ILLINOIS

POLLUTION

CONTROL

BOARD

September

20,

1984

CITY

O’FALLON,

)

Petitioner,

)

PCB

84—148

)

ILLINOIS

ENVIRONMENTAL

)

PROTECTION

AGENC!,

)

Respondent.

OPINION

AND

 ORDER OF

THE

 BOAR!)

 (by W.

 J. Nega):

This

 provisional variance request comes before the Board

upon a September 20, 1984 Recommendation of the Illinois

Environmental Protection Agency (Agency).

 The Agency recommends

that a 45—day provisional variance be granted to the City of

O’Fallon

(City)

from

Iii.

Mm.

Code

304.141(a)

allow

removal

from

service

for

repair

and

maintenance

one

its

wastewater

treatment

facility’s

two

package

contact

stabilization

units,

and

 to allow

the

Petitioner

exceed

its

interim

NPDES

Permit effluent limitations during the period that the unit is

out

service.

The City of O’Fallon owns and operates a wastewater

treatment facility which includes two 1.5 million gallon per day

(MGD) package contact stabilization units followed by a lagoon

system.

 Effluent from this facility is discharged to Silver

Creek pursuant to NPDES Permit No.

 1L0021636.

 The City has

recently finished repair and maintenance work on one of the

contact stabilization units and currently plans to perform

similar repair and maintenance work on the other contact

stabilization

unit.

 (Rec.

1).

The Petitioner’s NPDES Permit provides that the

City’s

wastewater treatment facilities must meet effluent limitations of

30 mg/i for

both

BOD

and suspended solids.

 The following table

summarizes the relevant information obtained from the Petitioner’s

discharge monitoring reports to

the

Agency

pertaining

BOD

and

suspended solids levels during the past year:

60-165

—2—

Month

 Flow

(MOD)

DOD

(mg/i)

Sept0

1983

0.4

28

136

Oct.

0.8

41

67

Nov.

.1.5

21

61

Dec.

1.9

40

86

Jan, 1984

1.0

15

29

Feb.

1.6

42

80

Mar.

2.8

53

154

Apr.

2.7

81

37

May

1.3

47

30

june

1.3

26

36

July

0.4

32

57

Average

1.4

37

67

(See:

 Rec.

 1—2).

Although the City of O’Fallon did not request specific

effluent limitations

for the time period of its requested

provisional variance,

the

Agency

has

recommended

that

effluent

limits of 50 mg/i DOD and

mg/i

suspended

solids

are

reasonable

and appropriate based on the previously delineated data derived

from the Petitioner’s discharge monitoring reports.

 (Rec.

2).

On June 29,

 1984,

 the United

States

Environmental

Protection

Agency (USEPA)

 issued an Administrative Order which required the

City of O’Fallon to submit an explanation of why

 it had not met

the requisite interim effluent limits and mandated that the

Petitioner provide a schedule of steps that it plans to take to

guarantee compliance with its effluent limits and to optimize

performance of the existing wastewater treatment facilities.

(Rec.

2).

 In light of this Administrative Order,

 the Agency

advised USEPA’S Engineering Unit on September

 17, 1984 that the

Petitioner had applied for a provisional variance.

 (Rec,

2).

The Agency has indicated that the USEPA’s Engineering Unit stated

that there was no objection to the Petitioner’s provisional

variance request,

 (Rec.

2).

The City of O’Fallon has indicated to the Agency that it

wishes to start draining the package contact stabilization unit

to be worked

on

as soon as possible

 (i.e., on September 20,

1984).

 The City intends to complete the necessary repair and

maintenance work on the stabilization unit

and

 return it to

service by October 31,

 1984.

 (Rec.

2).

 The Petitioner

anticipates that this repair

and

maintenance work will include

cleaning, sand blasting, and painting the tank as well as the

fabrication and installation of new air drop pipes and diffusers.

(Rec.

2).

80-186

—3—

The Agency has agreed with the Petitioner that the

maintenance

the

contact

stabilization

unit

necessary

and

believes

that

there

practical

alternative

taking

the

unit out of service to perform the requisite repairs and

maintenance,

 (Rec.

3).

Moreover,

the

Agency

has

concluded

that

the

environmental

impact

Silver

Creek

caused

one

stabil-

ization

unit

 being out of service will be minimal, since the

other contact stabilization unit will be in service and the

lagoons will remain available during the time period that one of

the units is being repaired.

 (Rec.

3).

The

Petitioner

has

asserted

that

unreasonable

hardship

(due to the increased costs for utilities caused by the

inefficient aeration system

and

the ultimate cost of a new

treatment unit to replace the present one) would result if the

necessary repair and maintenance work to the contact

stabilization unit is not performed.

 The Agency agrees with the

Petitioner’s contention in regard to such hardship.

 (Rec.

3).

Accordingly, the Agency has concluded that compliance on a

short-term basis with the provisions of 35

 Iii.

 Adm. Code 304.141(a)

would impose an arbitrary or unreasonable hardship upon the

Petitioner.

 Therefore, the Agency recommends that the Board

grant the City of O’Fallon a provisional variance from Section

304.141(a)

 for a period of

45 days,

 subject to certain

conditions.

Pursuant to Section 35(b) of the Illinois Environmental

Protection Act, the Board hereby grants the provisional variance

as recommended.

This Opinion constitutes the Board’s findings of fact and

conclusions of law in this matter.

ORDER

The City of O’Fallon

hereby

granted

provisional

variance from 35

 Ill. Mm.

 Code 304.141(a), subject to the

following

conditions:

1.

 This provisional variance shall commence on

September 20,

 1984 and shall continue for 45 days, or until the

petitioner’s contact stabilization

unit

returned

service,

whichever occurs first.

2.

 During the period of this provisional variance,

the

effluent discharged shall be limited to 50 mg/i BOD and 75 mg/i

suspended solids.

80-167

—4—

3.

 The Petitioner shall sample and perform laboratory

analyses as required in its NPDES Permit No.

 1L0021636.

 The Petitioner shall notify Mr. Michael Severns of the

Agency’s Compliance Assurance Section via telephone at

217/782—9720 when dewatering of the contact stabilization unit

is

begun;

when painting and repair work is begun;

 and when the unit

is returned to service,

 Written notification confirming the

telephone notification shall be submitted within

5 days thereof.

This written notification shall be submitted to:

Mr.

Michael

Severns

Illinois Environmental Protection Agency

Division of Water Pollution Control

Compliance Assurance Section

2200 Churchill Road

Springfield, Illinois

62706

5.

 The Petitioner shall operate and maintain the waste—

water treatment facility so as to produce the best effluent

practicable.

6.

 Within 10 days of the date of the Board’s Order, the

Petitioner shall execute a Certificate of Acceptance and Agreement

which shall be sent to the Agency at the address specified in

item

 #4 of this Order.

This

 certification shall have the following form:

(We)

 having read

the Order of the Illinois Pollution Control Board

 in PCB 84-148

dated September 20,

 1984, understand and accept said Order,

realizing that such acceptance renders all terms and conditions

thereto binding and enforceable.

Petitioner

By:

Authorized

Agent

Title

Date

IT IS SO

ORDERED.

80-168

—5-.

Dorothy

 Gunn, Clerk of

 the. Illinois Pollution Control

Board, hereby certify

that

the

 ab3ve Opinion and Order was

adopted on the ~

 day of

________________,

 1984 by a vote

p27.

Dorothy M. /Gunn, Clerk

Illinois Pollution Control Board

60-169