

It remains essential, however, to establish entrainment control decisions site-specifically. States 

must be permitted to take into account a wide range of site-specific environmental, energy, 

technological, and economic factors in selecting the best technology available for minimizing 

adverse environmental impact. Only this approach can ensure that environmental benefits are 

achieved by requiring the installation and operation of the appropriate technologies while 

avoiding possible adverse environmental and energy impacts. 

A final rule that limits technology choices, or mandates the use of closed-cycle cooling (e.g., 

cooling towers) would be extremely expensive and may not be feasible in all cases. A national 

standard requiring closed-cycle cooling (e.g., cooling towers) could result in adverse 

environmental impacts such as increased fine particulate air emissions and increased 

consumptive use of water. The power sector is making considerable investments in power plants
in order to comply with a variety of environmental regulations. A mandate for closed-cycle 

cooling would require additional compliance investments making some facilities uneconomic, 

forcing retirement and causing adverse energy impacts. States need the discretion to weigh costs 

and benefits and accommodate the variability in aquatic resources, other environmental factors 

and physical site configurations when selecting entrainment control options. 

In addition, cooling water intake structure permits include a great deal of site-specific 

information that has to be carefully collected, prepared and analyzed. It is a task the industry 

does not take lightly but neither should it be made more difficult by unnecessarily constraining 

the compliance deadline in which to complete the necessary studies and analyses. We urge EPA 

to provide a reasonable time period for plant owners to collect and state permitting authorities to 

evaluate information necessary to process permit applications. 

Lastly, it is imperative that cooling ponds created specifically to serve as integral components of 

closed-cycled cooling systems, not be subject to regulation simply because the cooling ponds 

were created in or impound "Waters of the United States." Precluding such closed-cycled 

cooling systems from satisfying section 316(b) impingement and entrainment standards is unfair, 

costly, environmentally unnecessary, and could have the perverse effect of causing facility 

owners to draw more water from nearby rivers, aquifers or municipal supplies as a means to 

comply with the regulations. 

Thank you for considering our views in obtaining a flexible, balanced rule that is 

administratively achievable, environmentally protective and economically justifiable. We are 

sure the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency stands ready to work with you and your staff 

to assure the best possible outcome on this rulemaking. 

Sincerely

k, Yh olk, 

Janies t. Monk, President 

Illino' Energy As ociation 

Alec Messina, xecutive Director 

Illinois Environmental Regulatory Group 

Mark Den er, Vice President & COO 

Illinois Manufacturers' Association 

Todd Maisch, Executive Vice President 

Illinois Chamber of Commerce

2
cc:	Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-2008-0667; www.regulations.gov

Lisa Bonnett, Director, Illinois Environmental Protection Agency 

Marcia Willhite, Bureau of Water, Illinois Environmental Protection Agency
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Hasler I - _ASS MAI._ 

12120:2013 

US POSTAGE 

ILLINOIS ENERGY ASSOCIATION 

1 WEST OLD STATE CAPITOL PLAZA, SU.TE 509 

SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS 62701 

NI ,1i 1 1J1i1117.113 THE HONORABLE REGINA A. MCCARTHY 

U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY 

WILLIAM JEFFERSON CLINTON NORTH 

BUILDING MAIL CODE: 1101A 

1200 PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE, NW 

WASHINGTON, DC 20460-0001 

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