ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD

March 7,

1972

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

v.

)

ft

71—297

GENERAL IRON INDUSTRIES, INC..,

etal.

GENERAL IRON INDUSTRIES, INC.,

et al.

V.

~

71—335

ENVIRON~NTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

Mr. James

I, Rubin, Assistant Attorney General, for the

Environmental Protection Agency

Mr. Harry A. Young,

Jr., Neistein, Richman,

Hauslinger & Young, Ltd.,

for General Iron Industries, Inc., et al,

Opinion of the Board (by Mr. Currie):

General Iron operates a secondary metals facility in Chicago,

at which scrap aluminum, zinc, and other metals are ~ec1aimed.

The Agency’s complaint charged the company with causing air

pollution under the Environmental Protection Act; with smoke

emissions exceeding the applicable Ringelmann standard; and

with particulate emissions above those permitted by the process

weight table of the Rules and Regulations Governing the Control

of Air Pollution. General Iron responded with a variance petition

seeking time in which to make certain new control installations,

without conceding any violations. The parties entered into

a stipulation g~rerning a number of factual issues and agreed upon

a program of future improvements. They did not agree, however,

as to whether or not there had been any violations. The company

argues there were none; the Agency argues there were and asks

a penalty of $3000. Depositions appended to the stipulation

are offered as the basis for our determination on this issue.

We find an air pollution violation and impose a penalty of

$1500 for reasons that follow.

The Ringelmann count was withdrawn by the Agency and need

not detain us. On the process weight issue, t~eAgency has made

calculations on the basis of standard emission factors in an effort

to demonstrate violations (see Ex. 8 to Hoffman deposition, p. 2).

Such calculations, in the absence of actual tests, are acceptable

proof. See EPA v. Lindgren Foundry Co., #70-1 (Sept. 25, 1970).

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In the present case there are two kindsof furnaces, reverberatory

and sweat furnaces. There are three of~the latter, which are

equipped with afterburners. The emission factors used were based

upon the assumption the furnaces were not equipped with control

equipment (Hoffman deposition, p. 122)

,

while the evidence is

that a portion of the emissions in this case are grease and

other combustibles (id., pp. 115, 117) that would be to some

extent reduced by the afterburners (Ex. 8, supra). The Agency

thus has not proved these furnaces violated the process weight

table. The single reverberatory furnace is uncontrolled, and the

calculations show emissions very slightly in excess of those

permitted (at actual production rates, 5.38 lb/hr emitted,

4.76 lb/hr allowed. Ex. 8, supra). While this is enough for a

violation and justifies a~controlprogram, we do not think it

cause for a money penalty, since the violation is small, since

the law has been applicable to Chicago sources only since July

1970, and since General Iron now has agreed to an acceptable

control program.

But the evidence firmly establishes that persons working

in the neighborhood have been subjected to significant nocturnal

nuisances as the result of General Iron’s activities. While

normal operations as observed py a state inspector appear not to

cause a nuisance (Hoffman deposition, pp. 53-54, 87-88), a

construction company employee working nearby testified to the

frequent existence of a severe nuisance attributable to General

Iron:

A No, I began wondering in March what is all this stuff

that is on these cars, I brought my Buick up there

one night and it was a white car apd it was all covered

black.

.

Q Now the situation then with these cars covered, you

mean you would come back from the job in the morning

and find your car covered, is that it?

A Sometimes it would be landed on there when we left.

Q And how many times would it land on there when you left?

A Well, depending on the way the wind wasblowing, It

doesn’t blow the same way all the time,~but whenever it

blows ~from their way our way, why, the cars get covered.

Q Do you remember how many times that occurred?

A Two or three nignts a week.

Q And this would be two or three nights a week for how

many weeks?

A Continuous every week.

3

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741)

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Q Now can you describe what you saw?

A I saw the flame coming up out of the chimney and they

had at least one going out of the stack--at least one

going when I was standing there looking at it, and you

could feel the stuff in the air landing. It was like

being in a dust storm. You could feel the stuff. I

came back the next morning and there was the truck all

covered with black dust, fly ash.

Q When was the last time you had the truck there?

A Saturday. We had to use dry rags and dry terry towels

to rub the film off and it just still wouldn’t take it

off.

(Crampton deposit~ion, pp. 11, 22—23).

These episodes occurred since March, 1971, when the employee

began working in this area. Another employee of the same

firm corroborated this evidence:

“A.

. .

when my car was parked when they burned that stuff

at night all that grease film would just be on it in the

morning, from the burning at night.

. . .

When that thick

smoke comes out of those chimneys there you can’t even

see or you can’t breathe it is so thick” (Hacker deposition,

p. 12). See also Id., p. 17.

These witnesses surmised that the cause of these emissions

might be the burning of insulated wire.

We cannot determine the specific cause and need not. It

is enough that significant interference with nearby persons

resulted from General Iron’s activities and that there is no

proof the interference was unavoidable. Indeed the fact that

normally the plant causes no nuisance, as observed by inspectors,

suggests the nuisance was avoidable, and the company’s compliance

program makes that clear. We find air Pollution was caused in

violation of the statute. We impose a penalty of $1500 because

of the seriousness of the nuisance.

The control program agreed upon by the parties is quite

acceptable. A baghouse to meet the particulate reguLation will

be installed and compliance achieved by July 31, 1972. In the

interim the company agrees not to burn insulated wire;

to limit its production so as to reduce emissions;; to file

a $150,000 bond to assure performance; and to file monthly

progress reports. We shall hold the company to these agreements.

The variance is to this extent granted, the enforcement case

concluded, and the stipulation accepted.

3

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741

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ORDER

1. General Iron Industries, Inc., and General Iron & Metal

Co. (hereinafter “General Iron”) shall take the steps

outlined in its amended variance petition, and shall construct

the control equipment therein described, so as to achieve

compliance with the particulate emission limitations of the

Rules and Regulations Governing the Control of Air Pollution,

by no later than July 31, 1972.

2. General Iron shall within 35 days after receipt of this

order post with-the Agency a performance bond in the

amount of $150,000 to assure compliance with the terms

and conditions of this Order.

3. General Iron shall cease and desist from any burning or

incineration of insulated cooper wire until completion of

its compliance program as described in paragraph 1 of this

order.

4. General Iron shall file with the Agency monthly progress

reports, beginning April 10, 1972, with respect to its per-

formance pursuant to said compliance program.

5. General Iron shall, continue to pursue its application

for an installation permit with the Agency and

cooperate fully in effectuating any changes required by the

Agency which do not totally change the general concept of

said compliance program as set forth in General Iron’s permit

applications.

6. General Iron shall limit its rate of operations to the

following rate until completion of the compliance program:

Type of Material

Tons per Month

Aliminum Alloy Scrap

200

Zinc Alloy Scrap

80

Lead Scrap

500

Copper Scrap

225

7. General Iron shall within 35 days after receipt of ‘this

order pay to the State of Illinois, inpenalty, the sum of

$1500. Penalty payment by certified check or money order

shall be made to the Fiscal Services Division, Environmental

Protection Agency, 2200 Churchill Road, Springfield,

Illinois 62706.

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8. General Iron is hereby granted a variance to operate in

excess of the particulate emission limits of the Rules and

Regulations Governing the Control of Air Pollution until

July 31, 1972, on condition the other paragraphs of this

order are complied with, Failure to adhere to this condition

shall be grounds for termination of the variance.

I, Christan Moffett, Clerk of the Pollution Contro~lBoard, certify

that the Board adopted the a eve Opinion this

~7

~ day of

March, 1972 by a vote of

-Ø

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