ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD

August 12,

1976

CITY OF JOLIET,

)

Petitioner,

v.

)

PCB 76—174

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY,

Respondent.

OPINION AND ORDER OF THE BOARD

(by Mr. Young):

This matter comes before the Board on the variance petition

filed June

17, 1976 by the City of Joliet seeking relief from

Rule 602(d) (3)

of Chapter

3:

Water Pollution

Rules

and Regu-

lations.

An Agency Recommendation was filed with the Board on

July

22,

1976.

Rule 602(d) (3)

establishes a compliance date

of December

31,

1975 for Rule 602(c), which requires in part that all combined

sewer overflows shall be given sufficient treatment to prevent

pollution or

a violation of applicable water quality standards.

The Agency and the Board have recognized the fact that many

municipalities and sanitary districts throughout the State have

not met and cannot presently meet the 602(d) (3)

compliance date.

On December

22,

1975, the Agency filed an Amended Petition for

Regulatory Change

(P.75—15) with the Board specifically requesting

the compliance date be extended, provided the discharger has

applied for a grant and is diligently pursuing the grant program.

Although the Board has not taken final action on this proposal,

at its May 20,

1976 rneetinq,

the Board authorized

for publication

a p

ropo~ed

I

I. na J dra

L

L

oI~

Uhe

Pute

CJianye

wlui ch

would

adopt

the

substance

of

the Agency’s proposal.

The economic impact hearings

have

yet

to

be

conducted

in this matter.

The City of Joliet owns and oper1ates the East Side Wastewater

Treatment Plant and all sewers tribut~arythereto.

Since June of

1975, Joliet has a newly constructed west Side Treatment Plant

also

in operation.

Since the collection system consists of com-

bined and sanitary sewers which are subject to limit stormwater

inflow, the City alleges occasional overflows

of the combined

sewers occurs at various points within the system.

The City

23 —341

---

—2—

alleges

it presently has a NPDES Permit for the East Side Treat-

ment Plant

(No.

001)

and all bypasses and overflows

(Nos.

002-

038)

in the system.

The operation of West Side Plant has elimi-

nated overflows at points Nos. 003 and 005 and a variance is not

needed

for bypass No.

002

as that point is governed by Rule

409.

The City submits that it is proceeding with planning for

compliance with Rule 602(d) (3) as rapidly

as possible within the

limits of federal requlations

for construction grant assistance.

The estimated cost of Facilities Planning alone is

$340,000.

Be-

cause of the high cost of the planning,

design and construction

the City alleges present compliance, without federal grant assis-

tance, would constitute an arbitrary and unreasonable hardship

for its citizens.

The Agency, subject

to some reservations, recommends

that

the variance be granted.

It is their belief that Joliet would

suffer an arbitrary and unreasonable hardship

if required to

immediately comply without grant assistance and that Joliet has

applied for such a grant and is diligently pursuing the grant

program.

As part of the variance grant, the Agency believes

that it would be

appropriate

for the Board to enter an abatement

order.

As

a result of the Agency investigation of this matter, five

additional overflow points were discovered on the Bluff Street

interceptor and the Agency alleges that blockages existing in this

interceptor cause manholes on the sewer

to surcharge and discharge

wastewater directly to the Des Plaines River.

The Agency further

alleges that this interceptor has deteriorated

to the point where

it

overflows even during periods of dry weather.

The Agency be-

lieves that these overflow points are therefore readily distin-

guishable from the City’s other overflow points which discharge

only during periods

of wet weather and that the variance should

not be granted as to these overflow points.

In consideration of the foregoing,

the Board believes

it

would

he an unreasonable hardship ~or the City

to immediately

comply

with the overflow treatment requirements, without grant

assistance, and believes the City of Joliet is entitled

to relief

for overflow points Nos.

004,

006—038.

Because

it was proper for the Agency to ask the Board

to con-

dition the grant of this variance upon the abatement of five over-

flows on the Bluff Street interceptor the Board will attempt to

fashion a remedy for these pollution sources.

A.

E.

Staley Mfg.

Co.

v.

EPA, PCB 71—174,

2 PCB 521

(1971).

These points overflow

even during periods

of dry weather and indicate a serious de-

ficiency

in the collection system which must be remedied as quickly

as possible.

23

—

342

---

—3—

For this reason,

the Board

will require that the City submit

an accelerated schedule for abatement of dry weather overflows

from these points.

While the Agency suggested that the Board

enter an abatement order, the Board does not believe that such an

order is appropriate, where as here, the municipality is diligently

pursuing its grant program.

This Opinion constitutes the Board’s findings of fact and con-

clusions of law in this matter.

ORDER

1.

The City of Joliet is granted variance from the compliance

date of Rule 602(d) (3)

as it applies to the treatment of combined

sewer overflows for discharge points No.

004,

006—038.

Such

variance is granted until July 1, 1977, or until the Board takes

final action in consideration of Regulatory Proposal P.75-15, which-

ever is earlier,

subject

to the following conditions:

a)

During the period of this variance the City shall

maintain optimum plant operating efficiency and

convey as much combined sewer flow to its plants

as

is practicable.

b)

This variance will immediately terminate if the

City is offered a State or Federal grant during

this period and the City does not respond with

appropriate action to bring the combined sewer

system into compliance.

c)

The City of Joliet shall submit within 90 days of

the date of this Order,

a proposed schedule to

the Board and the Agency containing an accelerated

program for the abatement of the dry weather over-

flows from the five overflow points on the Bluff

Street interceptor.

2.

Within 35 days of the date of this Order,

the City of

Joliet shall submit to the Manager, Variance Section, Division

of Water Pollution Control, Illinois Environmental Protection

Agency,

2200 Churchill Road, Springfield, Illinois, 62706, an

executed Certification of Acceptance and agreement to be bound to

all terms and conditions of the variance.

The form of said certi-

fication shall be as follows:

CERTIFICATION

I,

(We), ______________________________ having read

the Order of the Pollution Control Board in PCB 76—174,

understand and accept said Order, realizing that such

acceptance renders all terms and conditions thereto

binding and enforceable.

23

—343

---

—4—

~IGNED

TITLE

DATE

IT IS SO ORDERED.

I, Christan L. Moffett, Clerk of the Illinois Pollution

Control Board, hereb~,certify the above Opinion and Order were

adopted on the

~

day of~

,

1976 by a

of

___

____

Christan

L. Mo fet,~fr~lerk

Illinois Pollutiox~dntrolBoard