ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
August 18, 1977
VALLEY WATER COMPANY, INC.,
Petitioner,
v.
)
PCB 77—146
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY,
Respondent.
OPINION AND4 ORDER OF THE BOARD (by Mr. Young):
This matter comes before the Board on a variance petition
filed June 1, 1977, by the Valley Water Company, Inc. (Valley)
seeking relief from Rule 203(c) of the Water Pollution Regu-
lations. Valley submitted additional information on June 23,
1977, in response to an Order of the Board entered on June 9,
1977. The Recommendation of the Environmental Protection
Agency was filed on July 29, 1977. No objection to the grant
of the requested variance was filed with the Board. No hearing
was held; Petitioner waived hearing pursuant to Rule 401(b)
of the Procedural Rules.
Valley operates a treatment plant and collection system
servicing 15 customers in a small subdivision known as River
Grange Subdivision located on Route 31 approximately 5 miles
north of St. Charles in Kane County, Illinois.
The treatment plant effluent discharges to a man-made pond
which overflows to an unnamed intermittent stream tributary to
the Fox River. Since the plant discharges to the pond, it is
subject to the limitation of Rule 203(c) which provides that
phosphorus as P shall not exceed 0.05 mg/i in any reservoir
or lake, or in any stream at, the point where the stream enters
any reservoir or lake.. As the Agency comments in the Recommenda-
tion (R. p. 3), Valley is not subject to Rule 407(b) because the
waste load connected is far less than the 1500 P.E. requirement
which invokes the 1.0 mg/1effluent limitation on sources dis-
charging within the Fox River Basin.
Average flow, from data contained in Valley’s discharge
monitoring reports, is approximately .005 MGD; average monthly
concentration of phosphorus for the months of April and May,
1977, is reported at 1.4 mg/i and 1.2 mg/i respectivey.
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—2—
Valley holds a valid NPDES Per~tit (IL 0034732)
;
Valley
states that the plant is not consistently meeting the permit
requirements for BOD and suspended solids and Valley currently
is in the process of expanding and modernizing the plant to
include tertiary treatment. Plans a~4.specifications are in
preparation for submission to the Ag~xwy for permit. Canacity
cf the plant will be expanded to
s~tve
a projected 130 single
family dwelling units because the present nominal operation is
uneconomical. Valley has requested inclusion in the comprehensive
wastewater olan for the Valley View Service Area and have
committed to discharge into the Valley View system when such
regional service is made avai1able~
The Agency recommends that the variance be granted, con-
ditioned to require that Valley pipe the effluent from the
treatment w~rksthrough or around the pond rather than continue
direct discharge to the pond (Rec. p. 1, p. 5). Valley states
(Pet. p. 2) that bypassing the pond is feasible, contingent
on the necessary easements. In view of the limited discharge
from the present plant, the Board will not require bypassing
of the nond as a condition of this variance. The Agency may
properly require the pond to be bypassed at the time nermits
are issued for the expansion of the plant if the bypass is
necessary to meet the standards and limitations of the Water
Pollution Regulations.
Valley a~ieges that it is neither economically practical
or feasible to reduce the concentration of phosphorus as P
to the 0.05 mg/i limitation imposed by operation of Rule
203~c~.
The Board is familiar with the situation which confronts
Valley and has regularly granted similar relief in many prior
cases. Village of Argenta and Village of Cerro Gordo, PCB 75-182,
PCB 75-183, 18 PCB 152; Village of Strasburg, PCB 76-28; Old
Ben Coal Com~pany,PCB 76-21. In ‘those and other cases the Agency
and the Board have recognized that it is economically impractical
for such petitioners to comply with, the limitation imposed by
Rule 203(c)
. Mdi
ti onally, the Aqency has pc’t-.i t- i oned (P76—1)
the Uodrd for approprlate amendments
.tp the WaLer Pollution
Recjul~itions which
would modify the existing phosphorus effluent
and water quality standards.
The Board is disposed to grant the relief requested.
As
in the cases cited herein, the Board finds that Valley would
suffer an arbitrary or unreasonable hardship if required to
meet the existing 0.05 mg/i stan4a~d.
This Opinion constitutes the Board’s findings of fact and
conclusions of law in this matter.
~
—3--
ORDER
Valley Water Company, Inc. is granted a variance for the
operation of its sewage treabt~~nt plant from Rule 203(c) of
Chapter 3: Water Pollution Regulations of the Board unül
September 1, 1978, subject to the following conditions:
1. This variance will terminate upon adoption by the
Board of any modification of the existing phosphorus water
quality standards and effluent limitations and Valley Water
company, Inc. shall comply with such revised regulations when
adopted by the Board.
2. Within 35 days of the date of this Order, the Petitioner
shall submit to the Manager, Variance Section, Division of
Water Pollu4tion Control,, Illinois Environmental Protection
Agency, 2200 Churchill Road, Springfield, Illinois, 62706, an
executed Certification of Acceptance and agreement to be bound
to all terms and conditions of the variance. The form of said
certification shall be as follows:
CERTIFICATION
I, (We), _________________________ having read
the Order of the Pollution Control Board in PCB 77-146,
understand and accept said Order, realizing that such
acceptance renders all terms and conditions
thereto
binding and enforceable.
SIGNED
TITLE
DATE
iT IS
SO ORDER1~D.
I, Christan L. Moffett, Clerk of the Illinois Pollution
Control Board, hereby certify the above Opinion and Order were
ad~tedon
the
/~‘~‘
day of
________________,
1977 by a vote
Illinois Polluti
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