ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
January
9, 1974
)
AURORA SANITARY DISTRICT
)
)
)
v.
)
PCB 72-276
)
)
ENVIRONMENTAL
PROTECTION AGENCY
)
)
OPINION AND ORDER OP THE BOARD (by Mr. Dumelle):
Petition was filed July 3, 1972 asking for variance from
Rule 407(b) of Chapter 3, Water Pollution Regulations, which
sets a phosphorus effluent standard and from Rule l002(b)(i)
which requires an implementation plan be filed prior to July 1,
1972.
The Aurora Sanitary District (“District”) stated in its
Petition that its effluent contained 4.7 mg/l of phosphorus
compared to Rule 407(b)’s limit of 1.0 mg/l and that it would
cost some $1,000 per day ($365,000 per year) to remove phosphorus
from its 20 MGD flow. The District further stated that no algae
growth occurred downstream from the sewage treatment plant outfall.
It also alleged that to build phosphorus removal facilities at
both its old trickling filter and its newer .activated sludge plant
would waste some $400,000 in construction funds. The newer 22 MGD
activated sludge plan is slated for expansion to 30 MGD• by 1976
and the 10 MGD trickling filter plant is to be abandoned.
On August 4, 1972 the Agency filed its recommendation. It
recommended a denial of the Rule 407(b) variance until more
information on the feasibility of interim phosphorus removal
facilities
is provided. It also recommended a four month variance
from Rule l002(b)(i) from July 1, 1972 to November 1, 1972.
A public hea;ing was held on September 12, 1972. An
indefinite waiver of the 90-day decision period was received from
the District. The Board, on February
6, 1973 entered
an interim
order remanding the case for an additional hearing and asked for
further information on algae counts; on the .NortheasternIllinois
18—157
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Planning
Commissions’s (NIPC) approval or disapproval of the sewage
treatment plant expansion; and cost data using waste pickle
liquor
from
steel
mills to remove phosphorus.
Some 16 months later a second hearing was held on June 21, 1974
in Oswego Township in Kane County. The cost of phosphorus removal
was placed at 7 cents per 100 gallons compared to 5.5 cents in 1972
(R. 6) by the consulting engineering. Using this figure for the
estimated 25 MGD flow (R. 7) results in a daily cost of $1,750
or $638,750 per year (Ex. 3). A letter of March 23, 1973 was
introduced from NIPC and it was stated that no change had since
occurred in the status of the District’s sewage treatment plant
expansion project.
On
cross-examination, the witness, Mr. Carl C. Hauser,
testified that pickle liquor was recognized as a means of treatment
and that he had not contacted any steel mill as to its availability
(R. 16). His letter (Ex. 4) gives a potential savings if pickle
liquor is
used of from
1 to 1.5 cents per 1000 gallons less than
other methods.
The next witness, Mr. Ralph L. Evans, head of the water
quality section of the Illinois Water Survey, testified that the
algae observed in the Pox River was blue-green algae
- -.
a type
found frequently in lakes (R. 21). He further testified that
phosphorus removal from Fox River sewage treatment plants
would have no significant benefit on the River until the phosphorus
coming from the Chain-of-Lakes (upstream from Aurora), and in
turn fromWisconsin, is reduced (R. 27).
Mr. Evans also testified that Rule 407(b) as relates to
phosphorus might “be premature” and that áonforming to
it
would
not Sake a detectable difference in algae bloom level
concentrations of phosphorus.
Dr. Clair Sawyer, a retired consulting chemist, who has
appeared before the Board in other proceedings, testified that:
“the waters leaving the Chain of Lakes are
so rich with phosphorus ..that there is no
--
there could never be any
benefit from
the reduction of
--
of phosphorus in the
treatment plant effluents tributary to
that stream;”... (R. 60)
In further testimony, Dr. Sawyer gave an algae
bloom
“level” of 0.02 mg/l soluble
phosphorus for rivers. He pointed
out that even with all Fox River sewage plants at 1.0 mg/i
phosphorus the resulting water quality would be about 0.5 mg/i
phosphorus because of dilutionfrom non-sewage plant sources
and even this would be too high a level (R. 64).
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His recommendation was to keep the algae in. .the Chain Qf
Lakes (R. 69). He pointed out that in a lake the. algae form
heterocysts which survive in the bottom. These heterocysts don’t
survive in rivers because the bottoms get scoured in times of
flood or the organism gets covered with silt (R.. 73-4).
Photographs were introduced showing subdivisions believed
to be on septic tanks and implicitly, a source of phosphorus
to the Fox River. A cattle feedlot at the edge of the stream
was shown that probably also added nutrients (Ex. 9).
The Board, then, has before it Rule 407(b) that would require
the annual expenditure of perhaps $501,875 (at 5.5 cents per 1000
gallons of pickle liquor is used) and expert testimony that such
expenditures would have little or no effect upon the admitted
algae problem on the Fox River. The solution seems to be (a)
either restraining algae from leaving the Chain of Lakes or (b)
using chemical controls to .poison the algae in those lakes
(Ex. 7, p. 8).
We feel that until these headwater solutions are applied
it would be an arbitrary and unreasonable hardship to require
phosphorus removal. We would ask and encourage the Institute
for Environmental Quality to complete its study of the Fox
River
-
Chain of Lakes as soon as possible.
The Board has pending before it R74-17 which would change
the deadline date presently existing to meet effluent standazds
(December 31, 1974) to July 1, 1977. This proceeding would
affect the District if adopted.
Variance is granted from January 1, 1975 until December-:31,
1975 from Rule 407(b) and from July 1, 1972 until September 1,
1975 from Rule 1002 (b)(i) pursuant to Section 35 of-the
Environmental Protection Act.
This Opinion constitutes the Board’s findings of fact
and conclusions of law.
ORDER
1. Variance is granted from January 1, 1975 until December 31, 1975
from Rule 407(b) and~ from July 1,1972 untilSeptember 1, 1975
from Rule l002(b)(i) both of Chapter 3, Water Pollution-Regulations
as regards phosphorus removal.
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2.
A compliance program shall be filed by September 1,
1975.
IT IS SO ORDEREJ),
I, Christan L. Moffett, Clerk of the Illinois Pollution
Control Board, hereby certify the above Opinion and Order were
adopted on the
g+*~
day of January, 1975 by a vote of ‘.?‘~—Q
o~A7
~Qe~:
CThristan L. Mo ett,,~erk
Illinois
Pollution ~6i~trol
Board
15 —
160