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December 20, 2013 1 ^ 2014 JA N 

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### The Honorable Regina A. McCarthy ^ - 

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

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### 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

# $00 46 2 I - _ASS MAI._ Hasler 12120:2013 US POSTAGE 

## ILLINOIS ENERGY ASSOCIATION 1 WEST OLD STATE CAPITOL PLAZA, SU.TE 509 SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS 62701


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## J 1 i 1 1 1 7.1 1 3 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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