ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD

June 30, 1983

JOHN S. BURNS,

Complainant,

v.

)

PCB 80—31

VILLAGE OF WESTERN SPRINGS,

Respondent.

MR.

JOHN R. HIEBER AND MR. THOMAS ELSE OF HIEBER, ELSE & ASSOCIATES

APPEARED ON BEHALF OF THE COMPLAINANT.

MR. ROBERT A. KNUTI AND MS. ANDREA SYKES FOOTE OF LORD, BISSELL &

BROOK APPEARED ON BEHALF OF THE RESPONDENT.

OPINION AND ORDER OF THE BOARD (by J.D. Dumelie):

On February 14, 1980, John S. Burns filed the complaint in

this matter. As recounted in the Board’s February 19, 1981

Opinion, Mr. Burns testified that during heavy rains his property

at 4419 Clausen Avenue was completely covered with water which

would enter his basement through the windows and door. He

testified that this “ponded water” was being contaminated by

water, toilet paper and human wastes which would enter through a

sump pump, a man hole near his property, and had previously

entered through a basement toilet which was later removed.

The Board, in Opinions of February 19, 1981 and April 16,

1981, found the ponded waters to constitute “waters of the state”,

and found the combined sewer flows from the manholes to cause

water pollution in violation of Section 12(a) of the Environmental

Protection Act, The Board ordered Western Springs to Cease and

Desist from such violations. On March 30, 1982, and August 10,

1982, the Appellate Court for the First District, State of Illinois

affirmed the Board’s finding of pollution, but remanded for

further hearings on the technical and economic feasibility of

abating the pollution. Village of Weste~ ng~v. Pollution

Control Board of the State of Illinois and John F._Burns, #81-117.

On remand hearing, February

4,

1983, the Village of Western

Springs provided testimony from Mr. Paul C. Nicholson, Western

Springs Village Manager; Mr. Kevin O’Connor, a senior sanitary

engineer for the Metropolitan Sanitary District of Greater

Chicago (MSDGC); and Mr. Ralph William Lindley, a consulting

professional engineer retained by the Village of Western Springs.

That testimony focused on the operations of a nearby pumping

station that might influence the combined sewer overflow pollution

52-439

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—2—

problem, and other methods of reducing the overflows and ponding.

No testimony was provided on behalf of the complainant, Mr.

Burns,

When pumps 1 and 2 of the MSDGC’s Western Springs Pumping

Station are running they pump water in the sewage lines in a

northeasterly direction through Western Springs towards a Salt

Creek interceptor sewer (Supp. R.67). Such operations might

exacerbate the ponding and combined sewer flows near Mr. Burns’

residence (Supp. R, 14), However, since the Fall of 1980 the

Village of Western Springs and MSDGC have had an agreement that

pumps 1 and 2 not be operated (Supp. R. 15, Supp. Ex. 1), the

manager of the pumping station has been instructed that pumps 1

and 2 were to remain out of service permanently (Supp. R.

67),

the electrical power to pumps I and 2 has been off since late

1980 (Supp. R. 78), and the hourly meters for pumps 1 and

2 show zero hours of operation since late 1980 (Supp. R. 76—77).

On November 1, 1982, Mr. Burns complained to the Village that

pumps 1 and 2 were operating. That complaint was rapidly investi-

gated by the Village (Supp. R. 18, Supp. Ex. 2) and MSDGC (Supp.

R. 19, Supp. Ex. 7) and found to be incorrect,

Mr. Lindley testified on the topography and sewer system of

the Village, and possible methods of affecting the

ponding and

combined sewer overflows near Mr. Burns’ property (Supp. R.

84—153). He prepared maps of the land contours (Supp. Ex.

9) and

sewer system (Supp, Ex, 8) near Mr. Burns’ property

(Supp.

R.

88-91), which showed the property to he in a dish depression

near

otherwise flat land, thus providing no overland outlet for storm

drainage (Supp. R. 93). Ponding, therefore, was a natural result.

This ponding is not a circumstance unique to Mr. Burns’

property,

but occurs in many areas of Western Springs (Supp. R. 103)

when

the rainfall runoff exceeds the capacity of the gutter inlets to

remove it (Supp. R. 95), and the capacity of the combined

sewer

system to transport the mixed floodwater and wastewaters

(Supp.

R. 96).

Runoff in areas which flow into the sewer line upstream

of

Mr. Burns~ property cause mixed sewage and floodwater to overflow

into the ponded water in Mr. Burns’ area (Supp. R. 144),

While

the parties to this proceeding are justifiably concerned

about

both the ponded water and the combined sewer surcharging, the

Board does not have the jurisdictional authority to address the

rainfall runoff and ponding situation alone or to demand it be

eliminated, even if such elimination were technically and econom-

ically reasonable. The Board’s jurisdictional authority is

restricted to addressing the pollution caused by the combined

sewer surcharging, and to deciding whether that pollution can be

abated in an economically reasonable manner.

Obviously, it is possible for Western Springs to construct a

totally separate sanitary sewer system and any appropriate lift

stations for the combined sewer area in which Mr. Burns resides.

52-440

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—3—

This

would eliminate the combined sewer surcharging, but

at a

very

great expense. Another method of abating surcharging

near

Mr. Burns’ property is the placement of check valves to prevent

combined sewage from leaving the sewers (Supp. R. 139), This,

however, would simply transfer the surcharging to another

area

(Supp. R. 140), not eliminate it.

The Board notes that the record does not show any reported

surcharging near Mr. Burns’ property since the discontinuation

of

pumping from the Western Springs Pumping Station, Also,

in 1982

the 54—inch Wolf Road storm sewer was completed which reduces

the

watershed contributing to overloaded sewers near Mr.

Burns’

property (Supp. R. 109) by approximately 10 (Supp. R.

127),

Future improvements at Wolf Road should further reduce

the problem

area watershed (Supp. R. 128), Future connection to TARP

should

significantly improve the situation (Supp. R. 142—143).

In view of the lack of current problems and the continuing

improvements to the system, the Board finds Western Springs

is

taking all economically reasonable steps to eliminate the possi-

bility of combined sewer surcharging. This finding is

premised on

the Village’s continued efforts in flood fighting (Supp. R.

104—105),

inspection and maintenance of sewers (Supp. R. 106—108),

and on

continued

inoperation of pumps 1 and 2 of the Western

Springs

Pumping Station.

The Board reaffirms its findings of February 19,

1981 and

April

16, 1981, that Western Springs has violated Section

12(a)

of

the Environmental Protection Act, but vacates the Cease

and

Desist

Order, and Compliance Plan Order of those dates

for lack

of any

further economically reasonable abatement solution,

This Opinion constitutes the Board’s finding of fact

and

conclusions

of law in this matter.

ORDER

Paragraph 2 and Paragraph 3 of the Board’s Order of

February 19, 1981 and April 16, 1981, in this case are

hereby vacated,

IT IS SO ORDERED.

Board Member J. Anderson abstained,

I, Christan L. Moffett, Clerk of the Illinois Pollution

Control Board, hereby~c~rtifythat the above Opinion and Order

was

adopted on the ~b

day of

______

___________,

1983

by

a vote of

~,

4

‘/1

-

I

Christan L. Moffé~t-Cle~rk

Ilinois Pollution~~trol