ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
June 30, 1983
CITY OF
MENDOTA,
)
Petitioner,
v.
)
PCB83—31
)
ILLINOIS ENVIRONMENTAL
PROTECTION AGENCY,
)
)
Respondent.
OPINION
~AND
ORDER OF THE BOARD
(by D. Anderson):
This matter comes before the Board upon a petition for
variance filed March 10,
1983 by the City of Mendota
(Mendota)
requesting a variance from the provisions of 35
Iii. Adm.
Code 306 which prohibit sanitary sewer overflows.
On April 15,
1983 the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency
(Agency)
filed a recommendation that the variance be denied, but on
May 20 amended this to recommend that it be granted with
conditions.
On May 25,
1983 Mendota
filed a waiver of
hearing previously requested. No hearing was held and the
Board has received no public comment.
Mendota requested at different points in the petition a
variance from Sections 306.102(b)
and
(c)
and 306.103(b)
and
Cc).
The Agency recommendation construed this as
a request
for
a variance from Section 306.103(b).
This has been
renumbered to Section 306.304
(7
Iii,
Reg,
5682,
effective
April 19,
1983)
Mendota operates a sanitary sewer system which serves
about 7000 persons.
It discharges pursuant to NPDES Permit
No.
IL022322l.
The main outfall and overflows discharge to
Mendota Creek, which is tributary to the Little Vermilion
River and the Illinois River.
The overflows include three
manholes and a lift station which were identified as outfalls
002,
003, 004 and 005 in the Permit.
In 1977 Mendota received a permit to upgrade the system
to reduce infiltration and inflow and to eliminate sewage
bypasses.
On September 24, 1981 Mendota’s Superintendent of
Water and Sewers certified that the outfalls had been plugged.
On November 17,
1982 the Agency received an anonymous letter
complaining that one plug had been removed and that sewage
had been discharged to the Creek.
An inspection on December 28,
1982 revealed that the plug had been removed at each bypass.
The
52-467
—2—
lift station and one manhole were discharging, and dried raw
sewage debris was observed at a second manhole.
Apparently the
plugs were removed by Mendota’s employees in response to com-
plaints of basement backups.
Standard Condition 12(e) of the NPDES Permit requires that
bypasses be reported within 24 hours.
Mendota failed to report
bypasses in December,
1982 and in April, 1983.
The Agency believes the excess inflow may be due in part
from downspout connections
in the downtown area.
Mendota has
enacted an ordinance prohibiting connections of sources of
surface runoff or groundwater, and requiring repair or replace-
ment of defective building sewers.
Mendota has provided no
information on enforcement of the ordinance or its efforts
to
eliminate these flows.
Recognizing the hardship on homeowners resulting from
bypassing, the Agency now recommends:
a 15 month variance
conditioned on increased monitoring and reporting;
a study to
determine the elevation of the sewage resulting in bypasses;
corrective action to prevent unnecessary bypasses; and, further
capacity and infiltration and inflow studies.
The Board finds that it would impose arbitrary or unreason-
able hardship on the residents of Nendota to require immediate
elimination of the bypasses.
The Board will grant
a
15 month
variance with conditions similar to those recommended by the
Agency.
This variance is not to be construed as having any
retroactive effect.
This
Opinion constitutes the Board~sfindings of fact and
conclusions of law in this matter.
ORDER
Petitioner,
the City of Mendota, is granted a variance from
35 III.
Adxn.
Code 306.304, subject to the following conditions:
1.
This variance will expire on September
30,
1984.
2.
This variance shall authorize bypasses from three
manholes and one lift station which were identified as
outfalls 002,
003,
004 and 005 in NPDES Permit No. IL-
0023221.
3.
Petitioner shall install and maintain in operable
condition at its sewage treatment plant a device to
52-488
—3—
measure amounts of precipitation.
Such amounts shall
be
monitored each day and recorded in writing.
4.
Petitioner shall maintain a written record of all
complaints received regarding backup of sewage
into residences, including the complainant~sname,
address and the nature of the complaint.
5.
Petitioner shall maintain a written record of all
inspections for downspout connections and of all
disconnections of such.
6.
Petitioner shall monitor each bypass location once
each day, and shall record the following information:
a.
Time.
b.
Weather conditions.
c.
Daily volume of any discharge based upon an
instantaneous rate.
d.
Lab analysis results for five-day biochemical
oxygen demand and total suspended solids from a
grab sample taken of any discharges.
Such sample
need be taken only on the first day of any
discharge event.
7.
Prior to construction of
a dam at each bypass,
Petitioner shall record the following information
each day:
a.
Exact date and time of unplugging of each
bypass.
b.
Exact date and time of reinstallation of plug
on each bypass.
c.
Justification as to why the bypass had been
unplugged.
8.
On or before December 31,
1983, Petitioner shall
determine the elevation of each bypass at which
basement backups occur, and construct a dam (gravity
overflow)
at the bypass sufficiently below that
level in order to eliminate basement backups
without allowing unnecessary bypassing.
Con-
struction shall be pursuant to a construction
permit issued by the Illinois Environmental Pro-
tection Agency which will specify the level of the
dam.
52-469
—4—
9.
On or before June 30, 1984, Petitioner shall
complete and submit an engineering report regar-
ding its sanitary sewer system and treatment
plant.
This report shall contain:
a.
An evaluation of the sewer system maximum
flow and sewage treatment plant maximum flow.
b.
A determination of maximum treatment plant
capacity.
c.
A determination as to whether excess flow
holding and/or treatment modifications are
necessary.
d.
Based upon subparagraph
(b), an opinion of
the necessity for rerating the sewage treat-
ment plant.
e.
A discussion of the specific deficiencies
in
the sanitary sewer system and a description
of remedial work required.
10.
Petitioner shall submit to the Illinois Environ-
mental Protection Agency a monthly progress report
detailing its progress in preparing the engineer-
ing report required by paragraph
(8).
11.
Monthly reports of the information required by
paragraphs
3,
4,
5,
6,
7 and 10 shall be submitted
to the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency
attached to the discharge monitoring reports
required by the NPDES Permit.
12.
The final engineering report shall be submitted to
the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency’s
Field Operations Section, Region
I,
4302 North
Main Street,
Rockford, Illinois 61103.
13.
Within forty-five days of the date of this Order,
Petitioner shall execute and forward to the Illinois
Environmental Protection Agency, Variance Section,
2200 Churchill Road, Springfield, Illinois 62706,
a Certificate of Acceptance and Agreement to be
bound to all terms and conditions of this variance.
This forty—five day period shall be held in abeyance
for any period this matter is being appealed.
The
form of the Certificate shall be as follows:
52-4’h,
—5—
CERTIFICATION
I,
(We,)
_____________________________,
having
read
and
fully
understanding
the Order
in
PCB
83-
31,
hereby
accept
that
Order
and
agree
to
be
bound
by
all
of
its
terms
and
conditions.
SIGNED
___________________
TITLE
___________________
DATE
_____________________
IT IS SO ORDERED.
I,
Christan
L.
Moffett,
Clerk
of
the
Illinois
Pollution
Control
Board,
hereby
certify
that
the
above
Opinion
and
Order
we,re
adopted
on
the
3b”
day
of
~
1983
by
a
vote
of
OAMk~fn
~&tL
Christan
L.
Moff~’~),Clerk
Illinois Pollutio1~’Contro1Board
52-471