ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
August
7,
1985
DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY
)
(Savanna Army Depot Activity),
)
)
Petitioner,
)
v.
)
PCB 85-113
)
ILLINOIS ENVIRONMENTAL
)
PROTECTION AGENCY,
)
)
Respondent.
OPINION AND ORDER OF THE BOARD
(by W.J.
Nega):
This provisional
variance request comes before
the Board
upon an August
7,
1985 Recommendation of the Illinois
Environmental Protection Agency (Agency).
The Agency recommends
that the Board grant the Department of the Army,
Savanna Army
Depot Activity (SVADA)
a provisional variance from the open
burning prohibitions of
35 Ill. Adm.
Code 237.102 to allow the
destruction by burning of specified unstable explosive bulk
propellants.
(Rec
1).
The actual time needed for the open burning operations is
estimated by the Petitioner to be approximately fifteen to twenty
working days.
(Rec.
1).
The Agency has recommended that the
provisional variance be granted retroactively to August
3,
198.5
and extend for
a period thereafter not to exceed
45 days because
of the “serious safety problem present in this matter” which
“necessitated starting the burning and the time necessary to
complete the burning~.
(Rec.
5).
The Agency notes that, during
the calendar year,
the Petitioner
has not been granted any
provisional variances.
(Rec 1).
The Petitioner has requested a provisional Variance to
allow
the emergency destruction of the following propellants by open
burning:
Quantity
Description
Composition
209,463 lbs.
M6 propellant
87
Nitrocellulose
10
Dinitrotoluene
3
Dibutylphthalate
97,773
lbs.
MiS
propellant
20
Nitrocellulose
19
Nitroglycerin
54.
7
Nitroguanidine
6
Ethyl
centralite
65-217
2
SVADA
intends
to burn these propellants on its inactive burn
pads which are located in remote part of the army depot
3 1/2
miles away from the nearest city.
The closest city is Beilevue,
Iowa which has
a population of
1182.
Blanding, Illinois, which
has
a population of 150 individuals, is located about
3.8 miles
from the burn area.
The nearest homes
are also about
3.8 miles
from the Petitioner’s burn area.
(Rec
2).
Moreover, in the
vicinity of these burn pads, the population density is very
sparse.
Carbon monoxide, oxides of nitrogen, and particulates
are the pollutants which are expected to be emitted during the
Petitioner’s open burning activities.
The Petitioner has noted that its explosives are inherently
unstable and have been known to deteriorate in storage when there
is
a low stabilizer content or hazardous stabilizer loss.
The
Petitioner’s propellant stability tests
on the lots of unstable
explosive propellants in question have indicated that an
extremely dangerous situation now exists because the stabilizer
content of the propellants is below 0.20 percent
(with some
batches
as
low
as
0.10
percent).
SVADA
has
included
the
test
report on the aforementioned explosives as part of its
provisional variance request.
Attached to the Petitioner’s
request is
a Department of the Army Supply Bulletin #SB 742-1300-
94-2 which indicated that if the stabilizer content of the bulk
propellant falls below 0.20,
the propellant is unsafe for
continued storage and must be destroyed within 60 days.
The Agency’s investigation of this situation has revealed
that the Petitioner
“has
an adequate firefighting detail
at the
facility as well
as mutual aid agreements with nearby fire
departments”.
(Rec,
2).
The Petitioner has agreed to conduct
its open burning activities only during periods when there is
less than
50
cloud cover and only between the hours of
9:00 A,M,
and
4:00 P.M.
(Rec,
2),
Mr. Joseph Mall, the Agency’s District
Engineer, visited the Petitioner’s site on August
3,
1985
“to
review the proposed conditions with SVADA staff and observe the
procedures taken with the first burn”.
(Rec.
2).
According to
Mr. Mall, each burn (which takes
place on
a “burn pad”)
is
of
10,000 pounds of propellant which is “lit with a fuse of sawdust
soaked in diesal fuel allowing personnel to retreat to safe
areas”,
(Rec.
2).
Each burn lasts less than one minute and
produces an orange flash of approximately 100 feet in diameter.
(Rec.
2).
At the present time,
the Petitioner
has no other means
available to destroy and dispose of the dangerous, unstable
propellant.
Although a new explosive waste incinerator
is
currently under construction
at the site, the completion of
construction has been delayed because of equipment availability
problems and the necessity for technical review of the trial test
burn plan.
Therefore, the new explosive waste incinerator
is not
expected to
be operational until sometime in the spring of
1986.
(Rec.
3).
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The Petitioner emphasizes
that “because of the low
stabilizer content, there is an inherent danger that the
propellant could ignite at any time.
SVADA personnel are trained
in handling explosives and every safety precaution will be taken
to ensure the safety of the personnel during burning
operations”.
(See:
letter dated July 25,
1985 to the Agency).
Transportation of the propellant to another military installation
also is not feasible, since the risk in shipping the unstable
propellant would be even greater than continued storage.
(Rec.
3)
The Petitioner has stated that deterioration which resulted
in an explosion
of propellant in a storage location occurred on
June
6,
1985 at
the Lexington-Blue Grass Army Depot due to “auto
ignition of propellant with low stabilizer content”.
On July
31,
1985, there was
a similar explosion at
a military facility in
Dugway, Utah.
fRee.
3).
On August
2,
1985,
Mr. James Ryan of
SVADA reported that “Army personnel from New Jersey investigated
the problem at Savanna and determined that the danger
of
explosion was
imminent”,
(Rec.
3).
The Agency believes that, with the danger
of explosion
“imminent”,
it would obviously be an arbitrary and unreasonable
hardship for SVADA to wait for the normal period of time to
process
an ordinary variance petition.
(Rec.
3).
Transport of
the propellants to another facility is not a practical
alternative, and the Petitioner’s new explosive waste incinerator
will not become available until next year.
Because of the
serious threat
of explosion,
the Agency has indicated
“it
is
probably unreasonable in this case to wait even for the
provisional variance process
to begin the burning”.
(Rec.
3).
Accordingly,
“because of the recent explosion in Utah and the
August
2,
1985 evaluation of the hazard at the Savanna facility,
the Agency represented to Petitioner the Agency would not pursue
any enforcement activity against SVADA for starting burning at
9:00 A.M. on August
3,
1985”.
(Rec.
3-4).
The Petitioner has
agreed to follow the conditions delineated by the Agency to help
assure safe burning conditions during this emergency.
(Rec.
4).
(See:
Opinion and Order
of the Board of March
2,
1984 In
PCB
84-25,
Dana Corporation
v,
IEPA, and note Concurring Opinion
in
PCB
84-25
by
Messrs.
Dumelle
and
Meyer.
The
Agency
believes
that
the
actual
environmental
impact
of
the
burning
will
be
minimal
because
the
burn
site
is
near
the
middle of
a large military facility and the area outside the
SVADA facility is very sparsely populated.
(Rec.
4).
The Agency
has calculated that there will be 28.7 pounds of particulates
emitted during each burn and that
“even a much larger amount of
particulates would be insignificant in such
a sparsely populated
area”.
(Rec.
4).
The amount of CO and N0~released is
“unquantifiable
with
available information” but is thought to be
relatively minor.
fRee.
4).
Accordingly, the Agency has concluded that compliance on
a
65-219
4
short-term basis with the open burning provisions
of 35
Ill. Adm.
Code
237.102
would
impose
an
arbitrary
or
unreasonable
hardship
upon
the
Petitioner
in
light
of
the
serious safety problem in the
instant
case;
the
minimal
environmental
impact;
the
lack
of
feasible
alternatives;
the
actual
explosions
under
comparable
conditions
at
similar
facilities;
and
the
fact
that
time
is
of
the essence.
Therefore, the Agency recommends that the Board
grant the provisional variance retroactively to August
3,
1985 to
“allow
coverage
for
the
period
of
time
before
the
grant
of
the
variance
for
which
emergency
conditions
necessitated
starting
the
burning
and
the
ti’ne
necessary
to
complete
the
burning”.
fRee.
5).
Pursuant to Section
35(h) of the Illinois Environmental
Protection Act,
the
Board hereby grants the provisional variance
as
recommended.
This
Opinion
constitutes
the
Board’s
findings
of
fact
and
conclusions
of
la~c’in
this
matter.
ORDER
The Petitioner,
the Department of the Army (Savanna Army
Depot Activity),
is hereby granted a provisional variance
retroactively to August
3,
1985 and continuing to September 16,
1985 from 35 Ill. Adm. Code 237.102 to allow the destruction by
burning oE the propellants identified in the provisional variance
request, subject to the following conditions:
1.
The open burning shall only be conducted between the
hours of
9:00 A,M, and
4:00 P.M.
2.
The
open
burning shall only commence when the cloud
cover over the burn site is
no more than
50 percent.
3.
The Petitioner shall notify
officials
of
municipalities
within
a
5 mile radius
of the burn site of the open
burning
4.
The Petitioner shall cease the open burning if citizen
complaints are received and only continue when weather
conditions have changed sufficiently to avoid the causes
of those complaints.
This condition is to apply only to
the extent possible while completing the destruction of
the propellant by September 16,
1985.
5.
The Petitioner shall conduct the open burning
in full
compliance
with
Section
725.482
of the Board’s RCRA
Rules.
(35 Ill.
Adm. Code
725.482)
6.
The Petitioner
shall
notify
the
Agency
when
the
burning
is co~r~p1eted, Notice shall be made to:
65-220
5
Illinois Environmental Protection Agency
Division of Air Pollution Control
Field Operations Section
5415 N. University
Peoria,
Illinois
61614
Telephone:
(309)691-2200
7.
Within
7 days of the date of the Board’s Order, the
Petitioner shall execute
a Certificate of Acceptance
and
Agreement which shall
be sent to Mr. William D.
Ingersoll
at
the following address:
Mr. William D.
Ingersoll
Illinois Environmental Protection Agency
Enforcement Services
2200 Churchill Road
Springfield, Illinois
62706
This certification shall have the following form:
:r,
(We)
,
having
read the Order of the Illinois Pollution Control Board in
PCB 85-113 dated August
7,
1985,
understand and accept said
Order, realizing that such acceptance renders all terms
and
conditions thereto binding and enforceable.
Department of the Army
Savanna Army Depot Activity
By:
Authorized Agent
Title
Date
IT
IS SO ORDERED.
I,
Dorothy
N.
Gunn, Clerk of the Illinois Pollution Control
Board, hereby certify that the above Opinion and Order was
adopted on the
7~
day of
___________________,
1985 by
a vote
of
$-~c)
,
1~L
Dorothy M. Qunn,
Clerk
Illinois Pollution Control Board
65-221