ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
January
9,
1986
KABLE PRINTING COMPANY,
Petitioner,
v.
)
PCB 85—57
ILLINOIS ENVIRONMENTAL
PROTECTION AGENCY,
Respondent.
OPINION
AND ORDER OF THE BOARD
(by
~.
3.
Nega):
This matter comes before
the Board
on
a petition for
variance filed
on April
30, 1985 by the Kable Printing Company
(Company) requesting
a one—year variance from 35
Ill. Adm.
Code
304.120
as
it pertains
to the
effluent concentration limits
for
five—day biochemical
oxygen demand
(BOD)
newly set
by its
reissued NPDES Permit #1L0003972
for outfall
OOla
to allow time
for
the construction of
a sewer extension to
connect its
wastewater pretreatment discharge
into the Village
of Mount
Morris’
(Village) municipal sanitary sewer system.
The Petitioner’s prior permit had no effluent concentration
limits
for BOD,
arid
a
one—year variance
is requested
to allow
the
Company sufficient time
to construct
the necessary improvements
in order
to come into compliance.
(See:
Exhibits A,
B,
and N of
the
Company’s September
25, 1985 amended variance petition).
On May 2,
1985,
the Board entered
a
“more
information” Order
which
requested additional
information
and
clarification of
certain language
in
the Company’s initial variance petition.
On June
20,
1985,
the Petitioner filed
an Amended Variance
Petition
in response
to the Board’s May 2,
1985 “more
information” Order.
On June
27,
1985,
the Board entered an Order which
noted
that the Petitioner’s amended variance petition had
failed
to
address all
of
the informational deficiencies delineated in the
Board’s May 2,
1985 Order
and required
that
a
further amendment
be filed within
45 days.
However,
the Petitioner
failed
to file
a further amended
petition within
the appropriate time period.
Accordingly,
on September
5, 1985,
the Board entered an
Order which dismissed the Company’s variance request for failure
to file
the
requisite amended petition.
67-417
—2—
On September
25, 1985,
the Company filed
a Motion for
Reconsideration of the Board’s September
5,
1985 dismissal Order,
along with a further amended variance petition
(Pet.).
In
support
of
its motion,
the Company stated that
it had not
responded
to the Board’s June
27, 1985 Order
because
it had not
received the Order
“due to apparent mail problems”.
On October
10, 1985,
the Board granted
the Company’s motion
for reconsideration and
reinstated this action.
The Petitioner has waived
its right
to
a hearing and no
hearing has been held
in this matter.
On October 23,
1985,
the
Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (Agency)
filed
its
Recommendation which recommended that
a variance
be granted,
subject to certain specified conditions.
The Kable Printing Company, which has been
in business for
over
87 years,
owns and operates
a rotogravure
and offset
printing plant
in the
rural community of
the Village
of Mount
Morris,
Illinois which employs about 600
people.
(Pet.
1).
The
Petitioner’s wastewater
treatment facilities include
a
chrome
reduction tank,
a holding tank for polymer addition, two batch
settling tanks,
a pH neutralization tank,
and
a sludge filter
press.
(Rec.
3).
The Company has ascertained that various materials which
are
used in the etching, re—etching,
and cleaning of
its copper—
plated rotogravure cylinders contribute
to BOD
in its
wastewater.
These materials are:
acetic acid,
isopropyl alcohol,
ethyl acetate,
gelatin, staging
lacquer, hydrocarbon—based
cleaners,
and ferric chloride.
(Pet.
1;
see: Exhibit D).
At the present time,
sanitary wastewater from the
Petitioner’s printing plant discharges
to the Village’s sewer
system and all
treated process wastewater,
boiler blowdown,
non—
contact cooling water
and storm water
runoff discharges from
outfall OOla pursuant
to NPDES Permit #1L0003972
to
a stream
which
is an unnamed tributary of Pine Creek, which
leads
to the
Rock River, which
is
a tributary of
the Mississippi River.
(Pet.
1;
see: Exhibit 3).
The Company discharges from three outfalls:
OOla
(which contains process water and
is the subject of
the
instant variance petition);
OOlc
(which contains the east boiler
blowdown);
and OOld
(which contains the west boiler
blowdown).
(Rec.
3).
The Petitioner discharges
about 60,000 gallons per month
of
pretreated wastewater
in eight
to
ten batches.
Quality analyses
precede each discharge
of wastewater which contains heavy metals
and BOD.
The Company recycles the entire batch
for further
treatment
if
its analyses indicate
incomplete
or inadequate
treatment.
(Rec.
3).
Although the Company’s treatment of heavy
metals enables
it
to ordinarily meet the effluent limitations
for
such heavy metals,
its treatment system
is presently not
67-418
—3—
physically
capable
of removing BOD.
(Pet.
1;
see:
Exhibits E,
F,
& G).
The Company
is authorized
to discharge from outfall OOla
pursuant
to its NPDES Permit #1L0003972,
which was reissued on
March
29,
1985.
The Agency placed
a new condition
in the
reissued NPDES Permit which imposed the following limitations for
BOD:
30 mg/i on
a 30—day average and
60 mg/i on
a daily
maximum.
(Rec.
3).
Because the Petitioner’s prior permit had no
effluent concentration limits
set
for BOD,
the Company has not
previously noted
or
routinely analyzed the presence of
this
parameter and currently has no facilities
to treat
its wastes
for
BOD removal.
(Pet.
2;
Rec.
3).
Accordingly,
the Petitioner
is
presently unable
to immediately comply with the new condition in
its reissued NPDES Permit until additional
facilities are
constructed
or until arrangements can be made with the Village
of
Mount Morris
to accept pretreated heavy metals wastewater
for BOD
treatment
at the Village’s facility.
(Pet.
2).
In considering the various alternatives available
to it,
the
Company has conducted pilot studies pertaining
to the feasibility
of in—house treatment of SOD including aeration tests and
chemical treatment.
(Pet.
2,;
see: Exhibits
H
&
I).
However,
the Petitioner’s
tests
and pilot studies have indicated
that in—
house treatment methods are not adequate for reduction
of BOD
to
authorized NPDES Permit limit levels.
(Pet.
2).
Therefore,
the
Company has formally requested
the Village
to accept
the
pretreated wastewater
and
the Village has agreed
to accept
the
additional
flows provided that all plant existing sewer drains be
connected for
a single point discharge into the Village’s
sanitary sewer.
(Pet.
2;
see: Exhibits
3
&
K).
In furtherance of
this sewer
connection project,
the Company
has entered
into
a contract with
a firm of consulting engineers
to provide full project engineering and planning at
a projected
total cost
of $68,100.
(Pet.
2;
see: Exhibits
L
& M).
It
is
anticipated that
the sewer extension will consist
of
30 feet
of
ten inch sewer;
1,067
feet of eight
inch sewer;
213 feet
of
six
inch sewer;
and
67
feet of six inch force main with
the requisite
appurtenances.
(Rec.
2).
Under
the Petitioner’s compliance
plan,
all wastes except cooling water will
be discharged
into the
Village’s municipal sewer
system.
The Village
of Mount Morris
owns and operates treatment
facilities which
include preliminary treatment,
an enclosed
trickling filter,
a primary clarifier,
two secondary clarifiers,
two gravity sand filters,
two 2—stage biodiscs,
and an aerated
chlorine contact
tank along with excess
flow and sludge
digestion.
Because
the Village’s treatment facilities have
a
design average flow of 500,000 gallons per day,
the Agency has
concluded
that the Village’s municipal treatment plant has
sufficient capacity to accept
the Company’s wastewater
pretreatment discharge into the Village’s sanitary sewer
system.
(Rec.
4).
Moreover,
the Agency has indicated that,
67-419
—4—
after further
treatment by the Village’s facilities, pretreatment
wastes originating from the Petitioner’s operations should have
no adverse environmental impact upon ultimate discharge.
(Rec.
4).
Since May 30, 1985,
the Company has been making steady
progress
in following its compliance schedule,
in that
it already
has:
(1)
completed
its negotiations with the Village of Mount
Morris;
(2) completed
the necessary engineering studies,
engineering design work and specifications;
(3) obtained
the
requisite Agency permit;
(4) awarded
the sewer connection
construction contract;
and
(5)
started construction of the
project on September 3,
1985.
(Pet.
2).
The compliance schedule
indicates
that the construction of the necessary pretreatment
facilities
is expected
to
be completed on,
or about,
October 30,
1985.
(Pet.
2).
The Village of Mount Morris will begin
accepting the Petitioner’s effluent discharges
as soon as the
construction
is completed.
(Pet.
2;
see: Exhibit N).
The Petitioner has contended that the granting of
the
requested variance will result
in a negligible
environmental
impact since
“the discharge has been ongoing for
a number
of
years with no apparent significant adverse impact
to the
receiving stream”.
(Pet.
2).
The Agency expects the environmental impact of
the
Petitioner’s effluent discharges
to be minimal
and agrees that
“in this particular case,
because of the
small flow of process
water
and the
large flow of cooling water,
no significant
environmental impact will result during
the term of
the
variance”.
(Rec.
2).
The Agency also notes that the Company
will continue its customary treatment and emphasizes
that the
Petitioner’s discharge will not differ qualitatively from prior
discharges before the imposition of
the BOD limitation
in
its
reissued NPDES Permit.
(Rec.
2).
The Agency has therefore concluded
that compliance with the
applicable BOD limits
in the Petitioner’s reissued NPDES Permit
would impose an arbitrary or unreasonable hardship upon the Kable
Printing Company.
(Rec. 1—2).
The Agency has
stated that
there
are
no federal regulations which would preclude the granting
of
the requested variance and has indicated that the “Petitioner has
shown good faith
in seeking
to construct
a sewer connection and
has not delayed
in those efforts”.
(Rec.
2—4).
Accordingly,
the
Agency has recommended
that the Board grant
the Petitioner
a
variance from
35 Ill. Adm. Code 304.120
as
it pertains to SOD,
subject
to specified conditions.
(Rec.
1—4).
In
its Recommendation,
the Agency has correctly enunciated
the principle that “the duration of
the variance need not exceed
the duration
of construction” and has appropriately concluded
that “once Petitioner
is connected
to the Village’s sewer
system,
the variance ought
to
lapse”.
(Rec.
4).
However,
as
a practical
matter,
it
is unclear from the record whether construction was
67-420
—5—
completed on schedule
on October
30, 1985,
or whether
some
unforeseen delays,
as are common
in construction projects, may
have occurred.
The Agency’s Recommendation,
which was promptly
filed on October
23, 1985,
(i.e., seven days before
the scheduled
completion
of construction),
sheds
no light on this matter
and no
supplemental
legal documents were filed
to indicate that
construction was,
in fact,
completed.
Thus,
the exact date that
the sewer connection was completed
(or sufficient
facts
to
indicate when completion will
occur,
if
it has
not already
happened)
is not
in the record.
Accordingly,
the Board will
allow
the Petitioner
some leeway and will
impose
a condition in
its Order
that
the variance shall commence
on March
29,
1985 and
expire upon completion of the sewer connection, but
in no event
shall continue
later than April
30,
1986.
Similarly,
the Agency has not recommended
a date on which
the variance
is to begin,
so the Board will assume
that an
appropriate starting date will
be
from the time that the
Petitioner’s NPDES Permit was reissued on March
29,
1985
containing
the new condition imposing
specific SOD limitations.
The Board finds that denial
of the variance would
impose
an
arbitrary
or unreasonable hardship upon the Petitioner.
The
Board will therefore grant the Petitioner
a variance from 35
Ill.
Adm. Code
304.120
as
it pertains
to the effluent concentration
limits for SOD, subject
to specified conditions.
This Opinion constitutes
the Board’s findings
of fact
and
conclusions
of
law
in this matter.
ORDER
1.
The Petitioner,
the Kable Printing Company,
is hereby
granted
a variance from
35 Ill.
Adrn.
Code 304.120
as
it pertains
to the effluent concentration
limits
for BOD set by its reissued
NPDES Permit
#1L0003972 for outfall OOia
to allow time for
the
construction
of
a sewer extension to connect
its wastewater
pretreatment discharge into
the Village of Mount Morris’
municipal sanitary sewer system,
subject to the following
conditions:
a)
This variance shall commence
on March
29, 1985
and
expire upon completion of
the sewer connection,
but
in no
event
shall continue later
than April
30,
1986.
b)
The Petitioner
shall request from the Agency a
modification of its NPDES Permit within
30 days of
the
completion
of construction.
c)
The Petitioner shall notify the Agency,
in writing,
within five days
of the completion of construction.
This
written notification shall
be sent
to:
67-421
—6—
Illinois Environmental Protection Agency
Division
of Water Pollution Control
Compliance Assurance Section
2200
Churchill
Road
Springfield, Illinois 62706
Attention:
Compliance Unit
d)
The Petitioner shall
continue to monitor
and sample its
outfalls
as required
by its NPDES Permit #1L0003972.
2.
Within forty—five days of the date of
this Order,
the
Kable Printing Company shall execute and forward to
Mr.
William
D.
Ingersoll,
Enforcement Programs, Illinois Environmental
Protection Agency,
2200 Churchill Road, Springfield,
Illinois
62706,
a Certificate
of Acceptance
and Agreement to
be bound
to
all terms and conditions of this variance.
This forty—five
day
period
shall
be held
in abeyance
for any time period this matter
is being appealed.
The form of this certificate shall
be
as
follows:
CERTIFICATION
The Kable Printing Company hereby accepts and agrees
to be
bound by all the terms and conditions of
the Order
of the
Illinois Pollution Control Board
in PCB 85—57, dated January
9,
1986.
Kable Printing Company
By:
Authorized Agent
Title
Date
IT
IS
SO ORDERED.
67-422
I,
Dorothy
M.
Cunn Clerk
of
the Illinois Pollution Control
Board, hereby cert~y that
the above Opinion
and Order was
adopted
on
the
_____
day
of
~
1986 by
a
vote
of
______.
~
/
Th~
/
/
Dorothy
M.
Gunn, Clerk
Illinois Pollution Control Board
67-423