ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
    March 25,
    1976
    SANITARY DISTRICT OF ELGIN,
    )
    Petitioner,
    v.
    )
    PCB 75—502
    ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY,
    )
    Respondent.
    OPINION AND ORDER OF THE BOARD
    (by Mr. Dumelle):
    On December 29,
    1975 the Sanitary District of Elgin,
    Illinois
    (District)
    filed before this Board
    a petition for variance
    from Rule 407(b)
    of the Board’s Water Pollution Control Regulations.
    Variance is requested to allow the District to continue to discharge
    effluent from its Main Sewage Treatment Plant containing concen-
    trations of phosphorus
    as P in excess of the 1.0 mg/i standard.
    The effluent is discharged into the Fox River.
    On February
    4,
    1976 the Environmental Protection Agency
    (Agency)
    filed
    a
    Recommendation that this Board grant the District a variance until
    December
    1,
    1976,
    subject to the condition that phosphorus effluent
    concentration not be allowed to exceed the levels achieved in
    1975.
    On February 19,
    1976, Citizens For A Better Environment filed
    a
    letter with this Board urging the adoption of the Agency’s recommenda-
    tion in this matter.
    The District is presently in the process of upgrading and
    expanding
    its present facility which consists of a 61 MGD Imhoff
    Tank,
    and fixed nozzle Biological Filter plant, and a 2.5 MGD
    activated sludge plant.
    Upon completion,
    scheduled for May of
    1977, the plant will be a
    17.0 MGD activated sludge plant with
    phosphorus removal facilities and microstrainers
    for advanced
    treatment.
    The phosphorus removal equipment
    is scheduled to
    be in operation during November of 1976.
    There
    is no question
    raised as to the ability of the completed plant to comply with
    the limitations of Rule 407(b)
    The only issue posed in this case
    is whether compliance
    with Rule 407(b) would place
    an arbitrary and unreasonable
    hardship upon the district.
    In essence, the question is whether
    there is any practical interim phosphorus removal method.
    The
    20_407
    —2—
    District states that a temporary phosphorus removal facility would
    cost $40,000 and would enable the Main Plant to meet the phosphorus
    standard during only
    three months of
    1976.
    After that time,
    the
    temporary equipment would have to be taken out of service, dismantled
    and scrapped.
    Therefore, the construction of such a facility should be
    required only if this Board determines that substantial environmental
    damage would result from the District’s failure to comply with
    Rule 407(b).
    In its Petition, the District states that since there
    is question as to the level of phosphorus removal required
    to
    eliminate algae growth,
    the granting of a variance would not cause
    any injury to the public.
    On page
    6 of
    its Recommendation,
    the
    Agency calculates that the District’s discharge represents
    a 7.6
    percent increase of phosphorus to the Fox River.
    This
    is indeed
    a significant contribution to the phosphorus load of the Fox River.
    However, the Board has recognized the need for further research
    on the causes of algae in the Fox River
    (Aurora Sanitary District
    v.
    EPA, PCB 72—276, January
    9, 1975).
    Given the high cost and short period of usefulness
    of an interim facility and the relative nearness of the date of
    completion for the permanent removal facility the Board finds that
    a variance
    is appropriate
    in this matter.
    As the District has
    given no reasons why it requires this variance to extend some
    five months beyond the scheduled date of operation for the
    phosphorus removal facility,
    the Board will grant the District
    a variance until December
    1,
    1976.
    Further, there is no reason
    shown why the District could not, during the period of this
    variance, maintain its phosphorus effluent concentration at
    or below the 4.9 mg/i average attained in 1975.
    This Opinion constitutes the Board’s findings of fact and
    conclusions of
    law.
    ORDER
    The Sanitary District of Elgin is hereby granted a variance
    from Rule 407(b)
    of the Board’s Water Pollution Control Regulations
    for its Main Plant until December
    1, 1976,
    subject to the condition
    that the District shall maintain its phosphorus effluent concentra-
    tion at or below 1975 levels.
    IT IS SO ORDERED.
    I, Christan L.
    Moffett, Clerk of the Illinois Pollution Control
    Board, hereby certify the above Opinion and Order were adopted on the
    ~~day
    of March,
    1976 by a vote of
    _____________________
    Chris~anL. Moffet
    erk
    Illinois Pollution
    trol Board
    20—408

    Back to top