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

10

247

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—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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