ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
February
1,
1979
QUINCY SOYBEAN COMPANY,
Petitioner,
v.
)
PCB 78—281
ILLINOIS ENVIRONMENTAL
PROTECTION AGENCY,
Respondent.
OPINION AND ORDER OF THE BOARD
(by Mr. Werner):
This matter comes before the Board on a Petition for Extension
of Variance filed on November 13,
1978 by Quincy Soybean Company
(“Quincy”)
requesting an extension of its existing variance
(PCB 76-113)
from the thermal discharge standard of Rule 203(i)
of
Chapter
3:
Water Pollution Regulations
to allow the discharge of
5.5 MGD of cooling water effluent
(average temperature 800 Fahrenheit)
to Curtis Creek, approximately 1,500 feet from its confluence with
the Mississippi River.
The Petitioner has waived its right to a
hearing,
and no hearing has been held.
On December 15,
1978, the
Illinois Environmental Protection Agency
(“Agency”)
filed its
Recommendation.
The Agency recommended that the Petition for
Extension of Variance be granted for a period to run until failure
or refusal of the City of Quincy to lease its
36 inch outfall
sewer to Petitioner, availability of that sewer to Petitioner, or
until July
1,
1979.
The Quincy Soybean Company, which processes soybeans to
produce soybean oil and soybean meal,
is located at 1900 South
Front Street in Quincy, Adams County,
Illinois.
The Petitioner
previously discharged
its cooling water and process water into the
Mississippi River via drainage ditches and pumping plant owned by
the South Quincy Drainage District.
The South Quincy Drainage
District refused to renew the Company’s contract (authorizing this
discharge)
which expired on December
31, 1976
(due to the District’s
inadequate pumping capacity).
At the present time,
there is no
evidence that the South Quincy Drainage District would consider
renewing its contract with the Quincy Soybean Company.
(Agency
Recommendation,
p.
3).
The variance that the Petitioner received on August
5,
1976
in PCB 76-113 was to terminate on the extension or modification of
Quincy’s contract to discharge to South Quincy Drainage District,
the failure of the City of Quincy to agree to lease
its
36 inch
32—497
—2—
outfall sewer to Petitioner,
the availability of the 36
inch sewer
to Petitioner, or upon December
31, 1978.
The Company has a
tentative agreement
to lease the City of Quincy’s
36 inch outfall
sewer to the Mississippi~River when that sewer
is abandoned by the
City.
This outfall sewer will be abandoned when the City’s new
sewage treatment plant becomes fully operational and the outfall
sewer is no longer needed for the old sewage treatment plant.
The
abandonment of the City of Quincy’s old sewage treatment plant was
originally predicted to occur
in July of 1978,
but has been
repeatedly postponed.
It now appears likely that the
36 inch
outfall sewer will not become available
to the Petitioner until
some time
in the near future after December 31,
1978.
The
Petitioner’s original variance was granted subject to its completion
of a separation of process waste, cooling water and waste from floor
drains by April
15,
1977,
and its submission of
a report to
the
Agency on the feasibility of phasing
its plant shutdowns to avoid
fish kills due to thermal
shock.
The Agency has indicated that
the Petitioner has timely complied
with
these conditions of the
Board Order of August
5,
1976.
(Agency Recommendation, p.
3).
Moreover,
the Agency has noted
“no instances of environmental harm
attributable to the heated discharge.”
(Agency Recommendation,
p.3).
The Agency believes that,
in view of the timetable and cost
involved in attaining compliance by installing a new sewer line to
the Mississippi River;
the negligible environmental damage due to
the discharge;
and the likelihood of compliance being achieved
shortly by lease of the City of Quincy’s 36 inch outfall sewer,
to
require the Petitioner to achieve compliance by construction of a
new sewer would impose an arbitrary and unreasonable hardship.
(Agency Recommendation,
p.
3).
The cost of installation of a new
sewer line from the Petitioner’s plant to the Mississippi River
was estimated by the Quincy Soybean Company in 1976 to be
$50,000.00
,
and would probably be considerably more today.
(Agency Recommendation,
p.
2).
Accordingly,
in light of the minimal environmental impact and
countervailing costs of compliance,
the Board finds that denial of
the requested relief would impose an arbitrary and unreasonable
hardship upon the Petitioner.
The Petitioner,
the Quincy Soybean
Company,
is hereby granted a variance from the thermal discharge
standard of Rule 203(i) of the Board’s Water Pollution Regulations
to allow the discharge of cooling water into Curtis Creek,
approximately 1,500 feet from its confluence from the Mississippi
River, at an average rate of 5.5 MGD and an average temperature of
80°F.
for a period
to run until failure or refusal of the City of
Quincy to lease its 36 inch outfall sewer to Petitioner, availability
of that sewer to Petitioner,
or until July
1,
1979.
The Board will direct the Agency to modify Petitioner’s NPDES
permit pursuant to Rule 914 of Chapter
3:
Water Pollution
32—498
*3—
Regulations to include interim monitoring and reporting require-
ments and such effluent limitations as may be reasonably achieved
through the application of best practicable operation and
maintenance practices in the existing facilities.
This Opinion constitutes the Board’s findings of fact and
conclusions of law in this matter.
ORDER
1.
The Petitioner,
the Quincy Soybean Company,
is hereby
granted a variance from Rule 203(i)
of Chapter
3:
Water Pollution
Regulations to allow the discharge of cooling water into Curtis
Creek, approximately 1,500 feet from its confluence from the
Mississippi River, at an average rate of 5.5 MGD and an average
temperature of 80°F.
for a period
to run until failure
or refusal
of the City of Quincy to lease its
36 inch outfall sewer to
Petitioner, availability of that sewer to Petitioner,
or until
July
1,
1979.
2.
Petitioner, within
30 days of the date of this order,
shall request Agency modification of NPDES permit to incorporate
all conditions of the variance set forth herein.
3.
The Agency, pursuant to Rule
91.4 of Chapter
3:
Water
Pollution Regulations shall modify NPDES permit consistent with the
conditions set forth
in this Order
including interim monitoring
and reporting requirements and such effluent limitations as may
reasonably be achieved through the application of best practicable
operation and maintenance practices in the existing facilities.
4.
Within forty-five
(45)
days of the date of this Order, the
Petitioner shall submit to the Manager, Variance Section, Division
of Water Pollution Control, Illinois Environmental Protection
Agency,
2200 Churchill
Road,
Springfield,
Illinois,
62706, an executed
Certification of Acceptance and Agreement to be bound to all terms
and conditions of the variance.
The forty-five day period herein
shall be suspended during judicial review of this variance pursuant
to Section
41 of the Illinois Environmental Protection Act.
The
form of said certification shall be as follows:
CERTIFICATION
I,
(We), _____________________________
having
read the Order of the Pollution Control Board
32—499
—4—
in PCB 78-281, understand and accept said Order,
realizing that such acceptance renders all terms
and conditions thereto binding and enforceable.
IT
IS SO ORDERED.
SIGNED
TITLE
DATE
I, Christan L.
Moffett, Clerk
of the Illinois Pollution
Control Board, herj~ycertify
-he above Opinion and Order were
adopted on the
j
day of
______,
1979 by a
vote of
-O
—.
Illinois Pollution
Board
•~2—30()