ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
    May
    3,
    1973
    )
    WILLIAM H. ROGERS
    )
    )
    )
    v.
    )
    PCB 73-1
    )
    )
    ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
    )
    )
    OPINION AND ORDER OF
    THE
    BOARD
    (by Mr. Dumelle)
    This
    is
    a petition for variance from Rule 912(b) of the
    Water Regulations which requires that
    a permit application for
    sewer construction or modification must be accompanied by
    a signed
    statement from the owner of the sewer and treatment works certifying
    that the facilities have adequate
    capacity to transport and/or
    treat the additional wastewater without violating any provision~s
    of the Act
    or REgulations.
    Hearing was held on March
    16,
    1973.
    Petitioner
    is engaged in the land development business in the
    Loves Park area.
    In 1968 he conducted negotiations for the purchase
    of
    a 57-acre tract of land near Rockford.
    After several years of
    planning and negotiations, petitioner and his partner submitted
    a
    written offer to purchase the land for
    a housing development.
    The
    offer was accepted in November, 1971 for $217,250.
    Only $1,000 has
    been spent
    on the land
    (R.32).
    They immediately began developing
    the
    land.
    Over the past year they had constructed
    a
    lake,
    a bridge,
    a roadway,
    the staking out
    of lots, and engineering
    and design work
    for other roads,
    a sewage system and water facilities.
    They are now
    indebted for the labor, materials and engineering of those improvements
    in the amount of around $80,000,
    in addition to the purchase price of
    the land itself.
    They plan to build only 50 units
    in 1973,
    72 multi-
    family units and
    28 single-family units
    in 1974,
    and
    21 multi-family
    and
    4 single-family units
    in 1975.
    On November
    2,
    1972 petitioner applied to the Rockford Sanitary
    District for
    a permit
    to construct the sewer main for the initial
    phase of the development.
    The District refused
    to certify the permit
    application because the proposed sewer extension was tributary to
    a surcharged sewer interceptor.
    Petitioner claims that he had not
    received any prior warning that his application would not be certified
    by the District.
    In fact, within the last year,
    the District had
    constructed
    a new sewer line
    to one boundary of the land in antici-
    pation of the proposed development.
    7
    —
    689
    -2-
    Agency grab samples of the District’s treatment plant effluent
    taken during 1912 show BOD at 2,
    4, 12.and 9 mg/i and suspended solids
    at 4, 110,
    8 and 55 mg/i.
    The District monthly operational reports
    for September
    and
    October,
    1972 show average BOD at 11 and 15 mg/i.
    and
    suspended solids at 18 and 16 mg/i.
    The Agency’s recommendation
    filed
    January
    23, 1973 states that the Agency believes that the
    effluent quality of the sewage plant would not significantly decline
    were the development to be connected (p.3).
    By the end of 1974 the District plans to have its sever defi-
    ciency corrected through construction of an interceptor relief project.
    However,
    the project is contingent upon Federal funds
    (R.35, 37, 123).
    Even though the District could not certify the petitioner’s permit
    application to the Agency, it did submit a letter to the Board
    recommending that the variance be granted.
    It also points out,
    and
    we agree, that the petitioner did incur a substantial commitment
    prior to March
    7,
    1972 which is the date upon which the Water Regula-
    tions were adopted.
    There is, however, evidence in the record of much basement
    flooding in the area
    due
    to inadequate sewer capacity.
    It appears
    that most of the problem exists upstream from the Snow Avenue
    Pumping Station.
    The sewer to which petitioner’s development would
    discharge is downstream from that station but some problem neverthe-
    less exists, the extent of which is somewhat unclear.
    A letter of
    December 7, 1972 from Richard K. Johnson, consulting engineer for
    Mr. Rogers quotes a September 1912 report by Greeley and Hansen,.
    also consulting engineers,
    that the East Side Low Level Interceptor
    into which this development would eventually connect is deficient in
    capacity from 2,451,000 gallons per day at Loves Park to 22,58,000
    gallons per day at the treatment plant.
    The development would add
    70,000 gallons per day to an already deficient sewer at average flow
    and
    140,000 gallons per day at the probable maximum daily rate of flow.
    The great concern to the Board is the inevitable increase in the
    extent of flooded basements.
    Testimony of Mr. Kenneth Miller places
    the number of known flooded basement incidents at 57 in the past 38
    months in the area under consideration
    (R.l26).
    He went on to state
    that perhaps 50
    of these incidents were due to a pump outage
    (R.
    128).
    But
    nothing is given in this record as to the extent of increased
    basement flooding either in number of homes or in height of flooding.
    A flooded basement caused by sewage backup will create a health
    hazard from hepatitis, polio, salmonella,
    etc.
    as well as property
    damage and electrocution hazards.
    The petitioner has not borne his
    burden of proof to show the impact of his development upon the public
    health and welfare.
    It was suggested by Mr. Kenneth Mifler of the
    &ockforc Sanitary
    District that 48-hour capacity holding tanks wculd be one way for
    -3-
    petitioner
    to avoid creating a worse flooding problem.
    (T.
    118)
    The tanks would be pumped out at times of low flow
    in the sewers
    which would probably be at night.
    During
    a prolonged rainfall the
    tanks would have
    to be pumped out into trucks
    and hauled to the
    treatment plant.
    We agree with this approach and will make
    it
    a condition to granting the variance.
    The tanks would cost
    about $36,250
    (R.20).
    Total profit on the development is estimated at
    $87,500
    (R.30).
    We
    are aware,
    from other sources,
    of
    a method whereby the capa-
    city of sewers
    can be increased by the addition of certain chemicals
    which would make the wastewater “slippery”.
    If the petitioner
    wishes
    to re-open this case in order to introduce any further evidence
    on his project’s direct effect on the flooding problem or on the
    use of “slippery” water he may do so.
    Otherwise the variance will
    stand with the condition of using the holding tanks.
    This opinion constitutes the Board’s findings
    of fact and
    conclusions of law.
    ORDER
    Petitioner
    is granted
    a variance from Rule
    912(b)
    of the Water
    Regulations
    so
    that they may receive
    a permit from the Agency without
    the need of the permit application being certified by
    the Rockford
    Sanitary District, but only on the condition that 48-hour holding
    tanks
    capacity is included in the project and that
    the wastewater
    from the
    tanks would be transported by
    truck to the treatment plant
    if the sewers
    are still overloaded at
    the end of any 48-hour reten-
    tion period or any other such program
    as
    the Board and Agency shall
    approve that will not add
    to present basement flooding
    or any other
    health hazard
    (such
    as
    raw
    sewage
    surcharged from manholes onto streets,
    etc.)
    IT
    IS
    SO ORDERED.
    I,
    Christan L. Moffett, Clerk of the Illinois Pollution Control
    Board, hereby certify the above Opinion and Order were adopted on the
    ~
    day of
    May,
    1973
    by a vote of
    ~/-t
    —.
    ~,‘n
    .,~éj
    Christan L. Moffett,~C~i~rk
    Illinois Pollution Coi~z~olBoard
    7
    —
    691
    S
    S

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