ILLINOIS
POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
March
30, 1978
VILLAGE
OF FINDLAY,
)
)
Petitioner,
)
v.
)
PCB
78—16
)
ENVIRONMENTAL
PROTECTION AGENCY,
)
)
Respondent.
OPINION AND ORDER OF
THE
BOARD
(by Mr. Young):
This matter comes before the Board on a variance petition
filed on January 24, 1978, by the Village of Findlay for relief
from the phosphorus standard of Rules 203(c) and 402 in Chapter
3:
Water Pollution Regulations.
On March 16,
1978, the Agency
filed
a
Recommendation
favorable
to
the
grant
of
this
variance
subject
to
certain
conditions.
No
hearing
was
held
in
this
matter; Petitioner properly waived hearing in its amended
petition of February 21, 1978.
The Village of Findlay owns and operates a wastewater treat-
ment facility with a design flow of 0.10 MGD serving 809 customers
in Shelby County, Illinois.
The
treatment
plant
effluent
flows to an
unnamed
tributary
one
mile
upstream
from
Lake
Shelbyville
(Pet.
p5),
and
is
thereby
subject
to
the
phosphorus
requirements
of
the
Board’ s
Water
Pollution
Regulations.
Rules
203(c)
and
402
of
Chapter
3
prohibit
any
discharge
from
causing
or
contributing
to
a
violation
of
the
0.05 mg/l phosphorus water quality in any lake or
any
stream
at
the point of entry into the lake.
In this case, the Agency
bomments
that
its
proposed
regulatory
amendments
in
R76-l
to
the
phosphorus
standard,
if
adopted
as
proposed,
would
eliminate
the
phosphorus
treatment
requirements
for
Petitioner
until
its
average
plant
discharge
equalled
0.15
MGD
(Rec.
p4).
Information provided by the National Eutrophication
Survey
estimates that the Findlay plant contributes less than 1.0
of
the total phosphorus load entering Lake Shelbyville (Pet.
p5, 6).
No other phosphorus effluent quality data is available for the
Findlay plant; the Agency maintains that a monitoring and analysis
requirement of phosphorus would constitute an arbitrary and un-
reasonable hardship upon Petitioner
(Rec.
p4).
29-449
-2
The Village of I!tndlay notds a
0020524 issued on June 30
197’
r
facility in Findlay
~
t0
activated sludge
i
-
a
grit
chamber
Recen
..j
-
r
facilities
plann
w
g
-
y.
Anticipated
i
aprova
include
nitrifica
i
y I
ads
laboratory
and
co
1
all
interconnect
a
1000
P.E
and
a
Ie~i.
c
maximum)
Pet
The Petit
phosphorus
sta
-
d
n
hardship
In
a
submitted
an
t.
cluding
chemi:a
t.
e’t..
a
irrigation, and
Ii.
o
a
3
alleges and U
f
the three aitet
c
.ab
e
hardshio
Pet
o
TheBoar
~t4
i
granted
si i~iar
24 PCB 441; 5
jt
77—111,
25 PëA~~
-
-
289.
In
those
i
recognized
that
tioners
to
como~
t
Chapter
3.
We
.~.
‘C,
theBoardinreaa-
$
to
the
phospnoz
a
Water
Pollutior
tsC
-‘
s
The
Board
and
unreasonab
~.
s
mg/l
standard.
203(c)
aid
4G2
-
a
lation
change
u
der
th
conditions
of
th~ C
~
The
Board
ti~
permit
to
Petitinez
o
le
914
of
Chapter
3
aad
t
i
-
To
as
may
be
reasonab
y
a~
practicable operatxo4
facilities.
—3—
This Opinion constitutes the Board’s findings of fact and
conclusions •of law in
this matter.
ORDER
1.
The Village of Findlay is granted a variance for the
operation of its wastewater treatment plant from Rules
203(c)
and 402 of Chapter
3:
Water Pollution of the Board’s Rules
and Regulations regarding phosphorus until January 19,
1982,
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.
h)
Petitioner shall provide space in its
design for storage of chemicals, and for
mixing and dosing equipment capable of
meeting a phosphorus effluent concentration
of
1 mg/I,
or to whatever alternative level
may be established by the Board.
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 equipment
for the removal of phosphorus which will
provide the best practicable treatment
technology for the removal of phosphorus
over the life of the works.
2.
Petitioner, within
30 days of the date of this Order,
shall request Agency modification of NPDES permit IL 0020524
to incorporate all conditions of the variance set forth herein.
3.
The Agency, pursuant to Rule 914 of Chapter
3, shall
modify NPDES permit IL 0020524 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.
4.
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
29—451
—4—
forty-five day period herein shall be suspended 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), ___________________________
havino read
the Order of the Pollution Control Board in PCB 78-16,
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 abov
Opinion and Order were
ado~1tedon the j~i~ day of
_________________,
1978
hy
a
vote
of
___
Christan
L.
Mofrett
rk
-
Illinois
Poll. ution
rd
Board
29
—
452