ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
June 30, 1983
CITY OF LOCKPORT,
)
Petitioner,
V.
)
PCB 83—48
)
ILLINOIS ENVIRONMENTAL
)
PROTECTION AGENCY,
)
Respondent.
OPINION AND ORDER OF THE BOARD (by J
.
D. Dumelle):
This matter comes before the Board upon a petition for
variance filed April 8, 1983, by the City of Lockport. The
petition requests a variance through March 1, 1988 from the 10
mg/l BOD, 12 mg/i TSS deoxygenating wastes effluent standards of
Section 304.120(c), and from violation of water quality standards,
Section 304.105, for dissolved oxygen, Section 302.206, arid
ammonia, Section 302.212(b) and (e). The petition for variance
requested a hearing.
The Environmental Protection Agency (Agency) filed its
recommendation on May 16, 1983. Because Section 304.140 grants
relief from effluent standards to dischargers filing timely
construction grant applications, as Lockport has, the Agency felt
a variance from the 10/12 standard was unnecessary. The Agency
recommended the Board grant the variance for water quality’~
violations of ammonia and dissolved oxygen but impose a cqndition
that Petitioner’s effluent not exceed 10 mg/i ammonia nitrogen.
The Agency recommended that Lockport be required to follow a
compliance schedule from the petition for variance, and requested
that a variance be denied for “by—passes near the treatment
plant”, a phrase from the petition. The City of Lockport agreed
with these recommendations and waived the request for hearing in
a Response to Agency Recommendations filed May 20, 1983.
Two issues arose from these filings. The first is whether
the ammonia nitrogen limitation requested by the Agency should be
a never exceed value or monthly average limitation. The second
issue concerns a statement in the petition for variance of
Lockport’s intention to seek site—specific regulatory relief from
the effluent limitations and water quality standards ~hat, in
effect, require nitrification and tertiary treatment. The
Agency requested that the variance command completion of such
facilities, with or without construction grant funds, if the
1. No petition for rulemaking has been received by the Board as
of June 30, 1983.
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site—specific rulemaking is denied. Lockport objected to this
condition.
Lockport owns and operates a WWTP designed to serve a P.E.
of 15,000 and an average flow of 2.0 MGD. The influent to the
plant passes through a barmirtutor and grit chamber before entering
the primary settling tanks. Flows under 4.25 MGD are provided
with secondary treatment by the activated sludge process operating
in a contact stabilization mode. The effluent from the secondary
settling tanks and flows in excess of 4.25 MGD from the primary
settling tanks are combined in the chlorine contact tank. The
final effluent is discharged to Deep Run Creek through NPDES
permitted outfall 001. Deep Run Creek is 3,7 miles long, man—made,
and parallels the Chicago Sanitary and Ship (S&S) Canal. It
flows into the Canal below the Lockport Locks and 1 mile down-
stream of the Lockport WWTP. Upstream of the WWTP, flows in Deep
Run Creek come predominantly from an Illinois and Michigan Canal
spillway and infiltration from the S&S Canal.
To evaluate the WWTP discharg&s impact on Deep Run Creek,
Lockport contracted with the environmental consulting firm of
Huff & Huff, Inc. Their report found that Deep Run Creek was
limited by the habitat related factors of the Creek and seepage
from the S&S Canal (a Secondary Contact Water) into which it
discharges, and that the Lockport WWTP was only one of the limiting
factors. The report concluded that the discharges from the Lockport
WWTP will cause little harm, at present pollutant levels, during
the term of the variance. The Agency concurs that conditions are
degraded but acceptable while construction to upgrade the plant
continues.
The Board finds that the City of Lockport is not subject to
the 10/12 deoxygenating wastes standard of Section 304.120(c)
and, the petition for variance from that section for the effluent
(outfall 001) and overflows (outfall 004) is denied. Thi~finding
is based on statements by the Agency, as administrator of the
construction grant program, of Lockport~spresent participation
in that program in conformance with Section 304.140 (Agency
Recommendation,
¶.
15). Lockport agrees. Section 304.140 grants
relief from the 10/12 standard where the discharger is eligible
for construction grants, has filed an application for such grant,
and takes all necessary actions in a timely manner. The compliance
schedule, from petition for variance, pg. 5, presents a timely
and ambitious program to take maximum advantage of construction
grant monies. Accordingly, that schedule, as set forth below, is
adopted as part of the Board~sOrder:
—
by December 1, 1983, completion of design work for design
of treatment and sewer system improvements:
—
January 1, 1984, submission of design to IEPA for review;
—
May 1, 1984, advertisement for bids;
—
June 1, 1984, bid opening;
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—
July 1, 1984, award of bid;
-
August 1,
1984,
notice of award;
—
September 1, 1984, commence construction.
This schedule assumes that actual construction must commence
prior to October 1, 1984.
The
Board finds, based on the Huff & Rutf report, pp. 30—43,
that there are violations of the dissolved oxygen water quality
standard, Section 302.206, and ammonia nitrogen and un—ionized
ammonia standard, Section 302,212, The Board agrees with the
Agency (Agency Recommendations, ¶. 16) and the Petitioner
(Petition for Variance, ¶. 10 & 12) that immediate compliance
with those Sections would present an arbitrary and unreasonable
hardship to the City of Lockport. It grants Lockport a variance,
until March 1, 1988, from obligations it might incur through
Section 304.105, due to downstream oxygen and ammonia violations
of Sections 302.206 and 302,212(b). This variance is contingent
upon the City of Lockport~sWWTP effluent not exceeding an ammonia
nitrogen as N limitation of 12 mg/i maximum, 6 mg/i monthly
average.
The Board has long been concerned with ammonia nitrogen
loadings tributary to the Illinois River as a source of downstream
dissolved oxygen sags. See Section 304.122 and Board Opinions, 3
PCB 406, January 6, 1972. Since there are no indications in the
filings for this proceeding of such dissolved oxygen sags, the
Board will allow the City of Lockport to operate under its most
recent ammonia nitrogen discharge record of 6 mg/i monthly average,
12 mg/i maximum.
The Agency and the City of Lockport have urged the Board to
decide the impact of this variance on the construction of ~nitri—
ficatiOn and tertiary treatment facilities, with or withoçit
federal funding, should the anticipated site—specific rulemaking
by Lockport by denied. The Board declines to do so. This variance
anticipates that the City of Lockport will comply, not later than
March 1, 1988, with all applicable rules and regulations. Should
the factual or regulatory situation changer these facts can be
brought to the Board’s attention.
This Opinion constitutes the Board~s findings of facts and
conclusions of law in this matter,
ORDER
Petitioner, City of Lockport, is granted a variance from
Section 304.105 as it applies to Section 302.206 and Section
302.212(b), subject to the following conditions:
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1. This variance will expire on March 1, 1988.
2. The City of Lockport shall meet the following compliance
schedule:
—
by December 1, 1983, completion of design work for
design of treatment and sewer system improvements;
—
January 1, 1984, submission of design to IEPA for review;
-
May 1, 1984, advertisement for bids;
—
June 1, 1984, bid opening;
—
July 1, 1984, award of bid;
—
August 1, 1984, notice of award;
-
September 1, 1984, commence construction.
This schedule assumes that actual construction must commence
prior to October 1, 1984.
3. The city of Lockport shall meet the following effluent
limitations for its WWTP discharges:
Parameter
Storet #
Daily Maximum
Monthly Average
NH3, as N
31616
12 mg/i
6 mg/i
CERTIFICATION
I, (We),
,
having read
and fully understanding the Order in PCB 83—48, hereby accept
that Order and agree to be bound by all of its terms and conditions.
Petitioner
Authorized Agent
Title
Date
IT IS SO ORDERED.
I, Christan L. Moffett, Clerk of the Illinois Pollution
Control Board, hereby certify that the aI?ove Opinion and Order
were adopted on the _________day of___
_________
1983 by a vote of
&./~-
o
.
Christan L. Moff
Clerk
52-490