ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD

December 2, 1976

ADELLA VALLERIUS,

Petitioner,

v.

)

PCB 76—243

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY,

Respondent.

OPINION AND ORDER OF THE BOARD (by Mr. Zeitlin):

This matter is before the Board on a Petition for Variance

filed on September 29, 1976 by Mrs. Adella Vallerius. The Petition

seeks a variance from Rule 962(a) of Chapter 3: Water Pollution, of

this Board’s Rules and Regulations. An Objection to Petition for

Variance and Motion for Hearing was filed by Respondent Environmental

Protection Agency (Agency) on October 12, 1976, On October 14, 1976,

the Board set the matter for hearing.

On November 

1976 the Agency filed a Motion for Leave to

Withdraw its Objection, and a Motion for Decision Without Hearing.

Those Motions were granted by the Board. The Agency’s Recommendation

was filed concurrently with its Motion for Decision Without Hearing.

The subject matter of this case is a motel, service station,

and restaurant located at the intersection of Illinois Route 138

and U. S. Interstate 55, in Mt. Olive, Macoupin County, called the

Sunset Inn. The motel has 15 units, the restaurant seats 85 persons,

and the service station has four gas pumps. Petitioner estimates

that the effluent from the entire facility amounts to 5,150 gallons

per day (qpd), for a hydraulic populritiofl 

equIvalent

(PE) of 51.5.

1~1~

1 oad I  nq:; 

I

~r HOl)5 .iird ~u:;pen(lid

~ 1

HI:; (  

)

V(~ I~) 

hecn deter—

mi ned, hut t~u:;t

:; hy 

Lliv

A~~micy

d

modd:-; ide di

eli

current.

ly

receiving the Sunset Inn’s

effluent indicate the following:

DOD5

150 mg/l

SS

110 mg/l

Ammonia—N      

54 mg/i

pH

7.5

Fecal Col.    

110,000/100 ml

24

—

359

—2—

That effluent is presently discharged into the roadside ditch

after simple solid separation in a septic tank system; the septic

tank does not have a lateral system, but instead discharges directly

to the ditch. As a result of a percolation test, it has been

determined that the soil in the area of Mrs. Vallerius’ facility

is unsuitable for a tile field.

After letters from both the Agency and the Illinois Department

of Public Health to the effect that this illegal discharge to the

roadside ditch must be eliminated, Mrs. Vallerius was faced with

three choices:

1.  construction of a separate sewage treatment

plant, designed to meet a 4 mg/i BOD5 limitation, and a

5 mg/l SS limitation;

2.  connection by force main to the north sewage

treatment plant of the City of Mt. Olive, Illinois;

3.  cessation of operations.

Mrs. Vallerius contends, and the Agency in its Recommendation

agrees, that the construction of a separate sewage treatment plant

for the Sunset I-nfl would be economically impractical and would

constitute a hardship upon Mrs. Vallerius. The connection to Mt.

Olive, even though economically reasonable, nonetheless presents

problems. Mt. Olive is presently on Agency-imposed restricted

status, as a result of inadequate treatment at both its north and

south sewage treatment plants. There can be no question of the

fact that Mt. Olive’s north sewage treatment plant is totally

inadequate. See, e.g., EPA v. City of Mt. Olive, PCB 74-431

(Aug. 14, 1975); see also, City of Mt. Olive v. EPA, PCB 74-183

(May 23, 1974) (Variance Petition dismissed without prejudice for

inadequacy). Because the many problems at Mt. Olive have already

been discussed, they will not be repeated here. We will only note

that there is a possibilit.y that certain problems are continuing;

the Agency’s Recommendation indicates that, at its request, the

Attorney General on October 4, 3.976 illed an injunction

action with

the Circuit Court of Macoupin County, Illinois

to enforce the Board’s

Order in PCB 74-431.

Mt. Olive is included, however, in the southeast Macoupin

County Facilities Planning Area. The City of Staunton, designated

as “Lead Agency” of the planning area, was awarded a Step I state

grant on April 14, 1976, for the development of service areas. The

Agency has determined (Rec., ¶6) that Mt. Olive will be one of the

six facility planning areas, and has been advised that it will have

to submit a plan of study. As grant funding proceeds, the existing

problems with the north sewage treatment plant of the City of Mt.

Olive should be abated.

—

360

—3—

Pending such grant funding, the Agency pleads that the denial

of this Variance, or a requirement that a separate sewage treatment

plant be constructed for the Sunset Inn, would be contrary to the

regionalization concept for that area. Based on that fact, and on

the hardship which the Agency agrees is present in this case, the

Agency recommends that the variance be granted. The Agency notes

that while the effluent downstream of Mt. Olive’s north sewage

treatment plant causes semi-polluted conditions, this alternative

poses less pollution potential than the present discharge of the

Sunset Inn’s raw sewage after simple septic tank separation.

Balancing this fact, along with the imminent grant funding of

Mt. Olive to upgrade sewage treatment facilities, against the hard-

ship involved in requiring construction of separate facilities for

the Sunset Inn, we find that a Variance grant is warranted.

We shall, however, condition our grant of this variance upon

an agreement by Mrs. Vallerius that the Sunset Inn complex not be

expanded until such time as the Mt. Olive north sewage treatment

plant is removed from the Agency’s restricted status,

This Opinion constitutes the findings of fact and conclusions

of law of the Board in this matter.

ORDER

IT IS THE ORDER OF THE POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD that Petitioner

Adella Vallerius be granted a variance from Rule 962(a) of Chapter 3:

Water Pollution, of this Board’s Rules and Regulations, to allow the

connection of the Sunset Inn complex, in Mt. Olive, Illinois, to the

Mt. Olive north sewage treatment plant by means of sewer extensions

and force mains, as described in the Petition herein, Such variance

grant is conditioned upon:

a.  Said Sunset Inn complex shall not be expanded

until such 

time as

the

Mt.

Olive north sewac;e 

Lreatment

1)1~1r1t I:;

rcmmiuved I

rum Lhe inv 

rounmeuLa 

Pro! 

(‘Ct

ion

/\;eney

‘:~

rest r

i

ted s

(1

tn:; I

I st 

~W rsuami t I  o 1~u

e

604 I     Chaj ter ~

Waler Pollution;

b.  Petitioner shall, within twenty-eight (28)

days of the date of this Order, execute, and forward to

the Environmental Protection Agency, Control Program

Coordinator, 2200 Churchill Road, Springfield, Illinois,

62706, a Certificate of Acceptance in the following form:

—

361

—4—

I, (We), 

_______________

____

having read

the Order of the Illinois Pollution Control Board in

case No. PCB 76—243, understand and accept said Order,

realizing that such acceptance renders all terms and

conditions thereto binding and enforceable.

SIGNED

TITLE

DATE

I, Christan L. Moffett, Clerk

of the Illinois Pollution

Control Board, her~y certif the above Opinion and Order weçe

adopted on the ~  day of       

1976, by a vote of $~.-O

Christan L. Moffet  lerk

Illinois Pollution Control Board

—

362