ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
February 15,
1979
MARATHON
OIL COMPANY,
Petitioner,
v.
)
PCB 78—176
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY,
Respondent.
OPINION AND ORDER OF THE BOARD
(by
Mr. Dumelle):
Petitioner has requested a variance for the discharge from
its petroleum refinery near Robinson,
Illinois.
Specifically
Petitioner
seeks relief from the water quality standard for
ammonia nitrogen
Rules
203(f)
and 402,
and the effluent standard
for BOD and suspended solids
(Rule 404
f)
in Chapter
3: Water
Pollution of the Board’s Rules and Regulations.
Petitioner dis-
charges into an unnamed tributary of Sugar Creek, which flows
into the Wabash River.
In an Amended Petition and an Amended Recommendation Petitioner
and the Agency have agreed upon interim effluent limitations and
a timetable for compliance.
For
ammonia
nitrogen the discharge
would not cause the unnamed tributary
to exceed a standard of
2.5 mg/i from April until October and 6.0 mg/i from November
through March.
BOD would not exceed
17 mg/i as a
30 day average
and 20 mg/i as a daily maximum.
Total Suspended Solids would not
exceed
18 mg/l as a 30 day average and
25 mg/l as a daily maximum.
Both Petitioner and the Agency have agreed that the variance should
run until September
30,
1980 which
is the expiration date in
Petitioner’s NPDES permit No. 1L0004073.
Petitioner will improve its ammonia nitrogen effluent by
improving the operation of its sour water stripping operation.
This should reduce “spikes” which have interfered with effluent
quality.
Petitioner believes that long term design modification
or addition of a nitrification reactor may be necessary.
In addition
Petitioner will improve the conditions for optimum population
density of nitrifying bacteria in the activated sludge basin of
its wastewater treatment plant.
This should help to minimize
violations.
BOD will be controlled
through a three point program.
1) Im-
proved influent quality will be obtained through source identifica-
tion and control.
This program will focus on waste flushing
streams for process equipment and a review of maintenance procedures
for both stationary and mobile equipment.
Feed equalization and
3
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pretreatment will be employed to stabilize the loadings on the
wastewater treatment plant.
2)
Powdered activated carbon will be
added to the activated sludge basin.
3)
The activated sludge
basin will be subject
t:o consistent parametric control.
Suspended solids have already been reduced by the installation
of a polyelectrolyte addition facility to the final clarifier.
This should
reduce the loadings on the tertiary filters.
Final
effluent will be improved through an improved filter bed cleaning
program, improved filter aid addition for flocculation control, and
better attention to filter operation consistent with the design
of Petitioner’s equipment.
The tertiary filters have been guaranteed
to reduce suspended solids to less than
5 mg/i as a monthly average.
The information
on
the receiving stream is somewhat sketchy.
In Exhibit C attached to the Petition, Petitioner points out that
the unnamed tributary
has a
7 day,
10 year minimum flow of zero.
The flow in this 10-mile tributary consists primarily of municipal
and industrial wastewater.
In its Recommendation the Agency has
included sections of
a draft report on the water quality in the
Wabash River basin.
The report concludes that the area upstream
and downstream of Petitioner’s discharge is “polluted”.
Petitioner’s proposed compliance program appears reasonable
and looks promising.
The interim standards represent Petitioner’s
present capability.
Although the variance will allow Petitioner
to continue to adversely affect the unnamed tributary, discontinuing
Petitioner’s present discharge might not show any measurable
improvement.
Consequently, the Board concludes that denial of
the variance would constitute an arbitrary or unreasonable
hardship.
The agreed conditions constitute adequate protection
for the duration of the variance as long as progress is being
made to comply with the Board’s standards.
This Opinion constitutes the Board’s findings of fact and
conclusions of law in this matter.
ORDER
1)
It is the Order of the Pollution Control Board that Petitioner
be granted a variance from Rules 203(f)
and 402 as they pertain
to ammonia nitrogen and Rule 404(f) of Chapter 3: Water
Pollution of the Board’s Rules and Regulations until Septem-
ber 30,
1980 on the following conditions:
a)
During the terms of the variance, BOD shall not
exceed
17 mg/i as a 30 day average and 20 mg/l as
a daily maximum.
b)
During the term of the variance,
suspended solids
shall not exceed 18 mg/i as a 30 day average and
25 mg/l as a daily maximum.
c)
During the term of the variance, Petitioner’s
32—546
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effluent shall not cause the receiving stream
to exceed an ammonia nitrogen concentration of
2.5 mg/i from April through October or 6.0 mg/i
from November through March.
d)
Within 45 days of the date of this Order, Petitioner
shall execute and forward to the Illinois Environ-
mental Protection Agency,
Division of Water Pollution
Control, Variance Unit,
2200 Churchill Road,
Springfield, Illinois
62706,
a Certification of
Acceptance and Agreement to be bound to all the terms
and conditions of this variance.
This
45 day period
shall be held
in abeyance during any period this
matter
is appealed.
The form of the Certification
shall
be as follows:
CERTIFICATION
I,
(We),
having read
and fully understanding the Order in PCB78-l76, hereby accept that
Order and agree to be bound by all of its terms and conditions.
SIGNED
TITLE
DATE
2)
If the Agency has or obtains the authority to modify
Petitioner’s NPDES permit No. 1L0004073,
it shall do so
in a matter consistent with the terms of this Order.
3)
If the Agency lacks or cannot obtain the authority
in the
near future to modify Petitioner’s NPDES permit No. 1L0004073,
Petitioner shall seek modification by the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency
in a matter consistent with the terms of
this Order.
I, Christan
L. Moffett, Clerk of the Illinois Pollution
Control Board, hereb~certify the above Opinion and Order were
adopted on the
________________
day of
‘3
,
by a
vote of
_________________
Christan L. Moffet
,
Cl rk
Illinois Pollution Control Board
32—547