ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD

October 10, 1972

CITY OF HIGHWOOD

)

v.

)

#72—334

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

Opinion and Order of the Board (by Mr. Currie):

On August 9, 1972, the City of Highwood petitioned

for a variance from the provisions of SWB—7 and the Rules

and Regulations of the Board relating to water pollution

with respect to the waste water discharge from the City’s

water filtration plant. On August 15, the Board entered

an order granting the City twenty days within which to

submit a Statement of Facts which the City believed justi-

fied its failure to meet the deadline of SWB—7, requir-

ing that its facility must be in compliance by July 1,

1972. Time to file such Statement was subsequently extend-

ed, and on September 25, it was received by the Board.

The Statement was wholly insufficient as received.

It contained no firm program for compliance and no explana-

tion justifying the City1s inability to comply with long-

established deadline dates. As such, the Board is unable

to intelligently grant or deny the request since, as we

have often said, the essence of a variance in cases of this

nature is a program for achieving compliance. See York

Center Community Cooperative v. EPA, #72—7.

Therefore, we will dismiss the above—captioned variance

request without prejudice. The City may file a request

once again when it has developed a program for compliance.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

I, Christan Moffett, Clerk of the Pollution Control Board,

certify that the Board adopted the above Opinion and Order

this 10th day of October, 1972, by a vote of ~?~O