ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD

December 20,

1977

GALESBURG SANITARY DISTRICT,

Petitioner,

V.

)

PCB 77—192

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

AGENCY,

Respondent.

MR. GUILBERT

H. BROWN OF LUCAS, BROWN AND MCDONALD appeared

on behalf of Petitioner.

MR. PATRICK

J. CHESLEY, ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL, appeared

on behalf of Respondent.

OPINION AND ORDER OF THE BOARD

(by

Mr. Dumelle):

This matter comes before the Board upon the July 14, 1977

Petition for Variance filed by the Galesburg Sanitary District

requesting relief from Rules

203(f)

(ammonia nitrogen)

and

404(f)

of Chapter

3:

Water Pollution

(Chapter

3)

until

June

1,

1982.

The Environmental Protection Agency

(Agency)

filed its Agency Recommendation

in favor of granting the

variance

with certain conditions attached on August 16,

1977.

A

hearing was held on November

1,

1977.

Galesburg Sanitary District

(District)

owns and operates

a sewer system and sewage treatment plant

(STP)

located in

Knox County, Illinois,

Effluent is discharged into Cedar

Fork Creek, an intermittent stream tributary to the Henderson

River.

These

discharges contain concentrations of

HOD5 and

suspended solids in violation of Rule 404(f) and have caused

a violation of

Rule 203(f)

(ammonia nitrogen)

in the receiving

stream.

In addition, wet weather flows into existing combined

sewers

have resulted in the bypassing of inadequately treated

sewage into the creek,

The District intends to deal with

these problems

by way of a major construction project in-

volving sewer separation and upgrading of its STP to achieve

effluent levels of

10 mg/i BOD5,

12 mg/l suspended solids and

1.5 mg/i ammonia nitrogen.

The grant of a variance would

allow the District time in which to obtain Federal grants

to help

defray the cost of this project.

The District alleges hardship based on the fact that were

they to proceed without Federal grant funds the cost of the

project

would be beyond their financial means.

The Board

has stated

previously that “an arbitrary and unreasonable

hardship

would be placed on the District by requiring the

28

—

473

---

—2—

massive capital outlays necessary for compliaru

~:i~ou~~s:st

allowing the District

to

obtain assistance

froii~

3tin~,

grant programs, and particularly

so when the D~

:~otwo~i~t

be precluded from any reimbursement from State/r

-leral ~rart

funds

if the District were to proceed in advanuc ~c a parricilar

grant award.”

Galesburg Sanitary District v.

Luironmental

Protection Agency, PCB 76—154,

23 PCB 321 at

322

The environmental impact of granting a van

mce wotid.

be the discharge of effluent containing high

cort~entratiops

of BOD5,

suspended solids and ammonia nitrogen

iiich would.

affect dissolved oxygen levels

in Cedar Fork

Cr?-~k,

However,

since grant funds are necessary to achieve com~.tance

through

the proposed project, the Board

finds that the

b~nef~J.s

derived from the grant of a variance outweigh any harm

to

the environment.

The Agency suggested in its Recommendation

that thu Boaid

enter an abatement order as a condition of this

variance

The

November 1,

1977 hearing was scheduled to allow

public

cosui’

~t

on this issue.

The Galesburg Sanitary District

stated

at. tie

hearing that it did not agree

that

an abatement

order was

necessary.

No evidence was introduced at the

hearing oi ary~-

where else in the record which would support the

entry of such

an order,

Consequently the Board will decline

to impose this

extraordinary sanction.

The Galesburg Sanitary District is hereby

c~ianteda

variance from Rules

203(f) and 404(f)

of Chapter

3 until

June 1,

1982 subject to the condition that the

District sh~ii

adhere to the project completion schedule set

forth in its

Petition for Variance.

This Opinion and Order constitute

the findings of

fact and conclusions of law of the Board.

ORDER

1)

Galesburg Sanitary District is granted a

variance

Rules 203(f)

(ammonia nitrogen),

404(f)

and 602(d)

of

Ci-apter

3

until June 1,

1982 provided that the following

project c-urpietio~

schedule must be observed:

a.

Submit Status Report to the Agency~-May

1, 13/8

b.

Submit plans and specifications

for

Phase

IV

(sewer

separation)

to

the

Agency

May

15,

1978

c.

Arrange

local

financing

for

Phases

I,

III,

IV,

and

V

(STP

improvements)

-~--~June

1,

1976

28

—

474

---

ids

f.

Award doi

L~

g.

Ot.cn BiJ.~

h.

Award Cent

c~

i.

Complete ai~ ~

~~ndA~

artise for

I,

Ill

V)

t’~

?h~-se

IV)

-

III,

V)——-~~

ses

I,

III,

-

ction

~u1y

1,

1978

~—~.gust 15,

19Th

-

-

teptember

15,

~978

—October

1,

1978

~December

31,

1978

-~

~June

1,

1982

2)

Galesburg

Sanitary Distri

11

execute

the Environmental

Pnoteetioa Agen

,

Enforceme

2200

Churchill Road,

Spni yfield.

ilinois

627

Pollution

Control

Board

i~t.hin‘15

ays

after

t~

Board

Order herein a Cer4licate

c

Acceptance

to

be

bound

to

all the

terms and ~nditions

of

This

45

day

period ~na11

be held ~

abeyance

e.

this matter

is being appealed.

The form of the

shall read as follows:

ON

rooeard

to

c-grams,

and to the

to

of

the

cd

Agreement

aniance.

c’

-my period

~entc~

~te

The

Galesburg

Sanitaiy

stands the Order of the Ill

in PCB 77—192 and hereby au

E

be bound to all of

the term~

By

ot has receired and

under—

illution

Control

Board

said order and agrees

to

J conditions thereof,

Title of

Position

IT IS SO ORDERED.

I,

Christan

L.

Moffett, Clerk of the Illinois Pollution

Control Board,

hereby certify the abo e Opinion and Order

were

adopted

on

the

~o-~day

of

____________,

1977

by

a

vote

of

Christan

L. Moff~J~~/

Clerk

Illinois Pollution Control Board

-~

—

se IV)

28

—

475