ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
June
9,
1977
GENERAL MOTORS CORPORATION,
Petitioner,
v.
)
PCB 76—205
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY,
Respondent.
OPINION AND ORDER OF THE BOARD
(by Mr. Goodman):
This matter is before the Board upon the Petition for Variance
filed by General Motors Corporation
(GM)
on August
4,
1976 as
amended February 15,
1977 and May
6,
1977.
GM requests variance
until September
1,
1978 from the provisions of Rule 203(f) of Chapter
3 of the Board’s Regulations
(Regulations)
as it applies
to iron,
lead,
zinc, manganese, copper,
cadmium, fluoride, and temperature;
and from the provisions of Rule 408(a)
of Chapter
3 as
it applies
to iron,
lead,
zinc, manganese,
fluoride and total suspended solids
for GM’s Central Foundry Division Plant at Danville,
Illinois.
The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency
(Agency) and GM
filed a “Stipulation” on May
6,
1977 which appears
to be a proposed
compliance plan agreed to by the Agency and GM.
The Board notes that
it finds
a “Stipulation” inappropriate in a variance proceeding.
No
hearing was held in this matter, and the Board has received no public
comment.
The
subject
of
this
Variance
Petition
is
GM’s
facility
at
Danville,
Illinois which manufactures malleable and grey iron castings
for the automotive industry.
The foundry produces castings used in
intake
manifolds,
brakes
and
transmission
parts
utilizing
cupola
melting, sand molding, and rough finishing and annealing processes.
In 1975 the average number of employees on the payroll
at Danville
was about 1800,
and the 1975 payroll was about $33,000,000.00.
GM
spent about $45,000,000.00 in 1975 on goods purchased from Danville
area suppliers.
The facility draws approximately 12,000,000 gallons
per day from the Vermilion River and discharges about 10,000,000
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gallons per day, the balance being lost in evaporation.
The water
is utilized in cooling the cupola shells,
cupola emission scrubbers,
slag sluicing, non-contact machine cooling, and the dust collectors.
Outfall 002 is
an industrial wastewater discharge to the
Vermilion River and constitutes the principle subject of this Peti-
tion.
Outfall 003 discharges ground and storm water but is included
in the Petition with respect
to variance from the manganese limita-
tion.
At present the discharge from Outfall 002
is treated with a
polymer flocculant in a 12,000,000 gallon settling basin.
The discharge levels of various contaminants for which variance
is sought,
as indicated by Petition,
are as follows:
Table
1
Parameter
GM Actual
(mg/l)
Board limit
High
Low
Avg.
(mg/i)
pH
8.3
7.8
7.3
5—10
SS
355
5.0
56.6
15.0
iron
17.9
0.6
3.8
1.0
lead
2.1
0.15
0.9
0.1
manganese
2.06
0.3
0.9
1.0
mercury
—
0.0005
—
0.0005
zinc
10.6
0.93
4.1
1.0
O&G
75.1
5.0
11.9
15.0
In February,
1976 GM retained Dr. James Etzel of Purdue Univer-
sity with regard to litigation concerning
GM’s NPDES permit.
In
June, 1976 after several months of sampling, testing, and analyzing,
Dr. Etzel determined among other things that by the use of a
particular technology in construction of a new treatment facility,
GM might comply with the limits in question.
On the basis of this
report GM commenced preparation of the instant petition for variance
to allow sufficient time for design and construction of the new treat-
ment facility.
In
addition,
GM
engaged
a consulting enqi.neering
company
to design a wastewater treatment facility that would imple-
ment
Dr. Etzel’s recommendations.
At this point
in time preparation
of preliminary design specifications for the treatment facility has
been completed.
GM’s latest amendment to its Petition filed May
6,
1977 includes
a refined version of the original proposal with a proposed completion
of the facility by September 1,
1978.
The proposed system will treat
the full 10,000,000 gallons per day discharge at Outfall 002 with
physical treatment including flash mixing with NaOH,
alum,
and polymer,
followed by flocculation and settling in the existing lagoon.
The
effluent will then be pumped through filters and
a cooling tower
before final discharge to the River.
--
3—
In its Amended Recommendation of May
6,
1977,
the Agency pro-
poses that GM be granted variance under the conditions and compliance
schedule
indicated
in
the
May
6,
1977 “Stipulation” presented to the
Board by GM and the Agency.
Paragraph 5of this “Stipulation” contains
a rather lengthy set of conditions and compliance schedule underlying
the proposed variance.
The Board finds that denial of the variance
would~work an arbitrary and unreasonable hardship on GM.
Considering
GM’s good faith attempt tofind
a method of treatment suitable for its
effluent, and weighing the potentialenvironmental harm caused by GM’s
current discharge parameters
as
indicated
in Table
1, against the
hardship that would be imposed upon GM if the variance were denied,
the Board will grant GM the proposed variance until September
1,
1978
under the conditions and
compliance
program
contained
in
paragraph
5
of the “Stipulation”.
This Opinion constitutes
the findings of facts and conclusions of
law of the Board in this matter.
ORDER
It is the Order of the Pollution Control Board that General
Motors Corporation he granted variance until September
1,
1978 for
their Central Foundry Division Plant at Danville,
Illinois until
September
1,
1978 from the provisions
of Rule 203(f)
of Chapter
3
with regard to iron,
lead,
zinc, manganese, copper,
cadmium, fluo-
ride,
and temperature;
and from the provisions of Rule 408(a)
of
Chapter
3 with regard to iron,
lead,
zinc, manganese, flouride and
total suspended solids subject to the following conditions:
1.
GM shall fulfill the conditions and compliance
schedule as stated in paragraph
5 of the “Stipulation”
filed by the Agency and GM on May
6,
1977 which “Stipu-
lation”
is hereby incorporated by reference as
if fully
set forth herein.
2.
Within
35
days
of
the
adoption
of
this
Order,
the
General
Motors
Corporation
shall
execute
and
forward
to
both
the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency,
2200
Churchill
Road,
Springfield,
Illinois 62706 and the
Pollution Control Board a Certification of Acceptance
and agreement to be bound to all terms and conditions
of this Order.
The form of said certification shall be
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as follows:
CERTIFICATION
I
(We),_______________________________having
read and fully
understanding the Order of the Illinois Pollution Control Board in
PCB 76-205 hereby accept said Order and agree to be bound by all of
the
terms
and conditions thereof.
SIGNED_______________________________
TITLE_________________________________
DATE____________________________________
I, Christan L. Moffett,
Clerk of the Illinois Pollution Control
Board, hereby certify the above Opinion and Order were adopted on the
_________day of
,
1977 by a vote of
~
Christan L. Mof~~j,Clerk
Illinois Po11uti~fControl Board
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