ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
August
24,
1978
L.
R.
S7ALKER,
D.D.S.
and
ROBERT H.
NELSON,
D.D.S.,
)
Petitioners,
V.
)
PCB 78—159
)
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY,
Respondent.
OPINION
AND
ORDER OF THE BOARD
(by
Mr.
Young):
This
matter comes before the Poard on a Petition filed
on May 31,
1978, by L. R. Walker, D.D.S. and Robert H. Nelson,
D.D.S.
for a variance from the relevant provisions of the
Stipulation and Proposal for Settlement incorporated into an
Order by this Board on March
2,
1978, which prevents Petitioners
from connecting with the
sewer system of the Round Lake Sanitary
District
(District).
The Environmental Protection Agency
(Agency)
filed a Recommendation on July 21, 1978,
in favor of granting
the requested relief provided that Petitioners adhere to certain
conditions.
No hearing was held in this matter; hearing was
waived by the Petitioner.
Petitioners are licensed Dentists who have purchased an
unimproved parcel of land in the Village of Round Lake for
purposes of constructing a structure containing 2,500 square
feet of office
space and a parking lot to accommodate approxi-
mately 22 cars
(Pet.
2, Exh. A).
The Petitioners estimate that
the offices will discharge only 700 gallons per month consisting
of occasional non—sewage discharges from the main holding tank
of their vacuum storage system and sewage from two toilettes in
the proposed structure
(Pet.
2,
3).
On March
2, 1978, this Board in a consolidated proceeding,
PCB 75-33 and PCB 75—65,
found the District in violation of
various water pollution regulations.
Specifically, the District
was found to exceed the effluent quality limitations of Rule
402, the BOD5/SS requirements of Rule 404(f), the phosphorus
effluent limitation of Rule 407(b)
and for operating the treat-
ment facility without a permit
in violation of Rule 952
in
Chapter
3:
Water Pollution Rules.
In addition,
the Board incor-
porated provisions of paragraph 23(d)
in Stipulation and Proposal
for Settlement which prohibited the District from connecting any
multiple family dwelling or commercial structure without
a
specific variance from the
Board
(Pet.
2, Rec.
2).
31—295
—2—
The Agency recommends that Petitioners’ request be granted
as a specific exception to the Stipulation and Proposal for
Settlement incorporated into the March
2, 1978,
Board Order.
This favorable recommendation is made in spite of the discharge
monitoring reports and Agency grab samples which indicate that
the treatment facility handles loadings well beyond its 1.6 MGD
design capacity, that the BOD5/SS concentrations are in excess
of the District’s 20/25 mg/i NPDES permit limitations, and the
discharge from the treatment plant is
in continual violation of
the applicable ammonia nitrogen and phosphorus effluent iirnità-
tions
(Rec.
2,
3).
The Agency does not recommend expansion
or improvements for this facility especially since the Round
Lake treatment facility
is scheduled to he abandoned upon com-
pletion of theFox Lake Regional Treatment Plant at the end of
December,
1979
(Rec.
3).
The Agency also notes that the Petitioners had purchased
this unimproved parcel and had terminated the existing lease
for their dental clinic
in Round Lake prior to the Board Order
on March
2,
1978.
The Petitioners claim that denial of a
variance would pre—empt their intentions to practice in Round
Lake and force its citizens to seek dental services elsewhere
to the possible detriment of health in the community (Pet.
3,
4,
Rec.
3).
While it is not the usual practice for this Board to place
added burdens on an overloaded treatment facility, the Board
recognizes that the hardships in this case facing the Petitioners
and the people of Round Lake significantly outweigh any potential
impact from a de minimis monthly increase of
700 gallons to the
Round Lake fac~1ity.
Petitioner will be granted a variance
from the relevant provisions of paragraph 23(d)
in the Stipula-
tion and Proposal for Settlement incorporated into the Board
decision in PCB 75-33 and 75-65
(consolidated)
to allow connection
of all plumbing fixtures described in this Petition to the sewer
tributary to the Round Lake treatment plant.
This Opinion constitutes the Board’s findings of fact and
conclusions of law in this matter.
ORDER
1.
Petitioners,
L.
P~. Walker,
D.D.S.
and Robert H.
Nelson,
D.D.S., are hereby granted a variance from the provisions of
paragraph 23(d)
of the Stipulation and Proposal for Settlement
incorporated into an Order issued by the Board
in EPA
v.
Round
Lake Sanitary District, PCB 75—33 and 75—65
(consolidated) (March
2,
1978)
subject to the following conditions:
31—296
—3—
(a)
Petitioners shall connect only those fixtures
described in the Petition which includes the
two toilettes,
any accompanying fixtures and
the main holding tank to the vacuum storage
system and discharge from those fixtures
shall not exceed 700 gallons per month.
(b)
The Order
in PCB 75-33 and 75-G5
(consolidated)
shall remain in full force and effect.
2.
c’ithin forty-five
(45)
days of the date of this Order,
the Petitioners 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
forty-five day period herein shall
be suspended in the event
of judicial review of this variance pursuant to Section 41 of
the Environmental Protection Act.
The form of said certification
shall be as follows:
CERTIFICATION
I,
(We), __________________________
having read
the Order of the Pollution Control Board in PCB 78-159,
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
adopted qn the
~?4~-
day of
___________________,
1978 by
a
vote of
_____.
Christan L. Mo fet ,~‘~lerk
Illinois Pollution ~ntrol
Board
31—297