ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD

May

6,

1976

OLIN CORPORATION,

)

Petitioner,

v.

)

PCB 76-45

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY,

)

Respondent.

OPINION

AND

ORDER OF THE BOARD

(by Mr. Goodman):

This matter comes before the Board upon Petitioner’s Motion to

Amend Variance filed February 18,

1976 which requests an extension

of a variance granted July 31, 1975 in PCB 74—492 in order to install

a total recycle system at their Blockson Works

in Joliet,

Illinois.

The Board accepted the Petition as an extension of variance and

assigned the matter a new docket number.

In that prior variance,

the compliance program was based upon

the procurement and installation of a sand filter to provide a final

treatment or polishing of the effluent from Olin’s clarifier.

The

Board Order

in PCB 74-492

indicated that Olin was reviewing other

compliance methods in addition to the filtration equipment and the

Board agreed to allow Olin to propose installation of such alternate

equipment so long as it was operative by March

1,

1976.

The Illinois

Environmental

Protection Agency

(Agency)

filed

its

Recommendation in this matter on April

9,

1976.

The Agency points

out that Olin went forward with the investigation and experimental

work on their recycle system without Agency approval or permit.

How-

ever, after reviewing the Petition and the Agency Recommendation, the

Board finds that Olin has followed the compliance schedule of

PCB 74-492 in good faith and excuses Olin’s excursion into the total

recycle experimentation as it was anticipated by the Order

in

PCB 74—492.

In addition the Board feels that total recycle instead

of discharge, regardless of the form of treatment plant,

is generally

to be encouraged as the best possible method of protecting the State’s

waters.

21—367

---

—2—

The Board will therefore grant Olin a variance from Rule 408(a)

of the Board’s Water Regulations with respect to suspended solids

from March

1,

1976 to January

1,

1977 for Olin’s Blockson Works

clarifier system.

On April 26,

1976 Olin filed with the Board what purports to be

a Response to Agency Recommendation in which Olin appears to amend

its request for relief under the variance until April

1,

1977 rather

than January

1,

1977.

The sole reason cited by Olin for this apparent

change in their request for relief is that that date will coincide

with the date which is or will be part of Olin’s NPDES

permit.

The

Board does not find that reasoning persuasive and will therefore re-

ject Olin’s Amended Variance request contained in their Response to

Agency Recommendation.

This Opinion constitutes the Board’s findings of fact and

conclusions of law in this matter.

ORDER

It is the Order of the Pollution Control Board that Olin

Corporation’s Petition for variance from Rule 408(a) (Suspended

Solids)

of the Board’s Water Regulations be granted until January

1,

1977 subject to the following conditions:

A.

Petitioner shall apply for and obtain all necessary

permits.

B.

Petitioner shall submit to the Agency by June 1,

1976

a compliance plan indicating all waste sources and methods

of treatment proposed to meet the effluent standards for

all discharges and a compliance timetable to be approved by

the Agency.

C.

Petitioner shall submit monthly compliance reports on

the last day of each month to the Agency.

D.

That Petitioner shall, within 28 days after the date

of the Board Order herein, execute and forward to the Illinois

Environmental Protection Agency,

2200 Churchill Road, Spring-

field, Illinois,

62706,

and to the Pollution Control Board,

309 West Washington Street, Chicago, Illinois,

60606,

a

Certification of Acceptance and agreement to be bound to

all the terms and conditions of the variance.

21—368

---

—3—

CERTIFICATION

The Olin Corporation, having read and fully understanding

the Order of the Illinois Pollution Control Board in PCB 76-45,

hereby accept said Order and agree

to be bound by all of the

terms and conditions thereof.

SIGNED___________________________

TITLE____________________________

DATE____________________________

I, Christan L. Moffett,

Clerk of the Illinois Pollution

Control Board, hereby certify the above Opinion and Order were

adopted on the

L~’

day of

(V’~

,

1976

by a vote ~

.

Christan L.

of ett,

k

Illinois Pollution Co

1 Board