ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
June
9,
1977
MOBIL OIL CORPORATION,
Petitioner,
V.
)
PCB 77-22
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY,
Respondent.
OPINION AND ORDER OF THE BOARD
(by Mr.
Goodman):
This matter is before the Board upon
a Petition for Variance
from Rule 406 of Chapter
3 of the Board’s Regulations by Mobil Oil
Corporation
(Mobil)
filed January 19,
1977.
In its Petition, Mobil
contended in the alternative that Rule 406 does not apply to Mobil.
On March
31,
1977 the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency
(Agency)
filed its Recommendation contending that Rule 406 did indeed
apply to Mobil but recommending that Mobil be granted variance from
Rule 406 for one year under certain conditions.
On May 11, 1977
Mobil filed a Motion to Vacate a Board Order setting hearing, and
requesting an Order be entered based on the Agency’s Recommendation
of March
29,
1977.
Mobil also requested Leave
to Withdraw those
portions of the Petition which relate to the Rule determination.
On
May 26, 1977 the Board granted Mobil’s Motion to Vacate its prior
Order setting the matter for hearing and granted Mobil’s request to
withdraw certain parts of its Petition.
Mobil’s Motion for an Order
granting the Variance pursuant to the Agency’s Recommendation was
taken with the case.
The subject of this Petition is Mobil’s refining facility on
the Des Plaines River at Joliet,
Illinois.
The refinery employs
approximately 550 persons and has
a rated capacity of 175,000 barrels
of conventional
fuels per day.
Mobil uses Des Plaines
River water
for boiler feed, cooling tower make-up and once through
(non—contact)
cooling.
Discharges include clean storm water, once through
(non—
contact)
cooling water and process water which has been through the
refinery’s waste water treatment facility.
The waste water treatment
25— 711
facility utilizes activated sludge and clarification for waste water
treatment.
In support of its Variance Petition Mobil alleges that it has
expended $1,250,000
on ammonia reduction efforts resulting in a
decrease in ammonia discharge levels by 50
in the last four years,
that its discharge conforms to best practical technology for all
parameters and that,
through recycling,
its total effluent discharge
has been
reduced.
These efforts have resulted in
a very low treated
discharge of about 15 gallons per barrel of crude processed.
This
low flow tends to increase the apparent concentration of pollutants.
In addition Mobil alleges continuing efforts to reduce the ammonia
discharge levels and that it
is presently engaged in two research
programs aimed at developing additional ammonia reduction techniques.
Mobil wishes to discharge a monthly average of
41 mg/l and a daily
maximum of
90 mg/l of ammonia nitrogen which, according
to their
figures, would increase ammonia nitrogen
in the Des Plaines River by
0.015 mg/i during normal flow and 0.048 mg/l during the 7—day,
10-
year low flow of 1.2 billion gallons per day.
In its Recommendation,
the Agency indicates that although the
1.5 mg/i ammonia of water quality standard
is being violated in the
Des Plaines River,
a grant of the variance at the levels requested by
Mobil will have only
a negligible environmental impact upon the River
because of the huge dilution ratio
(456:1)
afforded.
It
is the
Agency’s opinion that it would be an arbitrary and unreasonable hard-
ship on Mobil to force the expenditure of its resources
in an attempt
to achieve what must be considered
a negligible improvement
in the
quality
of
the
Des
Plaines
River.
The
Agency
therefore
recommends
that
Mobil
be
granted
a
variance from Rule
406 of Chapter
3 for one
year subject to a number of conditions including interim limits and
continued research efforts
in order to develop
a program which will
result
in compliance with Rule
406.
The Board agrees with the Agency’s estimation of the situation.
We
find
the
prudent
course
to
be
to
grant Mobil’s Petition for
Variance
and
includo
a
requirement
thrit
it
pursue
research
efforts
with
the
oh~ect
ive of
final
compl ianc~
of
1~iiie 40(
in
a
reasonable
manner.
The
Board
shall
therefore
grant
MoLt
.1.
variance
from
Rule
406 for a period of one year subject to certain conditions.
This
Opinion
constitutes
the
findings
of
fact
and
conclusions
of law of the Board in this matter.
—3—
ORDER
It is the Order of the Pollution Control Board that Mobil Oil
Corporation be granted variance
from Rule 406 of Chapter
3 of the
Board’s Regulations until July
1,
1978 for its refinery facility
at Joliet,
Illinois under the following conditions:
1.
Mobil’s ammonia nitrogen effluent discharge shall
not exceed a monthly average discharge of 41 mg/i or
a daily maximum of 90 mg/l.
2.
Mobil shall make a good faith effort to develop
a
program wl2xich will permit compliance with Rule 406 of
the Board’s Regulations.
3.
Mobil shall provide the Agency with progress reports
every two months including a statement of its efforts
to
develop a successful ammonia nitrogen compliance program.
4.
Within
35 days of the adoption of this Order,
the
Mobil Oil 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
as
follows:
CERTIFICATION
I
(we),
having
read
and
fully
under-
standing the Order of the Illinois Pollution Control Board in
PCB 77—22 hereby accept said Order and agree to be bound by all of
the terms and conditions thereof.
SIGNED
TITLE
DATE
Mr. Dumelle concurs.
25
—
713
—4-.
I,
Christan
L.
Moffett,
C1er~
of the Illinois Pollution Control
Board,
hereby
certify
the
above
Op~inion and
Order
were
adopted
on
the
day ~
____
,
1977
by
a
vote
of
~
p
Christan
L.
Moffe
Clerk
Illinois Pollutio
ontrol Board
25
—
714