ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
July
9,
1981
CENTURY
21 AG REALTORS AND ST. CLAIR TOWNSHIP,
)
Petitioner,
v.
)
PCB
81—B
ILLINOIS ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY,
)
)
Respondent.
OPINION AND ORDER OF THE BOARD
(by 3.
Anderson):
This matter comes before the Board on the petition for
variance of Century
21 AG Realtors
(Century 21)
and St. Clair
Township
(St. Clair) filed January
29, 1981 and amended March 18,
and April
13,
1981.
(St. Clair was joined as a party pursuant to
the Board’s Order of February
5,
1981,)
Variance is sought from
Rule 962(a)
of Chapter
3:
Water Pollution to allow issuance of
sewer construction and operation permits for
a proposed multi-
phased condominium development to be located in St. Clair County.
In its Recommendation of June
1,
1981, the Illinois Environmental
Protection Agency
(Agency)
states that the hardship shown if
variance is denied ~will be minimal,
if any”, but nonetheles8
recommends that variance be granted.
Hearing was waived, and none
has been held,
Century 21
is
participating in a proposed plan to develop the
130 unit “San Carios Condominium Development” construction of the
first phase,
the
25
units for which this variance is sought,
was
originally projected to begin tlarch
15,
1981 with the final units
of this first phase to be completed by September 15,
1982.
Each
unit would add 300 ~allons per day
(3
P.E.) of ordinary domestic
sewage to St. Clair
s sewer system, which is tributary to the
St.
Clair Township Lincolnshire Treatment Facility
(Lincoinshire).
Lincoinshire
was
placed on critical review May 26,
1978,
as
its loadings were then 96
of its design capacity of 1.0 million
gallons per
day.
On June
15,
1979,
the plant was placed on
restricted status
based
on the determination that the load tribu-
tary to the plant
was
112
of its design capacity.
In addition,
St. Clair believes
its
sewer system is subject to
heavy
infiltration
and inflow during wet weather periods; during such periods,
the
plant discharges effluent into Loop Creek and often fails to meet
the 10/12 mg/i standard for BOD5 and suspended solids contained
in its NPDES permit.
St. Clair has,
however, been engaged in the
process of upgrading and expanding the Lincolnshire plant,
and has
been awarded a Step
2—3
federal construction grant.
Construction
is anticipated to begin in the summer or fall of 1q81 with final
completion expected one year
later.
4
3—17
2
Century
21 states that there are two alternatives to a direct
hook—on to Lincoinshire.
The first, construction of treatment
units on each lot, is said to be feasible.
Century 21 believes
that, while connection to the upgraded Lincoinshire would even-
tually occur, due to funding limitations
it could not be expected
to occur
in less than 10 years,
and would in 1991 cost St. Clair
taxpayers and San Carlos residents $120,000.
The second option
is installation of a septic tank and buried sand filter system to
serve all
25 units, at an initial cost in excess of $35,000 and
yearly operational costs of $1,200.
Construction and operation
of this system would require formation of
a utility company
pursuant to ICC rules, with its attendant difficulties.
Century
21 alleges that delay in initiation and completion
of this project for 1½ years would increase its costs approximately
$90,000 in interest expense, based on an anticipated financing of
$600,000 for proposed realty acquisition,
and $23,000
in increased
construction costs based on
a 10
inflation rate.
It states that
this would increase the cost for each lot by $4,640,
rendering the
lots unmarketable.
Should this occur, it would lose the benefit
of $7,500 already expended
in development
fees.
In making its
hardship presentation, Century
21 has not alleged that it had begun
any work on this project prior
to imposition of restricted status
in June,
1979, and does not state when it made the expenditures of
$7, 500.
While the Agency believes that Century
21 has shown only
minimal hardship,
it recommends grant of variance based on the
failure of other permittees to utilize connection permits,
P.E.
loadings for which were included in the Agency’s computations
regarding loading to the Lincolnshire plant.
In further support
of this Recommendation, the Agency notes that it has received no
reports of sewer overflows on the sewer trunk to which petitioners’
flow would be tributary.
This record does not support grant of variance as re~uestct1.
As the Board has recently stated,
the hardship alleged here
is
that which restricted status was designed to impose——”a moratorium
on new construction, planned hut not started,
which would create
additional
loading to an overloaded sewer system and/or sewage
treatment plant
~‘
Crook Development Co
et al
v
IEPA,
PCI3 80—230
(June 10,
1981),
The showing of arbitrary or unreasonable hardship
is indeed minimal.
The Board must have proof,
not mere speculation,
as to whether
connection permits already issued by the Agency will continue to
remain unused, or evidence of sufficient hardship,
in order
to
establish a proper basis
for considering grant of variance for
issuance of a permit for operation of new sewers.
Variance from
Rule 962(a)
is therefore denied.
The Board notes that Century
21 is free to file another petition with new facts.
This Opinion constitutes the Board’s findings of fact and
conclusions of
law in this matter.
43—18
3
ORDER
Petitioners are denied variance from Rule 962(a) of
Chapter
3:
Water Pollution to allow issuance of sewer permits
for
25 condominium units to be known as San Carlos Condominium
Development to be located in St. Clair Township.
IT
IS SO ORDERED.
Mr. Anderson abstained.
I,
Christan L. Moffett, Clerk of the Illinois Pollution
Control Board, hereby certify that the above Opinion and Order
was adopted on the
~
day of
-,
1981 by a
vote of
T/~)
.
/
I
Christan
L.
Moff~tt,Clerk
Illinois Pollutibi~rControl
I3oar:1