ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
June
3, 1976
CITY OF EFFINGHAM,
Petitioner,
v.
)
PCB 76—129
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY,
Respondent.
OPINION AND ORDER OF THE BOARD
(by Dr.
Satchell):
This matter comes before the Board as
a Petition for
Variance
from Rule 203(h)
of the Chapter
3: Water Pollution
Regulations filed on May 3,
1976 by the City of Effingham.
Petitioner originally filed the request PCB 75-428
in
November,
1975 but it was dismissed on a motion by the
Environmental Protection Agency
(Agency) because of in-
adequate information.
Additional information was sent
to the Agency on January 30,
1976.
A new petition was
not filed with the Board until May 3,
1976.
The Agency
recommendation on this matter was filed April
28,
1976.
Petitioner requests
a variance from Rule 203(h)
to
allow the application of an aquatic herbicide to Lake Sara,
Effingham County,
Illinois for the purpose of weed control.
Effingham seeks to apply the herbicide 2,4-D to the lake
once
in early spring of 1976 and once in early spring of 1977.
The application is to be 3,000 pounds of 2,4—D twenty percent
granules to twenty—three acres of the lake surface.
Petitioner
estimates that the volume of the water to be treated will be
35.5 x io6 gallons out of an estimated total volume of the
lake of 2,900
x
io6
gallons.
The estimate
is that each
application will result in a concentration of two parts per
million
(ppm)
in the immediate area treated and
.025 ppm
when distributed throughout the whole
lake.
Lake Sara is
a supplemental water supply source for the
City of Effingham.
The water from the lake
is discharged by
natural drainage to pump stations on the Little Wabash River
when the River, which
is the primary source of supply for
the City, proves inadequate.
The lake also serves as
a
recreational facility for the area.
The aquatic weed problem
has become such that recreational use of the lake has
at
least in one instance become dangerous as well as unpleasant.
Various mechanical means
of removing the weeds have proven
ineffective.
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Petitioner will use the Isooctyl Ester formulation
of
the
chemical which
is substantially less toxic to aquatic
biota than other forms of the chemical.
The Isooctyl form
of the chemical was not toxic to small bluegill at
a con-
centration of forty parts per million and various game fish
fry and fertilized eggs tolerated the chemical
in laboratory
conditions in concentrations up to
10 ppm.
Previous tests
of applications of 2,4-D to farm ponds indicated residuals
ranging from no detectable levels after 29 days following
a
5 ppm application to
.13 ppm detected 24 hours after a
2 ppm application.
To insure no detectable amounts of
2,4-D will reach the public water supply, no water will
be withdrawn from Lake Sara for 30 days following appli-
cation of the herbicide.
Based on projected levels of
toxicity in other animals the Petitioner stated that an inges-
tion of an
8 ounce glass of water treated at
2 ppm would
result in less than 1:10,000 of a lethal dose
to man.
The Agency has confirmed the data and plan with the
Illinois Natural History Survey and with U.S.
EPA
and finds
that there should be no resultant harm from the use of the
herbicide in this manner.
The Agency recommended the variance to treat the lake
with no more than 3,000 pounds of 2,4-D twenty percent
granules to control weeds be granted subject to the con-
ditions found in the Order.
The Board finds that denial of a variance in this case
would be an unreasonable hardship.
There is no suitable
alternative method to control the weeds.
Following the
Agency conditions should be sufficient safeguard to the
public water supply of the City of Effingham.
Thus the
Board does grant the variance subject to the aforementioned
conditions.
This Opinion constitutes the Board’s findinqs of fact
arid
conclusions
of.
law.
ORDER
The
Pollution
Control
Board
hereby
grants
a
variance
from Rule 203(h)
of the Chapter
3: Water Pollution Control
Regulations to allow the City of Effingham to apply 3,000
pounds of twenty percent granules of the Isooctyl form of
2,4—D to Lake Sara in the spring of 1976 and the same appli-
cation in the spring of 1977 for the purpose of weed control,
subject
to
these
conditions:
1.
That the choice of the particular commercial
brand of the herbicide be approved by the
Illinois
Natural
History
Survey.
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2.
That no water be withdrawn from Lake Sara for
use as
a raw water source for the City of
Effingham Public Water Supply for at least
30 days following the application of the
herbicide.
3.
That Petitioner furnish the Agency with a
sample
of water for analysis taken from the
point of discharge of Lake Sara 30 days after
the initial application; and that no water be
withdrawn from Lake Sara for use
in the Effing—
ham
Public Water Supply without prior notifica-
tion to and approval by the Agency.
4.
That within seven days after the date of this
Order Petitioner shall execute and forward to
the Environmental Protection Agency, Manager
Variance Section, Water Pollution Control,
2200
Churchill Road, Springfield, Illinois 62706 and
to the Pollution Control Board a Certificate of
Acceptance and Agreement.
The form of said
certificate shall be:
CERTIFICATION
I
(We), ________________________________ having read
and fully understanding the Order of the Pollution Control
Board in PCB 76-129 hereby accept said Order and agree to
be bound by all of the terms and conditions thereof.
Signed _________________________
Title
__________________________
Date
__________________________
IT IS SO ORDERED.
I, Christan L.
Moffett, Clerk of the Illinois Pollution
Control Board, hereby certify the above
pinion and Order
were adopted on the
~
day of
____________,
1976
by a vote of ~~-t;~
Illinois Pollution
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