ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
August 23, 1973
VELSICOL CHEMICAL CORPORATION,
)
Petitioner,
v.
)
PCB 73—240
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY,
)
Respondent.
OPINION AND ORDER OF THE BOARD (by Mr. Seaman):
On June 11, 1973, Petitioner, Velsicol Chemical Corporation,
a Delaware Corporation, licensed to do business in Illinois, filed
with this Board a Petition for Variance.
Petitioner owns and operates an industrial plant in Clark
County, near Marshall, Illinois. This facility produces various
chemicals, including an insecticide called Chlordane. The effluent
from the chemical operations of Petitioner’s plant was discharged to
East Mill Creek for a number of years.
On August 3, 1972, the Agency filed a complaint against Peti-
tioner with the Pollution Control Board, charging that on several
dates its effluent caused violations of ~l2(a) of the Environmental
Protection Act (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1971 Ch. 111 1/2, ~l00l et seg)
(Act); Rules 1.03(c) and Cd), 1.05(d), and 1.08
—
l0(b)(3) of SWB—l4;
Rules 203(a),
(f),
and (h) and Rule 403 of Chapter 3: Water Pollu-
tion of the Illinois Pollution Control Board Rules and Regulations
(Chapter 3). On April 5, 1973, the Board found Petitioner to have
violated the above-enumerated statutes and regulations, and ordered
Petitioner to pay a penalty of $5,000. The Board also ordered
Petitioner to cease and desist all violations of the Act and the
Rules, install and operate surface facilities for deep well disposal,
and post a performance bond in the amount of $150,000.
Petitioner seeks relief from Order #2 of Environmental Protection
Agency v. Velsicol Chemical Corporation, PCB 72-326, and Velsicol
Chemical Corporation v. Environmental Protection Agency, PCB 72-351,
Consolidated (April 5, 1973). Specifically, Petitioner desires to
intermittently discharge a certain amount of its processing waste—
water into East Mill Creek and to forego the posting of a perform-
ance bond in the amount of $150,000.
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On August 21, 1972, Petitioner applied for a permit to install
and operate surface facilities for deep well injection to all plant
effluent and land runoff. A Construction and Operating Permit was issued
to Petitioner by the Agency on October 23, 1972. Petitioner alleges
that construction of these said facilities has cost approximately
$415,000. Agency investigation indicates that the subject disposal
system was placed in operation on May 10, 1973.
Petitioner alleges that on or about May 22, 1973, the seals on
its main injection pump failed. The Agency has found that the seal
which was originally installed in the Petitioner’s main injection
pump severely corroded once the subject disposal system was in opera-
tion for a short period of time. The utilization of a Tungsten
carbide seal as a substitute failed to provide any relief from this
problem. Improved packing for this pump has been ordered from the
manufacturer to correct the problem. At present, a temporary pump
is being utilized with a capacity of about 120 gallons per minute
(gpm). Since the volume of effluent discharged from Petitioner’s
plant averages approximately 180 gpm and since the capacity of the
temporary pump is only about 120 gpm, any excess plant effluent is
stored in a settling basin on Petitioner’s property. Petitioner
plans to use the above—mentioned temporary pump and settling basin
until repairs to its main pump have been completed. Petitioner, how-
ever, has found that the temporary pump and the capacity of the
settling basin cannot handle the volume of
runoff
water
which
occurs
during and subsequent to periods of heavy rainfall. Petitioner
states that it has found it necessary during and subsequent to such
heavy periods of rainfall to intermittently discharge a portion of
its total effluent into East Mill Creek. The Agency has been in-
formed by Petitioner that such discharges have occurred on June 5
and June 19, 1973, and have persisted for approximately 24 hours.
Petitioner alleges that it is not possible to cease the subject
intermittent discharges into East Mill Creek until its main pump is
repaired and placed back into operation. According to Petitioner,
these discharges have occurred on only two occasions and have per-
sisted for about 24
hours.
The Board recognizes the plight which
Petitioner faces, and believes that the limited relief requested
should be granted (i.e. allowing the subject discharges when necessary
until July 31, 1973), subject to certain conditions.
Petitioner alleges that the subject intermittent discharges will
not adversely affect the environment generally or East Mill Creek
in particular, inasmuch as Petitioner’s discharges have been and
should continue to be sporadic and relatively short—lived. However,
the Board wishes to point out that East Mill Creek is presently
degraded and this degraded condition has been caused largely by
Petitioner’s past discharges.
Petitioner further requests relief from the requirement that a
bond in the amount of $150,000 be posted by Petitioner.
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Petitioner contends first that the posting of said performance
bond was required by the Board to ensure that Petitioner would comply
with the requirements for construction and operation of Petitioner’s
surface facilities for deep well injection. The Board has noted
recently that Petitioner’s interpretation is incorrect. In response
to a Request for Reconsideration and Modification filed by Petitioner
and which also sought relief from the bond posting requirement, the
Board ruled that its Order requires more than installation of the
facility. Specifically, the Board ruled that its Order required not
only installation of the subject facilities, but also operation of the
facilities “in an acceptable manner in order to meet the requirements
of the law.’ Environmental Protection Agency v. Velsicol Chemical
Corporation, PCB 72-326, and Velsicol Chemical Corporation v.
Environmental Protection Agency, PCB 72-351, Consolidated (June 7,
1973)
Petitioner next contends that since the posting of said perform-
ance bond was required by the Board to ensure that Petitioner would
comply with the requirements for installation and operation of the
subject facilities (Petitioner’s interpretation) and since con-
struction of the facility has been completed, then the posting of a
$150,000 bond is not necessary. The necessity of posting a bond to
ensure compliance is all the more necessary in light of Petitioner’s
current problems with operation of its facilities.
This Opinion constitutes the findings of fact and conclusions
of law of the Board.
IT IS THE ORDER of the Pollution Control Board that:
1. The Petition for Variance insofar as it seeks relief from
Order #2, parts (a) and (b) of Environmental Protection Agency
v.
Velsicol Chemical Corporation, PCB 72-326, and Velsicol Chemical
Corporation v. Environmental Protection Agency, PCB 72-351, Con-
solidated (April 5, 1973) to allow the intermittent discharge of up
to 100 gpm of Petitioner’s effluent and land runoff into East Mill
Creek until July 31, 1973, be granted subject to the following con-
ditions:
(a) the discharges from Petitioner’s Marshall plant and
settling basin facility into East Mill Creek be
eliminated as expeditiously as possible but in any
event no later than July 21, 1973,
(b) discharges from Petitioner’s Marshall plant and
settling basin facility into East Mill Creek not
exceed 100 gallons per minute,
(c) discharges from Petitioner’s Marshall plant and
settling basin facility not exceed the concentrations
set forth in Exhibit 1 of Petitioner’s Petition for
Variance, and
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(d) Petitioner immediately notify the Agency in
writing of any discharges which occur from its
facility.
(2) The Petition for Variance insofar as it seeks relief from
the bond posting requirements of Order #2, part (c) of Environmental
Protection Agency v. Velsicol Chemical Corporation, PCB 72-326, and
Velsicol Chemical Corporation v. Environmental Protection Agency,
PCB72—351, Consolidated (April 5, 1973) be denied.
~,
Christan L. Moffett, Clerk of the Illinois Pollution Control Board,
certify that the above 0 inion and Order was adopted by the Board on
the ~T~3*P day of
*
,
1973, by a vote of
~..3
to ~
9
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