ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
December 6, 1973
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY,
Complainant,
v~
)
PCB 73~343
CHIPPEWA PAPER PRODUCTS COMPANY,
an Illinois corporation, PRAIRIE
STATE PAPER MILLS DIVISION,
Respondent.
John Slattery, Assistant Attorney General for the EPA
Melvin I. Mishkin, Attorney for Respondent
OPINION
AND ORDER OF THE BOARD (by Mr. Henss)
The Environmental Protection Agency filed a Complaint
alleging
that Respondent, since September 27, 1972, has manufactured or
processed asbestos—containing products without an Agency permit
in violation of Section 9(h) of the Environmental Protection Act
and Rule 622 of
the
Air Pollution Control
Regulations.
Respondent
was also
charged with operating its plant since March l,~
1973
without an Agency permit in
violation of Section 9(b) of the Act
and Rule 103 of
the Regulations. A public hearing was conducted
on October 18, 1973W
Chippewa Paper produces light weight chip and Kraft paper at
the
plant
which it acquired from U. S. Industries~ Inc. on
September 27,
1972.
The facility includes paper producing machines,
asphalt saturators and a paper laminator. Asbestos in pellet form
is fed
into the
paper machines to “avoid stickiness and
to
disperse
formate materials”. Over 500,000 lbs. of asbestos are processed
per year.
Respondent admitted that it had not obtained operating permits
from the EPA
but
said that “whether an operating permit
is
required
by the Statute and Regulations cited is a conclusion of
law”,
Rule 103(b) (2) states: “No person shall cause or allow the
operation of
any
existing emission source or any existing air
pollution control equipment without first obtaining an Operating
Permit, from
the
Agency
no
later than the date shown in
the
following
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247
—2—
schedule... ,Stone, Clay, and Glass Products and Paper and Allied
Products Industry Operations.. .by March 1, 1973”. (Note:
Rule 101 of the Regulations defines an emission source as “any
equipment or facility of a type capable of emitting specified
air contaminants to the atmosphere”.) Rule 622 in part states:
“after June 30, 1972 the manufacturing or processing of asbestos
containing products is prohibited unless the person or entity in
charge of such activity has obtained a permit from the Agency.”
The evidence indicates that the finished paper product
does contain asbestos (R, 12) and that particulates are emitted
to the atmosphere through the plant stack (R. 30). Therefore,
Respondent was required to obtain permits under Rule 622 and
Rule 103.
No contention is made that emissions were in violation of
Pollution Control Board Standards, The Agency investigation
revealed only the permit violation (R. 42). The particulate
emissions, as determined by stack test, were only .8 lbs./hr.,
far below the allowable emissions of 6.03 lbs,/hr,
In mitigation of penalty Respondent established that it has
owned the facility only since September 27, 1972. At the time the
plant was purchased Respondent received an “Asbestos Toxicology
Report” (Respondent Exhibit ~l) and cover letter which had been
written by Union Carbide Corporation in 1969. The letter stated
in part:
“Attached is a toxicology report which should dispel
any fears you have. As the report points out, there
is no danger as long as the dust concentration remains
below 5 parth per million per cubic foot of air. In
considering the volume of your usage, the large volume
of air within the plant, and the fact that you are
handling asbestos pellets (which nearly eliminates the
dust problem), it is inconceivable that the concentration
would ever exceed the threshold limit”.
Respondent’s Division President Jerome H. Finder testified
that he was first advised that “there might be
a problem regarding
the use of asbestos at the plant” in a July 2, 1973 letter from
the Illinois EPA,
He said
that Respondent immediately engaged
the
services of a consulting
engineer on July 20, 1973 to assist
in
obtaining
the
permits.
A representative
of the consulting firm
then testified that most of the testing at the plant has been
completed
and that
the anplication forms
will
he submitted shortly (H, 34).
The evidence, however,
indicates that emoloyees of the Respondent’ a
corporation did
learn
of the permit
requirement
soon after
the 1~lant
—3—
was acquired in the Fall of 1972. In November 1972 Agency
Investigator William Zenisek visited Respondent’s plant where
he met the Plant Manager, Mr. Baitinger and the Plant Engineer,
a Mr. Kluge. Zenisek testified that after inspecting the plant
he informed Mr. Kiuge of the permit requirements.. Both Zenisek
and Kiuge then went to Baitinger’s office where the permit re-
quirement was again discussed. The EPA investigator followed up by
sending permit information to Respondent’s plant within one week
after his plant visit.
The Division President, Jerome Finder, was aware of
the EPA
investigation of November 1972 but ~aid that he was
not
aware
that
permit application forms had been sent to the Company.
It was undoubtedly an oversight which caused Respondent to
delay 10 months in seeking the necessary permits. We do not
assume that Respondent was attempting to
conceal its emissions
which are well within the allowable Standard.
However,
the
permit
requirement is a vital part of the Air Pollution Control Regulations
and it has been our custom to emphasize that fact by imposing a
moderate penalty in cases such as this one. The record clearly
proves that Respondent violated Section 9(b) of the Act and Rules
103(b) (2) and 622 of the Regulations. For these violations a
penalty of $200 seems appropriate.
ORDER
It is the order of the Pollution Control Board that:
1. Chippewa Paper Products Company shall
pay to
the
State of Illinois
by
January
15, 1974 the sum of
$200 as a penalty for the violations found in
this proceeding. Penalty payment by certified
check or money order payable to the State of
Illinois shall be made to: Fiscal Services Division,
Illinois EPA, 2200 Churchill Road, Springfield,
IllinGis 62706.
2. Respondent shall apply for the required operating
permits at the earliest possible date. If the
application for operating permits has not been
received by the Agency on January 15, 1974 the
Agency shall report such fact to us along with a
Recommendation for further action.
I, Christan L, Moffett, Clerk of the Illinois Pollution Control
Board hereby certify the above Opinion and Order was adopted this
___________day of
___________
1973 by a vote of ~~to
0
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