Document vVa7mpqDve9916EMg42j7yMoR
Lake Charles VCM Plant
CERTIFIED MAIL #8651413 RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED
Conoco Chemicals Company
A Division of Conoco Inc. P. O. Box 605
Westlake, Louisiana 70669 (318) 491-5211
May 11, 1982
Myron Knudson Water Management Division Environmental Protection Agency, Region VI First International Building 1201 Elm Street
Dallas, TX 75270
Dear Mr. Knudson:
In accordance with the conditions of the Conoco Chemicals Company VCM Plant's NPDES Permit No. LA0003476, we are informing your office that a partial
by-pass of the waste water secondary treatment system occurred on May 6, 1982, and again on May 7, 1982. The partial by-passes occurred at the flood
control box for 35 minutes on May 6 and for eight hours and forty minutes on May 7 after a continuous rainfall of 1.37 inches on May 6 and 0.53 inches on May 7 as recorded by the National Weather Service at Lake Charles Municipal Airport. However, local flooding in Westlake indicated that a much heavier rainfall occurred at the VCM Plant. The partial by-pass on May 6 occurred from 12:30 pm to 1 :10 pm and the by-pass on May 7 occurred from midnight
to 8:40 am.
As required by our NPDES Permit, a grab sample of the partial by-pass was collected. Only one sample was collected on May 6 since the by-pass lasted less than one hour. Samples were collected every hour for the May 7 by-pass and were combined to form a composite sample. Effluent characteristics of the partial by-passes are as follows:
May 6
Flow BOD COD TSS Ammonia Chlorinated Hydrocarbons (As Ethylene Dichloride)
PPM
MU 61
231 .225
37
Lbs.
9343
(i) .570 2.16 .002 .346
Myron Knudson Page 2
May 7
FI ow Bod COD TSS Ammonia Chlorinated Hydrocarbons (As Ethylene Dichloride)
PPM
_
(i) 193 697 .135 112
Lbs.
4,087
di 789 2849 .551 458
(1) Five-day BOD analyses are not yet complete.
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 except for Total Suspended Solids on the May 7 by-pass was less than the values allowed by our NPDES Permit. We will send the results of the BOD analyses to you when they are completed.
Should further information be required, please contact Ron Bryan, Chief Process Engineer at (318) 491-5062.
Sincerely,
Plant Manager Conoco VCM
br cc: J, Dale Givens - DNR CRH^MGH-BIR-RB-PL^-DLi/jWW-ja-SW^
OCR 000067253