Document qLwqQMLwmG2xmJGDY8o3m3aK

UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY REGION 5 77 WEST JACKSON BOULEVARD CHICAGO, ILLINOIS 60604 DATE: SUBJECT: FROM: THRU: TO: 07/27/2021 CLEAN AIR ACT INSPECTION REPORT Alsip MiniMill LLC, Alsip, IL 60803 Karyn DeFranco, Inspector AECAB (MN/OH) Brian Dickens, Section Chief AECAB (MN/OH) File BASIC INFORMATION Facility Name: Alsip MiniMill LLC Facility Location: 13101 South Pulaski Road, Alsip, IL 60803 Date of Inspection: 06/30/2021 EPA Inspector(s): 1. Karyn DeFranco, Inspector 2. Natalie Schulz, Inspector Other Attendees: 1. Neil Burchard, Environmental and Quality Manager, Alsip MiniMill LLC 2. Richard Hordyke, General Manager, Alsip MiniMill LLC Contact Email Address: rhordyke@alsipminimill.com and nburchard@alsipminimill.com Purpose of Inspection: To investigate compliance with the Lifetime Operating Permit and VOM emission limits. Facility Type: Paper products manufacturing Regulations Central to Inspection: The Lifetime Operating Permit limits VOC emissions from the boilers and the paper machine solvents. Arrival Time: June 30th, 2021, 8:45 AM Departure Time: June 30th, 2021, 11:08 AM Inspection Type: Unannounced Inspection Announced Inspection OPENING CONFERENCE Presented Credentials Stated authority and purpose of inspection Provided Small Business Resource Information Sheet Small Business Resource Information Sheet not provided. Reason: Not a small business. Provided CBI warning to facility The following information was obtained verbally from Alsip MiniMill LLC (Alsip MiniMill) unless otherwise noted. Process Description: Alsip MiniMill operates a paper product manufacturing integrated mill. Corrugated cardboard is first fed to the pulping tub and broken down to pulp slurry, consisting of approximately 5% solids. The pulp slurry is then gravity and vacuum fed to the paper machine where it is dewatered using fabric sheets in the press section to create a mixture that is approximately 50% solids and 50% water. This mixture is further dewatered with steam-heater dryers to drive moisture down to 8%, the desired moisture for the final product. Staff Interview: The facility currently has approximately 125 employees and typically run 24 hours per day, seven days per week. The ownership of the facility changed approximately six years ago. The facility typically produces 675-680 tons of finished product per day, and discharge approximately one-million gal/day of excess water to MWRD. The facility operates a dust collection system on the conveyor, which was left over from the previous company. The dust collector controls dust emissions from the cutting process before the corrugated cardboard enters the pulper. The pulper water is kept between 80-120F. The pulp slurry goes through centrifuge and screening to remove anything that is not pulp. A few process chemicals are added to the process to agglomerate paper fibers in the wetting process. Page 2 of 4 Alsip MiniMill operates two boilers and one rental boiler in their Power House. The rental boiler was used for a project starting in 2018 and has recently been removed. Boilers use city water purified with chemicals. TOUR INFORMATION EPA Tour of the Facility: Yes Data Collected and Observations: Inspectors observed the preparation of raw materials for processing, as well as the paper machine. Inspectors went to the powerhouse to observe the boilers. Photos and/or Videos: were taken during the inspection. Field Measurements: were not taken during this inspection. CLOSING CONFERENCE Provided U.S. EPA point of contact to the facility Requested documents: FESOP application; Monthly running 12-month emissions calculation spreadsheet (2019-June 2021); SDS sheets for all chemicals used in process; Chemical usage of Boilers (2019 and 2020); Dust collector maintenance records and procedure; and CFM capacity of the dust collector hood. DIGITAL SIGNATURES KARYN Digitally signed by KARYN DEFRANCO Report Author: _D__E_F__R__A__N_C__O____D-_0a_5t'e0_:0_2' 0_2_1_.0_7._26_1_3_:5_4_:3_1_ Section Chief: __________________________________ Page 3 of 4 Facility Name: Alsip MiniMill LLC Facility Location: 13101 South Pulaski Road, Alsip, IL 60803 Date of Inspection: June 30, 2021 APPENDICES AND ATTACHMENTS 1. Appendix A: Digital Image Log Page 4 of 4 Contains Items Claimed as CBI - Non-Releasable Facility Name: Alsip MiniMill LLC Facility Location: 13101 South Pulaski Road, Alsip, IL 60803 Date of Inspection: 06/30/2021 CONFIDENTIAL BUSINESS INFORMATION ATTACHMENT NONE. CBI Page 1 of 1 Facility Name: Alsip MiniMill LLC Facility Location: 13101 South Pulaski Road, Alsip, IL 60803 Date of Inspection: June 30, 2021 APPENDIX A: DIGITAL IMAGE LOG 1. Inspector Name: Natalie Schulz 2. Archival Record Location: C:\Users\kdefranco\OneDrive - Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)\Alsip Mini Mill, IL\Inspection 2021\063021 Inspection Photos Image Number 1 File Name IMG_0009.JPG Date and Time (incl. Time zone and DST) June 30, 2021 10:02 a.m. Latitude and Longitude Description of Image Facility entrance. IMG_0010.JPG June 30, 2021 2 11:12 a.m. Dust collection system. IMG_0011.JPG June 30, 2021 3 11:13 a.m. Raw material stream. IMG_0012.JPG June 30, 2021 4 11:16 a.m. Agitator. IMG_0013.JPG June 30, 2021 5 11:16 a.m. Agitator. IMG_0014.JPG June 30, 2021 6 11:18 a.m. Example of dust buildup near agitator. IMG_0015.JPG June 30, 2021 7 11:23 a.m. Material screening area. IMG_0016.JPG June 30, 2021 8 11:24 a.m. Paper machine. IMG_0017.JPG June 30, 2021 9 11:25 a.m. Paper machine. IMG_0018.JPG June 30, 2021 10 11:28 a.m. Paper machine. IMG_0019.JPG June 30, 2021 11 11:29 a.m. Paper machine. Appendices Page 1 of 2 Facility Name: Alsip MiniMill LLC Facility Location: 13101 South Pulaski Road, Alsip, IL 60803 Date of Inspection: June 30, 2021 IMG_0020.JPG June 30, 2021 12 11:33 a.m. IMG_0021.JPG June 30, 2021 13 11:34 a.m. IMG_0022.JPG June 30, 2021 14 11:38 a.m. IMG_0023.JPG June 30, 2021 15 11:47 a.m. IMG_0024.JPG June 30, 2021 16 11:50 a.m. IMG_0025.JPG June 30, 2021 17 11:52 a.m. IMG_0026.JPG June 30, 2021 18 11:52 a.m. IMG_0027.JPG June 30, 2021 19 11:52 a.m. Rollers on paper machine. Steam dryer area. Winding and cutting area. Materials that have been filtered out of feed. Powerhouse entrance. Boiler. Tanks in powerhouse. Tanks in powerhouse. Appendices Page 2 of 2