ILLINOIS POLLUTION

CONTROL BOARD

June

22,

1978

WHEATON

SANITARY DISTRICT,

Petitioner,

v.

)

PCB 76—299

ENVIRONYIENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY,

Respondent,

OPINION AND ORDER OF THE

BOARD

(by Mr. Young):

This matter comes before the Board on

an Amended

Petition

filed March 10,

1978, by the

Wheaton

Sanitary

District

(Dis~

trict)

requesting relief from Rule 404(f)

of Chapter

3:

Water

Pollution Regulations~

Rule 404(f)

prohibits

the

discharge

of

a deoxygenating waste

to a

receiving

stream

providing

a

dilution ratio of less than 1:1

if the effluent

discharged

contains

a concentration of five~day

biochemical oxygen

demand

(BOD5)

in excess of

4 milligrams

per liter and

a concentration

of suspended solids

(SS)

in excess of

5

milligrams per

liter.

No hearing was held in this matter;

on

May

4,

1978,

the

En~

vironmental Protection

Agency

(Agency)

filed

their

Recommenda~

tion that the variance be granted~

The Wheaton Sanitary District server

the

City of

Wheaton

and parts of the Villages of Winfield, Carol

Stream and

unincorporated areas

in the western portion

of DuPage

County.

The District has undertaken

a comprehensive

plant

improvement

and sewer rehabilitation

under

a

Step III grant awarded

in

1976

and the plant improvements

are

nearing completion.

The effluent from the District~s treatment

plant

is

discharged

to Sprinqbrook,

a

tributary

to

the

West

Branch

ot

the

Dudaqe

River.

The

dilution

ratio

afforded

by Sprinqhrool

is

less

than

1:1

thus

making the discharge

subject to

the

requirement

of

Rule

404(f)

unless

a

variance is granted,

The

District

has

requested

an

effluent

limitation to

a

concentra~

tion

of

10

mg/l

BOD5 and

12

mg/l SS be established

(Amend.

PetS

p4);

the

Agency

recommends

that

the

variance

be

granted

subject

to

certain

conditions

(Rec.

p3-4).

The

Petition

(Amend.

Pet.

p2)

states

that

the

Agency

believes

that

the

404(f)

requirements

can

only

be

consistently

met

by

tertiary

filtration

followed

by

carbon

adsorption.

Petitioner

alleges

that

additional capital cost of

construction

beyond

tertiary

treatment

to meet the requirements of

404(f)

is

30

—

467

---

in the order of $3,000,000.00

arid that the annu~

and maintenance cost

increase

will

be

approximatel~

$230,000.00

(Amend.

Rec.

p3).

The

Agency

express’.

opinion that since compliance

with the 404(f) sta~w

not

consistently

prevent vioIat~onof the dissol~imd

standard of Rule 203 (d)

,

requiring

the

expenditure

sums

to meet the requirements

of

Rule

404

(f) would

an arbitrary and unreasonable

hardshiu

(Rec.

p3)

Both the District

and

the

‘genc~

presented

rn

concerning the projected

eftec~of the D~strict

on the level of dissolved

oxyqee in

tue

receiving

(Amend. Pet, p2-3

Amend. Pet. Exhibit

A

&

B;

her

The material presented

indicates

ttat. even if tue

i

were to meet the 404(f)

requirw~ientsthat violatio~w

dissolved oxygen stream

standares wou~dcontinu~.

Agency

states

that

the

improvc~neiit

ln

a~ter

qua~

West Branch of the DuPage

River would te minima

r~

District was meeting the

404(f)

limitations

(Rec

r

In considering this

varirnec from Rule 404(t~

Chapter

3,

the Board

agrees that failure to grant

requested would impose an

unreaeo~~ahlehardship

jr

the pending proceedings

in Docket

C of

R77~l2 as

in our Opinion of June

6,

1978,

in

Vi~~~Lakc

v.

EPA,

PCB 78—89.

Petitioner

w. rI be

granted a

v

L

from Rule 404(f)

for five year~or until tte Board

any modification to Rule

404(f)

in consideration o~

proceedings

in Docket C

of R77~l2

The Board is concerned

about

the dissolved oxy

problems that apparently

will continue in the DuP~c

system despite intensive

and concerted efforts t~

point-source discharges

to these waters

In view

conditions,

the Board finds

that variance

is also nc’~

from Rules

203(d)

and 402

for the period of the

s

variance

and

such

variance

will

be

granted on cr

-

that the District consider

all roesonahlo methoc

creasinq dissolved oxygen

lcve~s in the plant cis~

The District will also

be required to monitor f~

oxygen levels in the

receiving ~aters

in accordant.

the Order.

The Board will

direct

cfle modification of th?

NPDES permit pursuant to

Rule 914 of Chapter

3 to

such interim effluent

limitations as may reasonabLj

achieved through apolication

of best practicable nec

and maintenance practices

in the existing facilit

-

This Opinion

constitutes the Board’s findinqr

and conclusions of law in this

matter,

30

468

---

1

The

for

etc

sewac-

Water Poluv

~h

filo i~

2.

T~c

‘~

for its see ~

of

(

apIcu

sib~e~t

4

3

Tho~

Order, sha1~

ic

NPDES permi

t

set forth here~r

ORDER

cry

Ih~strictis granted a variance

ian~from

Rule 404(f) of Chapter

3:

~ until

June 22,

1983,

subject to

will terminate

upon any

C~

e 404(6)

and the

tI cc~o1y

with such revised

~ en

.clopted

oy

the Board.

nod of this

variance,

Troci the

District~s

treat-

all nob

exceed

a

concentra-

/1

buD5 and 12

mg/l

sus-

cry D~stri~t

is

granted

a variance

lant from

Rules

203(d)

and

402

t on

Regulations

until June

22,

iing conditions:

ner~in granted

shall

bh~general

dissolved

rd

n Sprinqbrook

and

cc of the

DuPaqe

River.

nod

of th~

~

riance,

shall implemer

all

asures to ~

~se

aen

levels

he

barged

from

its

sewage

et

and

in

the

waters

a’s its

discharge.

shall

monitor,

and

re—

(4

1.110

Agency,

the

)en

levels

in

the

ne-

ss

at

monitoring

points

termined

by

agreement

in

3~ days

of

the

date

of this

~,r

modification

of the District’s

all

conditions

of the variance

~ant

to

Rule

914 of Chapter

3,

shall

5 permit

consistent with the condi-

den

including

such

interim

limita-

achieved

through

the

application

ion

and maintenance practices

in

4.

The n

modify the Drst

tions

set

forTh

tions

as

may

r?

of best practlc

the existiro

Tar

30

—

469

---

5.

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 forty-five

day period

herein shall be suspended during any judicial review of

this variance pursuant to

Section 31 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 76-299,

understand and accept said Orden, realizing that such

acceptance renders all terms

and

conditions thereto

binding and enforceable.

SIGNED

TITLE

DATE

IT IS SO ORDERED.

I,

Chnistan L.

Moffett,

Clerk

of

the

Illinois

Pollution

Control Board,

here1~Tcertif~the above Opinion

and Order were

dopted on the

~

day of

1978

by a vote of

~0.

Illinois

Pollution

~ol Board

30

—

470