ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD

May 20

1976

VILLAGE OF STRASBURG,

Petitioner,

v.

)

 PCB 76—28

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY,

Respondent.

OPINION AND ORDER OF

THE

BOARD

 (by Mr. Young):

This matter comes before the Board on the petition of

the Village of Strasburg filed January 27, 1976 seeking

variance from Rules 203(c)

 and 402 of Chapter

3:

 Water

Pollution Rules and Regulations as regards phosphorus.

An

Amended Petition was filed on March

8,

 1976 and the Agency

filed

 a Recommendation on April

 9, 1976.

 No hearing was

held in this matter.

The Village of Strasburg

 is located in Shelby County

and has

 a population of 456 people.

 At the present time

the Village has no sewage collection system or municipal

sewage treatment facilities.

 Sewage treatment currently

consists of individual

 septic tanks and tile fields.

The

Village has received a Step

1,

2,

and

 3 State grant offer

from the Agency for the construction of a treatment plant

and the Village has also received

 a commitment from the

Farmers Home Administration to assist in the construction

of

 a sewage collection system.

 The treatment plant consists

of

 a three-cell lagoon system with a submerged sand filter

and disinfection facilities with a design P.E.

 of 750.

 (The

Agency submits the design P.E.

 is only 600).

 The discharge

from the plant will be tributary

 to Richland Creek,

 a tribu-

tary of the Kaskaskia River approximately

 45 miles above the

Carlyle Reservoir.

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 Village’s effluent not contribute

 to a violation of

the Rule 203(c) water quality standard.

 The phosphorus con-

centration in the Kaskaskia River as

 it enters the Carlyle

Reservoir presently exceeds

 .05 mg/l;

 therefore the Village’s

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—2—

effluent is water quality limited to the Rule 203(c)

 standard

of

 .05 mg/i phosphorus.

 Because the Village’s proposed treat-

ment facility will not meet the

 .05 mg/l standard of Rule 203

(c),

 the Agency cannot issue a construction permit unless the

Village

 first obtains a variance from the Board.

The Agency submits that the average phosphrous concentra-

tion of normal domestic sewage is approximately 10 mg/i; there-

fore the Village’s proposed facility will discharge approximately

 5 lbs/day phosphorus.

 In the USEPA National Eutrophication

Survey Report on Carlyle Reservoir an annual total phosphorus

loading of 698,050

 lbs/year to Carlyle Reservoir is estimated.

Based on this data,

 the Village’s proposed treatment plant would

result in only a 0.26

 increase in phosphorus loading.

On January

5,

 1976,

 the Agency filed a Petition for Regu-

latory Change

 CR76-i) with the Board which would amend the

Regulation by requiring only point sources who have 1500 or more

population equivalent to treat wastewater to

 a level not to ex-

ceed

 1 mg/i prior to discharge.

 As justification for this pro-

posal the Agency submits that eutrophication studies by both the

USEPA and the Illinois State Water Survey show that the contri-

bution of point source dischargers to the total phosphorus problem

of lakes and reservoirs is small compared to the non—point source

contribution.

 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 phos-

phorus loading of most lakes and reservoirs.

The Village alleges that they will suffer an unreasonable

hardship if the Board denies this variance request,

 a denial

which would prevent the Village from utilizing State grant funds

to assist in the construction of a much needed sewage treatment

plant.

 In light of aforesaid studies and the small contribution

 that the Village’s discharge will make to the Carlyle Lake phos-

phate problem,

 the Board is disposed to grant the relief requested.

The Board will require, however, that the Village design and con-

struct the sewage treatment plant to allow for the possible future

installation of appropriate phosphorus removal facilities.

This Opinion constitutes the Board’s findings of fact and

conclusions of law in this matter.

ORDER

The Village of Strasburg is granted a variance from the

phosphorus limitations of Rules 203(c)

 and 402 of Chapter

3:

Water Pollution Regulations until May 20,

 1981,

 subject to the

following conditions:

21—464

—3—

1.

 This variance will terminate upon adoption by the Board

of any modification of the existing phosphorus water quality

standards and effluent limitations and the Village of Strasburg

shall comply with such revised regulations when adopted by the

Board.

2.

 The sewage treatment plant shall be designed and con-

structed to allow for the possible future installation of

appropriate phosphorus removal facilities,

 arid

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 certifi—

cation shall be as follows:

CERTIFICATION

I,

 (We),

—

 having read

the Order of the Pollution Control Board in PCB 76-28,

understand and accept said Order,

 realizing that such

acceptance renders all terms and conditions thereto

binding and enforceable.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

SIGNED

TITLE

DATE

I,

Control

adopted

vote of

Christan L.

 Moffett, Clerk of the Illinois Pollution

Board, here~certify the above Opinion and Order were

~the

~

 day of

________________,

 1976 by a

Illinois Pollution

 Board

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