ILLINOIS

POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD

December

 17, 1981

ILLINOIS ENVIRONMENTAL

PROTECTION AGENCY,

)

Complainant,

CITY OF HERRIN,

Respondent.

MR. REED W

 NEUMAN, ASSISTANT

ATTORNEY

GENERAL,

APPEARED

ON BEHALF

OF THE COMPLAINANT,

MR. PAUL S. MURPHY, CITY ATTORNEY,

APPEARED ON

BEHALF OF THE RESPONDENT.

OPINION AND ORDER OF THE BOARD

 (by N,E.Werner):

This matter comes before the Board on the November 13,

1979

Complaint brought by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency

(“Agency”).

 On November 15,

 1979, the Agency filed a Motion for

Leave to Amend the Complaint and an Amended

Complaint.

Count

 I of the Amended Complaint alleged that, from November

1,

1977 until November 15,

 1979,

 the City of Herrin

 (the “City”)

 allowed

discharges

effluent

from

its

sewage

treatment

 facility

 (the

“facility~

“plant”)

outfall

001

to

exceed

the

concentration

limits

(on

30—day

average)

established

by

its NPDES

Permit

for

5—day biochemical oxygen demand (“BOD5’~) and

suspended

solids

violation of the terms of its NPDES

 Permit,

Rule 410(a) of Chapter 3:

Water Pollution Control Regulations

 (“Chapter 3”),

 and Section 12(f)

of the Illinois Environmental

Protection Act

 (“Act”).

Count II alleged

that, during six

specified months between

April,

 i978 and February,

 1979,

effluent

discharges from the City’s

sewage treatment plant bypass and

sanitary

sewer

overflows

at

outfalls 002 and 003 exceeded the maximum

BOD5 and

suspended solids

concentration limits set by its NPDES

Permit

in

violation of the

conditions of its NPDES

 Permit, Rule

410(a) of Chapter

 3, and

Section 12(f) of the Act,

Count III alleged that,

 from January

1,

 1978 until

November 15,

1979, occasional sanitary sewer overflows

at points

in the City’s

sewage system

 (other than those expressly

authorized

by the Respondent’s

NPDES Permit) have occurred in violation of

Rule

602(b)

 of Chapter

3

and Section 12(a) of the Act,

44~-215

—2

Count IV alleged that, from November

1,

 1977 until November 15,

1979, the City failed to submit the requisite fecal coliform monitor-

ing data,

 effluent reports, industrial user reports,

 and other

necessary reports required by its NPDES Permit

 (as well as having

failed to submit the required Facilities Plan to the Agency which

was due by December 31,

 1976)

 in violation of Rule 901 of Chapter

3

and Section 12(f) of the Act,

Count V alleged that, during six specified dates between

August,

 1978 and February,

 1979, discharges of effluents from the

City’s plant have exceeded the 2,0 milligrams per liter limitation

for total iron concentration in violation

of

Rule 408(a)

of

Chapter

 3 and Section 12(a) of the Act.

Count VI alleged that,

 from March

1,

 1979 until November 15,

1979, the City operated its treatment facility without the required

Class

 II wastewater treatment plant operator in violation of Rule

1201 of Chapter

 3 and Section 12(a) of the Act.

Hearings were held on July

7,

 1980 and September

4,

 1981.

The parties filed

 a Stipulation and Proposal for Settlement on

September

9,

 1981.

The City of Herrin, which has a population of about 10,000

people, owns and operates a wastewater treatment facility in

Williamson County, Illinois.

 This plant first became operational

in 1950 and,

 like many

 older plants, requires “labor—intensive

operations and maintenance”,

 (Stip.

4),

 The City’s plant now

includes

 “an aerated

 grit chamber,

 two primary clarifiers,

 a four—arm

trickling filter,

 two final clarifiers,

 effluent chlorination,

 as well

as anaerobic sludge digestion,

 and sludge drying beds”.

 (Stip.

4).

Renovation and expansion of the City’s wastewater treatment

facilities has been an on—going process which has encountered many

delays and difficulties due to the unavailability of grant funding,

changes in consulting engineers,

 and various other problems.

 (Stip.

 4—6).

The City discharges effluent from a point source

 (i.e., outfall 001)

at its plant to an unnamed tributary of

the

Big Muddy

River,

navigable

Illinois water, pursuant to NPDES Permit No~

IL

0029165,

 On August 29,

1980, the Agency notified the City that its facilities were being placed

on

 “restricted status”

until

 the Respondent ~upgraded and expanded its

current wastewater treatment plant”.

 (Stip.~ 6—10).

The Agency and the City have engaged in extensive consultations

to develop an effective compliance program to rectify the sewer backup

and overflow problems resulting from the “generally poor condition”

of the City’s sewer collection system.

 (Stip.

 10).

Subsequently, the City “has made significant improvements” in its

sewer collection system including:

(1)

 cleaning the 27th Street sewer

line to eliminate a low point blockage and installing

 “private grinder

pumps at residences with backup problems at a cost of several thousand

dollars”;

(2)

 completely repairing broken, damaged, and leaking

44—216

—3

sanitary sewer lines

the

drainage

ditch

between

17th

 Street and

18th Street;

 (3) enlarging,

 rebuilding, and rerouting storm sewers

and improving the downstream flow of the storm sewers using a federal

grant of $800,000.00

;

 (4) completely replacing and relocating the

6th Street lift station and adding

 “a new pump unit of greatly increased

capacity of a cost to the City of over $35,000.00”;

(5)

 initiating a

local program to enforce the existing ordinance designed to remove the

 “large number of downspouts illegally connected to the sewers” to curtail

“excessive infiltration to the sewer system”;

 (6) working with real

estate developers to provide “as—built” plans to the Agency

 for the

recently annexed Melody Acres and Woodside Subdivisions

 (which were

originally constructed without Agency permits)

 in order

 to properly

permit the sewer extensions;

 (7) completely cleaning out the

drainage channel from the sewer plant north of the Big Muddy River

to improve storm sewer drainage and lessen storm water backup at

“a cost of over $60,000.00”;

 (8) now having the plant under the active

supervision of a Class

 2 certified operator;

(9)

 substituting

chlorine residual monitoring for fecal coliform analyses pursuant

to Agency approval;

 (10) currently complying with the monitoring

and reporting requirements of its NPDES

 Permit;

and

 (11) initiating

a pretreatment program to control heavy metals discharges

 from

specified industrial users.

 (Stip.

 10—13).

The proposed settlement agreement provides that that City admits

the allegations in the Amended Complaint and agrees to:

 (1) cease

and desist from any further violations;

 (2) operate its wastewater

treatment plant in such a manner as to minimize upsets and discharges

of excessive pollutants and produce as high quality of effluent as

reasonably possible;

 (3) aggressively pursue the Facilities Plan and

 actively proceed in the construction grants program to upgrade the

sewage treatment facility and to complete sewer rehabilitation; and

(4) pay a stipulated penalty of $1,200.00 in four semiannual install-

ments of $300.00 each.

 (Stip.

 14—17),

 The stipulation also provides

that the City may “accelerate payment of this penalty schedule” if it

so desires.

 (Stip.

 17).

In evaluating this enforcement action and proposed settlement

agreement,

 the Board has taken into consideration all the facts and

circumstances in light of the specific criteria delineated in

Section 33(c) of the Act.

 The Board finds the settlement agreement

acceptable under Procedural Rule 331 and Section 33(c)

 of the Act.

Accordingly, the Board finds that the Respondent, the City of

Herrin, has violated Rules 408(a),

 410(a),

 602(b),

 901, and 1201 of

Chapter 3:

 Water Pollution Control Regulations and Sections 12(a)

and 12(f)

 of the Illinois Environmental Protection Act.

 The City

will be ordered to c~aseand desist from further violations and pay

the stipulated penalty of $1,200.00 in four semiannual installments

of $300.00 each.

This Opinion constitutes the Board’s findings of fact and

conclusions of law in this matter.

44—217

ORDER

Q~4er

Q~the Illinois Pollution ContrQl board that:

~pon4ent,

 the City of Herrin,

 has violated Rules

4Qq~),4~.Q(#),

~Q2(b)~ 901, and 12~iof Chapter 3:

 Water Pollution

qo~ro~.

~e 4~t1.ons~nd

Sections 12(a) and

 12(f)

 of the Illinois

VQne~ta1

 P~o~ection

 Act.

2,

‘~he~espondent

 ~~al1 cease and desist from further violations,

3, W~~n3Q days

 the date of

this

 Order, the Respondent

cer~ttiedcheck or money ~orderpayable to the state of

~

~ay

~he first installment of $300.00 on the stipulated

pena~ty~f

$~.,200,0Q (and subsequently make payments of $300.00 each

jj~

~em4.~nnual4.nstallments thereafter,

 until the entire penalty of

$~.,20Q,Q01~a~

 been paid

in full), which is to be sent to:

Illinois Environmental Protection Agency

Fiscal Services Division

2200 Cliurchil). Road

Springfield, Illinois

62706

T!le ~e~pondentmay accelerate payment of this penalty

t~ç 4.t

desireB.

~e

p.eepon~ent shall

comply

with

 all the

terms

and

conditions

 i~4~n and Proposal

for Settlement filed September 9,

 1981,

j~in~~orporated

by

reference as

fully

set

forth

herein.

 Moffett, Clerk of the Illinois Pollution Control

 ~er~4.fy

t~t

the

above

Opinion

and

Order

were

adopted

~

~

Jj1~d~’

o~~

 1981 by

 vote of

_________

Illinois Po1lutio~

44—218