ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
August 15, 1985
ELECTRIC ENERGY, INC.
)
)
Petitioner,
)
v.
)
PCB
85-39
)
ILLINOIS ENVIRONMENTAL
)
PROTECTION AGENCY,
Respondent.
)
OPINION AND ORDER OF THE BOARD (by R. C. Flemal):
This matt~ comes before the Board on a petition filed on
April 4, 1985 E Electric Energy, Inc., (EEl) requesting a
variance from the total suspended solids (TSS) limitation of 35
Ill. Adm, Code 304.124, as such applies to EEITs Joppa Plant
Outfall 001. EEl requests that the variance extend to December
31, 1985. The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (Agency)
filed a motion for leave to file instanter and its recommendation
on July 12, 1985 recommending that the variance be granted
subject to conditions. Hearing was waived and none was held.
EEl operates a six unit coal fired steam electric generating
station at Joppa, Massac County, Illinois with a total capacity
of 1046 megawatts (gross). The station Employs about 325 people
and in 1984 purchased approximately 3.2 million tons of coal,
about 1.7 million tons of which were purchased from southern
Illinois.
Residue from the coal burned in the boilers is routed to a
50 acre ash pond. Discharge from the pond is through Outfall 001
to an unnamed tributary of the Ohio River under authority of
NIPDES Permit 1L0004171. Capacity in the ash pond has decreased
more rapidly than anticipated, and as a consequence there is
insufficient settling time to allow the effluent to meet the 15
mg/l TSS on a 30 day average and 30 mg/i TSS as a daily maximum,
as specified in the NPDES Permit.
EEl intends to address the ash pond capacity problem by
constructing an addition to the current pond. A construction
permit to this end was granted to Petitioner by the Agency on May
28, 1984. Construction is presently in progress with completion
scheduled for December 31, 1985. EEl contends that, when
completed, the addition to the pond will allow the NPDES Permit
levels to be attained, For the interim it requests that TSS
limits be set at 75 mg/i on a 30 day average and 100 mg/i as a
daily maximum.
.65.2~51
-2-
The
Agency agrees with Petitioner’s request for
the 100 mg/i
TSS
daily maximum limit, but disagrees with the requested 75 mg/I
TSS on a 30 day average. The Agency notes that according to the
Clean Water Act and its regulations Petitioner’s facility is
subject to federal Best Practicable Treatment technology require-
ments contained at 40 CVR $423.12(b)(4). The limitations there
prohibit discharges in excess of 30 mg/l on a 30 day average.
The Agency accordt.ngly
recomnends that the variance
be granted
with a condition of a 30 mg/i
30 day
average concentration of
TSS.
EEl as:
. :..~
tnat
the on.y alternative to variance is
derating of
.. •
e
generating
units until construction of the
addition to
.:
~epond
Ls completed. Petitioner estimates
that
the
percentage
t.
lerating may be as nigh as 802, but does not cite
the cost
the
‘culd be thus entailed. The Agency estimates,
based on con; idated earnthgs for the 4 months to April 30,
1985, as rep. ~ed by Moody’s Corporate News, that an 80
reduction in
~cone would
produce a net income loss of $392,800
over four
mOb
IS. This figure likely understates the loss that
EEl would act’ tally incur 1? it suffered an 802 reduction in
income, as
the
Agency’ s calculations did not consider EEl’ s fixed
costs, which would not decrease proportionately with revenue in
the short run. Also not included in the estimate is the cost to
the work force which would be
incurred.
Petitioner asserts that no measurable impact would be
expected in Ohio River water quality as a consequence of granting
the requested relief
•
The
Agency notes
that
concentrations of
TSS in the Ohio River as measured at Lock and
Dam
53 near Grand
Chain, Illinois (downstream of Petitioner) by
the
U.S. Geological
Survey in Water
Year
1983 tanged frum
9
mg/l
to 260 mg/l. In
comparison
±sthe following record of TSS concentrations reported
for Outfall 301 by EEl on its Discharge Monitoring Reports
(Agency Recommendation, 14):
Month
30 Day Avg. (mg/i)
Daily Max. (mg/l)
04/85
7
8
03/85
15
19
02/85
tO
18
01/85
245
37
12/84
24
24
11/84
23
58
10/84
IC
10
09/84
19
19
08/84
26
26
07/84
28
28
06/84
18
18
05/84
1
1
(Prior
to November, 1984
Petitinner sampled the effluent
from
Our!cfl 001 only on:a per n~onth. Hence, prior to
that t±::,t.
•.he daily 30 day average
and daily maximum are
the sarni.’
e3-252
—3—
The Board notes that the 30 day average concentrations For
t;he period of record of the Discharge Monitoring Reports
are
within the 30 mg/i limit recommended by the Agency. The Board
therefore finds that the Agency’s recommendation would
constitutc
a reasonable limiting condition.
Based on the
foregoing, the Board finds that requiring
t!nmediate compliance would constitute an arbitrary or
unreasonable hardship considering the limited environmental
impact.
Accordingly, the requested variance is hereby granted,
subject to condi,~:.ions,
This Opinion constitutes the Board~s findings o~ fact and
conclusions of law in this matter,
ORDER
Electric Energy, Inc.,
is hereby granted variance beginning
this day
from the total suspended solids limitations of 35
Iii.
Adm, Code 304.124 for Outfall 001 of NPDES
Permit 1L0004171 with
the following conditions:
1. Variance shall expire on December 31, 1985 or 30 days
after completion of the expanded ash disposal pond,
whichever is earlier.
2. During the period
of the variance Total Suspended Solids
(Storet 00530) shall not exceed 30 mg/i as a 30 day
average concentration nor 100
mg/l as a daily maximum
concentration.
3. Petitioner shall continue to monitor its effluent as
required by its NPDES Permit.
4. Petitioner shall include a report outlining progress in
constructing its expanded ash disposal pond with each
rnonth~s Discharge Monitoring Report until the expanded
facility is operational.
5. Petitioner shall inform the Agency
in writing of
completion of the expanded ash disposal pond within 5
days of said completion.
6,
Petitioner shall submit
a Certificate of Acceptance in
the following form:
e5-253
—4—
CERTIFICATION
We, Electric Energy, Inc., hereby accept and agree to be
bound by all terms and conditions of the Order of the Pollution
Control Board in PCB 85-39.
Electric Energy, Inc.
Authorized Agent
Title
Date
The report:
:~fl
Condition 5
and
the
certificate
in Condition 6
shall be sent
Illino:t s Environmental Protection Agency
Division of Water Pollution Control
Compliance Assurance Section
2200 Churchill Road
Springfield, Illinois 62706
IT IS SO ORDERED
Jacob D. Dumelle concurred,
~1, Dorothy M. Gunn, C:Lerk of the Illinois Pollution Control
Board, hereby certify that the above Opinion and Order was
adopted on the
/5~—
day of
________________,
1985, by a
vote of
7—0
Dorothy H. Gunn, Clerk
Illinois Pollution Control Board
B5~254