ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD

June 20, 1986

NATIONAL STARCH & CHEMICAL  

)

CORPORATION,

Petitioner,

v.

)

PCB 86—88

ILLINOIS ENVIRONMENTAL    

)

PROTECTION AGENCY,      

)

Respondent.

OPINION AND ORDER OF THE BOARD (by W. 

3.

Nega):

This provisional variance request comes before the Board

upon a June 20, 1986 Recommendation of the Illinois Environmental

Protection Agency (Agency). The Agency recommends that a 45—day

provisional variance be granted to National Starch & Chemical

Corporation (NSC) from 35 Ill. Adm. Code 304.120 as it relates to

total suspended solids (TSS) to allow the discharge of treated

wastewater from a partially completed sludge storage lagoon,

thereby enabling the Petitioner to exceed the TSS effluent limit

in its NPDES Permit No. IL000062l of 25 milligrams per liter

(mg/l) as a monthly average and 50 mg/i as a daily maximum.

National Starch & Chemical Corporation owns and operates

wastewater treatment facilities at its manufacturing plant

located along the Illinois River in Meredosia, Morgan County,

Illinois. The Petitioner’s wastewater treatment facilities

include an activated sludge plant for the treatment of domestic

wastes, flow equalization, grit basins, a primary

clarifloculator, chemical treatment, nutrient addition, pressure

sand filters, activated sludge process, chemical sludge lagoons,

and land disposal of biological sludge for the treatment of

industrial process wastewater. (Rec. 1). The company’s

industrial wastewater treatment facilities have a design average

flow of 0.374 million gallons per day (MGD) and its combined

effluents are discharged into the Illinois River pursuant to the

appropriate NPDES permit authorization. (Rec. 1).

The Petitioner received the requisite authorization to allow

the construction of a sludge lagoon to be used in conjunction

with its existing wastewater treatment facilities pursuant to

Agency Permit No. 1985—EB—1459 and Department of the Army Permit

No. P—1585. However, because of Illinois River flooding, the

start of the necessary construction work on the sludge lagoon was

unavoidably delayed until the middle of June, 1985. Similarly,

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because of unusually heavy rainfall and high Illinois River

stages during November of 1985, the Petitioner halted construc-

tion work on the sludge lagoon just prior to the completion of

the bentonite sealing.

To equalize water levels in order to prevent differential

head conditions, NSC piped its treatment plant effluent to the

lagoon. If excessive differential head conditions had been

allowed to occur, this might have caused possible damage to the

lagoonberms. (Rec. 1). Moreover, in anticipation of spring

flood levels which commonly occur in this locale, the Petitioner

retained its effluent in the lagoon over the winter months.

According to the company, algae growth in the lagoon has been

promoted by the clear water plant effluents, and the overabundant

algae growth has allegedly necessitated a variance because the

contents of the lagoon are higher in total suspended solids than

can be discharged within NPDES Permit limits for average daily

discharges.

Additionally, the Petitioner has stated that dewatering of

the lagoon by recycling through the treatment process is not a

feasible alternative, since such dewatering activities cannot

proceed at a rate high enough to ensure the completion of the

sludge storage lagoon in this construction season without a con-

comitant degradation of the wastewater treatment plant’s effluent

quality. Thus, the Petitioner claims that the proposed

dewatering of the sludge lagoon by allowing direct discharges

into the Illinois River will allow the completion of the lagoon’s

construction in the shortest possible time, thereby facilitating

the discontinuation of the utilization of the existing lagoons

now in service which are not protected from river flooding.

Attachment 1 to the company’s variance request indicates the

following sample analysis from NSC’s new sludge lagoon:

SU!~?4ARYOF S1~MPLEAN1~LYSIS

FIOM NEW SLUIX3E LAGOCt~

From daily sa~iples taken between March

1, 1986 

—

June 1, 1986

(Analysis of

National Starch Lab)

Parameter

MaxirTum

Miniimim

T~pical

7.2

~JD5(rng/1)

—

TSS (mg/i)

—

34

(Attachment 1)

is readily apparent from the above water sampling data,

the total suspended solids concentrations from the new sludge

lagoon are presently below the 50 mg/i allowable daily maximum as

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Set forth in the Petitioner’s NPDES Permit.

However, as a result

of the algae

growth within the lagoon, the high suspended solids

concentration typically ranging from 28 mg/i to

34 mg/l is

ordinarily above the average daily discharge limit of 

25 ing/l

delineated in the company’s NPDES Permit. Nonetheless, the

Petitioner does not expect its total suspended solids concentra-

tion to exceed 50 mg/i during the dewatering process in which

approximately ten million gallons (i.e., the

remaining volume in

the sludge lagoon) are to be discharged directly into the

Illinois River. Therefore, the Petitioner plans to discharge the

total volume of water remaining in the lagoon (i.e., about 10

million gallons) over a 45 day time period at a rate of about

0.22 million gallons per day with an anticipated total suspended

solids concentration less than 50 mg/i. (Rec. 2).

In reference to the environmental impact of allowing the

discharge of the sludge lagoon contents into the Illinois River,

the Petitioner has indicated that the present contents of the

lagoon are not significantly higher in total suspended solids

than is allowed by NSC’s existing NPDES Permit and that there

will be high dilution of the proposed lagoon effluents because

the typical flow rates in the Illinois River are about 12,000 to

14,000 cubic feet per second of water. (Attachment 1).

Similarly, the Agency has stated that it “agrees with

Petitioner that the expected environmental impact of discharging

the present contents of this lagoon directly to the Illinois

River to be minimal due to the high dilution which will take

place”. (Rec. 2). Additionally, the Agency has noted that,

during the Water Year 1984, the average flow in the Illinois

River as measured at the Meredosia, Illinois water quality

station was approximately 5,700 million gallons of water per day,

indicating that high dilution of any discharge into the Illinois

River would occur at that point. (Rec. 2).

The Agency has also indicated that there are no federal

regulations that would preclude the granting of the requested

provisional variance. Because the nearest surface public water

supply is about 84 stream miles downstream at Alton, Illinois,

there are no close downstream public water supplies which would

be adversely affected by the granting of the requested relief.

(Rec. 2).

The Petitioner maintains, and the Agency believes, that a

denial of the requested provisional variance would create an

arbitrary or unreasonable hardship because the new sludge lagoon

is protected from river flooding and is designed to replace the

existing lagoons which are not currently protected from river

flooding. Therefore, if the Petitioner does not complete the

necessary construction work during the present construction

season, “the existing unprotected lagoons will have to remain in

use with the potential for loss of the sludge due to river

flooding”. (Rec. 2).

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The Agency has therefore concluded that compliance 

with the

applicable standards would impose an arbitrary or unreasonable

hardship upon the National Starch & Chemical Corporation.

(Rec. 1). Accordingly, the Agency has recommended that the Board

grant the Petitioner a provisional variance from 35 Iii. Adni.

Code 304.120, subject to certain conditions.

Pursuant to Section 35(b) of the Illinois Environmental

Protection Act, the Board will grant the provisional variance as

recommended.

This Op±nionconstitutes the Board’s findings of fact and

conclusions of law in this matter.

ORD ER

The Petitioner, the National Starch & Chemical Corporation,

is hereby granted a provisional variance from 35 Iii. Mm.

Code 304.120 to allow the Petitioner’s wastewater treatment

facilities to exceed the total suspended solids (TSS) effluent

limit set by its NPDES Permit No. IL000062l of 25 milligrams per

liter (mg/i) as a monthly average and 50 mg/i as a daily maximum,

thereby allowing the discharge of treated wastewater from a

partially completed sludge storage lagoon, subject to the

following conditions:

1.  The provisional variance shall commence when the

dewatering of the lagoon is begun and shall

continue for 45 days thereafter.

The discharge from the partially completed sludge

storage lagoon shall be limited to 50 mg/i TSS as a

30 day average.

The Petitioner shall collect a composite sample of

the discharge once per week and analyze the sample

collected for biochemical oxygen demand and total

suspended solids.

The analysis results shall be

recorded and submitted to the Agency with the

Petitioner’s monthly

discharge monitoring reports.

4.  The Petitioner shall notify Pat Lindsey of the

Agency’s Compliance Assurance Section via telephone

at 217-782-9720 when dewatering of the lagoon is

begun and ended. This oral communication and

notification shall be supplemented by a written

confirmation that shall be submitted within 5 days

to:

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—5-

Illinois Environmental Protection Agency

Division of Water Pollution Control

Compliance Assurance Section

2200 Churchill Road

Springfield, Illinois 62706

Attention: Pat Lindsey

Within 10 days of the date of the Board’s Order,

the Petitioner shall execute a Certification of

Acceptance and Agreement which shall be sent to

Mr. James Frost of the Agency at the following

address:

Mr. James Frost

Illinois Environmental Protection Agency

Division of Water Pollution Control

2200 Churchill Road

Springfield, Illinois 62706

This certification shall have the following form:

I, (We), 

________________________________,

having read the

Order of the Illinois Pollution Control Board in PCB 86-88, dated

June 20, 1986, understand and accept the said Order, realizing

that such acceptance renders all terms and conditions thereto

binding and enforceable.

Pètitioner

By: Authorized Agent

fltle

Date

I, Dorothy H. Gunn, Clerk of the Illinois Pollution Control

Board, hereby certify that the above

nion and Order was

adopted on the

day of

a vote of

7—o

70.297