ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD

April 18, 1985

CITY OF

EAST

PEORIA,

)

)

Petitioner,

)

)

v.

)

PCB 84—172

)

ILLINOIS flVIRONMENT&L

)

PROTECTION &GENCY,

)

Ren~ondent.

)

OPINION OF TUE BOARD (by 13. Forcade):

This matter combs to the Board on a November 16, 1984,

petition by the City of East Peoria (“East Peoria”), seeking a

variance from 35 Ill. Adm. Code 306.303 and 306.304. In response

to a Board Order of November 21, 1984, East Peoria filed amended

petitions on December 17, 1984, and January 4, 1985. East Peoria

seeks a variance to allow continued sanitary sewer overflows

until November 30, 1988. On February 7, 1985, the Illinois

Environmental Protection Agency (“Agency”) filed a recommendation

on February 7, 1985, that variance be granted, with certain

conditions, until July 1, 1988. East Peoria responded to the

Recommendation on March 25, 1985

•

No objections were received;

no hearing was held.

East Peoria owns and operates a sewage collection and

treatment system which consists of approximately 103 miles of

various size sewers, 17 lift stations and three treatment

plants. The sewer system is designed to accept only sanittary

sewage but receives considerable extraneous flows. The variance

petitions seeks to allow continued sanitary sewer overflows from

19 identified overflow points tributary to the three treatment

plants. These 19 overflows nere the subject of a prior variance

(PCB 83—38; July 26, 1983; 53 PCB 97). Sixteen overflows were

the subject of an earlier variance (PCB 81—36; May 14, 1981; 41

PCB 429); eleven overflows were the subject of a still earlier

variance (PCB 79—224; February 21, 1980; 34 PCB 407). The

overflow points are summarized below:

Plant Overflow

Receiving Stream

STP 1 700 Springfield Rd-Manhole 30

Cole Creek

1020 Springfield Rd—Manhole 27

Cole Creek

400 Meadows Ave—Manhole 44

Dry Run Creek

1500 Meadows Ave—Manhole 42

Dry Run Creek

Maybee Ave—between Manhole 14 & 15

Cracklewood Ct—Manhole

Flossmar Ct—Manhole

63-491

---

—2—

CT? 2

CT?

3

Woodlawn Lift Station

Field Grove

Lift

Station

Lincoln Parkway Lift Station

~\lice

Street

Lift

Station

Brantwood

Lift

Station

Maria Street

Lift

Station

?ebble Court

Lift

Station

Crawford

Street & Railroad

Ailey~Manhoie 64

Reinders~nnhole 34

Twin O~I~sCt~near Manhole 37

Crestarms Ct-~Canhoie

Cast Oakwoocl ~ve—Manhole

unnamed ditches

tributary to

Dry Run Creek

unnamed ditches

tributary to

Illinois River

Ackerman Creek

drainage area

behind Fondulac

Dam

All of the receiving atm nr~s are tributary to Farm Creek which

flows

into the

Illinois ?~iver.

Overflow quantities at these 19

foints range from C

7337000

gallons per year with a total from

all overflows of

aliqhtlw over

2 million gallons per year. The

Agency

and East Peoria agree that

the overflows seem to have

little or

no

discemnahle adverse

impact on water quality

downstream in

Farm

Crook. ~7hilelocalized adverse imoacts are

known

to occur

(discharges from

Manhole 27), East Peoria has

resoonded orom~tlyto

cc~plnints by

spreading lime,

East Peoria has su~’mittcd the following estimated

construction costs to cocurs full compliance:

Route S Trunk Sower

Ker~oot Trunk ~ewor

Meadows ~Avenua Trunk Sewer

Shacioway Dr. Trunk Sower

Taylor Ct~ Truck Sower

Sewer System P~oha5ilitation

Storage

Facilities

Plant

1 Imorovoments

$

392,026

1,263,613

655,732

2~JJ_ ,

323,600

160,154

1,413,028

2,831,495

Tot a Is

$7

,

981,434

The Agency asserts

that

nearly half of this amount may not

be specifically

relevant to the elimination of

overflows

encompassed in this variance request. East

Peoria believes the

listed costs are relevant,

Despite the differing estimates of total cost, East Peoria

and the Agency contend that for immediate compliance

the economic

hardship outweighs any adverse environmental impact, especially

considering East Peori&s efforts to minimize adverse impact.

The Board agrees

and will grant

a variance.

---

—3—

Bowever, the Board will grant the variance to July 1, 1988,

rather than November 30, 1988, as requested by petitioner, since

the July 1 compliance date is required by the federal Clean Water

Act (see Section 301(i)(1), and both the Board and the Agency are

precluded, respectively, from granting a variance or issuing a

permit allowing compliance beyond a federal statutory deadline.

Further, the Agency states that, in accordance with a USEPA

mandate an’ pursuant to the Clean Water Act, and with or without

federal grant Zun’itng, it has established a Municipal Compliance

Stategy (tICS). Un~erthe tICS, the Agency will reissue permits

for

tDITP

*1 and ~2 providing for sanitary sewer overflows (the

present permits do not so allow) and a required preparation of a

fixed date Municipal Compliance Plan (MCP) consistent with the

variance. (Agency Rec. 4, 6, 9.)

The

Board notes that. East Peoria is unlikely to get federal

grant funds, and that it is diligently pursuing alternative

funding sources. (East Peoria flesp., 2). Nevertheless, the

timing of alternate funding pursuits does not permit further

delay in preparing an t~CPwith fixed compliance dates, absent

amendments to the Clean tlater Act. The Board’s order reflects

the Agency’s recommended conditions, except that the requirement

to comply with PCB 73—263 is not included because it is

unnecessary to so state.

This Opinion constitutes the Board’s findings of fact and

conclusions of law in support of the Order of April 4, 1985, in

Board Member J. Theodore Meyer dissented.

I, Dorothy N. Gunn, Clerk of the Illinois Pollution Control

Board, ~~by certify tht the above Opinion was adopted on

the /j -4’ day of

4m~c.ct

,

1985, by a vote

of

ah—~

•

U

AhyM.unnilerP~~

Illinois Pollution Control Board

63-493