ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
April 24,
1986
ILLINOIS ENVIRONMENTAL
)
PROTECTION AGENCY,
)
)
Complainant,
)
v.
)
PCB 85-201
)
VILLAGE OF MORTON,
a
)
municipal corporation,
)
)
Respondent.
MR. JAMES ARCHIER, ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL, APPEARED ON BEHALF
OF THE COMPLAINANT.
MR. THOMAS
E.
DAVIES,
VILLAGE ATTORNEY,
APPEARED ON BEHALF OF THE
RESPONDENT.
OPINION AND ORDER OF THE BOARD
(by W.J.
Nega):
This matter comes before the Board on
a Six-Count Complaint
filed
on December
16,
1985 by the Illinois Environmental
Protection Agency
(Agency).
Count
I of the Complaint alleged
that:
(1)
on,
or about,
July
6,
1983,
the Village of Morton
(Village) caused or allowed
a
discharge of contaminants
from the Morton Waste Water Treatment
Plant
#3
(WWTP#3) resulting in, or contributing to,
the presence
of unnatural sludge deposits, unnatural color,
odor and turbidity
in Ackerman Creek and Farm Creek, and
(2) on, or about,
August
22,
1984,
the Respondent caused or allowed
a discharge of
contaminants from WWTP#3 resulting
in,
or contributing
to,
the
presence of unnatural sludge deposits, unnatural color,
odor and
turbidity
in Ackerman Creek in violation of
35 Ill.
Adm. Code
302.203,
35
Ill.
Adm.
Code 304.105 and Section
12(a)
of the
Illinois Environmental Protection Act
(Act).
Count
II alleged
that,
on,
or about,
August
22,
1984,
the
Village caused or allowed
a discharge of contaminants from WWTP#3
resulting in,
or contributing to,
the presence of
a dissolved
oxygen concentration of less than 5.0 milligrams
per liter
(mg/i)
in Ackerman Creek which caused the death of fish having
a value
of $60.53 in violation of
35 Ill.
Adm.
Code 302.206,
35 Ill.
Adm.
Code
304.105 and Section
12(a)
of the Act.
Count
III alleged
that,
on,
or about, July
6,
1983 and on,
or about, August 22,
1984,
the Village discharged contaminants
69.240
-2-
from WWTP#3 resulting
in,
or contributing to, the presence
of an
ammonia nitrogen concentration in excess of 15 mg/i
in violation
of 35
Ill.
Adm.
Code 302.212(a),
35 Ill.
Adm. Code 304.105 and
Section
12(a)
of the
Act.
Count
IV alleged that:
(1)
on, or about, July
6, 1983,
the
Village discharged effluent
from WWTP#3 containing five-day
biochemical oxygen demand
(BOD5)
in excess of five times the
numerical standards applicable to the discharge and
(2)
on, or
about, August
22,
1984,
the Respondent discharged effluent from
WWTP#3 containing total suspended solids
(TSS)
in excess of five
times the numerical standard applicable
to this discharge
in
violation of 35 Ill.
Adm.
Code
304.120(c)
and Section 12(a)
of
the Act.
Count V alleged that,
on or about,
July
6,
1983 and on,
or
about, August
22,
1984,
the Village discharged effluent from
WWTP#3 containing obvious color and odor in violation of
35 Ill.
Adm. Code
304.106 and Section
12(a)
of the Act.
Count
VI alleged that,
from October
1,
1983 until
December
16, 1985,
the Village has failed to submit final plans
and specifications
for achieving appropriate final effluent
limitations
to the
State
of Illinois,
thereby violating Special
Condition
5 of its NPDES Permit
No. 1L0030007
in violation of 35
Ill.
Adm. Code 309.102 and Section 12(f)
of the Act.
A hearing was held on March 31,
1986
at which no members
of
the public were present.
(R.
2).
The parties filed
a
Stipulation and Proposal for Settlement on April
2,
1986.
The Respondent,
the Village of Morton,
is
a municipal
corporation located
in Tazewell County,
Illinois which owns and
operates
a wastewater treatment facility commonly known as the
Horton Waste Water Treatment Plant
#3 located within the
corporate boundaries
of the Village.
This wastewater treatment
facility,
which
is
a package activated sludge treatment system
followed by an aerated polishing pond, discharges
its effluent to
Ackerman Creek,
which
is
a tributary to Farm Creek and the
Illinois River.
(Stip.
1-2).
The Respondent’s effluent discharges
from its WWTPI3 are
authorized pursuant
to
its NPDES Permit
No. 1L0030007 which was
issued on July 28,
1982 and
is scheduled to expire on May 31,
1987.
This NPDES Permit sets
interim and final discharge limits
for B0D~and total suspended solids at
10 mg/i and
12 mg/i
respectively
(as
a monthly average).
(Stip.
2).
The parties have stipulated that:
(1)
the contents of the
Respondent’s polishing pond consist of
a mixture of secondary
effluent and bypassed raw sewage;
(2) on,
or about, July
6,
1983
and on, or about,
August
22,
1984,
the Respondent discharged
effluent from WWTP#3 into Ackerman Creek and Farm Creek which
69-241
—3-
resulted
in,
or contributed
to,
the presence of unnatural sludge
bottom deposits, unnatural color,
odor and turbidity;
(3) on,
or
about,
July
7,
1983,
Agency inspector Newman observed and sampled
the WWTP#3 discharge and the receiving waters and observed that
the WWTP#3 discharge was turbid, had
a slight sewage odor,
and
contained visible black sludge solids and found
that the effluent
(which was grab sampled) has
a TSS concentration of
71 mg/i;
(4) on August 22,
1984, Agency inspector Newman observed that
(a)
a black sludge had been discharged from the polishing pond
while
it was being drained,
(b)
the polishing pond was completely
covered with duck weed,
(c)
in Ackerman Creek,
there was a heavy
dark green algae growth on the sand apd gravel bottom and a great
deal of duck weed along the edges
of the stream,
and
(d) the
discharge effluent from WWTP#3 was slightly turbid and had a
slight septic
sewage odor and found
that the effluent
(which was
grab sampled) had a BOD5 concentration of
51 mg/i.
(Stip.
2-3).
Additionally,
it
is
stipulated that:
(1) on,
or about,
August
22,
1984,
the Respondent discharge effluent from its
WWTP#3 which resulted in,
or contributed
to,
an ammonia nitrogen
concentration
in Ackerman Creek of greater
than
15 mg/i;
(2) on,
or about,
July
7,
1983,
the Respondent discharged effluent from
its WWTP#3 which had a total suspended solids’
concentration of
approximately
70 mg/i;
(3) on,
or about,
July
7,
1983 and
August
22,
1984,
the Respondent discharged effluent from its
WWTP#3 which contained obvious color and odor;
(4) the Respondent
has not complied with Special Condition
5 of its NPDES Permit
which required the Village
to submit the requisite
final plans
and specifications
for the upgrading of its WWTP#3
to
the Agency
by September
30,
1983.
(Stip.
3-4).
In mitigation,
the parties have stipulated
that:
(1)
the
Respondent made
a prompt commitment
to remove the sludge
from
Ackerman Creek following both the 1983 and 1984
sludge discharges
and expended significant
resources on sludge removal
to correct
the environmental problem;
(2)
the discharges
previously
mentioned all occurred during normal maintenance operations and
“were not the result of intentional or reckless conduct” and
(3)
the Respondent
“did not submit final plans and specifications for
upgrading to the State because of uncertainty regarding the
service area and flows
to be received
at WWTP#3”.
(Stip.
4).
The proposed settlement agreement provides that the
Respondent admitted the violations alleged
in the Complaint and
agreed
to:
(1) remove sludge from the polishing lagoon and
re-pipe
the aerators to eliminate the necessity for future lagoon
draw-downs
in accordance with
a specified compliance schedule;
(2) upgrade
its WWTP#3 to meet the final effluent limitations
delineated
in its NPDES Permit
in accordance with an agreed-upon
compliance schedule;
(3)
pay a stipulated
penalty of $1,439.00
into the Environmental Protection Trust Fund within
30 days of
the date
of the Board’s
Order, and
(4) reimburse the State
of
69.242
—4—
Illinois Wildlife and Fish
Fund
in the amount of $60.53
(representing the value of the fish destroyed
on,
or about,
August
22,
1984) within
30 days of the date of the Board’s
Order.
(Stip.
5-8).
In evaluating this enforcement action and proposed
settlement agreement,
the Board has taken into consideration all
the facts and circumstances
in light of the specific criteria
delineated
in Section
33(c) of the Act and
finds
the settlement
agreement acceptable under
35
Ill.
Adm.
Code 103.180.
The Board finds
that the Respondent,
the Village of Morton,
has violated
35 Ill.
Adm.
Code 302.203, 302.206, 302.212(a),
304.105, 304.106, 3O4.120(c),
and 309.102(a) and Sections 12(a)
and 12(f)
of the Act.
The Respondent will
be ordered to follow
the agreed-upon compliance plan and schedule,
to pay a stipulated
penalty of Si,439.O0 into the Environmental Protection Trust
Fund, and
to reimburse
the Illinois Wildlife and Fish Fund
in the
amount of $60.53 for fish killed.
This Opinion constitutes the Board’s findings of fact and
conclusions of law
in this matter.
ORDER
It
is the Order of the Illinois Pollution Control Board
that:
1.
As admitted
in the Stipulation,
the
Respondent,
the Village of Morton,
has
violated
35
Ill. Adm.
Code 302.203, 302.206,
302.212(a),
304.105, 304.106, 304.120(c)
and
309.102(a) and Sections
12(a) and 12(f) of the
Illinois Environmental Protection Act.
2.
As per the stipulated agreement between the
parties,
the Village
of Morton shall remove
sludge from its polishing lagoon and re-pipe
the aerators
to eliminate the necessity for
future lagoon draw-downs
in accordance with
the following schedule~
Item
Completion
Date
Submit plans setting
Completed
forth procedures for the
removal of sludge, and
describing improvements
to the aeration system,
to the Agency’s
Peoria
Regional Office for comment.
69-243
-5—
Agency submission of its
Completed
comments to the Village.
Commence sludge removal
Completed
and improvements to
aeration system.
Complete sludge removal
Completed
and improvements to
aeration system.
3.
As per the stipulated agreement between the
parties,
the Village of Morton shall upgrade
its Waste Water Treatment Plant
#3 to meet the
final effluent limitations set forth in
its
NPDES Permit
No. 1L0030007
in
accordance with
the following schedule:
Item
Completion
Date
Submit final MCP to
IEPA/
Completed
DWPC,
Permit Section.
Submit final plans
and
10/01/86, unless
specifications
to IEPA/
service area cannot
DWPC,
Permit Section.
be determined,
but
in any event no
later than 01/31/87
Complete upgrading
07/01/88
4.
Within
30 days of the date of this Order,
the
Respondent
shall,
by certified check or money
order payable
to the State of Illinois and
designated
for deposit
into the Environmental
Protection Trust
Fund, pay the stipulated
penalty of $1,439.00 which
is
to
be sent
to:
Fiscal Services Division
Illinois Environmental Protection Agency
2200 Churchill Road
Springfield,
Illinois
62706
5.
Within 30 days of the date of this Order,
the
Respondent shall, by certified check or money
order payable
to the
State of Illinois and
designated
for deposit
into the State of
Illinois Wildlife and Fish Fund,
pay the
stipulated
sum of S60.53
(as reimbursement
representing the value of the fish destroyed
on,
or about, August
22,
1984) which is
to be
sent
to:
69-244
—6—
Mr. William Hutton, Esq.
Agency Advisor
IEPA Enforcement Programs
Illinois Environmental Protection Agency
2200 Churchill Road
Springfield,
Illinois
62706
6.
The Respondent
shall comply with all the terms
and conditions
of the Stipulation and Proposal
for Settlement
filed on April
2,
1986, which
is incorporated by reference as
if fully set
forth herein.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
Board
Member
J. Theodore Meyer concurred.
I,
Dorothy
M.
Gunn,
Clerk of the Illinois Pollution Control
Board, hereby certify that
the abov~Opinion and Order was
adopted
on the
~
day of
_________________,
1986 by
a vote
of
/0
.
~4
~7i.
Dorothy
M.
Gur(n, Clerk~
Illinois Pollution Control
Board
69-245