ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD

September

2,

1976

SPINNEY

 RUN FARMS

CORPORATION,

Petitioner,

)

v.

)

PCB

76—90

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY,

)

Respondent.

OPINION AND ORDER OF THE BOARD

 (by Mr.

 Goodman):

This matter comes before the Board upon Spinney Run Farms

Corporation’s

 (Spinney Run) April

1,

 1976 Petition for Variance

and the May 24,

 1976 amendments thereto.

 The Illinois Environ-

mental Protection Agency

 (Agency)

 filed its Recommendation on

July 16,

 1976.

 No hearing has been held in this matter, and there

have been no public comments.

Spinney Run requests variance from Section 12(a)

 of the En-

vironmental Protection Act

 (Act)

 and Rules 203(a),

 403 and 404(f)

of Chapter

3:

 Illinois Water Pollution Regulations

 (Regulations)

for

its dairy processing and milk

bottling plant located at Illinois

Route

 21, approximately one—half mile north of Illinois Route 120.

This petition

 is the latest

in

 a long line of varianre and enforce—

rncnt

 ~ictions concerning Spinney Run which have come before the Board.

On April

10,

 1975, variance for this installation was granted

in

PCB 74-347 for a period of one year ending September

22,

 1975.

In

a subsequent Opinion in that matter, dated May

8,

 1975, the Board

stated:

As Petitioner failed to proceed with its pre-

treatment plant as originally proposed in the

23—371

—2—

earlier case, we are hesitant to grant variance

for the full length of time requested.

 Should

Spinney Run be able to show sufficient progress

in constructing a facility an extension of the

variance upon proper application would be appro-

priate.

Spinney Run subsequently moved for

 a reconsideration of the Order

noting that the length of the variance would be insufficient to

allow construction of the abatement facilities and questioning

the interim limits set by the Board in the Order.

 On May

22,

1975,

 the Board dismissed Spinney Run’s Motion For Reconsideration

and reaffirmed its Order of April 10,

 1975.

Spinney Run subsequently filed a Petition for Review of the

Order

entered

 by the Board on April

 10, 1975, which review is pend-

ing

 in the Illinois Appellate Court,

 Second District.

 On October

30,

 1975,

 the Board denied a Joint Notion for Reconsideration upon

 remand from the Appellate Court, indicating that the revised com-

pliance program and different interim limits which were proposed

were not supported by testimony or evidence.

 The present petition

for variance submits for the Board’s evaluation the compliance pro-

gram originally set forth in the joint motion.

The ultimate solution to elimination of Spinney Run’s effluent

as

 a pollution source is diversion of its effluent to the North

Shore Sanitary Treatment Plant under construction

 in Gurnee,

Illinois via the proposed Lake County Northeast Central Interceptor

Sewer.

 The Gurnee plant is expected to complete and have operational

the tertiary phase of its plant by the end of 1976.

 The Northeast

Central Interceptor Sewer, however, will not be operational until

the Fall of 1977.

 Spinney Run’s compliance program includes the

construction of

 a pretreatment system with the eventual discharge

to the North Shore Sanitary District.

 The Agency has issued

a

porrni t

to

Spinney

Run

 construct

 its pretre;~t.ment sy~tr’m

with

special

condition

requiring

Spinney

Run

obtain

variance

for

its

effluent

 discharge until such time

the

North

Shore

Sanitary

 District is prepared to accept Spinney Run’s effluent.

It

the

contention of Spinney Run that the pretreatment facility will be

completed by December

31,

 1976.

We,

 therefore, have the following

23

—

372

-.3—

expected compliance program for Spinney Run:

Treatment Method

 BOD and SS

 (mg/l)

Present

 12/31/76

 Continue present

 300/150

operations

1/1/77

 12/31/77

 Pretreatment plant

 100/70

operational

1/1/78

Diversion

NSSD

zero

discharge

The Agency in its Recommendation strongly endorses the goal of

regional wastewater treatment in Lake County.

 The Board agrees with

this goal and, in addition,

 feels that the final result of zero dis-

charge of Spinney Run’s effluent should be encouraged.

 Spinney Run

has shown good faith under its previous variance and will have com-

pleted the pretreatment facility in roughly the period of time

estimated by it in the previous variance proceedings.

 Although it

might be argued that Spinney Run’s previous reluctance to come into

compliance with the Board’s Regulations is largely responsible for

 the present hardship alleged by the Petitioner,

 those prior attitudes

were the subject of enforcement proceedings passed upon by the Board

in previous actions.

 Since the grant of the last variance in

PCB 74-347,

 Spinney Run has shown good faith in its attempts to abate

pollution problems,

 and the Board finds that variance as

 indicated

in PCB 74-374

 (supra)

 is appropriate.

The Board’s decision to grant variance in this case

 is based

in substantial part upon the evidence presented in Spinney Run

Farms’

May

24,

 1976 verified amendment and the exhibits attached

thereto.

 From this evidence,

 it appears that Spinney Run’s effluent

has a negligible effect upon the Des Plaines River providing it

is

treated effectively with the existing equipment.

 We shall, there-

fore, condition the variance upon sealing of the raw bypass structure

and assurance that all flows receive a minimum of chlorination and

that adequate removal of accumulations of solids that settle

 in the

chlorine contact tank

 is accomplished.

The Agency recommends that a 30 day average BOD and suspended

solids concentration of 300 and 150 mg/l respectively be established

until December 31,

 1976,

 these levels representing what can be reason-

ably achieved under the present conditions.

 Subsequent to the opera-

tional status of the pretreatment plant on January

 1, 1977 until

diversion of all wastewater flows to the North Shore Sanitary

District,

 the Agency recommends a 30 day average BOD and suspended

—

373

—4—

solid

concentration

limitation

100

and

 70 mg/l respectively.

The

Board accepts these proposed limitations and will incorporate them

in the grant of variance.

 Since the completion of the Interceptor

Sewer is expected to be late in 1977, the Board will grant the

variance herein until December 31,

 1977.

The August

5,

 1976 response of Spinney Run to the Agency’s

recommendation indicates that the parties entered into an agree-

ment concerning Spinney Run’s appeal of PCB 74-13 and PCB 74-347.

The Board has not considered this agreement in reaching its

decision.

 However, having decided to grant the variance,

the

Board will accept Spinney Run’s offer to voluntarily dismiss said

appeal.

This Opinion constitutes the finding of fact and conclusions

of law of the Board in this matter.

ORDER

It

 is the Order of the Pollution Control Board that:

1.

 Spinney Run Farms Corporation be granted variance from

Rules

 203(a),

 403, and 404(f)

 of Chapter

3:

 Water Pollution

Regulations from September 23,

 1975 until December

31,

1977

subject to the following conditions.

 Spinney Run Farms

Corporation shall:

(a)

 Continue construction of the pretreatment facility

previously approved by the Agency;

(b)

 Submit monthly reports

 to the Agency indicating

contaminant levels and indicating the progressive

construction;

(c)

 l1imi L

the

 30 day average BOD

and

suspended

solids concentration to 300 and 150 mg/i

respectively until December

31,

 1976;

(d)

 Limit the

 30 day average BOD and suspended

solids concentration to 100 and

 70 mg/l respectively

from January, 1977 until diversion of all wastewater

flows to the North Shore Sanitary District,

 or until

December 31,

 1977 whichever occurs first;

23

—

374

—5—

(e)

Effectively

seal

the

raw

bypass

structure

and

insure

that

all

flows

receive

minimum

chlorination and provide for adequate removal

of accumulation of solids that settle in the

chlorine contact tank.

2.

 Spinney Run Farms

Corporation

shall

execute

their

offer

to voluntarily dismiss the pending

appeal

PCB

74-213

and PCB 74-347 within 21 days of this Order, such execu-

tion including but not limited to the following:

(a)

 Payment of the penalty in PCB 74-213 in the

amount of $8,000.00 to the Illinois Environ-

mental Protection Agency, Fiscal Services

Section,

 2200 Churchill Road, Springfield,

Illinois 62706;

(b)

Posting

performance

bond

$100,000.00

form

acceptable

the

Agency

assure

full

and

timely

completion

the

compliance

program;

(c)

Executing

and

forwarding

the

Illinois

En-

vironmental Protection Agency, Division of

Water Pollution Control, 2200 Churchill Road,

Springfield, Illinois 62706

 a certificate of

acceptance

the

following

 form:

CERTIFICATION

(We),

__________________________having

read

and

fully

understanding

the

Order

the

Illinois

Pollution

Control

Board

PCB

76-90

hereby

said

Order

and

agree

bound

all

of the terms and conditions thereof.

SIGNED

—

TI

TLE

DATE

Mr.

Young

abstained.

23

—

375

—6—

I, Christan L. Moffett, Clerk of the Illinois Pollution Control

Board,

hereby

certify

the

above

Opinion

and

Order

were

adoøted

the

.~.

 day of

~

(..

1976

vote

‘S

Christan

Moffett,

Clerk

Illinois Pollution Control Board

—

376