ILLINOIS
POLLUTION
CONTROL
BOARD
August
15,
1972
PACKAGING
CORPORATION
OF
AMERICA,
a
Corporation
v.
)
PCB
71-352
ENVIRONMENTAL
PROTECTION
AGENCY
ENVIRONMENTAL
PROTECTION
AGENCY
v.
)
PCB
72-10
PACKAGING
CORPORATION
OF
AMERICA,
a
Corporation
)
OPINION
OF
THE
BOARD
(by
Mr.
Dumelie)
This
opinion
is
in
support
of
the order
adopted herein
on
August
8,
1972.
The
case
is
now
a
consolidation
of
two actions.
The
first
(PCB
71-352)
is
a
petition
for variance
and
the
second
(PCB
72-10)
is
an
enforcement
action.
The
petition
seeks
a variance
from
Section
12(a)
and 12(b) of
the
Environmental
Protec—
tion
Act and
any regulations
thereunder
for
such
time
as
is
necessary
to
install
a solids
separation
system
and primary
clarifier
needed
to bring
the
Packaging
Corporation
of
America
Quincy
paper
board
mill
into
compliance.
Subsequent
to filing
the
petition
the
Agency
filed
an
enforcement
action
alleging
that
Packaging
Corporation
of America
(PCA),
on six
separate
dates,
violated
Section
12(a) of
the
Act and also
Rules
1. 05-5,
1. 05-7,
1. 05-8,
1.
05-10(a)
and
(h) and
3.
01-10(b) of
the
Illinois
Sanitary
Water
Board
Rules
and Regulations
SWB-13
Water
Quality
Standards
for
the Mississippi
River
between
Illinois
and
Missouri.
Partial
hearing
on
the
consolidated
cases
was
held
on
May
15,
1972.
On July
10,
a
Stipulation
of
Facts
and
Proposed
Settlement
was
filed
by
the parties.
Therein,
PCA
enumerates
its
partially
completed
and proposed
abate-
ment
program
which program
has
been
accepted
by
the
Agency.
Also
indicated
are
the results
of two
26-day
composite
samples
taken
from
locations
immediately
prior
to
flow
in both
the
Number
4 and
Number
6
discharge
lines.
For the
Number
4
line
the
effluent
contains
436
mg/i
BOD
and 1916
mg/i
suspended
solids;
for
the
Number
6 line
the
effluent
contains
633
mg/i
BOD
and
2219 mg/i
suspended
solids.
5—
137
-2-
Those
BOD levels
for
the
Numbers
4
and
6
lines
are
respectively
two
and three
times
more
concentrated
than
for
raw
sewage.
The
suspended
solids
levels
are
respectively
around
eight
and nine
times
more
concentrated
than for
raw
sewage.
The
total
flow
from
the
two outfalls
is
3, 807, 000
gallons
per
day.
Using
the
flow
and
concentration
figures
given
in the
stipulation
of facts
and
the
accepted
population
equivalents
(one lb.
of
BOD per
day equals
six persons;
one
lb.
of
suspended
solids
per
day equals
five
persons)
the
strength
of the
dis-
charge
can
be
computed.
On
a BOD basis,
the
PCA
effluent
is
equivalent
in
deoxy-
genating
effect
to the
untreated
~rastes
of
109, 560
persons.
On
a
suspended
solids
basis,
the
PCA
effluent
is
equivalent
to
the
untreated
wastes
of
338,
000 people.
Group
Exhibit
1,
stipulated
to
by
PCA
contains
a lengthy
memo
prepared
by
the
Agency
which summarizes
five
inspections
made
during
1971.
The
July
20,
1971
narrative
states,
~tThere
was
a large
deposit
of paper
pulp
sludge
in the
river
downstream
from
outlet
#6
at
the
time
of
this
survey.
Also it
was
noted
that
the
river
was
becoming
silted
in
with paper
pulp
sludge
near
the
#6
outlet
(p. 6).
The
entries
for this
same
date
quantify
the
bottom
deposits
mentioned
above.
On
p.
8
of the
memo
the
following
appears,
A large
mass
(approximately
30
ft.
by
60
ft.
)
of
accumulated
grey paper
pulp
solids
were
observed
just
downstrear
from
#6
outlet
sewer,
This
effluent,
without
question,
must
be
having
a
deleterious
effect
upon
Mississippi
River
oxygen
levels,
upon
bottom
organisms
(henthos)
and upon the
aquatic
community
in
its
many
aspects.
The
Stipulation
(Par.
27) speaks
of
environmental
effects
as
follows:
The
Quincy
mill
discharge
has
its
principal
harmful
effects
upon
the
recreational
and
aesthetic
values
of
the
Mississippi
River;
while
the
oxygen
demand
piaced
on
the
river
may tend to inhibit
advanced
forms
of aquatic
life
in
a limited
section
of
the
river,
removal
of
the
Quincy
milUs
effluent
will
not,
in
and of
itself,
materially
assist
aquatic
development
in the
Mississippi
River.
(Emphasis
added)
We
note that
the
Stipulation
makes
no reference
to
any program
for
removal
of
the
existing
sludge
deposits.
We
suggest
that
such
a program
be
seriously
con-
sidered
at the
present
time.
Other
references
exist
in the
memo
to
color
caused
by
PCA.
On
p.
5
~the
river
was
noted
to
be
red
in
color
extending
from
its
shoreline
to
approximately
30
ft.
to
40
ft.
out
into
the
river,
and
some
200
ft.
to
300
ft.
downstream
from
the
location
of
outlet
#4.
The
color
is
explained
as
‘due
to
the presence
of iron
—3—
oxide
which was
being
used to
color
the
candy bar
package
cardboard
which
was
being
made..
.“
On the
same
June
28,
1971 visit
and also
on
p.
5
in
the
memo,
‘A trail
of
grey-white
colored
waste
(from
#6
outlet)
was
noted
to be trailing
over
one-fourth
mile
downstream
from
the
industry.”
On
May
1,
1960
the
Sanitary
Water
Board
issued
Technical
Release
20-li
which
required
industrial
treatment
of
effluents
that
might
form
sludge
deposits
or
floating
debris
or
color.
Effective
July
25,
1964,
the
Illinois
Sanitary
Water
Board
adopted
the
regul
tion
designated
as
SWB-4
for
the
Mississippi
River
between
Missouri
and Illino:
which
required
the
equivalent
of primary
effluent
treatment
for
industries.
In
1967
the Water
Board
adopted
SWB-l3,
which re-affirmed
the
primary
treatmen
requirement
of
SWB-4
and went
even further
by
requiring
secondary
treatment
or
its
equivalent
on or
before
December,
1982.
By
amendment
dated
March,
1971,
the
i982
deadline
was
advanced
to
December
31,
1973.
Thus,
since
1960
there
has
been
in existence
requirements
of
at
least
primary
treatment
on
the
Mississippi.
PCA,
which acquired
the
Quincy
mill
in
1965,
has
never
met
that
requirement.
The
parties,
in the
Stipulation,
have
agreed
to
a
$3000
penalty
for
the
violations
alleged
in the
complaint.
We
cannot
accept
that
low
an
amount
in
a
case
this
serious.
First,
the
strength
of
the
effluent
has
been
exceedingly
high0
Second,
the
strictures
against
sludge
deposits,
color
and
floating
material
have
been
violated.
Third,
PCA
has
not
shown
due
diligence
in solving
its
problem.
Absolutely
nothing
was
done
by
the
company
until
1971
which
was
six years
after
PCA
acquired
the
Quincy
mill.
We must
charge
the
company
with
notice
of
the
primary
treatment
requirement
which
began
in
1960.
SWB-4
and SWB-l3
were
both
duly
adopted
regulations
pursuant
to
statute.
We find
no
justification
in
this
case
for their
not
being
followed
well before
1971.
The
fact
that
PCA
was
not
personally
notified
of
the
law
is
no
excuse
for
their
lack
of effort.
The
law
was
on
the
books
and they were
under
a
duty to find
out
what
it
said.
No
national
corporation
such
as
PCA
would operate
a plant
such
as
this
without de-
termining
the pertinent
law for their
plant.
Inasmuch
as
the
Stipulation
and
Proposed
Settlement
comes
before
us
in
a
take-all-or-nothing
form,
we must
reject
it
based
upon
the
inadequacy
of
the
penalty.
In
imposing
a substantial
penalty
upon
an untreated
discharge
(incidentally
of
about the
same
BOD strength)
we
said:
To let
the
company
off
scot
free
would
encourage
others
--
and
GAF
itself
--
to be
dilatory
in the future.
(GAF
Corporation
v.
EPA,
April
19,
1971,
PCB
71-11.
5—
139
-4-
We suggest that the parties re-negotiate and increase the penalty substantially
or
in the alternative conduct a full hearing on all the issues whereupon the
Board
will
take
the entire
matter
under
advisement.
This
opinion
constitutes
the
Board’s
findings
of
fact
and
conclusions
of
law.
Mr. Henss dissents.
T, Christan L. Moffett,
Clerk of the Illinois Pollution Control Board,
hereby
certify
the
above Opinion was adopted
on
the,~‘~iay
of
August,
1972
by
a vote
of
1’
/
•~
Christan
L.Moffett4~lerk
Illinois
Pollution
Control
Board