ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
July 6, 1978
DIX-KELL WATER
& SEWER COMMISSION,
)
)
Petitioner,
)
v.
)
PCB 78—l4l~
)
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY,
)
Respondent.
OPINION
AND
ORDER OF THE
BOARD
(by Mr. Young):
This matter comes before the Board on a Petition filed
on May
ii,
1978, by the Dix-Kell Water
& Sewer Commission
(Dix-Kell)
for a variance from the phosphorus
limitations
of Sections
203(c),
402.and 404(f) of Chapter
3:
Water
Pollution Regulations,
of the Board’s Rules and Regulations.
On June
7, 1978,
an Amended Petition was filed, waiving a
hearing,
in response to a Board Order of May
25,
1978.
No
hearing was held in this matter.
On June 16,
1978, the
Environmental Protection Agency filed a Recommendation that
a variance from Rules
203(c)
and 402 be granted, subject to
certain conditions.
The Petitioner,
Dix—Kell, serves two incorporated
municipalities;
the Villagc~of Dix
(pop.
280)
in Jefferson
County and the Village of
K~-:1
(pop.
180)
in Marion County.
The Village of Dix has
an existing three—cell lagoon con-
structed in 1968 and operated by Dix-Kell.
The facility
operates under NPDES Permit
No.
IL 0023493;
a USEPA Enforce-
ment Compliance Schedule Letter established interim effluent
concentration limitations of
35 mg/i of BODE and
60 mg/i of
suspended solids
(Pet.
p1-2;
Rec.
p3).
The Village of Kell
is presently served by individual septic tank systems
(Pet.
p2;
Rec. p3).
The Villages submitted a Facilities Plan to the Agency
December 1,
1977, which involves the expansion of the existing
Dix lagoon system to 0.052 MGD and construction of a 0.026 MGD
lagoon system to serve Kell.
Estimated cost for these im-
provements
is $488,000.00
(Pet. p4).
Both facilities will
be managed and operated by Petitioner Dix-Keil
(Rec.
p4).
Effluent from the proposed facilities will be discharged by
unnamed tributaries to Casey Fork, which
is tributary to
31-51
—2—
Rend Lake.
The concentration of phosphorus in Rend Lake
exceeds
the water quality concentration limitation of 0.05
mg/i.
Rules
203(c)
and 402 prohibit any discharge, alone or
in combination,
from causing or contributing to a violation
of the 0.05 mg/i phosphorus water quality standard in any
lake or in any stream at the point of entry in the lake.
The application of Rules
203(c)
and 402 to the proposed
facilities of Dix-Kell would establish a phosphorus effluent
concentration limitation of 0.05 mg/i.
Dix-Keli does not
need a variance from Rule 404(f)
for phosphorus because a
grant of relief from Rule 203(c) would remove the phosphorus
water quality violation from the consideration of a lagoon
exemption pursuant to Rule
404(f) (i)
of
Chapter
3, Country
Aire Mobile Home Park v. EPA, PCB 77-126
(August
4,
1977).
Data from the National Eutrophication Survey indicates
that the proposed facilities would contribute less than 1/2
of 1
of the total phosphorus loading to Rend Lake
(Pet. p1).
Dix—Keil,
after consideration of alternative methods
of compliance
(Pet.
p3-4), concludes that compliance with
the applicable 0.05 mg/i phosphorus limitation is not
economically feasible
(Pet.
pS-6).
The Agency agrees
(Rec.
p5).
The Board is familiar with the problems facing dischargers
in meeting the 0.05 mg/i phosphorus limitation.
City of
Hoopeston, PCB 76-234,
24 PCB 441; Southern Illinois University
at Edwardsvilie, PCB 77-ill,
25 PCB 775; Valley Water Company,
Inc., PCB 77—146,
25 PCB 289.
In those,
and a number of other cases, the Agency and
the Board have recognized that it
is not economically feasible
for the petitioners
therein to comply with an effluent con-
centration limitation of 0.05 mg/i for phosphorus.
In further
recognition of this difficulty,
the Agency has petitioned the
Board in R76-1 for appropriate amendments
to the phosphorus
effluent limitations and water quality standards of Chatter
3.
If the amendments proposed in R76-1 were adopted without
change, Dix-Kell would not be required to provide phosphorus
removal facilities at either proposed facility.
Petitioner has requested a permanent variance from the
phosphorus requirements of Chapter
3
(Pet. p6); this relief
the Board is unable to grant, Monsanto v.
PCB, 367 N.E.2d
684
(1977).
The Board will grant relief to the extent of
its authority, or until final action of the Board
in R76-l,
whichever is earlier.
The Board will direct the Agency to
modify the existing NPDES ~ermit, or as
appropriate,
to
31-52
—3-.
issue a new NPDES permit consistent with this Opinion and
Order which shall include such interim effluent limitations
as may reasonably be achieved through the application of
best practicable operation and maintenance practices in
the existing facility.
This Opinion constitutes the Board’s findings of fact
and conclusions of law in this matter.
ORDER
1.
The Dix-Kell Water
& Sewer Commission is granted
a variance for the operation of its wastewater treatment
facilities from Rules 203(c)
and 402 of Chapter
3:
Water
Pollution Rules and Regulations regarding phosphorus until
July
6,
1983, subject to the following condition:
a)
This variance will earlier terminate upon
adoption by the Board of any modification
of the existing phosphorus water quality
standards and
effluent
limitations
and
the Petitioner shall comply with such re-
vised regulations when adopted by the
Board.
2.
The Petition for Variance from the phosphorus require-
ments
of Rule 404(f) of Chapter
3:
Water Pollution Regulations
is hereby dismissed.
3.
Petitioner, within 30 days of the date of this Order,
shall request Agency modification of NPDES Permit No.
IL 0023493
to incorporate all conditions of the variance set forth herein.
4.
The Agency, pursuant to Rule 914 of Chapter
3,
shall
modify Petitioner’s NPDES permit consistent with the conditions
set forth in this Order and such interim effluent limitations
as may reasonably be achieved through the application of best
practicable operation and maintenance practices in the existing
facilities.
5.
Within forty-five
(45) days of the date of this Order,
the Petitioner shall submit to the Manager, Variance Section,
Division of Water Pollution Control, Illinois Environmental
Protection Agency,
2200 Churchill Road, Springfield,
Illinois,
62706,
an executed Certification of Acceptance and Agreement
to be bound to all terms and conditions of the variance.
The
forty-five day period herein shall be stayed during judicial
review of this variance pursuant to Section
31 of the Environ-
mental Protection Act.
The form of said certification shall
be as follows:
31-53
—4—
CERTIFICATION
I,
(We), _______________________________ having read
the Order of the Pollution Control Board in PCB 78-141,
understand and accept said Order,
realizing that such
acceptance renders all terms and conditions thereto
binding and enforceable.
SIGNED
TITLE
DATE
IT IS SO ORDERED.
I, Christan L.
Moffett, Clerk of the Illinois Pollution
Control Board,
hereby certify the
bove Opinion and Order were
adopted on the
~
day of
~
1978 by
a
QAa~4~
~JJJ~
Christan L.
Mc~~t,
Clerk
Illinois Pollution Control Board
31-54