Document pZmQ91LEx4Ega4xYZkQNL8Ba

Interoffice Communication To VCM Plant Employees From J. A. DeBernardi Date June 8, 1979 Subject Employee Promotion Effective July 1, 1979 Dan Gostylo, Process Engineer at the VCM Plant, will be leaving the plant group for a new assignment in the Houston headquarters office. Dan will be promoted to Product Supervisor position in the Sur factant Business Area reporting to Jan Vogel, Surfactant Business Area Manager. Please join me in wishing Dan success in his new assignment. CC: RDG Distribution Bulletin Boards Department Heads Supervisors CCR 000066600 VCM Plant CERTIFIED MAIL #315698 RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED June 4, 1979 Conoco Chemicals Continental Oil Company P.O. Box 605 Westlake, Louisiana 70669 (3181491-5211 Diana Dutton Enforcement Division Environmental Protection Agency, Region VI First International Building 1201 Elm Street Dallas, TX 75270 Dear Ms. Dutton: In accordance with the conditions of the Continental Oil Company VCM Plant*s NPDES Permit No. LA0003476, we are informing our office that a partial by pass of the waste water secondary treatment system occurred on May 30, 1979. A) Description of Non-Complying Discharge On May 30, partial by-passing of the VCM Plant's secondary system at the flood control box occurred for about a 5-hour period during a heavy rain storm. Effluent characteristics of the partial by-pass are as follows: PPM Lbs. Flow BOD COD TSS Ammonia Chlorinated Hydrocarbons (As Ethylene Dichloride) 0) 228 238 3.44 199. 243,000 (i) 55 58 0.84 48 (1) Five-day BOD analyses are not yet completed. B) Cause of Non-Compliance As was noted above, the by-pass occurred during a heavy rain storm. The VCM Plant secondary treatment system limits the waste water feed to the activated sludge unit by pumping the water from two equalization basins. The normal water level in the equalization basins is held at a low level to allow collection of contaminated water runoff. A rain fall of 0.83 inches was recorded at the Weather Bureau at Lake Charles Municipal on May 29. Local bayou flooding, however, suggested that rainfall at the VCM Plant was much heavier. This rainfall caused o0006&601 cc* Diana Dutton Page 2 June 4, 1979 the levels in the equalization basins to be higher than normal on May 30. A rainfall of 5.5 inches was recorded in about an 8-hour period at the Weather Bureau on May 30. Although the feedrate to the activated sludge unit automati cally increases as the equalization basin level rises, the combination of higher feedrates and higher basin levels was not sufficient to hold the runoff from the storm and a small by-pass at the flood control box occurred for a 5-hour period. The maximum overflow rate was about 150 gpm. C) Period of Non-Compliance As previously noted, the partial by-pass occurred for about five hours on May 30. D) Steps Taken to Reduce, Eliminate, and Prevent Recurrence As required by our NPDES Permit, grab samples of the by-pass were collected at one hour intervals. The samples of the by-pass were combined to form a composite sample. A new pump has been installed at the secondary waste water treatment facility to move waste water from the equalization basins to the activated sludge unit. Several problems have been encountered in the operation of this pump, however, steps are currently-under way to solve the problems. When these problems are solved, the level in the basins can be held at about 18 inches lowe? than the level currently held. Calculations show that if the level had been 18 inches lower before the May 30 rain storm, no by-pass would have occurred. There has been no visible impact to the receiving waters as a result of the by-pass. As can be seen in the description of the non-compliance, the discharge of all parameters was less thap the valves allowed by our NPDES Permit. We will send the results of the B00 analysis to you when it is completed. Should further information be required, please contact G. L. Fos.hee, Chief Process Engineer at (318) 491-5062. CC: R. A. LaFleur - LSCC BCC: REL-DAK-CRH-JHN-GLF-PLF-JOG-RLH-MAF-HDG-JWW-DAP obfefe1 G*