ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
    October
    5,
    1982
    ILLINOIS ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
    AGENCY,
    Complainant,
    v.
    )
    PCB 81—135
    METRO—EAST SANITARI7 DISTRICT
    )
    (Cahokia Plant),
    Respondent.
    MR.
    GREIG
    R.
    SIEDOR, ~ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL, APPEARED
    ON BEHALF
    OF THE COMPLAINANT.
    MR. JOHN
    R. SPRAGUE, SPRAGUE, SPRAGUE
    & YSURSA, APPEARED ON
    BEHALF OF THE RESPONDENT.
    OPINION AND ORDER OF THE BOARD
    (by N.E. Werner):
    This matter comes before the Board on the August
    24,
    1981
    Complaint brought by the Illinois Environmental Protection
    Agency (“Agency”).
    Count I of the Complaint alleged that,
    on certain
    specified dates between November
    26,
    1979 and August
    24,
    1981,
    the Respondent allowed discharges of raw, untreated sewage into
    Illinois waters from its Cahokia plant as a result of its
    failure to maintain in operating condition either of two raw
    sewage pumps necessary to deliver sewage into the treatment
    equipment at its facility
    in violation of a condition of its
    NPDES
    Permit,
    Rule 901 of Chapter
    3:
    Water Pollution Regulations
    (“Chapter 3”),
    and Section 12(f)
    of the Illinois Environmental
    Protection Act
    (“Act”).
    Count II alleged that,
    from No~.rember26,
    1979 until
    August
    24,
    1981,
    the Respondent failed to operate
    its treatment plant
    so as
    to minimize violations of applicable water quality and
    effluent standards during contingencies such as equipment
    failure by maintaining
    a backup raw sewage pump
    in operating
    condition at all
    times
    in violation of
    Rule 601(a)
    of Chapter
    3 arid Section
    12(a) of the Act.
    Count III alleged that,
    on various occasions between
    January
    11,
    1980 and August
    24,
    1981,
    the Respondent allowed
    raw, untreated sewage to bypass the Cahokia plant and to flow
    directly into the Cahokia Chute and then into the Mississippi
    River without reporting
    such incidents to the Agency within
    49-09
    —2—
    72 hours and without providing required information about
    these incidents within 5 days as required by
    its NPDES Permit
    in violation of Rule 501(c)
    of Chapter
    3 and Section 12(f) o~
    the Act.
    Count IV alleged that,
    on various specified dates between
    November
    16,
    1978 and August
    24,
    1981,
    the Respondent failed
    to submit some discharge monitoring reports and failed to
    monitor and report on certain chemical parameters in the
    effluent discharged
    from its plant as required by its NPDES
    Permit in violation of Rule 501(c) of Chapter
    3 and Section
    12(f) of the Act.
    A hearing was held on August
    20,
    1982.
    The parties filed
    a Stipulation and Proposal for Settlement on August
    30,
    1982.
    The Respondent,
    the Metro—East Sanitary District
    (“Metro—
    East”),
    is a regional sanitary district which owns and operates
    a sewage treatment plant (“Cahokia plant”) which
    is located at
    1000 Levin Drive in Cahokia,
    St. Clair County,
    Illinois.
    Metro—
    East also has a sewer system which is tributary
    to its Cahokia
    plant and serves
    the communities of
    Aloroton, Cahokia,
    and
    Centreville, along with much of Centreville township.
    The
    Respondent’s plant provides primary sewage treatment for
    wastewater and discharges
    the treated wastewater from Outfall
    001,
    a point source,
    into the Cahokia Chute,
    a tributary to
    the Mississippi
    River, pursuant
    to NPDES Permit No.
    IL 0028606.
    (Stip.
    2—3),
    Additionally,
    the
    discharge of bypassed,
    untreated
    sewage into the Cahokia Chute
    from
    a second point source, Out-
    fall 002,
    is authorized by Attachment
    T)
    of Metro—East’s
    NPDES
    Permit
    (provided that each o~six specified conditions
    is
    met).
    (Stip.
    3).
    The proposed settlement agreement provides that the
    Respondent admits the violations alleged
    in the Complaint
    and agrees to:
    (1) complete repairs to the cornminutor at
    the Cahokia plant,
    or,
    in the alternative, to submit to the
    Agency within 30 days of the date of
    the Board’s Order a
    written program describing Metro—East’s maintenance and
    cleaning of the bar
    screen;
    (2) cease and desist from any
    further violations;
    and
    (3) pay a stipulated penalty of
    $200.00.
    (Stip.
    9—12),
    At the hearing,
    it
    was noted
    that
    the Respondent has made good progress
    in correcting the
    operational problems at
    its plant.
    (R.4).
    In evaluating this enforcement action and proposed
    settlement agreement,
    the Board has taken into consideration
    all the facts and circumstances
    in light of the specific
    criteria delineated
    in Section 33(c) of the Act and finds
    the settlement agreement acceptable under Procedural Rule
    331.
    The Board
    finds that the Respondent,
    the Metro—East
    Sanitary District, has violated Rules
    501(c),
    601(a),
    and
    901 of Chapter
    3 and Sections 12(a)
    and 12(f)
    of
    the
    Act.
    49-10
    —3—
    The Board notes that this stipulation contains little evi-
    dence of mitigation which would explain why a minimal $200.00
    penalty was agreed to
    in a case where
    a number of admitted vio-
    lations took place over a 21 month period.
    In order to expedite
    resolution of this matter, the Board will accept this stipulated
    penalty,
    as the poor financial condition of Metro—East
    has been
    outlined to the Board in prior proceedings.
    (Such information
    should, however, have been included in the Stipulation.)
    The Respondent will be ordered
    to cease and desist from
    further violations;
    follow the compliance plan set forth in
    the Stipulation;
    and
    to pay the stipulated penalty of $200.00.
    This Opinion constitutes the Board’s findings of fact
    and conclusions of law in this matter.
    ORDER
    It is the Order of the Illinois Pollution Control Board
    th~it:
    1.
    The Respondent, Metro—East Sanitary District (Cahokia
    Plant), has violated Rules
    501(c),
    601(a), and 901 of Chapter
    3:
    Water Pollution Regulations and Sections 12(a)
    and
    12(f)
    of
    the Illinois Environmental Protection Act.
    2.
    The Repondent shall cease
    and desist from further
    violations.
    3.
    Within 10 days of the date of this Order, the
    Respondent shall, by certified check or money order payable
    to the State of Illinois, pay the stipulated penalty of
    $200.00 which
    is to be sent to:
    Illinois Environmental Protection Agency
    Fiscal Services Division
    2200 Churchill Road
    Springfield, Illinois 62706
    4.
    The Respondent shall comply with all the terms and
    conditions of the Stipulation and Proposal
    for Settlement
    filed on August
    30,
    1982, which is incorporated by reference
    as
    if fully set forth herein.
    IT IS SO ORDERED.
    Board Members
    I. Goodman and D. Anderson dissent.
    I,
    Christan
    L. Moffett,
    Clerk of the tilinois Pollution
    Control Board, hereby p~r,tifythat the abpve Opinion and Ordec
    were adopted on the~~-
    day of
    _~QL
    tt~tJ~
    ___,
    1982
    by a vote of ~
    ____
    \l
    \~L~J_~~’jL
    ~
    Christan
    L. Moffett~~‘1~rk
    Illinois Pollution
    Corit(rol Boari
    49-11

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