ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
July 31, 1986
LIBBEY—OWENS-FORD
COMPANY,
Petitioner,
v.
)
PCB
86—118
ILLINOIS
ENVIRONMENTAL
)
PROTECTION
AGENCY,
)
Respondent.
OPINION
AND
ORDER
OF
THE
BOARD
(by
J.
D.
Dumelle):
This provisional variance request comes before the Board
upon
a July 31, 1986
Recontrnendation of
the Illinois Environmental
Protection Agency
(Agency).
The Agency recommends
that
a 7—day
provisional variance be granted
to the Libbey—Owens—Ford Company
from 35 Ill. Adm. Code 304.141
to allow
the discharge
of waters
which
are not in compliance with
its NPDES Permit while
a 24
inch
force main
is repaired and relocated.
The Petitioner owns and operates wastewater treatment
facilities located
in Ottawa,
Illinois.
The
company’s wastewater
treatment facilities
include
“a 24 inch force main across
the
Illinois River,
a Parshall flume,
and
3 lagoon cells.”
(Rec.
1).
The Libbey—Owens—Ford Company glass plants
*5 and *7
deliver process waste waters and
sanitary
waste
waters
“together
with some surface water through
a
24
inch pipe
to
a
lagoon/skimmer type waste treatment system located
on the
opposite
(South)
side
of the Illinois River from the plants.”
(Pet.
1).
Effluent from the Petitioner’s wastewater treatment
facilities
is
discharged
into the Illinois River pursuant
to the
requisite NPDES Permit authorization.
Because
of
recent
washouts
of
the
supporting
bank,
“part
of
the
24
inch pipe running parallel
to the North bank of the river
and
located
about
ten feet above
the river
is
in
jeopardy.”
(Pet.
1).
The
Petitioner
has
indicated
that
“this
part
should be
relocated onto solid ground very soon.”
(Pet.
1).
Additionally,
as
a temporary interim measure,
the Petitioner fitted several
sections of pipe with emergency plugs and scrap seals
to
eliminate leaks which
range
in size from
a pin hole to about one—
half inch
in diameter.
However,
the Petitioner has
indicated
that
“it
is unlikely that these repairs will
last until another
plant shutdown occurs.”
(Pet.
1).
Therefore,
during
the time
period of
the requested provisional variance,
the Petitioner
intends
to replace
the
sections
of
this pipe which have developed
leaks
that have been temporarily
repaired.
(Rec.
1).
71-466
—2—
Since glass plant
#7, which contributes
95
of the
wastewater flow
to the Petitioner’s waste treatment system, will
be down for vacation during
the weeks of July 14, 1986 and
July 21,
1986,
the company wants
to repair and relocate the
24 inch force main during
the week
of July 21, 1986.
(Pet.
1;
Rec.
1).
The Libbey—Owens—Ford Company believes that this
repair
and relocation work will
take somewhere between three to
five
days, and has requested
a variance for seven days
(from July 21,
1986 to July 28, 1986) to allow
for any unexpected contingencies
which may arise during
the course of the completion
of
the
requisite repair work.
(Pet.
1—2;
Rec.
1).
During the shutdown of the 24 inch force main,
the
Petitioner believes that there will
be “little or
no discharge
from the waste treatment system (outfall 009).”
(Pet.
1).
However,
there may be some discharges of untreated wastewater
from some
of the collection system stormwater overflow discharge
points.
(Pet.
1;
Rec.
2).
The combined total
of such discharges
directly to the Illinois River are estimated by the Petitioner
to
be at
a maximum of
70 gallons per minute.
(Pet.
1;
Rec.
2).
The
company has emphasized that it needs
the requested provisional
variance relief
“in order
to avoid an emergency repair
during
production operations when waste treatment flows
range as high as
2.5 MGD.”
(Pet.
2;
Rec.
2).
The Petitioner
has stated that there
is no practical
alternative
to removing the force main from service in order
to
facilitate the repair
and relocation of this 24
inch line and the
Agency has agreed with the company’s analysis
of this
situation.
(Rec.
2).
Although there
is
a possibility of total
suspended solids and
fecal coliform excursions from stormwater
overflow points while the
force main
is out of service,
based
on
information received by the Agency from the company on past
discharges from these outfalls,
it
is believed that such small
discharges would
be minor.
(Pet. 1—2; Rec.
2).
The Agency believes that the environmental
impact of
granting
the requested relief will
be minimal because of “the
short duration and small volume
of these discharges
in comparison
to the volume
of the Illinois River
(average flow upstream at
Marseilles during Water Year
84 was approximately 5 million
gpm).”
(Rec.
2).
The Agency has also indicated that there are no Federal
regulations that would preclude the granting
of the requested
provisional variance.
The first downstream public water supply
is located in Peoria,
Illinois and the Agency has concluded that
there are no downstream public water supplies which would be
adversely affected by the granting of
the requested relief.
(Rec.
2).
71-467
—3—
The Petitioner maintains,
and the Agency believes,
that
a
denial
of the requested provisional variance would create an
arbitrary or unreasonable hardship “because Petitioner plans
to
repair
and relocate the force main during
a period when flows are
reduced
to prevent having
to do
so
in an emergency situation when
flows will probably be much higher.”
(Rec.
2).
The Agency has therefore concluded that compliance on
a
short—term basis with the applicable standards would impose an
arbitrary or unreasonable hardship upon the Libbey—Owens—Ford
Company.
(Rec.
1—2).
Accordingly,
the Agency has recommended
that the Board grant
the Petitioner
a provisional variance from
35 Ill. Adm. Code 304.141,
subject to certain conditions.
Pursuant
to Section 35(b)
of the Illinois Environmental
Protection Act,
the Board will grant the provisional variance as
recommended.
This Opinion constitutes
the Board’s findings of
fact and
conclusions
of law
in this matter.
ORDER
The Petitioner,
the Libbey-Owens-Ford Company,
is hereby
granted
a provisional
variance from 35 Ill. Adm. Code 304.141 to
allow
the discharge of waters which
are not
in compliance with
its NPDES Permit while
its force main
is repaired and relocated,
subject
to the following conditions:
1.
The provisional variance shall commence on July 21,
1986,
and continue until July 28,
1986,
or until
the force main
is returned
to service, whichever
occurs
first.
2.
Any discharges which
occur from the stormwater
overflow points
shall
be monitored by collecting a
manual
composite sample each day during
the
provisional variance period and analyzing the
composite sample
for BOD, TSS,
and fecal
coliform.
The results
of these analyses shall be
submitted to the Agency with the July,
1986
discharge monitoring
report.
3.
During the provisional variance period,
the
/
Petitioner
shall operate its facilities
so as to
minimize the discharge of untreated wastes.
4.
Within 10 days of the date of the Board’s Order,
the Petitioner shall execute
a Certification of
Acceptance and Agreement which shall be sent to
Mr. James Frost of the Agency at the following
address:
71-468
—4—
Mr.
James
Frost
Illinois Environmental Protection Agency
Division of Water Pollution Control
2200 Churchill Road
Springfield, Illinois
62706
This certification shall have
the following form:
I,
(We),
_______________________________,
having read the
Order
of the Illinois Pollution Control Board
in PCB 86—118 dated
July 31, 1986, understand and accept
the said Order,
realizing
that such acceptance renders all terms
and conditions thereto
binding and unenforceable.
Petitioner
By:
Authorized Agent
Title
Date
IT IS SO ORDERED.
I, Dorothy
M.
Gunn,
Clerk of the Illinois Pollution Control
Board, hereby certify that the above Opin4on and Order was
adopted
on
the
____________
day
of
____________________,
1986
by
a
vote
of
__________________.
~/
/
/7(11
~
IDorothy M.
Gunr?, Clerk
Illinois Pollution Control Board
71.469