ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL

BOARD

December

20,

1984

IBP,

INC.,

)

Petitioner,

v.

)

PCB

84—143

ILLINOIS ENVIRONMENTAL

PROTECTION AGENCY,

Respondent.

DAVID

A.

COPELAND, SENIOR COUNSEL, APPEARED FOR THE PETITIONEP;

E,

WILLIAM HUTTON,

ATTORNEY-AT—LAW, APPEARED

FOR

THE

RESPONDENT;

JOHN

G.

AMES,

ATTORNEY-AT-LAW,

APPEARED

FOR

THE

OBJECTOR.

OPINION AND ORDER OF

THE

BOARD

(by B.

Forcade):

This matter comes

before the Board on

a petition

and

amended

petition for extension of

variance filed September 17,

1984,

and

September 27,

1984, respectively.

IBP,

Inc.

(“IBP”)

requests

that

the

variance

and

interim

effluent

limitations set

in PCB

82—131

for total

s.ispended solids

(TSS)

and biochemical

oxygen

demand

(BODç)

be

extended

for

an

additional

270 days or until

its

new wastewa~er treatment system achieves proper

operation

fol-

lowing

start-up,

whichever occurs first,

On October

31, 1984,

the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (‘~Agency~)filed

a

recommendation

that

the

extension

of variance be

granted.

On

November

1,

1984,

an objection to any

further

delays

in

compli-

ance

by IBP

was

filed

by

the Rock River

Valley

Association

(“RRVA”).

Hearing

was

held

on

December

17,

1984.

John

G.

Ames,

president

of

the

RRVA,

appeared

and

questioned the IBP

respresentative

about

progress

towards

compliance

at

the

Joslin

facility.

IBP

owns

a

beef

slaughter

and

processing

plant

located

near

Joslin

in

Rock

Island

County.

IBP

is

in

the

process

of

expanding

both

the

slaughter

and

processing

capacity

at

this facility.

At

present,

2,500~-2,60O animals

are

slaughtered

dai1y~

IBP

has

refrained

from

processing

activities

during

the

variance,

pending

the

completion

of

their

expanded

and

updated

water

treatment

system.

Petitioner employs approximately

400

people

and

uses

approximately

I

million

gallons

per

day

(MGD)

of water

from its

own

wells.

NPDES

Permit

No,

IL 0003913,

issued

April

23,

1980,

remains

in

effect

(Rec,

p.

2),

When expansion

is completed,

IBP

intends

to employ about 1,450

62-15

---

2

IBP received a variance on January

27,

1983,

in LBP,_Inc.

~

PCB 82~i3l, 51

PCB

59, from 35 Ill. Adm.

Code 304,120(a) which allowed them to

operate during the expansion

process.

The Board set the following

interim effluent limitaions:

Interim Limit

NPDES Permitted

Effluent

Limits

BOD5

45 mg/I avg.

25 mg/I avg.

90 mg/i max,

50 mg/i max,

TSS

90 mg/i avg.

25 mg/i avg.

130 mg/i max.

62 mg/i max.

During

the variance, IBP discharged effluent from its waste-

water

treatment

system

intermittently

and

only violated interim

limitations

once,

for BOD5

(Rec.,

p.

2).

Variance ended

on

July

1,

1984.

Since

that date, IBP has not discharged any

effluent

to

the

Rock

River,

but has stored all wastewater in the system~s

storage

/aeration

lagoons pending the outcome of this

petition

(Am.

Pet,

p.

1—2)..

As part of the

expansion,

IBP has upgraded

the original

wastewater treatment facilities,

which were

constructed in 1970,

The original facilities

consisted of two

anaerobic lagoons

(2.03

acres each),

an aerated cell

(.59, acres), and

three aerobic

lagoons (41.37,

28.49 and

11.24 acres), all

operated in series,

The system discharges effluent

to the Rock

River.

51 PCB at 60.

IBP was granted a permit by the

Agency on

September 29,

1983,

to

construct improvements to the wastewater treatment facilities,

Construction began in the spring of 1984.

Petitioner added a

third anaerobic lagoon,

abandoned the aerated cell and aerobic

lagoons, and constructed a secondary treatment system consisting

of an oxidation ditch with an intra—channel clarifier,

The new

treatment system, when fully operational,

is expected to achieve

compliance with all applicable effluent standards

(Pet...,

p.

2).

Start—up of the new system was originally planned for August

1,

1984.

However,

due to an unusually wet spring

in the Joslin

area, construction was deTayed because installation of dewatering

wells at the construction site was necessary.

Additional time was

lost because of delays

in shipments from an equipment

manufacturer.

As a result, start—up of

the

new

system

was

delayed until

mid-

October

(Pet.,

p.

2—3)..

During this period, IBP has been storing

interim quality effluent and the aerobic/storage lagoons are near

capacity

(Am. Pet.

p.. 1—2),

IBP requests that the

variance

and interim effluent

limitations

be extended 270 days from the date of their original petition,

September 17,

1984,

IBP asserts that a minimum of three months

is required after start—up of the new treatment system until

effluent of a quality that will meet Board and NPDES permit

standards is produced..

In addition,

there are factors which,

in

IBP~sopinion may extend the start-up period beyond three months,

62-16

---

3

First, because the new treatment system employs

r

iflnovative

technology,

addit onal time

may

be

required

due t

~.

foreseen

technical problems that

may

arise,

Second,

eta

~up will

occur

during

cold

weath~rwhen

systems of this

type d~not perform as

efficiently.

It may take

longer during

cold

weather for the

bacterial seed from the local municipal sewage plant to become

acclimated to the new waste stream from the packi ig house.

Finally, additiona

time will be required if a sigrificant quantity

of off—grade effI lent is discharged into the storage/

aeration

pords.

The reasor

is that an extended time in ttese ponds will

be necessary to t eat this effluent down to appli’able effluent

ilmits prior to discharge

(Am,

Pet.

p.

2—3),

In any event, the

a~ration/storagelagoons have a limited capa’it

at this time and

start—up will reai~.eeventual displacement of ex1~tinginterim

quality effluent into the Rock River,

IBP, in their amended

petition,

proposed

a

elternate time

limit for the variance extension based on actua

~rformance

of

the system.

IBP requests that the variance and i~tt~rim

limitations

be extended to the date when

the

modified

waste tree ~rent facility

reaches

full operational

capacity as

evidenced by production of

effluent which meets all

state

effluent

standards and the limits

in NPDES permit No, IL00039l3

for

a

period

of 30 consecutive

days,

but in any event,

no

more

than

270

days

frori

the date of

the

original

petition.

The

Agency recommends

variance until

Aril

1,

1985,

or the

end

of any calender

month during which

discharges meet the permit

standards for BOD5

and TSS, whichever

occurs

first,

The Board finds that denial of this variance request would

lmpose an unreasonable hardship on IBP,

local cattlo feeders,

and

IBP employees when balanced with the environrient

1

rr~act,

The

hardship to the PetitIoner resulted from delays

ir. coripleting

its

oxidation ditch wastewater treatment plant.

The deley was caused

by adverse weathEr a~ddelivery delays, both of

fi

t

viere beyond

IBP~scontrol..

m~eBoard,

in PCB 82—131,

fouro that granting

variance and imposing interim limitations would resu t in minimal

environmental impact

51 PCB at

61..

A 270 day ~xtarsion of this

variance,

which

recessary for IBP to achievE

.

p

jarice, does

not significantly

le’~’gethis conclusion,

As ~n P B 82—131,

the

Interim limitatlois are

within

federal

limitation

The Board will grant

variance

until June 14

1985, or until

IBP~sfacility reaches full

operational

capacity, as

evidenced

by

production of efiluent which

complies

with the Board and NPDES

permit limitations, whichever

occurs first,

Nhile this time

period may be more than will actually be required,

the alternate

time period based on actual

performance

provides an adequate

safeguard against unnecessary

delays

in compliance

Additionally,

IBP has shown good faith in

proceeding

expeditiously towards

compliance.

The Board will condition variance on this continued

conduct,

IBP must continue to take all reasonable measures

to

ensure that no o or~ciii escape that may affect ~caJth or

interfere

62-17

---

4

with nearby residents enjoyment of life or property.

Therefore,

IBP must continue the practice of maintaining a complete grease

cover

on

the

anaerobic

lagoons.

This

Opinion

constitutes the

Board’s

findings of fact and

ORDER

Petitioner IBP, Inc. is granted a variance from 35 111. Mm.

Code 304.120(a) for its Joslin beef slaughter

and

plant subject to the following conditions:

1.

This variance shall expire on

June

14, 1985, or at

the

end

of any 30 consecutive day

period

during

which

discharges

meet

the

standards

for

BOD~and

TSS

set

forth

in

NPDES

permit

No.

1L0003913!

which-

ever

occurs

first.

2.

Petitioner’s discharges shall

meet

the

following

interim limitations:

BOD5

-

45 mg/l 30 day avg., 90 mg/l daily max.

TSS

—

90

mg/l

30 day avg., 130 mg/l daily max.

3.

As expeditiously as is practicable,

IBP shall achieve

full

operational

status

of

its

upgraded

treatment

facility.

In

the

interim,

the

existing

facilities

shall

be

operated

and

maintained

in

the

best

manner

practicable.

4.

IBP

shall

take

all

reasonable

measures

to

ensure

that

no

odors

will

escape

which

may

be

injurious

to

the

health

of,

or

unreasonably

interfere

with

the

enjoyment

of

life

or

property

of,

nearby

residents.

Such

measures

shall

include

maintaining

a

complete

grease

cover

on

the

anaerobic

lagoons.

5.

Within

45

days

of

the

date

of

this

Order,

ISP,

Inc.

shall

execute

a

Certification

of

Acceptance

and Agre-

ement

to

be

bound

to

all

terms

and

conditions

of

this

variance

•

Said

Certification

shall

be

submitted

to

the

Agency

at 2200 churchill

Road,

Springfield,

Illinois

62706.

The 45—day period shall

be

held

in

abeyance

dur-

ing

any

period

that

this

matter

is

being

appealed.

The

form

of

said

Certification

shall

be

as

follows:

5

CERTIFICATION

I,

(We) __________________________________

,

hereby

accept

and agree to be bound by all

terms

and

conditions of the

Order

of the Pollution Control

board

in PCB 84—143,

December

20,

Authorized Agent

Title

Date

IT IS

SO ORDERED.

I, Dorothy M. Gunn, Clerk of the Illinois

Pollution

Control

Board, hereby certify that

e above Opinion and

Order

was adopted

on the

~

day of

__________________,

1984 by a vote of

4

Dorothy

~.

~‘unn,,

c:lerk

Illinois Pollution Control

Board