ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD

May 20,

1976

ILLINOIS MASONIC HOME,

Petitioner,

v.

)

PCB 76—66

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY,

)

Respondent.

OPINION AND ORDER OF THE BOARD

(by Mr. Young):

This matter comes before the Board on the petition of

Illinois Masonic Home filed March

4,

1976 seeking relief

from Rule 203(c),

Rules 402 and 404(f) (ii)

of Chapter

3:

Water Pollution Rules and Regulations as

regards phosphorus.

An Agency Recommendation was filed on April

28,

1976.

No

hearing was held in this matter.

Illinois Masonic Home,

located in Sullivan, Moultrie

County,

is a facility which

is maintained for the aged and

is

owned and operated by the Brotherhood of Masons.

At this faci-

lity Petitioner owns and operates a sewage treatment plant which

treats approximately 50,000 gpd of domestic wastes.

The plant

consists of

a paper—removing screen,

a bar screen,

a complete

mixed activated sludge aeration tank,

intermediate clarifier,

trickling filter, and a rectangular final clarifier which is

also used as

a chlorine contact chamber.

The waste—activated

sludge

is digested in an aerobic digester.

The plant effluent

is discharged to Jonathan Creek which is tributary to Lake

Shelbyville.

Rule 203(c)

sets

a standard of 0.05 mg/i for phosphorus

as

P in any reservoir or lake, or in any stream at the point

where it enters any reservoir or lake and Rule 402 requires

that the Petitioner’s effluent not contribute to a violation

of the Rule 203(c) water quality standard.

The phosphorus con-

centration in Jonathan Creek as it enters Lake Shelbyville

presently exceeds 0.05 rng/l;

therefore the Petitioner’s effluent

is water quality limited to the Rule 203(c)

standard of 0.05

mg/i phosphorus.

Petitioner alleges there is no economically

feasible method of reducing its phosphorus concentration to

this level, and therefore requests this variance from the stan-

dard.

While Petitioner did consider the alternatives of chemical

treatment, land application and pumping the effluent to another

treatment facility, these alternatives were discarded because

the Petitioner found they were not cost effective.

21 —475

---

—2—

Information about Lake Shelbyville’s nutrient loading con-

tained in the Preliminary Report on Shelbyvilie Reservoir reveals

that the discharge from Petitioner’s treatment plant contributes

only 0.4

of the total phosphorus load being transported to Lake

Shelbyville.

On January 5,

1976, the Agency filed a Petition for Regula-

tory Change

(R76-1) with the Board which would amend the Regula-

tion by requiring only point sources which have

1500 or more

population equivalent to treat wastewater to a level not to exceed

1 mg/i prior to discharge.

As justification for this proposal

the Agency submits that eutrophication studies by both the USEPA

and the Illinois State Water Survey show that the contribution of

point source dischargers to the total phosphorus problem of lakes

and reservoirs is small compared to the non-point source contribu-

tion.

The Agency submits that non—point sources, such as run—off

waters from farm lands fertilized with phosphate base fertilizers,

account for the overwhelming majority of the phosphorus loading

of most lakes and reservoirs.

In light of these studies and the small contribution that

Petitioner’s discharge will make to the Lake Shelbyville phos-

phate problem, the Board

finds that the Petitioner is entitled

to a variance.

Rule 402(f) (ii) (A)

provides, as does Rule 402,

that no effluent shall alone or in combination with other sources

cause a violation of any applicable water quality standard.

Rule

404(f) (ii) (D)

requires in part that the operator file a project

completion schedule for achieving compliance with applicable water

quality standards

(phosphorus).

Because Petitioner plans

to apply

for a Pfeffer exemption,

the Board will also grant a variance from

Rules

404(f) (ii) (A)

and 404(f) (ii) (D)

as those Rules apply to

phosphorus.

This Opinion constitutes the Board’s findings of fact and

conclusions of law in this matter.

ORDER

Illinois Masonic Home is granted a variance for the operation

of its sewage treatment plant from the phosphorus limitations of

Rules

203(c), 402,

404(f) (ii) (A) and 404(f) (ii) (D) of Chapter

3:

Water Pollution Regulations until May 20,

1981,

subject to the

following conditions:

1.

This variance will terminate upon adoption by the Board

of any modification of the existing phosphorus water quality

standards and effluent limitations and Illinois Masonic Home shall

comply with such revised regulations when adopted by the Board.

2.

Petitioner shall initiate a program to reduce the level

of phosphorus contained in its effluent.

This program should

include, but not be limited to, the replacement of phosphate

soaps and detergents with non or low phosphate soaps and detergents.

21—476

---

—3—

3.

Within 35 days of the date of this Order,

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

form of said certificate shall be as follows:

CERTIFICATION

I,

(We), __________________________

having read

the Order of the Illinois Pollution Control Board in

PCB 76-66,

understand and accept said Order, realizing

that such acceptance renders all terms and conditions

thereto binding and enforceable.

SIGNED

TITLE

IT

IS SO ORDERED.

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

Control Board, hereby certify the above Opinion and Order were

adopted o~ithe

~c’~

day of

(fl~

-

,

1976 by a

vote of

,~

Christan L. Moffett,

rk

Illinois Pollution

rol Board