ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD

August

9, 1979

ILLINOIS ENVIRONMENTAL

)

PROTECTION AGENCY,

)

Complainant,

v

)

PCB 78—235

ALUMAX EXTRUSIONS, INC.,

a Delaware

)

corporation qualified to do business

in the State of Illinois,

)

Respondent.

MR. JOHN

T.

BERNBOM, ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL, APPEARED ON BEHALF

OF THE COMPLAINANT.

CHAPMAN

& CUTLER, ATTORNEYS AT LAW

(MR. DANIEL J. KUCEPA,

OF COUNSEL),

APPEARED ON BEHALF OF THE F~ESPONDENT.

OPINION AND ORDER OF THE

BOARD

(by Mr. Werner):

This matter comes before the Board on the August 30, 1978

Complaint brought by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency

(“Agency”)

which alleged that, from October

23, 1977 until the date

of

filing of the Complaint

(including, but not limited to, November 15,

1977 through November

23,

1977, and April 10,

1978)

,

the Respondent

caused or allowed the discharge of contaminants into Kress Creek

without an NPDES Permit, in violation of Rule 901 of Chapter

3:

Water Pollution Control Regulations and Sections 12(a), 12(b)

and

12(f)

of the Illinois Environmental Protection Act

(“Act”).

A hearing

was held on February

7,

1979.

The parties filed a Stipulation and

Proposal for Settlement on June

27,

1979.

Aluinax Extrusions,

Inc.

(“Alumax1t)

owns and operates an aluminum

processing plant near the City of West Chicago in Du Page County,

Illinois.

Alumax currently has separate waste collection systems for

domestic sewerage, process wastewater, and storm water.

While

domestic sewage is discharged into

a private disposal system

(septic

tanks and absorption fields), process wastewater

is collected by a

separate system and conveyed to the Respondent’s process wastewater

treatment plant.

After treatment, the process wastewater effluent

is discharged into Kress Creek, a tributary of the west branch of

the Du Page River, pursuant to NPDES Permit No.

111—0037681.

~c—i

~Q

---

—2—

Concomitantly,

a 36-inch storm sewer transports storm water from

the building structures to Kress Creek.

The stipulation indicates that,

on an occasion in November of

1977, oil-related contaminants were found in Kress Creek in the

general vicinity of the storm water and process wastewater discharge

points of Alumax and other nearby commercial and industrial plants.

(Stip.

2-3).

On November 16, 1977,

an Agency inspection near the

Respondent’s facility indicated that oil was being discharged from an

unpermitted storm sewer discharge point about 10 feet upstream of the

permitted discharge point from the Respondent’s treatment pond.

At

that time, the Agency inspector requested that the Respondent’s

employees take steps to contain and clean up the oil near the storm

sewer discharge.

The parties have stipulated that, without admitting

any liability,

and in the spirit of good faith and civic cooperation,

Alumax voluntarily spent $38,000 to clean up Kress Creek.

(Stip.

4).

The Company hired an outside contractor for dredging and pumping

operations,

removed the storm water discharge point to the creek,

repaired an oil trap within the plant,

and installed an oil skimmer

in the remaining storm water effluent to preclude the possibility of

any oil discharge into Kress Creek.

(Stip. 4-4a).

Subsequently,

Alumax submitted a sample of the oil from Kress Creek to an independent

laboratory for testing.

The independent laboratory analysis indicated

that the oil contained in the sample was not of the type used by

Aluniax in its aluminum processing operations.

(Stip.

4a)

On April

1, 1978, the Company retained

a professional consulting

engineer to investigate the possible existence of any sources

of oil

within its plant that could enter the storm water system.

In June of

1978, the consulting engineer ascertained that oil spillage from

trucks at the docks, oil drippage from the manufacturing presses, and

overflows and blowdowns from cooling water towers might possibly

cause some oil to enter the storm water system.

On June

17,

1978,

Alumax sent a letter to the Agency which described its program to

separate any possible oil from the storm water system, and to direct

such flows to the process wastewater collection system for treatment.

The Company believed that such work required no new NPDES Permit for

the storm water system,

but simply a modification of the existing

NPDES Permit for the process wastewater system

(to cover changes

in

discharge and volume)

.

Accordingly, the Respondent proposed to

submit

a construction permit modification within 30 days.

To

implement its plan,

Alumax hired an outside contractor in June,

1978

to jet flush all storm water

lines in the plant

in preparation for

the installation of separate process lines within the storm water

system lines to achieve

a separation of oil from the storm water.

However, because of other

job commitments and emergency work,

the

outside contractor did not complete the jet flushing until August 28,

1978.

(Stip.

5—6)

---

—3—

Because the Company assumed that the Agency would reply to its

letter of June 17, 1978, it delayed the submission of its request

for modification of the NPDES Permit and its application for a

construction permit while waiting for the Agency’s response.

However,

the Agency expected that the Respondent would automatically submit

the necessary applications without any reply from the Agency.

(Stip.

6).

When no applications were received after 30 days,

the

Complainant initiated this enforcement action against Alumax.

As an alternative method to achieve compliance,

Alumax

Extrusions,

Inc. has commenced discussions with the City of West

Chicago

(“City”)

pertaining to

a pre—annexation agreement under which

the sanitary sewer system of West Chicago would be extended to the

Company’s property and the process wastewater would be transported

to the City for treatment.

Upon completion of the sanitary sewer

extension and process wastewater connection, Alumax would cease the

discharging of treated process wastewater into Kress Creek and would

remove its treatment plant from service.

While negotiations with

the City of West Chicago are in progress, and while developing its

complete oil separation program, Alumax has kept the oil skimmer in

operation

to assure the separation of any possible oil from the

storm water effluent discharge.

The proposed settlement agreement provides that the Respondent

shall:

(1)

promptly follow a detailed compliance plan to achieve

separation of any oil from the storm water system

(the total

estimated cost of

the

installation and modification work is $31,400);

(2)

use its best efforts

to effectuate a pre-annexation agreement with

the City of West Chicago under which the City’s

sanitary sewer system

would be extended to the Company’s property and the process wastewater

would be transported to the City for treatment;

and

(3) pay a

stipulated penalty of

$1,000

.

The Board, after evaluation of the

proposed settlement agreement in light of Section 33(c)

of the Act

and Procedural Rule 331,

finds the Stipulation and Proposal for

Settlement to be acceptable.

Accordingly,

the Respondent

is hereby

ordered to promptly follow the detailed compliance plan delineated

in the Stipulation; use its best efforts to obtain a pre—annexation

agreement from the City of West Chicago; and pay the stipulated

penalty of $1,000

The Board has also considered the NPDES Permit issues

in light

of the decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals in Citizens for

a Better

Environment v.

EPA, No.

78—1042, ______F.

2d

____

(7th Cir.

1979),

and finds that the Board has competent jurisdiction over the subject

matter in the Complaint pursuant to Sections 11(b),

12(f)

and 13(b)

of the Act and Board regulations established thereunder.

This Opinion constitutes the Board’s findings of fact and

conclusions of law in this matter.

~

1

---

—4—

ORDER

It is the Order of the Illinois Pollution Control Board that:

1.

The Respondent shall follow the detailed compliance program

to achieve separation of any possible sources of oil within the

plant from the storm water system as delineated on pages

7 through

9

of the Stipulation.

2.

The Respondent shall use its best efforts to complete and

effect a pre-annexation agreement with the City of West Chicago,

Illinois, under which all process wastewater will be transported to

the City for treatment by means of an extension of the City’s

sanitary sewer system to be constructed.

Upon any such extension

and connection, the Respondent will terminate its present process

wastewater discharge to Kress Creek.

Any such extension shall be

pursuant to the requisite Agency permits and the Respondent shall

keep the Agency informed as to its progress in achieving the agreement

and the connection.

3.

Immediately upon receipt of this Board Order,

the Respondent

shall,

by certified check or money order payable to the State of

Illinois,

pay the stipulated penalty of $1,000

,

which is to be

sent to:

Illinois Environmental Protection Agency

Fiscal Services Division

2200 Churchill Road

Springfield, Illinois

62706

4.

The Respondent shall comply with all the terms and conditions

with the Stipulation and Proposal for Settlement filed June

27, 1979,

which

is incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein.

I,

Christan L. Moffett, Clerk of the Illinois Pollution Control

Board, hereby certify th t the above Opinion and Order were adopted

on the

t~4~

day of

________________,

1979 by a vote of

________

Illinois Pollution