ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
August 23, 1979
CITY
OF
NEOGA,
)
Petitioner,
v.
)
PCB 79—115
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY,
Respondent.
OPINION AND ORDER OF THE BOARD
(by Mr. Dumelle):
Petitioner has requested a variance from
Rules 602(b)
and 962(a)
of Chapter
3:
Water Pollution to allow sanitary
sewer overflows and to allow the Agency to issue the construc-
tion and operating permits for an additional 100 population
equivalents.
The Agency has recommended that the variance
from Rule 602(b) be granted and that the variance from Rule
962(a) be denied.
Petitioner waived its right to a hearing.
Neoga,
a city
in Cumberland County with 1,597 residents,
presently
experiences
severe inflow and infiltration problems.
Approximately
8
or
10
times
per
year,
when excessive flow
oc-
curs,
the
City manually opens
two overflow gates on its sani-
tary sewer system to prevent front yard and basement flooding
of
nearby residences.
The overflow, diluted by inflow and
infiltration, discharges into the same unnamed tributary of
Copperas Creek as the sewage treatment plant effluent.
Sam-
ples
of
overflow taken by the City during March and April
of
this year show an average BOD
of
18.4 mg/l
and
an average
suspended solids concentration of 112.3 mg/i.
The City,
in
an effort
to eliminate the overflows and increase plant capa-
city,
has applied for a Municipal Wastewater Treatment Works
Construction Grant and is currently
in the Step
1 Facilities
Planning Stage of the program.
The Agency estimates that
it
may be five to seven years before Neoga,
with a grant priority
number of
917, can complete the upgrading of its sewage treat-
ment system.
Petitioner alleges that elimination of the sewer
overflows without grant assistance would be prohibitively ex-
pensive and that failure to grant the variance would impose
arbitrary and unreasonable hardship upon the City.
The Agency
recommends that Petitioner be granted a variance from Rule
602(b)
provided that sanitary sewer overflows
are
minimized
to
the greatest extent possible.
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—2—
The
City
of
Neoga,
currently
on
restricted
status,
also
requests a variance
from Rule
962(a)
so that
it
may
allow
an
additional discharge
of
up to 100 population equivalents
(P.E.)
of sewage into its treatment system.
Discharge monitoring
reports for the past year show that the Neoga plant’s average
flow exceeds
its design capacity.
The Petitioner fails
1) to
state whether the additional sewage would be treated
at the
plant or discharged directly into the already overflowing
sewer
system;
2)
to address
the potential environmental impact
of increased flow through the treatment plant or at the over-
flow points;
and 3) to demonstrate that hardship would be
imposed
if the Board denied the variance.
The Agency, there-
fore,
recommends
that a variance from Rule 962(a) be denied.
The Board hereby grants Petitioner a variance
from Rule
602(b)
of Chapter
3:
Water Pollution, but denies Petitioner’s
request
for relief from Rule 962(a).
Denial of a variance
from
Rule 602(b) would impose arbitrary and unreasonable hardship
upon Petitioner.
Requiring the City of Neoga to eliminate
sewer overflows without grant assistance would impose extreme
economic hardship upon the citizens of Neoga.
The variance
from Rule 602(b)
shall be granted for a period of
5 years,
provided that overflows are reduced to the greatest extent
possible
during the term of the variance.
The Petitioner,
however, has failed to demonstrate that hardship would
result
from the denial of a variance from Rule 962(a)
or assess the
environmental impact of an additional 100 P.E. on its sewage
treatment
system.
Absent these showings,
the Board will not
grant a variance from Rule 962(a).
Sewer connections designed
and intended to serve single buildings treating or discharging
less than 1500 gallons per day of domestic sewage to existing
sewers,
nonetheless,
are permissible even while a municipality
is on restricted status.
This Opinion constitutes the Board’s
finding of fact and
conclusions
of law in this matter.
ORDER
1)
Petitioner
is hereby denied
a variance from the require-
ments of Rule 962(a)
of Chapter
3:
Water Pollution.
2)
Petitioner
is hereby granted a variance from the require-
ments of Rule 602(b)
of Chapter 3:
Water Pollution for a
term of
5 years from the date of this Order,
subject to
the following conditions:
a)
that the sanitary sewer overflows are minimized to
the greatest extent practicable during the term of
the variance.
b)
that within 45 days of the date of this Order, Peti-
tioner shall execute a Certificate of Acceptance and
35—230
—3—
Agreement to he bound by the terms and conditions
of
this variance.
The Certification shall be forwarded
to the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, Divi-
sion of Water Pollution Control,
2200 Churchill Road,
Springfield,
Illinois
62706.
This 45 day period
shall be held in abeyance during any period this
matter is appealed.
The form of said Certification
shall
read as follows:
CERTIFICATION
I
(We),
_______
________,
having read and fully
understanding the Order in PCB 79-115 hereby accept that Order
and agree to be bound by all
of its terms and conditions.
T
LS
SO
ORDERED.
SIGNED
TITLE
DATE
I,
Christan L. Mof
Control Board,
adopted
n
the
vote
of
,‘O
were
1979 by a
Christan L.
Moffeçt)/çlerk
Illinois Pollutio~/~dntrolBoard
day of
Clerk of the Illinois Pollution
35—23 1