ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL

BOARD

August 5, 1971

THOMAS KAEDING et al.

v.

)

#

71—133

ENVIRONMENTAL

PROTECTION

AGENCY

~

Opinion and Order of the Board

(by Mr. Currie):

This opinion explains our order denying a req~iestfor a variance

in this case July 19.

Mr. and Mrs. Kaeding seek a variance to permit

them to connect a new house to sewers in the Village of Lake Bluff

serving an overloaded treatment plant.

~$e forbade such connections in

League of Women Voters v. North Shore Sanitary District,

*70-7,

March 31,

1971.

Recognizing the serious impact of our decision and the desirability

of obtaining additional facts, we have scheduled inquiry hearings,

to be held in September, in which the question of a sewer ban such as

that imposed in the North Shore case will be fully explored.

In the

meantime we shall continue to decide individual variance cases on the

bases of guidelines set down in our earlier decisions on the subject.

The governing principle is that a variance will be allowed only in a

case of arbitrary or unreasonable hardship, and we have held that the

hardship experienced by one who had not commended construction or

otherwise substantially changed his position before our order was

entered is not sufficient.

Wachta et al. v. EPA, *71-77

(Aug.

5, 1971);

Monyek

V.

EPA,

#71—80

(July 17,

1971); Wagnon

V.

EPA,

#

71-85

(July26,

1971).

To hold other*ise would be

to repeal the sewer ban in its entirety,

and

a variance proceeding is not the proper vehicle for doing that.

In the present case there

is no allegation of any expenditures

or other change of position before the date of the sewer ban;

the

petitioners state that they purchased the lOt on which they hope to

b~iildafter the ban was imposed.

Under our prior decisions the petition

must be denied.

Even if all the facts alleged were proved we would.

not grant the petition,

and

therefore no purpose would be served by

holding a hearing.

The hearing originally scheduled in this case is

therefore cancelled,

and the petition for variance is denied.

The inquiry hearing, of course,

may lead to a new regulation

that will supersede this order to the extent of any inconsistency.

I, Regina E. Ryan, Clerk of the Pollution Control Board certify

that the Board adopted t~ie above Opinion this

~dey

~

1971.

2— 233