BEFORE THE ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
IN THE MATTER OF:
CITY OF GAL V A SITE SPECIFIC
)
WATER
QUALITY STANDARD FOR
)
PCB No. 2009-0011
BORON DISCHARGES TO EDWARDS )
(Rulemaking-Water)
RIVER
AND MUD CREEK
)
3S
Ill.
ADM. Code 303.447 and 303.448
)
John Theirrault, Assistant Clerk
lllinois Pollution Control Board
James R. Thompson Center
100 W. Randolph, Suite 11-500
Chicago, Illinois 60601
)
NOTICE OF FILING
Marie Tipsord
Hearing Officer
James R. Thompson Center
100 W. Randolph, Suite 11-500
Chicago, Illinois 60601
Bill Richardson, Chief Legal Counsel
Illinois Department
of Natural Resources
One Natural Resources Way
Claire A. Manning
Brown, Hay
&
Stephens, LLP
205 S. Fifth Street
Springfield, lllinois 62702-1271
Springfield, Illinois 62705
Alison Hayden
Brown, Hay
&
Stephens
205 S. Fifth Street
Springfield, Illinois 62705
Matt Dunn,
Chief
Environmental Bureau
Office of the Attorney General
100
W. Randolph,
12th
Floor
Chicago, lllinois
60601
PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that I have filed today with the Illinois Pollution Control
Board the POST-HEARING DOCUMENT SUBMITTAL. a copy
of which is herewith served
upon you.
Dated: April 29,
2009
1021 North Grand Ave. East
P.O. Box 19276
Springfield, Illinois 62794-9276
(217) 782-5544
ILLINOIS ENVIRONMENTAL
PROTECTION AGENCY
By: (/
GA-
/~
•
Vera Herst
Assistant Counsel
Division
of Legal Counsel
THIS FILING PRINTED ON RECYCLED PAPER
Electronic Filing - Received, Clerk's Office, April 29, 2009
BEFORE THE ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
IN THE MATTER OF:
PROPOSED SITE
SPECIFIC RULE
)
FOR CITY OF GALVA SITE SPECIFIC
)
SITE SPECIFIC WATER QUALITY
)
STANDARD
FOR BORON DISCHARGES)
TO
EDWARDS RIVER AND MUDD
)
CREEK
)
35 ILL. ADM. CODE 303.347
)
)
PCB No. 2009-0011
(Rulemaking-Water)
ILLINOIS EPA'S POST-HEARING DOCUMENT SUBMITTAL
NOW COMES the ILLINOIS ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
("Illinois EPA"), by and through one of its attorneys, Vera Herst, and pursuant to the
Illinois Pollution Control Board's
("Board") requests for information during the March
31,2009, hearing, and in response to the April 6, 2009 Hearing Officer Order, provides
the following:
I.
The receiving waters for the Northeast Sewage Treatment Plant
("Northeast STP") and Southwest Sewage Treatment Plant ("Southwest
STP") are zero 7QIO low flow streams and, as with most small streams,
are not part
of the Illinois EPA Ambient Water Quality Monitoring
Network (A WQMN). Likewise, in part due to the small size
of these
receiving waters, Illinois EPA has not monitored these streams through the
Intensive Basin Survey program. A Facility-Related
Stream Survey for
Electronic Filing - Received, Clerk's Office, April 29, 2009
each stream was conducted in 1983 but a metals analysis was not
conducted. Thus, Illinois
EPA does not have any record of boron
concentrations in either receiving water.
2.
In lieu ofthis data deficiency, boron data from an A WQMN Station on
Indian Creek, near Wyoming, Illinois, was provided to the petitioner for
use in updating the mass-balance calculations for each site-specific
standard. This data will be included in the addendum to testimony
of
Stephen M. Bruner.
It
should be noted that this data may not be
representative of the background conditions of the receiving waters
associated with the proposed rulemaking, as three
STPs are located
upstream
of the A WQMN Station on Indian Creek. The City of Toulon,
the nearest upstream discharger, utilizes groundwater as a water source
and discharges
STP effluent at a point approximately 5 miles upstream of
the A WQMN Station on Indian Creek. According to the Illinois State
Water Survey
(ISWS) 7-Day lO-year Low Flow Map for the Spoon River
Region, the Toulon
STP discharges 0.17 cfs of during a 7-day low flow
period. Discharge Monitoring Reports
("DMRs") for the facility verify
that discharge from the lagoon occurs during summer months, despite
drought conditions. The
7QI0 low flow of Indian Creek near the
A WQMN Station is estimated at
0.20 cfs, which takes into consideration
the
0.17 cfs of effluent from Toulon. Thus, during drought conditions
Indian Creek is an effluent-dominated stream and ambient boron
2
Electronic Filing - Received, Clerk's Office, April 29, 2009
concentrations may be influenced by the Toulon STP discharge. As
expected, A WQMN data from Indian Creek showed higher boron
concentrations during summer months, with the highest concentration
being 0.14 mglL. Nevertheless,
by implementing the highest ambient
boron concentration
of o. I 4 mgfL into the mass-balance equations, the
boundaries
of the proposed site-specific boron standards need not be
modified, as water bodies outside of these boundaries would still meet the
General
Use boron standard of
I
mglL. Updated mass-balance
calculations reflecting the background boron concentrations
of Indian
Creek will
be included in the addendum to testimony of Stephen M.
Bruner.
3.
There are no other NPDES facilities that discharge effluent to the
receiving waters
ofthe Northeast STP and Southwest STP. However, the
Village
of Altona STP discharges into WaInut Creek prior to its
confluence with Mud Run. Boron contributions from the Altona
STP
were not considered in the initial mass-balance calculations for the
receiving waters
of the Galva Southwest STP discharge. The Altona STP
is a lagoon system and is listed by the ISWS 7-Day 10-year Low Flow
Map for the
Spoon River Region as having a discharge of approximately
0.01 cfs during a 7-day low flow period. However, based on the last 8
years
ofDMR data, the facility typically does not discharge during
summer months, therefore the Altona
STP may not be contributing boron
3
Electronic Filing - Received, Clerk's Office, April 29, 2009
to Walnut Creek during the drought conditions used in mass-balance
calculations for the site-specific standards. Illinois
EPA does not have
boron monitoring data from the Altona
STP discharge and is therefore
unaware
of any exceedance of the boron standard upon outfall.
Nevertheless,
by assuming a maximum discharge of3 mgIL boron
in
0.01
cfs of effluent during drought conditions, it is evident that this boron
source would not
be significant enough to alter the water quality in Walnut
Creek.
An
updated mass-balance calculation which accounts for the
Altona
STP discharge will be included
in
the addendum to testimony of
Stephen M. Bruner.
4.
The NPDES permits for the Galva Northeast STP and Southwest STP
expire on August 31, 2009. Thus far Illinois EPA has only received a.
permit renewal application for the Northeast STP. If the Board adopts the
proposed site specific rule, the Agency would review each
NPDES permit
renewal application and would
modifY the permits to reflect the proposed
site-specific boron standards within the receiving waters. A daily
maximum limit
of 3 mgIL boron would be required in each permit to
assure that the proposed site-specific boron standards are attained within
the receiving waters. The United States Environmental Protection Agency
("US EPA") has the right to review minor NPDES permits such as the
Galva Northeast
STP and Southwest STP, but their permit reviews are
typically reserved for selected major facilities.
IfUSEPA chooses to
4
Electronic Filing - Received, Clerk's Office, April 29, 2009
review these pennits, it is unknown what the timeline for this review
would be.
Respectfully submitted,
ILLINOIS
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
By:
!k
<
tJ.., (
4~
Dated: April 29, 2009
Illinois Environmental Protection Agency
1021 North Grand Avenue East
Post Office Box 19276
Springfield, Illinois 62794-9276
(217) 782-5544
Vera Herst
TillS FILING PRINTED ON RECYCLED PAPER
5
Electronic Filing - Received, Clerk's Office, April 29, 2009
STATE OF ILLINOIS
COUNTY OF SANGAMON
)
)
)
)
SS
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
1, the undersigned, an attorney, state that I have served electronically the attached
POST-HEARING DOCUMENT SUBMITTAL, upon the following person:
John Therriault
Assistant Clerk
Illinois
Pollution Control Board
James
R.
Thompson Center
100 West Randolph St., Suite 11-500
Chicago,
IL
60601
and mailing it by first-class mail from Springfield, Illinois, with sufficient postage affixed
to the following persons:
Bill Richardson, Chief Legal Counsel
Illinois Department
of Natural Resources
One Natural Resources Way
Springfield, lllinois 62702-1271
Alison Hayden
Brown, Hay
&
Stephens
205 S. Fifth Street
Springfield, Illinois 62705
Kathleen M. Crowley
Hearing
Officer
James R. Thompson Center
100 W. Randolph, Suite 11-500
Chicago, Illinois 6060 I
Dated: April 29, 2009
1021 North Grand Avenue East
Springfield, Illinois 62794-9276
(217) 782-5544
Claire A. Manning
Brown, Hay
&
Stephens, LLP
205 S. Fifth Street
Springfield, Illinois 62705
Matt Dunn, Chief
Environmental Bureau
Office of the Attorney General
100 W. Randolph, 12th Floor
Chicago, Illinois
6060 I
ILLINOIS ENVIRONMENTAL
PROTECTION AGENCY,
Vera Herst
Assistant Counsel
Division
of Legal Counsel
Electronic Filing - Received, Clerk's Office, April 29, 2009
