ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD

April

13,

1978

CITY OF ST.

 ELMO,

Petitioner,

v.

)

 PCB 78—10

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY,

Respondent.

OPINION AND ORDER OF THE BOARD

 (by Mr. Young):

This matter comes before the Board on an Amended Variance

Petition filed on February

 14, 1978,

 by the City of

 St. Elmo

from the phosphorus requirements of Rule 203(c)

 and 402

in

Chaoter

3:

 Water Pollution Regulations.

 On March 20,

 1978,

the Environmental Protection Agency filed

 a Recommendation

to qrant

 this variance subject

 to certain conditions.

No

hearing was held in this matter;

 Petitioner waived hearing

in its Amended Petition.

Petitioner requires

 a variance from the phosphorus standards

of Chaoter

 3 as prerequisite

 for a lagoon exemption under Rule

404(c) (iii)

 (Chapter

3)

 and ultimately

 for determining necessary

facilities improvements under the federal construction grants

program.

 At the present

 time,

 the City of

 St. Elmo uses

a

single-cell waste stabilization lagoon to treat wastewater

generated by approximately 1700 people.

 Constructed in 1964,

this lagoon holds 36.5 million gallons on

a

 23-acre surface.

Daily average flow is 0.13 MGD; design capacity is 0.18 MGD

 (Am.

Pet.

p2,

3).

 Effluent from this treatment facility average

17

rng/l BOD5 and

 35 mg/i suspended solids

 (Am.

 Pet.

2,

 4), and

are

clischarqcd

the

South

Fork

Suqar

Creek

whi

eli

f1C)W~

into

the

Kaskaskia

River

tributary

Carlyle

Lake.

The

City

St.

Elmo

NPDES

permit

(IL

0030872)

has

been

modified by a USEPA Enforcement Compliance Schedule Letter

reauiring discharges not exceed 40/60 mg/i BOD/SS as a 30-day

average

 (Rec.

 p3).

 If the lagoon exemption is granted, Peti-

tioner’s NPDES permit will he revised

 to effluent limitations of

30/30 mg/l BOD5/SS, 1.5 mq/l ammonia nitrogen,

6.0

 rng/l dissolved

oxygen,

 and 400/100 ml fecal

 coiiforrti

 (Pet.

 p2, Rec.

 p3).

 At the

present

 time, Petitioner

 is in the process

 of preparing a facilities

plan with Step I funding.

 The schedule of compliance for achieving

final limitations

 is based on availability of construction grant

funding

 (Pet.

 p3).

30-35

—2—

The Petitioner

 claims, and the Agency does not dispute,

that compliance with

the

 phosuhorus standard would impose an

arbitrary and unreasonable hardship on the City of

 St. Elmo

(Pet.

 p1).

The

 Board is familiar with these problems with

the phosphorus standard and has regularly granted relief from

these conditions

 in the past.

 City of Hoopeston,

 PCB 76-234,

24 PCB 441;

 Southern Illinois University at Edwardsvilie, PCB

77-111,

 25 PCB 775; Valley Water Company,

 Inc., PCB 77-146,

25

PCB

 289.

In those and other cases,

 the Agency and the Board have

recognized that it is economically impractical for the peti-

tioners

 to comply with the current phosphorus limitation of

Chanter

3.

 In addition,

 the Agency has petitioned the Board

in regulatory proposal R76—l for appropriate amendments

 to the

phosphorus effluent and water quality standards of the Water

Pollution Regulations.

The Board

 finds

 that Petitioner would suffer an arbitrary

and unreasonable hardship if required to meet the existing 0.05

mg/l standard.

 Petitioner will be granted a variance from

 Rule 203(c)

 and 402 for five years or until the Board adopts

a

regulation change under R76-l, whichever occurs first subject

to the conditions of the Order.

The Board will direct the Agency

 to issue

 a modified NPDES

permit

 to Petitioner consistent with this Order pursuant to

Rule 914 of Chapter

 3 and to include interim effluent limitations

as may be reasonably achieved through the application of best

pracdcable operation and maintenance practices in the existing

facilities.

This Opinion constitutes the Board’s

 findings of fact and

conclusions of law in this

 matter.

ORDER

The

Emit)

ranU’d

varianee

for

the

opera—

i U;

w~1ewaLur

LreaLinent

plani

Iroin

Ru k’s

2(H

(c)

and

402

of Chapter

3:

 Water Pollution Rules and Requlations regarding

phosphorus until April

13,

 1982,

 subject to the following condi-

tions:

a)

 This variance will earlier terminate upon

adoption by the Board of any modification

of the existing phosphorus water quality

 standards and effluent limitations and

the City shall comply with such revised

regulations

when

adopted

the

Board.

30—36

—3—

b)

 Petitioner shall provide space

 in its

design for storage of chemicals, and for

mixing and dosing equipment capable of

meeting

 a phosphorus effluent concentra-

tion of

 .1 mg/i,

 or to whatever alternative

level may be established by the Board.

c)

 In the event that grant funds become

available during the period of this

variance,

 the City shall incorporate in

any design and specification adequate pro-

vision for the installation of equipment

for the removal of phosphorus which will

provide

 the best oracticablo

 treatment

technology for the removal of phosphorus

over the life of the works.

2.

 Petitioner, within

 30 days

of

the

date of this Order,

shall request Agency modification of

NPDES

Permit IL 0030872

to incorporate all conditions of the variance set forth herein.

3.

 The Agency, pursuant to Rule

 914 of Chapter

3,

 shall

modify NPDES Permit

IL

0030872 consistent with

the

conditions

set forth

 in this Order including appropriate monitoring require-

ments and such interim effluent limitations

 as may reasonably

be achieved through

 the application of best practicable operation

and maintenance practices

 in the existing facilities.

4.

 Within forty-five

 (45)

 days of the date of this Order,

the Petitioner shall submit to the Manaqer, Variance Section,

Division of Water Pollution Control, Illinois Environmental Pro-

tection Agency,

 2200 Churchill

 Road,

 Sprirqfield,

 Illinois,

 62706,

an executed Certification of Acceptance

 and Agreement to he bound

to all terms and conditions, of the variance.

 The forty—five day

period herein shall be suspended in the event of judicial review

of this variance pursuant to Section

 31 of the Environmental Pro-

tection Act.

 The form of said certification shall be as follows:

CERTIFICATION

I,

 (We), ___________________________

 having read

the Order of the Pollution Control Board in PCB 78-10,

understand and accept said Order, realizinq that such

acceptance renders all terms and conditions

 thereto

binding and enforceable.

SIGNED

TITLE

DATE

30-37

—4—

IT

 IS SO ORDERED.

I,

 Christan L.

 Moffett, Clerk of the fT

P

 Pollution

Control Board, hereby certify the above

OpinT

 Order were

adopted

the

J$~

day of

________

 T978

vote

of~O

Christan

Iferk

Illinois

Poi1;~

entrol

 Board

30-38