ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
October
9,
1986
CITY OF ELMHURST,
Petitioner,
V.
)
PCB 86—169
ILLINOIS ENVIRONMENTAL
PROTECTION AGENCY,
)
Respondent.
OPINION AND ORDER OF THE BOARD
(by ~3.D.
Dumelle):
This provisional variance request comes before the Board
upon an October
8,
1986 Recommendation of the Illinois
Environmental Protection Agency (Agency).
The Agency recommends
that
a one—hour provisional variance be granted
to the City of
Elmhurst (Elmhurst)
from 35
Ill. Adm. Code 304 and Ill. Adm. Code
309
in order
to allow discharge of raw sewage
to Salt Creek while
a section of trunk sewer
is televised.
The City of Elmhurst, which has a population of 44,200,
is
a
duly incorporated municipality located in DuPage County
in
northeastern Illinois.
Elmhurst owns and maintains 160 miles of
collection system sewers which are tributary to its wastewater
treatment facilities.
The city has requested
a provisional
variance to allow it
to discharge
a maximum of 80,000 gallons of
untreated sanitary water into Salt Creek located within the
boundaries of Elmhurst.
(Pet.
1).
The Petitioner’s problems began in March,
1986, when a large
section of 42
inch main sewer trunk located on Alexander Street
between Hawthorne Street and Fairfield Street collapsed.
After
Elmhurst’s Public Works Department repaired this section of
sewer, the Petitioner decided that a large section of the 42
inch
main needed to be inspected for further defects.
The particular
section which needs to be inspected is located between the
intersection of First Street and Highland Street,
as well as
between the intersection of Alexander
Street and Hawthorne
Street.
(Pet.
1).
The actual distance involved is about 800
linear
feet.
According
to the Petitioner,
the 42 inch sewer section is
especially important because
it passes under the Chicago
&
Northwestern railroad tracks which carry both commuter and
73-79
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freight traffic.
Railroad traffic both into, and out of,
the
Northlake
(Proviso)
railroad yards
(which are located east of the
city)
is very heavy because the tracks are busily used throughout
the day and nighttime hours.
(Pet.
1—2).
In order
to televise the entire length of the sewer section
to ascertain whether further structural defects exist,
the sewer
must be emptied and kept reasonably free of liquid
flow.
(Pet.
2;
Rec.
1).
Because the sewer
is a main trunk without any
parallel sanitary line
to bypass flows to,
and since the sewer
line travels under some very heavily utilized railroad tracks, it
is physically impractical and virtually impossible
to route the
sewage around this section above ground while the televised
inspection is performed.
Consequently, the City of Elmhurst has
contended that there is no feasible alternative to bypassing
sewage to Salt Creek via a storm sewer during the inspection of
the sewer
line.
(Pet.
2;
Rec.
2).
The city plans to plug
24 inch and 36 inch feeder lines to
the 42 inch main sewer and allow these two lines to surcharge.
Bypassing
to
a storm sewer which runs down First Street would
begin just before sewage begins backing up into basements.
The
First Street storm sewer would then carry the sewage directly
into Salt Creek.
The Petitioner intends to disinfect the
bypassed sewage with a chlorine compound and estimates that the
total time of bypassing would be less than one hour.
(Pet.
2;
Rec.
2).
Elmhurst believes that
a maximum of 80,000 gallons of sewage
with an approximate strength of 95 milligrams per liter
(mg/l)
biochemical oxygen demand (BOD),
60 mg/l
total suspended solids
(TSS), and 18 mg/I ammonia would be bypassed and expects that the
impact of this discharge on Salt Creek will be minimal.
(Pet.
1)
The Agency agrees with the Petitioner’s assessment of this
situation and also expects that the environmental impact of the
requested relief will
be minimal.
The Agency notes that the
creek’s average flow was
3.9 million gallons per hour with an
average dissolved oxygen concentration of 8.3 mg/l and and
average total ammonia nitrogen concentration of 0.72 mg/l,
based
upon water quality data collected during October, 1984 through
September,
1985
(Water Year 1985)
at the Western Springs water
quality station on Salt Creek.
(Rec.
3).
Therefore, considering
the large dilution factor of approximately 48 to
1 which can be
expected, the Agency believes that the environmental impact in
this case will be minimal.
Although Federal regulations generally prohibit the
discharge of raw sewage directly to
a receiving stream,
the
Agency emphasizes that 40 CFR l22.4l(m)(3)(l),
l22.4l(m)(4)(i)(B), and 122.4l(m)(4)(ii)
do make provision for
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—3—
bypassing under certain conditions,
thereby allowing this
discharge.
(Rec.
3).
In its Recommendation,
it is
indicated
that “although the Agency cannot provide relief from federal
regulations, the Agency considers the above cited federal
regulations
to be applicable
to Petitioner’s situation”.
(Rec.
3).
The City of Elmhurst contends that denial of its requested
provisional variance would impose an arbitrary or unreasonable
hardship because
it
is vitally necessary that its main sewer line
be expeditiously and thoroughly inspected
for further structural
or other defects and notes that its discharges during the short
time period of one—hour or less would have
a minimal effect on
the water quality of Salt Creek.
(Pet.
1—2).
The Agency has stressed “the strategic location of this
section of sewer
in the collection system,
the uncertainty of
its
present condition in light of the March,
1986 sewer collapse, and
Petitioner’s plan to keep bypassing of sewage
to
a minimum” as
reasons why denial
of the requested relief would be
inappropriate.
(Rec.
2).
For the previously mentioned reasons,
the Agency agrees with
the Petitioner’s assessment of hardship and has therefore
concluded that immediate compliance on a short—term basis with 35
Ill. Adm. Code 304 and 309 would impose an arbitrary or
unreasonable hardship upon the City of Elmhurst.
(Rec.
1—3).
Additionally, there are no public water supplies which would be
adversely affected by the grant of the requested relief.
Accordingly, the Agency has recommended
that the Board grant the
Petitioner
a provisional variance from 35
Ill.
Adm. Code 304 and
309, subject to various specified conditions.
Pursuant
to Section 35(b)
of the Illinois Environmental
Protection
Act,
the Board hereby grants the provisional variance
as recommended.
Language has been added
to the Agency’s
recommended order
to reflect the statutory 45—day period
for
any
provisional variance.
This Opinion constitutes the Board’s findings of fact and
conclusions of law in this matter.
ORDER
The Petitioner, the City of Elmhurst,
is hereby granted
a
provisional variance from 35
Ill. Adm. Code
304 and 309
in order
to allow discharge of raw sewage
to Salt Creek while a section of
trunk sewer
is televised,
subject to the following conditions:
1.
This provisional variance shall
be for
a maximum period
of one
(1)
hour within
a 45—day period to allow
73.81
—4—
bypassing only from the 42”
sewer main as specified in
Petitioner’s request
for provisional variance.
2.
The Petitioner
shall schedule the indicated inspection
for the low flow period during daylight hours and shall
follow the procedure set forth in its request for
provisional variance.
3.
The Petitioner
shall notify Mr. Ted Denning of the
Agency’s Maywood Regional office via telephone at
312/345—9780 when the work
is to be performed, when
bypassing begins, and when bypassing ends and normal
operation is restored.
Written confirmation of each
telephone notification shall be submitted within
5 days
to the Agency at the address given below:
Illinois Environmental Protection Agency
Division of Water Pollution Control
Compliance Assurance Division
2200 Churchill Road
Springfield, Illinois
62706
Attention:
Mr. Dan Ray
4.
The Petitioner
shall do its utmost to minimize both the
duration and volume
of bypassing.
5.
Within
10 days of the date of the Board’s Order,
the
Petitioner shall execute
a Certificate of Acceptance
and Agreement which shall be sent to Mr. James Frost of
the Agency at the following address:
Mr. James Frost
Illinois Environmental Protection Agency
Division of Water Pollution Control
Compliance Assurance Section
2200 Churchill Road
Springfield, Illinois
62706
This certification shall have the following form:
I,
(We) ___________________________________, having read the
Order of the Illinois Pollution Control Board in PCB 86—169 dated
October
9,
1986, understand and accept said Order, realizing that
such acceptance renders all terms and conditions thereto binding
and enforceable.
Petitioner
73.82
—5—
By:
Authorized Agent
Title
Date
IT IS SO ORDERED.
I, Dorothy
M. Gunn,
Clerk of the Illinois Pollution Control
Board,
hereby
ce,~ti~y
that the abpve 0 inion and Order was
adopted on the
‘1~-~- day of
__________________,
1986
by a vote
of
____________
/7
/~/
~
~,
Dorothy M.
GL(nn, Clerk
Illinois Pollution Control Board
73-83