ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
June
28,
1977
OHIO
POWER
COMPANY,
)
)
Petitioner,
)
v.
)
PCB
77—93
)
ENVIRONMENTAL
PROTECTION
AGENCY,
)
)
Respondent.
OPINION AND ORDER OF THE BOARD
(by Dr.
Satchell):
Ohio Power Company filed on March 25,
1977 a petition
for variance asking relief from Rule 408 of the Board’s
Chapter
3:
Water
Pollution
Regulations
(Chapter
3)
as
it
pertains
to total iron and total suspended solids.
On
April
20,
1977
the
Environmental
Protection
Agency
(Agency)
filed
an
objection
to
the
petition
and
requested
a
hearing.
On
May
4,
1977
the
Agency
filed
a
recommendation favorable
to the granting of the variance subject to interim standards.
Petitioner has filed on May 12, 1977 an amended petition
accepting these interim standards and a motion to grant the
petition without hearing.
On May 26,
1977 the Board granted
leave to Respondent to withdraw its formal objection
to the
variance based on representation in Petitioner’s motion.
Since June,
1976 Petitioner has operated a coal transfer
terminal, known as Cook Coal Terminal
(Terminal), near
Metropolis, Massac County, Illinois.
The Terminal was con-
structed to receive, unload, size and store rail shipments
of low sulfur coal from the western United States until the
coal can be shipped by barge up the Ohio River for use in
the power plants of Ohio Power Company and others.
The Terminal consists of a rotary railroad car dumper,
a coal crushing station, coal silos, associated conveyors
and transfer stations, a barge loader, a service and engine
repair building and a provision for outside storage of coal.
There are two discharges
to the Ohio River.
The first is
for sanitary sewage which
is treated in an Agency approved
extended aeration sewage treatment plant with chlorination
of the treated effluent.
The variance is needed for the
second discharge.
It is for surface run—off from
the
26 —69
—2—
coal storage area.
This second discharge receives
primary
settling in the collection ponds around the storage area before
being pumped to the run-off treatment plant.
There a coagulant
aid is added before final settling and discharge.
Petitioner
does not anticipate any acid formation because of the low sul-
fur
content
of the coal; however, the system design contains
provisions to add caustic if the need to neutralize an acid
water should ever arise.
Petitioner does have both an Agency operating permit and
am NPDES permit for the operation of the terminal.
The Agency
has determined that Petitioner’s present facility constitutes
a *wastewater source” as defined in Chapter 3 and has to meet
the
effluentstandards of Rule 408(a)
of Chapter 3.
If Peti-
tioner’s coal storage piles were located at a mining site
they would be subject to the effluent limitations of Chapter
4:
Mine Pollution Regulations
(Chapter
4) rather than Chapter
3.
Consequently Petitioner is asking a variance from the total
iron and total suspended solids limitations of Rule 408(a) of
Chapter
3 for the discharge resulting from surface run-off
from the coal storage piles.
Presently before this Board are two regulatory proposals
that would require discharges from coal transfer facilities
such as Petitioner’s
to meet the effluent standards of Chap-
ter 4, rather than the more stringent requirements of Chapter 3.
These proposals are R76-20 proposed by Petitioner and R77-1O
proposed by the Agency.
Petitioner submits that a denial of the
variance would impose an arbitrary and unreasonable hardship
by placing on Petitioner the risk of violating the applicable
discharge limitations while it appears reasonable to assume
those limitations will be amended so as to eliminate the risk.
Petitioner states that although the operating experience
to date at the Terminal has been limited and no violations are
known to have occurred, Ohio Power does not believe that the
treatment facility will at all times and under all circumstances
meet the Chapter
3 limitations, particularly with respect to
total iron and total suspended solids.
The Agency recommends the granting of the variance subject
to Petitioner’s complying with the standards of the proposed
regulations, i.e. Petitioner’s discharge from its coal transfer
facility will not exceed 35 mg/l total suspended solids and
3.5 mg/i total iron.
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—
70
—3—
The Board agrees with the Petitioner and the Agency
that an arbitrary and unreasonable hardship would be im-
posed if Petitioner were required to meet limitations that
may very well change and establish less stringent standards.
Petitioner’s facility is new a~dthe treatment system is the
first of its kind for run—off of low sulfur coal
(Pet.
6,
7).
Under these conditions the Board grants Petitioner the re-
quested variance for a period one year from this order or
until the proceedings in R77-10 are concluded, whichever
occurs earlier,
subject to the Agency’s conditions.
This opinion constitutes the Board’s findings of fact
and conclusions of law in this matter.
ORDER
The Pollution Control Board hereby grants the Ohio Power
Company a variance
from the total iron and total suspended
solids limitations of Rule 408 of Chapter
3: Water Pollution
Regulations for a period of one year from this order or until
the proceedings in R77—lO are concluded whichever occurs
earlier,
subject to the following conditions:
(1)
Petitioner’s discharge from its coal transfer
facility
(Cook Coal Terminal)
shall not exceed
35 mg/i total suspended solids and 3.5 mg/i
total iron.
(2)
Petitioner shall within 35 days of the adoption
of this order execute and forward to both the
Illinois Environmental Protection Agency,
2200
Churchill Road, Springfield, Illinois 62706 and
the Pollution Control Board a Certification of
acceptance and agreement to be bound to all terms
and conditions of this order.
The form of said
certification shall be as follows:
CERTIFICATION
I
(We), ________________________________ having read
and fully understanding the Order of the
Illinois
Pollution Control Board in PCB 77-93 hereby accept
said Order and agree to be bound by all of the terms
and
conditions thereot.
SIGNED
TITLE
DATE
26
—
71
—4—
IT IS SO ORDERED.
I,
Christan L. Moffett, Clerk of the Illinois Pollution
Control
Board,
hereby
certify
the
above
Opinion
and
Order
were adopted on the
~
day of ~
,
1977 by a vote
of
_____
anL.o~~k
Illinois Pollutio
ontrol Board
26
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72