86-209

ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD

October 24, 1985

PETERSON PURITAN, INC.,     

)

Petitioner,

v.

)

PCB 85—163

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 October 23., 1985 Recommendation of the Illinois

Environmental Protection Agency (Agency). The Agency recommends

that a 45—day provisional variance be granted to Peterson

Puritan, Inc. (PPI) from 35 Ill. Adm. Code 304,141(a) to allow

the Petitioner to bypass its wastewater treatment facility (WWTP)

with flow in excess of 0.14 million gallons per day (MGD) from

its polishing pond.

The Petitioner is a contract aerosol and liquid packaging

company located in Danvilie, Illinois. PPI owns and operates a

wastewater treatment plant which has a average flow of 0,14 MGD

and consists of complete mix lagoons, an equalization basin, a

sedimentation basin, a facultative lagoon, various intermittent

sand filters, chlorination, post aeration, and coagulant and

nutrient feed. PPI’s wastewater treatment facility discharges

its effluent into an unnamed ditch tributary to Grape Creek

pursuant to NPDES Permit #IL0004162. (Rec. 1).

The Petitioner’s NPDES Permit provides that the company’s

~WTP

must meet effluent limitations of 10 milligrams per liter

(mg/i) for biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) and 12 mg/i for total

suspended solids (TSS) as 30 day averages. (Rec. 1).

During the past year, the Petitioner’s discharge monitoring

reports to the Agency pertaining to BOD and TSS in its effluent

have indicated the following concentrations:

Month      

Flow (MGD)  BOD (mg/i)  TSS (mg/i)

August, 1985    

0.18      

7

9

July, 1985     

0.14      

8

9

June, 

1985

0.08

May, 1985

0.07

April, 1985

0.08

March, 1985

0.08

February, 1985

January, 

1985

0.14

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Month      

Flow (MGD)  BOD (mg/i)  TSS (mg/i)

December, 1984   

0.14     

7

14

November, 1984   

0.14     

9

12

October, 1984   

0.14     

10

8

September, 1984  

0.14     

10

6

Average      

0.12     

9.3

11.5

(Rec, 2).

Because of this past summer’s above average rainfall and

ppi’s very high production schedule, the rate of water

accumulation in the Petitioner’s lagoons has been faster than the

O~14MGD permitted rate for effluent discharge. In order to

lower the water levels in the lagoons before the onset of the

colder winter weather to repair storage capability, PPI has

requested a provisional variance to allow it to discharge

effluent at a greater rate. (Rec. 2).

The total volume of water that the Petitioner plans to

discharge is approximately 20,7000,000 gallons over ~ 45 day

period which equates to 0.46 MGD (i.e., the current daily flow

rate is 0.14 MGD and the requested additional flow is 0.32 MGD,

so O~14MGD 

0.32 MGD 

0.46 MGD). PPI has stated that it will

continue to use its tertiary filters and bypass the rest of the

flow (Lee, about 0.32 MGD) around these tertiary filters. (Rec.

2)~ Subsequently, these two flows will be combined in a wetweli

ahead of the chlorination and post aeration facilities and then

will be discharged via the outfall permitted in the Petitioner’s

NPDES Permit,

The contents of Lagoon #5, which is the polishing lagoon,

have a TSS concentration of 35 mg/i which is primarily due to the

presence of various algae and a soluble BOD concentration of 35

mg/1~ (Rec, 2), Prior to the discharge, PPI intends to shock

the contents of the polishing lagoon only with chlorine if

necessary to attempt to kill the algae. (Rec. 2),

The Petitioner has stated that it is not aware of any

feasible alternative to its proposed plan for alleviating the

present situation and the Agency has agreed that PPI’s proposed

plan is the “best method” to rectify matters, (Rec, 3). The

company has contended that, if it is forced to cut back its

current production, the result will be employee layoffs, a loss

of revenues and important contracts, and financial repercussions

which “will adversely affect the economy of this already

depressed geographic region”~ (See: page 2 of the letter dated

October 3, 1985 from Mr. McBride to the Agency). Moreover, if

the surplus wastewater problem is not expeditiously alleviated,

the Petitioner stresses that, even with production cutbacks, the

final effluent might be out of compliance for about four winter

months because of the decreased efficiency of the lagoons in the

colder weathers

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The Agency expects the environmental impact of the proposed

plan to be minimal due to the continued utilization of the

Petitioner’s tertiary filters and the blending of the lagoon

water and the tertiary filter effluent. The Agency also believes

that “it is more desirable to alleviate the problem in a

controlled manner than to risk the possibility of the lagoon

overflowing its berms or having the berms washed out.” (Rec, 3).

The Agency has therefore concluded that compliance with the

applicable NPDES Permit standards would impose an arbitrary or

unreasonable hardship upon Peterson Puritan, Inc. (Rec. 3). The

Agency has stated that there are no federal regulations which

would 

preclude

the granting of the requested provisional variance

and has indicated that there appear to be no potable

water

supplies immediately downstream of the Petitioner’s discharge

outfall. (Rec. 3). Accordingly, the Agency has recommended that

the Board grant the Petitioner a provisional variance from 35

Tile Adm, Code 304,141(a), subject to specified conditions,

Pursuant to Section 35(b) 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 law in this matter,

ORDER

Peterson Puritan, Inc. is hereby granted a provisional

variance from 35 Ill. Adm, Code 304.141(a) to allow it to bypass

its wastewater treatment facility with flow in excess of 0.14

million gallons per 

day

from its polishing pond, subject to the

following 

conditions:

1. This provisional variance shall commence upon initiation

of routing of flow around the tertiary filters and shall continue

for 45 days, or 

until the polishing lagoon is returned to the

desired operating level, whichever occurs first, All work shall

be done before the onset of winter,

2. The Petitioner shall notify Mr. John Applegate of the

Agency’s Champaign Regional Office via telephone at 217/333-8361

when routing of flow around the tertiary filters is begun and

when this routing of flow ceases, Written confirmation of each

notification shall be sent within 5 days to:

Illinois Environmental Protection Agency

2125 S. First Street

Champaign, Illinois 61820

Attention: Mr. John Applegate

3. During the time period of this provisional variance, the

Petitioner shall put as much flow as possible (i,e., a minimum of

0,14 MCD) through its tertiary filters, The flow routed around

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the tertiary filters shall be blended with the tertiary filter

effluent prior to discharge.

4. All effluent discharged shall be discharged via the

outfall permitted in NPDES Permit #IL0004162, and, during the

provisional variance period, shall be limited to a maximum of

0,46 MGD.

The Petitioner shall monitor the effluent discharged on

a daily basis for chlorine residual and for the parameters listed

in NPDES Permit #IL0004162.

6~ During the time period of this provisional variance, the

effluent discharged 

the Petitioner shall be 1imi~edto 30 mg/i

BOD, 37 mg/i TSS as 30 day averages, and 0.75 mg/i chlorine

residual as a daily maximum.

7, Within 30 days of the date of this Order, the Petitioner

shall submit to the Agency a plan to prevent the reoccurrence of

the

present situation and schedule for implementing this plan.

This plan and schedule shall be sent to Mr. John Applegate at the

address given above in item #2.

8. During the time period of this provisional variance, the

Petitioner shall operate its wastewater treatment facility so as

to produce the best effluent practicable.

9~. Within 10 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. James Frost of the Agency at

the following address:

Mr. James Frost

Illinois Environmental Protection Agency

Division of Water Pollution Control

Compliance Assurance Section

2200 Churchill Road

Springfield, Illinois 62706

This certification

shall have the following form:

68-208

—5—

I, (We),                    

having read

the Order of the Illinois Pollution Control Boar~din PCB 85—163,

dated October 24, 1985, understand and accept the said Order,

realizing that such acceptance renders all terms and conditions

thereto binding and enforceable.

Petitioner

By: Authorized Agent

Title

Date

IT IS SO ORDERED.

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

Board, hereby certify that the above Opinion and Order was

adopted on the

—

day of 

1985 by vote

______________

Dorothy N. Gunn, Clerk

Illinois Pollution Control Board

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