ILLINOIS POLLUTiON CONTROL BOARD

January 8, 1976

ABBOTT LABORATORIES,

Petitioner,

v.

)

PCB 75—424

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY,

)

Respondent.

OPINION AND ORDER OF THE BOARD (by Mr. Young):

Abbott Laboratories filed a petition for extension of

variance granted in PCB 74-338 on October 31, 1975, seeking

relief therein for its North Chicago treatment plant from

the standard set in Rule 404(d) of Chapter 3, Water Pollution

Control Regulations. Petitioner is a manufacturer of pharma-

ceutical and health care products and maintains a plant for

the treatment of process wastewater, seventy—five percent of

which is recycled and recovered, whereas twenty—five percent

is treated for discharge into Lake Michigan at a rate of

700,000 gallons per day. Petitioner is presently operating

the activated sludge treatment plant with a one year variance

granted by the Board on December 19, 1974.

In 1972, in order to bring its effluent into compliance

with Rule 404(d) by December 31, 1974, Petitioner obtained

Agency approval for a plan that consisted of diverting its

treated effluent to the proposed Gurnee plant of the North

Shore Sanitary District (NSSD). Due to delays in the con-

struction of the NSSD plant for reasons completely beyond

the control and without fault of Petitioner, Petitioner was

not able to divert its discharge to the NSSD by December 1974,

and therefore applied for and was granted the previously

mentioned variance. Although the Gurnee NSSD plant was

scheduled to begin operation in December 1974, it now appears

it will not be operational until sometime in early 1976.

We are disposed to grant relief. Agency evaluation of

Petitioner~s operating data indicates that since May of 1975,

Petitioner has consistently maintained BOD and suspended solids

concentrations consistent with prior Board Order. Petitioner

has long since completed all the connecting sewers and they are

ready for use. All that remains is for the NSSD to put the

Gurnee plant into operation.

19— 617

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—2—

This Opinion constitutes the findings of fact

and

con-

ORDER

IT IS

THE

ORDER of the Pollution Control

Board

that:

Abbott

Laboratories is granted variance

from

Rule 404 (d),

Chapter 3, Water Pollution Regulations, for the waste treatment

plant in North Chicago, Illinois, tor a period of one year

commencing December 19, 1975 or until diversion of the treatment

plant waste to the North Shore Sanitary District Gurnee plant,

whichever occurs first, subject to the following conditions:

1

•

That

SOD

and suspended solids concentrations be limited

to a monthly average of 20 and 25 mg/l respectively determined

on the basis of 24-hour composite samples averaged over

any

consecutive 30-day period. In addition, no more than 5 of

the samples collected shall exceed 2.5 times the limitations

herein established for

DOD and

suspended solids;

2. That Petitioner shall divert its treatment flow to the

Gurnee sewage treatment plant at the earliest practicable date,

but in no event later than 30 days from the date the North Shore

Sanitary District gives

Abbott

notice to divert, or 90 days after

secondary treatment facilities

are

completed, whichever is sooner;

3. That Petitioner file thonthly operating reports with the

Agency indicating daily laboratory results on the parameters in

question;

4. Within 30 days of the date of the adoption of this Order,

Petitioner shall complete and submit to the Environmental Pro-

tection Agency, at the following address, the following certifi-

cation:

Environmental Protection

Agency

Division of Water Pollution Control

Springfield, Illinois 62706

I, (We), _________________________ having ~ead

the Order of the Illinois Pollution Control

Board

in

PCB 75-424, understand

and

accept said Order, realizing

that such acceptance renders all terms and conditions

thereto binding and enforceable.

a

TITLE

DATE

is

—

SIS

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—3—

I, Christan L. Moffett, Clerk of the Illinois Pollution

Control Board, hereby cejtify the above Opinion and Order

were adopted on the

~

day of

________________,

1976

by a vote of

____________

Illinois Pollution trol Board