ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD

May 11,

1978

REICHHOLD CHEMICALS,

INCORPORATED,

Petitioner,

v.

)

PCB

77—174

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY,

)

Respondent.

JOHN

L.

PARKER, JOHN L. PARKER

& ASSOCIATES, LTD., APPEARED ON

BEHALF

OF

PETITIONER;

ARTHUR

B. MUIR, ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL, APPEARED ON BEHALF

OF RESPONDENT.

OPINION AND ORDER OF THE BOARD

(by Mr. Goodman):

This Petition for Variance was filed by Reichhold Chemicals,

Incorporated

(Reichhold)

on June

28,

1977 seeking relief

from

Sections 12(a),

12(f), and

39 of the Environmental Protection Act

(Act)

and from Rule 404 of the Water Pollution Rules and Regu—

lations

(Regulations).

Hearing was held

in this matter on March

2,

1978,

no members of the public were present, and the Board has

received one public comment concerning

this matter.

Reichhold owns and operates a plant located along the Illinois

River near Morris,

Illinois that manufactures maleic anhydride and

synthetic resins.

Process wastewater

from this plant

is discharged

to the Illinois River after treatment

in an active siudqe facility.

Reichhoid

currently

employs

about

100

persom;

at. the pLant with

an

annual

payroll

of

approximately

$2,000,000.

Approximately

135,000

gallons

per

day

of

process

wastewater

containing

deoxy-

genating and suspended solid material is discharged to the Illinois

River through a single outfall.

The BOD level of the process waste-

water discharge at the present time

is

24 mg/l during the summer and

194 mg/l during the winter.

Total suspended solids are

39 mg/i

3O~i73

---

during the summer and 160 mg/i during the winter.

The

present fail-

ure to meet the numerical standards of Rule 404 of

the

Water

Regu-

lations

is apparently attributable

to poor

biological

activity

of

the wastewater treatment system,

especially

in

the

winter.

The

effluent is not only highly concentrated

due to recycle operations

within the plant but also contains an appreciable

amount

of

dissolved BOD,

Reichhold alleges that its treatment

facility

is

achieving

excellent levels of performance in removing

in

excess

of

95

of

their influent BOD on a yearly average and even

higher

removal

of

suspended solids.

(Weston Report, Appendix B to

the

Petition).

It is Reichhold’s position that it is presently

removing

BOD

and

suspended solids

in excess of the best practical

control

technol-

ogy currently available standard of U.S. EPA.

(R.34,

35).

Reich-

hold proposes to improve the cold weather BOD and

total suspended

solids removal by simulating warm weather conditions

in the

treat-

ment basins.

This would entail enclosures and heating

systems

of

a currently undetermined design, which Reichhold proposes

to have

completed by July of 1979,

Total estimated cost

is approximately

$500,000, and the additional operating costs are

expected to be

about $200,000 per year.

In addition Reichhold

alleges that its

present maximum monthly average effluent would raise the

BOD

con-

centration

in the Illinois River by only 0.017 mg/i

and the total

suspended solids concentration by only 0.029 mg/I.

It

is alleged

that the difference between that discharge and a discharge

meeting

Rule 404 requirements could not be detected by present

analytical

methods.

Reichhold claims an arbitrary and

unreasonable hardship

should the current Rule 404 effluent standards

be imposed since

the cost to Reichhoid and the public would be

far beyond any bene-

fits that would accrue from compliance.

In its Recommendation,

the Illinois Environmental

Protection

Agency

(Agency)

recommended grant of the requested

variance subject

to certain conditions.

During the course of the hearing

certain

of the Agency’s reservations were satisfied by

Reichhold either

agree

mg

with

the proF

ed conditions

or

r~r~~’n

Ling

evidence

negating

such

conditions,

leaving

only

the

Agency’s

concern

re-

garding

a

certificate

of

acceptance

and

a

proposal

by

the

Agency

that continued testing be carried on by Reichhold.

The Board has

addressed the problem associated with the standard

certificate of

acceptance as pointed out by the Illinois Appellate

Court decision

in ~

oni an

v. Pollution Control Board

et

al.,

368

N.E.2nd 984

(October 4,

1977), and finds that the

certificate

of

acceptance now required by the Board will not

abridge any of

Reichhold’s appellate rights.

30~7tF

---

With respect to the

Agency

s it~commendation

that Reichhold

investigate other methods

for reducing levels

of BOD and suspended

solids in

its

effluent,

the Boaru linds that

the

relatively

short

time frame within which the

pioposed abatement

procedures are to

be constructed and put

on line indicates

it would be reasonable to

wait until

the results

of Reichhold~s

initial efforts are known

before

determining that

additional research

into alternate methods

is necessary.

It is especially

true since

the Board agrees with

the Agency that Reichhold is

capable of

construction and evaluation

of the proposed equipment by

July of 1979

rather than a year later

as requested by Reichhold.

The Board will

therefore grant Reichhold

variance from Rule 404(b)

of

Chapter

3:

Water

Pollution Regulations,

until July

1,

1979,

subject

to certain

conditions.

The Board finds

that variance from Sections

12(a),

12(f)

and

39 of the Environmental

Protection Act as requested

by Reichhold are

not necessary and will

therefore be dismissed.

With respect to the

single public comment

received by the Board in

this matter, the Board

finds that,

although

the comment is directed to

the Reichhold

situation,

the information

and data contained therein

addresses

a different

Company and a

different stream and is therefore

not

appropriate to this case.

This Opinion constitutes

the findings of

fact and conclusions

of law of the Board in this

matter.

ORDER

It

is the Order of

the

Pollution Control

Board that:

1.

Reichhold

Chemicals be granted

variance

from Rule 404(b)

of Chapter

3:

Water

Pollution Regulations,

until July

1,

1979,

for its

facility located along

the Illinois River

near Morris,

Illinois

under the

following conditions;

a.

Th

I

~

vur i

nec

i

~

grin

t ed

~o

the extent cons istent with

the applicable provisions

of the

Federal Water

Pollu-

tion

Control Act Amendments

of

1972.

b.

Reichhold shall obtain all

State construction and

operating

permits necessary

to complete

its compliance

program.

3O~7b

---

c.

Re~chhold

shall

1~n~J~n

the

levels

of

BOD5

and su~~.nued

sol:Lds

in

the

effluent

dl~’rarqc

to

the

Illinois

River

Follows

AvE;rage

(mcj/’l)

TSS

June through

November

70

December through May

200

d.

Within 45

days

uF

Al:.

~dcn~tion

of

this

Order

Re

Lch!I

Cuemicals,

Incorporated

sAul

cxuu

~e

and

for-

ward

to

both

tAo

I !:ioots

Environ-

mental

ProtecAic~ Agencu

2200

Churchill

Road~llrinqY~eid,

Illinois

62706

and

the

Thilution

Control

Board

a

Certificablo:

I

A~oe~tance and

Agreement

to

be

Luond

o

all

terms

and

conditions

:~

th~

Arder.

The

45

day

period

:;.

~ii

Au

nelci

in

abeyance

durion ~~y geuiod this

matter

is

being

appc~

I

A.

The rorm

of

said

certification

rull.lue

as

follows:

CERTIFIICI T iY~

I

(We),

____

____having

read

and

fully

understanding

the

Order

ci

tll.

Illinois

Pollution

Control Board

in

PCB

77—174

herebt

acuept

said Order and

agree to be

bound

by

all

of

the

terms

erR

conditions

there-

of.

ST

GNE1)

__________

____________________

TTTLT:

2.

Petition

for

Varisnue

fro~ogecrions

12(a),

12(f)

and

39

of

the

Environmental 7rotecnion Act

is

hereby

denied.

I,

Christan

L.

Moffett,

Clerk

e.

kite

llllnois

Pollution

Control

Board,

hereby

c~rtify

the above Opinion

and

Order

were adopted on

thej!~’_day

ofJ~4~

,

1978 by a vote

of____________

.

(1

~

Illjnois Poilutio

~ ontrol Board

30~76