ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
August
20,
1981
VILLAGE
OF HENDERSON,
Petitioner,
v.
)
PCB 81—84
ILLINOIS ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY,
Respondent.
OPINION AND ORDER OF THE BOARD
(by J.
Anderson):
This matter comes before the Board on the variance petition
of the Village of Henderson
(Village) filed May
11,
1981 and
amended June
11,
1981.
By its Recommendation of June 4, 1981,
the Illinois
Environmental Protection Agency
(Agency) suggests
that the Villag&s request for variance from the 2.0 mg/i
maximum fluoride standard of Rule 304(B)(4)
of Chapter
6:
Public
Water Supplies be granted, subject to conditions.
Hearing was
waived and none has been held.
The Village of Henderson, population 300,
is located in
western Knox County and supplies its 130 water users from a
single 705 foot deep well.
The fluoride content of this water,
both raw and finished,
is 2.2
to 2.3 mg/i.
The Village~sconsulting engineers, Kenneth E.
Schrader &
~ssoc.,
Ltd., have advised the
Village that no complying, alternate
source of surface water
is available.
The Village states that tt
has investigated fluoride removal by means of activated alumina
and bone char adsorption,
reverse osmosis,
and electrodialysis.
Installation of a fluoride removal system of the adsorption type
was estimated to involve a total capital expenditure of $141,000,
and annual operation and maintenance expenditures of $26,000.
The Village asserts that immediate compliance would impose
an arbitrary or unreasonable hardship on its water users.
Water
users, who currently pay an estimated
$7 per month, would be
forced to pay an additional
$26 to cover the additional cost.
The
Village believes that if it is forced to impose these costs,
that
“further development in the Village will be hampered, and property
values will decrease”.
As its final point,
the Village argues
that continued use of its water will have only “aesthetic or
beneficial” health effects.
The Agency concurs with the facts and assertions presented
by the Village, and “considers this to be a small water supply
deserving of the same consideration as the City of Minonk”,
PCB
43—185
2
80—136, October
2,
1980.
However, it is recommended that varianc.~
be granted only until January
1,
1984,
the deadline date for
exemptions under S1416 of the Safe Drinking Water Act
(SDWA).
The Board finds that the Village has proven that requiring
immediate compliance of its very small system will impose an
arbitrary or unreasonable hardship, and agrees with the Agency
that its petition should be granted as was that of the City of
Minonk.
Accordingly,
a full five year variance is granted
pursuant to S1415 of the SDWA which has no deadline date.
This
variance is subject to the conditions outlined in the attached
Order.
This Opinion constitutes the Board’s findings of fact and
conclusions of
law in this matter.
ORDER
1.
Petitioner, the Village of Henderson,
is granted a
variance from the 2.0 mg/i maximum fluoride concentration limit
of Rule 304(B) of Chapter
6:
Public Water Supply
for five years
from the date of this Order, subject to the following conditions:
a.
Beginning on or about December
1,
1981, and
at six month intervals thereafter, the Petitioner
shall
communicate with the Agency in order to ascertain whether
fluoride removal techniques specifically applicable to
small systems have been developed and identified.
b.
As expeditiously after identification of a
feasible compliance method as is practicable, but no
later than January
1,
1984,
Petitioner shall submit
to
the Agency a program (with increments
of progress) for
bringing its system into compliance with fluoride
standards.
c.
Petitioner shall take all reasonable measures
with its existing equipment to minimize the level of
fluoride in its water supply and shall not allow the
fluoride concentration to exceed an average of 4.0 mg/i.
d.
Pursuant to Rule 313(D)(1)
of Chapter
6, on or
before October
1,
1981 and every three months thereafter,
Petitioner will send to each user of its public water
supply a written notice to the effect that Petitioner
has been granted a variance from the 2.0 mg/i maximum
fluoride standard by the Pollution Control Board.
The
notice shall state the average content of fluoride in
samples taken since the last notice period during which
samples were taken.
2.
Within forty—five days of the date of this Order,
Petitioner shall execute and forward to the Illinois Environmental
Protection Agency,
PWS Enforcement Programs,
2200 Churchill Road,
Springfield,
Illinois
62706,
a Certificate of Acceptance and
Agreement to be bound to all terms and conditions of this variance.
43—186
3
This
forty—five day period shall be held in abeyance for any period
this matter
is being appealed.
The form of the certificate shall
be as follows:
CERTIFICATE
I,
(We),
,
having read
the Order of the Illinois Pollution Control Board in PCB 81—84,
dated __________________________, understand and accept the said
Order, realizing that such acceptance renders all terms and
conditions thereto binding and enforceable.
Petitioner
By:
Authorized Agent
Title
Date
IT
IS SO ORDERED.
Mr. Goodman abstained.
I, Christan L. Moffett, Clerk of the Illinois Pollution
Control Board, hereby certify that the above Opinion and Order
was adopted pn the
~o*
day of
_________________,
1981 by
a vote of
~-O
~
~
Christan L.
T4offe~4(S/ctlerk
—-
Illinois Pollutiohtthitrol Board
43—187