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Illegal Discharge of Whey Waste 2368 E Woodward Rd. CO013021 September 28, 1999 1:30p Received can regarding a tanker truck dumping through a hose and trying to cover it up from traffic with a piece of sheet metal around it.He was pumping something into a hole. 2:00p On site.The site is located just west of a mailbox on Woodward Road. The address on the mailbox is 2368. 1 observed a drainage ditch on the south side of Woodward Road. I observed a piece of sheet metal wrapped around a piece of 6 inch black plastic pipe in the ditch.The pipe is approximately 15 to 20 feet long and has been placed diagonally in the drainage ditch.The inlet of the pipe is located at the top of the ditch and faces the dirt road that runs along the south side of the ditch.The pipe has been positioned to allow a truck to pull up to the pipe and discharge into the ditch in a manner that would prevent passing traffic from observing the discharge. This appears to be a semi permanent discharge location. I crossed the ditch to get a better look at the site. I observed a white liquid material that appeared to have spilled on the ground when the truck connected to the plastic pipe. I looked in the ditch and observed erosion at the outfall of the pipe and a white milky sweet smelling liquid mixed with the water in the ditch. I called Doug Wilson to see if he had any information on this material.He said that it is probably whey and we have had similar complaints of whey discharges at this location in the past.He recommended that I document the discharge and return to the office. At this point I continued west along the dirt road and proceeded to photograph the extent of the discharge. I followed the ditch west and then south to a point where I could cross it and get back on the public road.There were two or more pumps in the ditch at this location.The presence of these pumps led me to conclude that the ditch connects with a nearby watercourse,possibly Walthall Slough. I back tracked heading east on Woodward Road and measured the extent of the discharge using odometer readings. (See map) 3:00p Left site. September 30, 1999 Spoke with complainant who stated that he estimates the tanker had a 7000 gallon capacity and the load was probably composed of a mixture of whey and sodium hydroxide.He explained that in the cheese industry the lines need to be cleaned every 20 batches using either sulfuric acid or sodium hydrdoxide.He stated that this is not discharged to the POTW because the pH is not in compliance with their discharge requirements and these "special loads" need to go to "special dumpsites."