ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD

March 16,

1978

VILLAGE OF CARY,

Petitioner,

v.

PCB 77—339

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

AGENCY,

Respondent.

OPINION AND ORDER OF THE BOARD

(by Mr. Dumelle):

Petitioner has requested a variance from the Drinking

Water Standard fo~:::~a~iinn. The Petition claims hardship

based upon an aileqed

lack of medical data to support the

Board’s present standard of 1.0 mg/i.

Costs of compliance

of $650,000 capital and $40,000 annual operating expense

are quoted with no facts

to show these costs to be excessive.

Petitioner feels that more environmental damage from softened

water would

result: from compliance than non—compliance.

The

Agency’s RecommendaHon supports the Petition and recommends

a variance until January

1,

1981.

This 22—month period

would allow the Agency to collect more data on the actual

levels of barium

in Petitioner’s water supply and would provide

time

to wait for a change

in Board and Federal drinking water

standards.

The Board has addressed the barium standard in its

recent decision in

City

of Crystal Lake v. EPA, PCB 77-332

(February

16,

1978)

The Board stated in that case that

variances

from

Board

si:andards

must

be

condi

Lionod

upon

ultimate

compliance

unless

anti

trary

or

unreasonable

hardship

can

be

shown.

In

this ease,

compliance

is

technically

feasible

and there

is no demonstration of any disastrous economic

effects.

The Agency itself states that the additional expense

would not be “overly burdensome”

for the Petitioner.

The Federally-sponsored study on effects of barium in

drinking water is not yet available and consequently

is not in this record.

It seems best to the Board to proceed

slowly in matters involving public health.

29

—383

---

It should

be

noted that

the

Board cannot grant relief

from the

Federal

Standard which

is

also 1.0 mg/i.

That

standard

became

effective

on June

24,

1977.

Section 1415

(a)

(1)

(A)

of

the

safe drinking water act provides that a

state may grant temporary relief only after the Administrator

of USEPA delegates primary enforcement responsibility under

Section 1413 of that Acts

No delegation of that authority

has occurred to

dateS

Thus, because no compliance plan

is

given and no hardship

proven

and

because

material

on

medical effects

is lacking,

the

Board

must

deny

the

variance.

This

Opinion

constitutes

the

Board’s findings of Fact

and Conclusions of Law in this matter.

ORDER

It is the Order of

the

Pollution Control Board that

Petitioner’s request for a variance from the drinking water

standard for barium be

denied.

I, Christan

L.

Moffett,

Clerk of the

Illinois Pollution

Control Board,

hereby

‘ertify the above 0 inion and Order

were adopted~on

the

J~~day

of

___________,

1978 by

avoteof

~

Christan L. Moffé~~Clerk

Illinois Pollution Control Board

29

—

384