ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
August 12,
1976
CITY OF OAKL1~ND,
)
Petitioner,
v.
)
PCB 76—182
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY,
Respondent.
OPINION AND ORDER OF THE BOARD
(by Mr.
Young):
This matter comes before the Board on variance petition
filed June 23,
1976, by the City of Oakland seeking relief
from Rules 203(c),
402 and 404(f) of Chapter
3:
Water Pollu-
tion Rules and Regulations as regards phosphorus.
The Agency
filed a Recommendation on July 29,
1976; no hearing was held
in this matter.
The City of Oakland has an estimated population of 1,100
persons and is
located in Coles County.
At the present time
the City has no municipal sewage treatment facilities.
The
City’s collection system consists of storm sewers which also
remove some domestic sewage with several discharge points to
the Hog Branch of the Embarrass River, which
is tributary to
Lake Charleston.
In January of 1976, the City was offered a
Step
I grant by the Agency for the preparation of a Facilities
Plan.
This Facilities Plan, which anticipates the use of a
three cell aerated lagoon with submerged sand filter and chlori-
nation facilities, was submitted to the Agency on
May
3, 1976,
and the City is awaiting Agency approval thereof.
The estimated
cost for this treatment plant and sewer system is $2,209,840.00,
with the City’s share of this cost estimated to be $650,000.00.
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
City’s effluent not contribute to a violation of the Rule 203(c)
water quality standard.
The phosphorus concentration in the
Embarrass River as it enters Lake Charleston presently exceeds
.05 mg/i;
therefore,
the City’s effluent is water quality limited
to the Rule 203(c)
standard of
.05 mg/i phosphorus.
If the City’s
proposed treatment facility does not meet the
.05 mg/i standard
of Rule 203(c),
the Agency cannot issue a construction permit
unless the City first obtains a variance from the Board.
23
—
345
—2—
The City alleges that this is no feasible method of attaining
the phosphorus standard for its discharge.
Furthermore,
while
the
City did consider pumping the effluent into an adjacent watershed
as well as land application, these alternatives were considered
undesirable for economic reasons.
Based upon the USEPA National Eutrophication Survey Report,
the annual total phosphorus loading to Lake Charleston is 171,853
pounds.
Assuming
10 mg/i phosphorus and an average flow rate of
.185 MGD,
the phosphorus loading from the City’s facility would
be approximately 16 pounds per day, which represents
3
of the
total.
On January
5,
1976,
the Agency filed a Petition for Regulatory
Change
(R76-l) with the Board which would amend the Regulations by
requiring only point sources who have 1500 or more population equi-
valent 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 United States Environmental
Protection Agency 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
contribution.
The Agency submits that non-point sources, such as
run—off waters from farm lands fertilized with phosphate base ferti-
lizers,
account for the overwhelming majority of the phosphorus
loading of most lakes and reservoirs.
The denial of this variance would prevent the City from utili-
zing State/Federal grant funds to assist in the construction of a
much needed sewage treatment plant.
Balancing this hardship with
the small contribution the City’s discharge will make to the Lake
Charleston phosphorus problem leads the Board to believe that the
City
is entitled to relief.
The Board will require, however,
that
the City design and construct the sewage treatment plant to allow
for the possible future installation of appropriate removal facili-
ties.
Because the City ha3 applied for a lagoon exemption pursuant
to Rule 404(c) (iii), the Board will also grant
a variance from Rule
404
(c)
(ii
I)
(1))
rL~
t.hM—
rth1r~ ~ippl
io~
to
i
~ioru~
~‘~nd
\Ji
I
I
dismiss
Lh~ rcqI1es~
I or
v~~riance
L~rom
Rule
404(L)
This
Opinion
constitutes
the
Board’s
findings
of
fact
and
conclusions
of
law in this matter.
ORDER
The
City
of
Oakland
is
granted
a
variance
for
the
operation
of
its
proposed sewage treatment plant from Rules 203(c),
402
and
404(c)
(iii)
(D)
of
Chapter
3:
Water Pollution Regulations as regards
phosphorus
until
September
1,
1981,
subject
to
the
following
con-
ditions:
23
—
346
—3—
I.
This
variance
will
terminate
upon
adoption
by
the
Board
of
any
modification
of
the
existing
phosphorus
water
quality
standards
and
effluent
limitations
and
the
City
of
Oakland shall
comply
with
such
revised regulations when adopted by the Board.
2.
The
sewage
treatment
plant
shall
be
d~signed
and
con-
structed to allow for the possible future installation of appro-
priate phosphorus removal facilities.
3.
That portion of the Petition requesting relief from
Rule 404(f)
is dismissed.
4.
Within 35 days of the date of this Order,
the City of
Oakland 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 certi-
fication shall be as follows:
CERTIFICATION
I,
(We), ____________________________ having read
the Order of the Pollution Control Board in PCB 76-182,
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,
hereb~y certify
the
above
Opinion
and
Order
were
adopted~
the
j,..~
~‘
day
of
~
,
1976
by
a
Christan L.
Moffe
lerk
Illinois Pollutio
ntrol Board
23
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347