ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
September 13,
1989
IN THE MATTER OF:
MARATHON PETROLEUM COMPANY
)
R87-2
SITE—SPECIFIC
)
ADOPTED RULE
FINAL ORDER
OPINION AND ORDER OF THE BOARD (by B.
Forcade):
This matter
is before the Board on the January 28,
1987
petition of the Marathon Petroleum Company
(“Marathon’t)
pursuant
to Section
28 of the Environmental Protection Act
(“Act”),
Ill.
Rev. Stat.
ch.
111
1/2, par.
1028.
That petition seeks site—
specific relief from Section 304.105 of the Board’s water
pollution rules,
35
Ill. Mm.
Code 304.105, as
it applies
to the
total dissolved solids
(TDS) and chloride
(Cl) content of
Marathon’s wastewater discharges from outfall 001, under
NPDES
permit No. 1L0004073,
into an unnamed tributary of Sugar Creek,
in the Wabash River
Basin, at Robinson,
in Crawford County.
The
signatures of more than 200 persons accompanied Marathon’s
petition.
The public hearing occurred on June
21, 1988.
The Illinois
Environmental Protection Agency
(“Agency”) and Illinois
Department of Energy and Natural Resources
(“Department”)
participated.
No member of the public attended.
The Department
filed its Negative Declaration, stating that an economic impact
study fEdS) was unnecessary, on October
20,
1988 and indicated
the concurrence of the Environmental and Technical Advisory
Committee by a
lett:er
filed November
2,
1988.
Marathon filed
a
post—hearing brief on February 17,
1989.
The
Agency filed
a
reply brief on March 13,
1989.
Marathon owns and operates
a petroleum refinery at Robinson,
Illinois.
This facility produces finished petroleum products
from crude oil.
Marathon acquired the facility in 1924 and has
expanded and modernized it to a present refining capacity of
205,000 barrels of crude oil per day
(BPD).
The estimated annual
production level
is about 130,000
BPD.
The
facility has
a weekly
payroll of $415,000 and employs about
638 persons.
Robinson has
a population of 7,300, and Crawford County has
a population of
20,000.
Marathon annually pays $5.2 million
in state and local
taxes and $46 million for goods and services.
Process wastewater originates from numerous individual,
independent sources
in the plant.
Crude oil contains salt,
which
winds up in a few of these discharges.
Four or five of these
process discharges contain higher levels of TDS and Cl.
The
103—133
—2—
highest
is “desalter water,” which contains over 5,600 milligrams
of TDS per liter
(mg/i).
Marathon’s wastewater treatment plant
has a primary system capacity of about 3.5 million gallons per
day
(MGD).
It presently treats
1.3 to 1.7 MGD.
Marathon
recycles a significant amount of its wastewater
for plant
use.
It concedes that this recycling may elevate TDS and Cl contents
in its effluent.
Eliminating this practice would lower discharge
TDS and Ci concentrations,
but would not reduce the total amount
of TDS and Cl discharged in its effluents.
Marathon discharges wastewater from two outfalls into an
unnamed tributary of Sugar Creek.
Sugar Creek,
in turn,
discharges into the Wabash River.
Outfall 001
is involved in
this proceeding;
it discharges process wastewater.
Outfall 002,
which primarily discharges stormwater
runoff,
is not involved.
Outfall 001
is about ten stream miles upstream of the confluence
of Sugar Creek and the Wabash River.
The unnamed tributary has a
7—day,
10—year low flow (7QlO)
of zero at the point of
discharge.
The Wabash River at its confluence with Sugar Creek,
where
it ultimately receives the Marathon effluent,
has a 7QlO of
820 MGD.
The unnamed tributary that receives Marathon’s effluent has
a degraded water quality,
as indicated by the absence of fish and
an elevated macroinvertebrate biological diversity index
(MBI).
(MEl values
range from
0
to 11, and vary inversely with macroin—
vertebrate diversity.)
There are fish upstream of Marathon, but
the Agency observes that there is a “near extirpation”
of fish
for over eight stream miles below the outfall, despite the lack
of an in—stream barrier.
The City of Robinson and other point
sources discharge upstream of Marathon.
The MBI
is 6.0 upstream
and 8.3 immediately downstream of the Robinson outfall.
The MBI
subsequently improves to 6.3 immediately upstream of Marathon,
but
it
increases to 9.8
a short distance downstream.
It
improves
to 8.6 one mile downstream
of Marathon.
The Agency observed that
there
is
“severe degradation”
of the macroinvertebrate community
downstream of Marathon.
Ex.
9,
p.
2.
Overall,
the Agency
observed that “severe stream degradation”
is attributable
to
Marathon and that the Marathon wastewater discharges have a
“pronounced and often variable effect”
on stream discharge and
water quality.
Stream water quality
is also degraded as
indicated by its
TDS and Cl contents.
Upstream of Marathon, the average TDS
content of the stream was 1,225 mg/i, as observed by the Agency
in 1978.
It was between 1,390 and 2,740
rng/l downstream.
The
Agency observed that the majority of the TDS water quality
violations occurred downstream of Marathon.
Marathon notes
that
some upstream source
is
responsible for an elevated TDS content
of 8,000
to 9,000 mg/i and
a Cl content of about 4,000 mg/i
in a
tributary discharging near its outfall, whereas its own highest
individual wastewater stream contains only 5,600 mg/l TDS.
103—I 34
—3—
Marathon’s average effluent contains about
2,045 mg/i TDS and 588
mg/i Cl, as indicated by its discharge monitoring reports.
The causative factor
for the degraded stream water quality
and the adverse effect of Marathon’s effluent on the stream
is
unknown, but
it
is not likely due to the TDS and Cl content of
Marathon’s discharges.
The Agency ultimately asserted that
it did not oppose site—
specific relief
for Marathon.
Rather,
it suggested that the
Board should impose an alternative water quality standard,
instead of merely imposing an effluent limitation on Marathon’s
TDS and Cl discharges.
In its post—hearing brief, the Agency
stated its support for site—specific relief that would impose
effluent limitations and water quality standards in the unnamed
tributary and the affected reach of Sugar Creek.
The Board’s water pollution rules do not include specific
effluent limitations for TDS and Cl.
Rather,
they prohibit any
discharge that would cause or contribute to a violation of a
water quality standard.
35 Ill.
Mm.
Code 304.105.
The
regulations impose in—stream water quality standards of 1,000
mg/i TDS and 500 mg/i Cl.
35
Ill. Adm. Code 302.208.
It
is
relief from Section 304.105, as it
relates to TDS and Cl,
that
Marathon now seeks.
Marathon proposes a site—specific rule that
would except the unnamed tributary from the TDS and Cl standards,
so long as
its effluent does not exceed 3,000 mg/i TDS or 700
mg/i Ci.
The Agency would also impose water quality standards of
2,000 mg/i TDS and 550 mg/i Cl on the receiving stream.
The rule the Board proposed follows that proposed by
Marathon with the addition of an alternative water quality
standard, as suggested by the Agency.
The proposed rule would
render the prohibition of
Section 304.105 inapplicable
to the
unnamed tributary
of Sugar Creek as
it pertains
to TDS and Cl,
so
long as Marathon’s outfall 001 effluent does not exceed either
3,000 mg/i TDS or
700 mg/i Ci and the stream water quality does
not exceed either
2,000 mg/i TDS or 550 mg/i Cl.
The Board proposed new section
35
Iii. Mm. Code 303.323 for
first notice publication on May
11,
1989.
That publication
occurred on May
26, 1989.
See
13
Iii. Reg.
7863 (May
26,
1989).
The Board received two public comments during the first
notice public comment period.
Neither affected the substance of
the rule.
Public Comment number four
(P.C.
#4), dated June
20,
1989 from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Community
Affairs,
included the Small Business Bureau’s Impact Analysis.
P.C.
#4 indicated that the proposed rule would have no effect on
small businesses.
Public Comment number five
(P.C.
#5), dated
June 27,
1989 from the Office of the Secretary of State,
suggests
a minor revision to the rule.
103—135
—4—
The Board revised the proposed rule
in one minor
regard as a
result of P.C.
#5.
In Section 303.323(b),
that portion that read
“Section 304.105 shall not apply
...“
now reads
“35 Ill.
Adm.
Code 304.105 shall not apply
....“
The Board made no further
revisions and proposed the rule for second notice, publication.
On July 27, 1989,
the Board submitted the rule to the Joint
Committee on Administrative Rules
(“JCAR”) for second notice.
On
August
24,
1989,
JCAR issued
its certification of no objection to
the proposed rulemaking.
ORDER
The Board hereby adopts the following rule and directs that
it
be filed with the Secretary of State and published as a final
rule.
TITLE 35:
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
SUBTITLE
C:
WATER POLLUTION
CHAPTER
I:
POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
PART 303
WATER USE DESIGNATIONS AND SITE SPECIFIC
WATER QUALITY STANDARDS
SUBPART
A:
GENERAL PROVISIONS
Section
303.100
303. 101
303. 102
Scope and Applicability
Multiple Designations
Rulemaking Required
SUBPART
B:
NONSPECIFIC WATER USE DESIGNATIONS
SUBPART
Section
303.300
303.301
303.311
303.312
303. 321
303.322
Scope and Applicability
General Use Waters
Public and Food Processing Water Supplies
Underground Waters
Secondary Contact and Indigenous Aquatic Life
Waters
C:
SPECIFIC USE DESIGNATIONS AND SITE SPECIFIC
WATER QUALITY STANDARDS
Scope and Applicability
Organization
Ohio River Temperature
Waters Receiving Fluorspar Mine Drainage
Wabash River Temperature
Unnamed Tributary of
the Vermilion River
Section
303.200
303.201
303.202
303.203
303.204
103—136
—5—
303.323
Sugar Creek and Its Unnamed Tributary
303.331
Mississippi River North Temperature
303.341
Mississippi River North Central Temperature
303.351
Mississippi River South Central Temperature
303.352
Unnamed Tributary of Wood River Creek
303.353
Shoenberger Creek;
Unnamed Tributary of Cahokia
Canal
303.361
Mississippi River South Temperature
303.441
Secondary Contact Waters
303.442
Waters Not Designated for Public Water Supply
303.443
Lake Michigan
SUBPART D:
THERMAL DISCHARGES
Section
303.500
Scope and Applicability
303.502
Lake Sangchris Thermal Discharges
Appendix A
References
to Previous Rules
Appendix B
Sources of Codified Sections
AUTHORITY:
Implementing Section
13 and authorized by Section
27
of the Environmental Protection Act
(Ill. Rev.
Stat.
1987,
ch.
111 1/2, pars.
1013 and 1027).
SOURCE:
Filed with the Secretary of State January
1,
1978;
amended at
2
Iii. Reg.
27,
p.
221, effective July
5,
1978;
amended at
3
Ill. Reg.
20,
p.
95, effective May 17,
1979;
amended at
5
Ill. Reg.
11592, effective October 19,
1981;
codified at
6 Ill.
Reg. 7818; amended at
6
Ill.
Reg.
11161,
effective September
7,
1982;
amended at
7
Ill.
Reg.
8111,
effective June
23, 1983;
amended in R87—27 at
12
Ill. Reg.
9917,
effective May
27, 1988;
amended
in R87—2 at
____
Ill.
Reg.
__________
,
effective ______________________
Section 303.323
Sugar Creek and Its Unnamed Tributary
~J
This Section applies only to Sugar
Creek and its unnamed
tributary from the point
at which Marathon Petroleum
Company’s outfall 001 discharges into the unnamed
tributary to the confluence of Sugar Creek and the
Wabash River.
b)
35
Ill. Adm. Code 304.105 shall not apply to total
dissolved solids and chlorides discharged
by Marathon
Petroleum Company’s outfall 001, so long as both of the
following conditions are true:
1)
Effluent from Marathon Petroleum Company’s outfall
001 does not exceed either
3,000 mg/i total
dissolved solids or 700 mg/i chlorides,
103—137
—6—
j)
The water
in the unnamed tributary does not exceed
2,000 mg/i total dissolved solids or 550 mg/i
chlorides.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
I,
Dorothy M. Gunn,
Clerk of the Illinois Pollution Control
Board, hereby certify that the above Adopted Rules
Final
Opinion
and Order was adopted on the
/~$~
day
of
J-iia_~-~_~,,
,
1989,
by a vote of
7~
.
~&~7
/~
Dorothy M. ,ç~(inn, Clerk
Illinois Pollution Control Board
103—138