ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD

August

4,

1977

HARRY

WEESE

AND

ASSOCIATES,

)

Petitioner,

v.

)

PCB 77-~140

ENVIRONMENTAL

PROTECTION

)

AGENCY,

)

Respondents

OPINION AND ORDER OF THE BOARD

(by Mr.

Goodman):

This matter is before the Board on a Petition for Variance

filed by Petitioner on May 25,

1977 seeking relief from the

combined sewer prohibition

in Rule

602(a)

of Chapter

3:

Water

Pollution.

An Amended Petition

was submitted on June

13,

1977

pursuant to

the Board’s

Order of

May

26,

1977.

The Agency’s

Recommendation to grant

the variance was filed

on July

11,

1977.

The hearing was waived in

accordance with

Rule 401(b)

of the

Board’s Procedural Rules.

Petitioner

seeks variance from Rule 602(a)

of Chapter

3:

Water Pollution, which

prohibits the

construction of new combined

sewers,

in order to

construct

such

sewers to

service a proposed

2.8 acre development in the Village of Oak Park,

The project

includes

84 new town

house residential units,

a commercial building

with apartment in the

upper floors and

two existing buildings to be

converted into residential

units

for a total population estimated

at 488.

The development will be

tributary

to existing combined

sewers of the Metropolitan

Sanitary District

(MSD).

Petitioner

argues that the proposal

to replace and

modify

and thus improve the

existing overloaded sewers

should be considered “replacements”

rather than “new”

combined sewers and

that

construction of separate

sewers at the cost

of disrupted

utility services and $500,000

is

unreasonable.

The facts in

this matter are

similar to recent variances

granted by the Board.

~~y~~nNowak

v. Environmental Protection

Agency,

PCB 76-193

(November 10,

1976);

Near

North Development

---

—2~

PCB 77-78

(May 26,

1977).

The Board finds the reasons which made a variance grant

warranted in those cases are applicable here as well.

There

is no

problem with sewer backup or flooding in the area and minimal

environmental damage will result from this variance grant.

The

MSD’s tunnel and reservoir

proj~t

(TARP)

constitutes an

acceptable

compliance plan.

Requiring the construction of seperate

sewers

would

serve

no

purpose, and, finding that an arbitrary and

unreasonable hardship would

result from

denial,

we shall grant

the variance from

Rule 602(a) of

the Water Pollution

Regulations.

Petitioner~srequest

for variance from

Rule 962 of Chapter

3 is

dismissed.

However,

a grant

of a

variance from a substantive

rule,

here 602(a),

renders a variance from

962 unnecessary.

Peti—

tioner

is still required

to

file for all necessary permits.

This Opinion constitutes the Board~sfindings

of fact and

conclusions

of

law

in this matter.

ORDER

It is the Order of the Pollution Control

Board

that:

1)

Harry Weese and

Associates

is

hereby granted a Variance

from Rule 602(a) of Chapter

3:

Water

Pollution,

to allow the

construction of

the proposed combined sewers

described in this

Opinion herein.

2)

Petitioner’s Request for Variance from Rule 962 of

Chapter

3:

Water

Pollution is dismissed.

3)

Petitioner shall

apply for and receive all

necessary

Agency permits.

IT IS SO

ORDERED.

Mr.

Dumelle abstains.

I,

Christan

L. Moffett, Clerk of

the Illinois

Pollution Control

Board

hereby certify the above Opinion

and

Order wer

adopted on

the~day

of~,

1977 by a vote of___________________

Illinois Pollution