ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD

July 6, 1978

CITY OF PANA,

)

)

Petitioner,

)

v.

)

PCB 78—145

)

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 17, 1978, by the City of Pana for a permanent variance

from Rules

203(c),

402 and 404 (f) (ii) (A), all of Chapter

3:

Water Pollution,

of the Board’s Rules and Regulations,

as

those Rules apply to phosphorus.

The Environmental Protection

Agency filed a Recommendation on June 16,

1978, which recom-

mended that the variance be denied, or in the alternative,

that it be granted for a period of five years subject to

certain conditions.

No hearing was held;

the City of Pana

waived hearing in the Petition and made no request pursuant

to Rule 406 of the Board’s Procedural Rules on receipt of

the Agency Recommendation.

Section 36(b)

of the Environmental Protection Act

authorizes the Board

to grant variances for a period of

time not to exceed five years;

the Petitioner in requesting

a permanent variance seeks relief which the Board

is not

authorized to grant, Monsanto v. PCB,

367 N.E.2d 684

(1977).

The Board will also dismiss the request for

a variance

from Rule 404 (f) (ii) (A)

as unnecessary since the grant of

relief from Rule 203(c) would remove any phosphorus water

quality violation from consideration for

a Pfeffer exemption

under Rule 404 (f) (ii).

The City of Pana,

Christian County,

Illinois, owns and

operates

a 0.70 MGD wastewater treatment facility consisting

of a primary clarifier, trickling filter, secondary clarifier,

chlorine contact tank, anaerobic digesters and sludge drying

beds

(Pet. p3).

The existing facilities operate under an

NPDES Permit,No.

IL 0022314,

as modified by a USEPA Enforce-

ment Compliance Schedule Letter establishing interim effluent

concentration limitations of

30 mg/i of BOD5 and 50 mg/i of

suspended solids

(Rec. p3).

31.55

---

—2—

The City of Pana has completed a Facilities Plan and

a Sewer System Evaluation Survey under a Federal Step

1

grant awarded October 22,

1975

(Rec. p2).

The City proposes

the construction of a new advanced wastewater treatment

facility and to phase out

t1~existing facility on completion

of the new plant

(Pet. p3).

The proposed facility will

discharge to Coal Creek, approximately

50 stream miles above

Carlyle Lake.

Because the concentration of phosphorus

in Carlyle

Lake exceeds the standard of Rule

203(c),

the application

of Rules

203(c)

and 402

to the proposed facilities of the

City of Pana would establish a phosphorus effluent concentra-

tion limitation of 0.05 mg/i from the plant.

Petitioner

concludes that removal of phosphorus

to

a concentration of

0.05 is technologically and economically unfeasible for

the average community (Pet. p3);

the Agency believes

that

such removal is technically feasible but economically un-

reasonable

(Rec. p4).

The Board is familiar with the problems facing dischargers

in meeting the 0.05 mg/lphosphorus limitation.

City of

Hoopeston,

PCB 76-234,

24

PCB

441; Southern Illinois University

at Edwardsviile, 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 of 0.05 for phosphorus.

In further recognition

of this difficulty,

the Agency has petitioned the Board in

R76-1 for approoriate amendments

to the phosphorus effluent

limitations and water quality standards of Chapter

3.

If

the amendments proposed in R76-1 were ad~ptedwithout change,

the City of Pana would be required to treat

its effluent to

meet a phosphorus

effluent concentration limitation of 1.0

mg/l since the facilities will serve a population equivalent

greater than 1500

(Rec. p3).

Petitioner has included provisions

for removal of phos-

phorus to an effluent concentration of 1.0 mg/i in the design

criteria for the proposed treatment facility

(Pet.

p3) but

argues that since the cost of phosphorus removal

to 1.0 mg/i

exceeds any environmental benefits,

to require any phosphorus

removal in the proposed facility would constitute an arbitrary

and unreasonable hardship

(Pet.

p4-6).

The Agency does not

feel that the justification supports

the relief requested and

recommends that this request be denied

(Rec. p1).

Although the

impact of the Petitioner’s discharge of phosphorus on Carlyie

31.56

---

—3—

Lake appears to be minimal

(Pet. p4-5) the Petition is silent

regarding the impact of such discharge on the intervening

receiving waterways.

Because of the pendency of R76-l,

including the economic

impact study and subsequent economic impact hearings, and

for the reasons stated above, the Board will not and cannot

grant Petitioner relief from an effluent limitation which

has only been proposed to the Board and which has not yet

been fully heard.

The Board will welcome the participation

of the City of Pana in R76-l.

Based upon the foregoing,

the Board will grant to the

City of Pana the same measure of relief during the pendency

of R76-l that has been granted to other petitioners facing

similar problems because of the application of Rules

203(c)

and 402.

The Petitioner will be required to include provisions

for removal of phosphorus from the effluent of the proposed

plant

to a concentration of 1.0 mg/i for the period of the

variance granted herein.

Pursuant to Rule 914, the Board will direct the Agency

to modify NPDES Permit No.

IL 0022314 consistent with the

Opinion and Order herein including such interim effluent

limitations

as may reasonably be achieved through the

application of the best practicable operation and maintenance

practices in the existing facilities.

This Opinion constitutes the Board’s findings of fact

and conclusions of law in this matter.

ORDER

1.

The Village of Pana

i.s granted a variance for

the

operation of its wastewater treatment plant from Rules

203(c)

and 402 of Chapter

3:

Water Pollution Rules and Regulations

regarding phosphorus until July 6,

1983,

subject to the

following conditions:

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 Village shall comply

with such revised regulations when

adopted by the Board.

b)

Petitioner shall provide space

in its

design for storage of chemicals,

and

for mixing and dosing equipment capable

of meeting a phosphorus effluent con-

centration of

1 mg/i,

or to whatever

alternative level may be established

by the Board.

31.57

---

—4—

c)

In the event that grant funds become

available during the period of this

variance,

the

Village shall incorporate

in any design and specification adequate

provision for the installation of equip-

ment for the removal of phosphorus which

will provide the best practicable treat-

ment technology for the removal of

phosphorus over the life of the works.

2.

The Petition for Variance from the phosphorus require-

ments of Rule 404 (f) (ii) (A)

in 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 IL 0022314

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 including such interim effluent limita-

tions 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:

CERTIFICATION

I,

(We), ___________________________

having read

the Order of

the Pollution Control Board in PCB 78-145,

understand and accept said Order, realizing that such

acceptance renders all terms and conditions thereto

binding and enforceable.

SIGNED

TITLE

DATE

3158

---

—5—

IT IS

SO ORDERED.

I, Christan L. Moffett, Clerk of the Illinois Pollution

Control Board, hereby certify the ab ye Opinion and Order were

adopted on the

~

day of

_________________—,

1978 by a

vote of

It—p

-

Christan L. Moff~~/Clerk

Illinois Pollution Control Board