ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD

November

19,

1981

VILLAGE OF LAKE ZURICH,

Petitioner,

v.

)

PCB 81—92

tJ~LINOISENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

AGENCY,

Respondent.

OL~INION

AND ORDER OF THE BOARD

(by 3.

Anderson):

This matter comes before the Board on the petition for

variance filed by the Village of Lake Zurich

(Village)

on June

1,

1981 as amended August 19,

1981,

The Village seeks

variance from

the

15 pCi/i

gross alpha particle activity limitation of Rule

304

(C)(1)(b)

of Chapter

6:

Public

Water

Supplies.

On September

30,

1981 the Illinois Environmental Protection

Agency

(Agency)

filed

its Recommendation in support of

grant

of variance.

No hearing

has been

held,

as hearing

was waived by the

Village,

and as the

objection filed June 22 was withdrawn

on

November

9,

1981.

The Village of Lake

Zurich,

Lake County,

population

approximately 7500, supplies

its water users

with water drawn

from

3 deep wells,

Primary Well

#3

is

1333

feet deep,

and back-

up wells

#5 and #8

(1135 and

1373 feet deep)

are open to, among

others, the Gleriwood—St.

Peter sandstone

aquifer which conbains

more radium than do other,

shallower

aquifers in Illinois

See

Village of

Leinont v.

IEPA,

PCB

80—48

(May

1,

1980).

~

March,

TW~: report of tests done

on a composite sample of water taken

from the Village~sdistribution

system

in November,

1979 and

January,

1981 shows gross

alpha particle activity of

21.9 ±4.94

pCi/l,

and gross beta particle

activit:y

of

21.6 ±2.39 pCi/i

(Agency Rec,),

Also, tests

of a sample drawn

from Well #8 on

April

21,

1981 shows gross alpha of

21,5 ±

5.19 pCi/i and

gross

beta of 23.5 ±4.11 pCi/l

(Amend,

Pet.).

No testing has been

done for radium 226 or

228.

In connection with

drilling well

#8

in

1980,

the Village

explored but had

to abandon

the idea

of a shallow

(535

feet) well,

as the aquifer could not produce an adequate amount of water.

Thus,

it has no source of water with

lower radioactivity to blend

with the waters of higher radioactivity from

its deep wells.

44—97

---

2

The Village believes that its other compliance

option is

installation

of a sodium zeolite or other water

softening process.

Capital

costs are estimated to be $850,000,

and annual operation

and maintenance costs to be $144,000,

The Village

finds

this

option undesirable

because,

as

it states without

elaboration,

it

will increase user costs

“more than

is

economically feasible”

given a large increase

in

sewer

rates due to costs related

t~,

completion of

a new sewage treatment plant within the last year.

In addition, the softened water could he too soft for general

uses,

and the softening process itself can create backwash water

disposal and other problems.

Finally,

the Village remarks that the radiological water

quality

limits are being reviewed at the federal level, and

that

it believes that no immediate threat to the health of its

water

users

is being posed.

The Agency concurs with this belief,

and

with all facts presented by the Village.

Based

on

the high costs of compliance

as

balanced against

the

lack of an immediate

health threat, the

Board finds that

denial o~variance would pose an arbitrary or unreasonable

hard-

ship.

Based on the size of the Village~ssystem and

consistent

with §1416 of the

federal Safe Drinking Water

Act,

variance

is

granted through January

1,

1984

subject to

conditions.

This Opinion constitutes the Board~sfindings

of fact

and

conclusions of

law

in this matter,

ORDER

1.

Petitioner, the Village of Lake Zurich,

is granted

a

variance from the

15 pCi!l gross alpha particle activity

limit

of

Rule

304(C)(1)(b)

of Chapter

6:

Public Water

Supply until

January

1,

1984,

subject to the following conditions:

a.

Petitioner shall,

in consultation with the

Agency,

continue its sampling program to

determine

as

accurately as possible the level of radioactivity in

its wells and finished water.

Testing for radium 226

and 228 shall

be commenced.

b.

As expeditiously after identification of a

feasible compliance method as

is

practicable, but no

later than Jaunary

1,

1983,

Petitioner

shall submit

to

the Agency a program

(with increments

of progress) for

bringing its system into compliance with radiological

quality standards.

c.

Pursuant to Rule 313(D)(1)

of Chapter

6,

on or before January

30,

1982 and every

three months

thereafter, Petitioner will send to each user of its

public water supply a written notice to the

effect that

Petitioner has been granted by the Pollution Control

44—98

---

3

Board a variance from the 15 pCi/i maximum gross alpha

particle activity standard.

The notice shall state the

average content of gross alpha particle activity in

samples taken since the last notice period during which

samples were taken.

2.

Within forty—five days of the date of this Order,

Petitioner shall execute

and

forward to the Illinois Environmental

Protection P$ency,

PWS

Enforcement Programs,

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

CERTIFICATE

I,

(We),

,

having read

the Order of the Illinois Pollution Control Board in

PCB

81—92,

dated _____________________________, understand

and

accept the

said Order, realizing that such acceptance renders all terms and

conditions thereto binding

and

Petitioner

By:

~uiithorized

Title

IT IS SO ORDERED.

I, Christan L. Moffett, Clerk of the Illinois Pollution

Control Board, hereby certify that the above Opinion and Order was

adopted on ~e

~

‘7S

day

of

I)

nn

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,

a vote of ~