BEFORE THE ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
IN THE MATTER OF:
CITY OF
GALVA SITE SPECIFIC
)
WATER
QUALITY STANDARD FOR
)
PCB No. 2009-0011
BORON DISCHARGES TO EDWARDS
)
(Rulemaking-Water)
RIVER AND
MUD
CREEK
)
35
lll.
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
Kathleen M. Crowley
Hearing Officer
James R. Thompson Center
100 W. Randolph, Suite 11-500
Chicago, lllinois 6060 I
Bill Richardson, Chief Legal Counsel
lllinois Department
of Natural Resources
One Natural Resources Way
Claire
A.
Manning
Brown, Hay
&
Stephens, LLP
205
S. Fifth Street
Springfield, lllinois 62702-1271
Springfield,
lllinois 62705
Alison Hayden
Brown, Hay
&
Stephens
205
S. Fifth Street
Springfield,
lllinois 62705
Matt Dunn, Chief
Environmental Bureau
Office of the Attorney General
100 W. Randolph, lih Floor
Chicago, Illinois
6060 I
PLEASE
TAKE NOTICE that I have filed today with the lllinois Pollution Control
Board the
PREFILED TESTIMONY OF
BRIAN
KOCH, a copy of which is herewith served
upon you.
Dated: February 25,
2009
1021
North Grand Ave. East
P.O. Box 19276
Springfield, lllinois 62794-9276
(217)782-5544
ILLINOIS ENVIRONMENTAL
PROTECTION AGENCY
By:
LJ~ N~
Vera Herst
Assistant Counsel
Division
of Legal Counsel
THIS FILING PRINTED ON RECYCLED PAPER
BEFORE THE ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
IN THE MATTER OF:
CITY OF
GAL V A SITE SPECIFIC
)
WATER QUALITY STANDARD
FOR
)
BORON DISCHARGES TO EDWARDS )
RIVER AND MUD CREEK
)
35
Ill.
ADM. Code 303.447 and 303.448
)
)
PCB No. 2009-0011
(Rulemaking-Water)
APPEARANCE
The undersigned, as one
of its attorneys, hereby files her
APPEARANCE
in this
proceeding, on behalf
ofthe Illinois Environmental Protection Agency.
ILLINOIS ENVIRONMENTAL
PROTECTION AGENCY
Dated: February
25,2009
By:
~ N~
Vera Herst
Assistant Counsel
Division
of Legal Counsel
Illinois Environmental
Protection Agency
1021 North Grand Avenue East
Post Office Box 19276
Springfield, Illinois 62794-9276
(217) 782-5544
THIS FILING PRINTED ON RECYCLED PAPER
Electronic Filing - Received, Clerk's Office, February 25, 2009
* * * * * R09-011 * * * * *
BEFORE THE ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
IN THE MATTER OF:
CITY OF GAL V A SITE SPECIFIC
)
WATER QUALITY
STANDARD FOR
)
BORON DISCHARGES TO EDWARDS
)
RNER
AND MUD CREEK
)
35
Ill.
ADM. Code 303.447 and 303.448
)
)
PCB No. 2009-00 11
(Rulemaking-Water)
PREFILED TESTIMONY OF BRIAN KOCH
INTRODUCTION
My name is Brian Koch and I have been employed by the Illinois Environmental
Protection Agency (herein referred to as "Illinois EPA" for three years. I work as a
toxicologist in the Water Quality Standards section
of the Division of Water Pollution
Control. I have a B.A. and M.S. in Zoology from Southern Illinois University
Carbondale, with specialization in fisheries ecology and aquatic toxicology, respectively.
My primary responsibility is to derive new or updated water quality standards in support
of the Pennits and Surface Water sections ofthe Agency.
My testimony will discuss the petition for a site-specific rule filed
by the City of
Galva (herein referred to as "Petitioner") and the Illinois EPA's basis for agreement with
the proposal.
Before filing its petition with the Illinois
Pollution Control Board ("Board"), the
Petitioner submitted draft proposals to the Illinois EPA for review and comment, and met
with Illinois
EPA staff to discuss boron treatment and removal options.
Electronic Filing - Received, Clerk's Office, February 25, 2009
* * * * * R09-011 * * * * *
DISCUSSION
On
October 17,2008, the Petitioner filed a proposal for a Site-Specific Rule pursuant to
Sections 27 and 28
of the Illinois Environmental Protection Act, 415 ILCS 5/27 and 5/28
(2006), and 35
Ill.
Admin. Code 102.202, 102.208 and 102.210.
Specifically, the Petitioner is seeking relief from
35
Ill.
Adm. Code 304.105 as it
applies to the general use water quality standard for boron
of I mglL, as stated in 35 Ill.
Adm. Code 302.208(g). The Petitioner proposes to establish an alternative water quality
standard for boron
of 3.0 mg/L, which would apply to the receiving waters associated
with discharge from the Galva Northeast
Sewage Treatment Plant and Southwest Sewage
Treatment
Plant, as specified in the proposal.
The Petitioner has investigated alternatives for removing boron from its source
water as well as its effluent, and has detennined that the alternatives are not technically
feasible or economically reasonable. Treatment alternatives such as ion exchange
of
wastewater ($2,016,410), potable water ion exchange ($2,099,784), and potable water
reverse osmosis ($6,905,955) have substantial
up front costs, and would also require
significant maintenance and operational costs. Using an alternative water source is not
technically feasible or economically reasonable either, as the nearest water source
without elevated boron concentrations is between
20 to 25 miles from Galva, and the
costs and environmental impacts
of a pipeline outweigh the benefits of decreasing boron
effluent concentrations. Finally, the Petitioner has explored the possibility
of obtaining
water from adjacent cities, but water from the City
of Galesburg is too costly
($13,600,000), and the City of Kewanee does not have adequate reserves to supply the
Petitioner.
Electronic Filing - Received, Clerk's Office, February 25, 2009
* * * * * R09-011 * * * * *
The Illinois EPA agrees with the Petitioner that the expenses and technical
infeasibilities
of the assessed alternatives are unreasonable, especially when considering
the unanticipated risks associated with the proposed site-specific boron standard
of3.0
mgIL.
The existing boron standard
of 1 mgIL was initially adopted in order to protect
crops from excess boron in irrigation water. IIlinois
EPA is not aware of any irrigation
being provided through the use
ofthe waters associated with this rulemaking.
IIlinois
EPA has recently conducted a literature review of boron toxicity to
aquatic life and has concluded that the proposed standard would
be protective of aquatic
life within the associated receiving waters. Based on currently available acute and
chronic data, and
by using Illinois EPA water quality criteria derivation procedures,
IIlinois
EPA believes that a chronic boron standard of3.0 mgIL and possibly significantly
higher is appropriate. The draft chronic standard is based
off Tier II procedures which
uses an acute-chronic ratio
of 19.1. Based on the existing database, IIlinois EPA believes
that the current boron standard may be amended in the Petitioner's receiving streams to
reflect these new findings.
Illinois
EPA is working with the Illinois Natural History Survey in generating
additional boron toxicity studies in order to supplement the database to assure that future
acute and chronic boron General Use standards would
be protective of aquatic life.
In
the
meantime, Illinois
EPA believes that the existing boron toxicity database is sufficient to
justify the site-specific standards proposed in this matter.
CONCLUSION
Based on the expenses and technical infeasibilities of the alternatives assessed by
the
Petitioner, as well as the unanticipated risks associated with adopting a site-specific
boron standard
of 3.0 mg/L, the Agency recommends that the Board grants relief from
the water quality standard for boron as requested
by the Petitioner.
ILLINOIS ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
By:
;;f4L--
Brian Koch, Toxicologist
Water Quality Standards Section
Bureau
of Water
\
STATE OF ILLINOIS
COUNTY OF SANGAMON
)
)
)
)
SS
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
I,
the undersigned, an attorney, state that I have served electronically the attached
PREFILED TESTIMONY OF BRIAN KOCH, 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, Illinois 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: February 25,2009
1021 North Grand A venue 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, 12''' Floor
Chicago, Illinois
6060 I
ILLINOIS ENVIRONMENTAL
PROTECTION AGENCY,
I)~
{~.~
Vera Herst
Assistant Counsel
Division
of Legal Counsel