ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL

BOARD

April

1, 1982

NORTHERN ILLINOIS ANGLERS’

ASSOCIATION,

)

)

Complainant,

)

v.

)

P0

81—127

)

KANKAKEE WATER CO., INC., and

)

the

VILLAGE

OF

BOURBONNAIS,

Respondents.

JACK

R.

BEAUPRE,

ATTORNEY

AT

LAW,

APPEARED

ON

BEHALF

OF

THE

COMPLAINANT.

SUSAN

D.

PROCTOR,

ISHAM,

LINCOLN

&

BEALE,

APPEARED

ON

BEHALF

OF

RESPONDENT

KANKAKEE

WATER

CO.,

INC.

MICHAEL

R.

BERE,

BERZ

&

SMIETANSKI,

APPEARED

ON

BEHALF

OF

RESPONDENT

VILLAGE

OF

BOURBONNAIS.

OPINION

AND

ORDER OF

THE BOARD

(by

I

•

Goodman):

This matter comes before the Board on the

August

5,

1981

Complaint brought by the Northern Illinois Anglers’ Association

(NIAA) which alleged that, on March 24, 1981, the sewage treat-

ment facilities owned by the Village of Bourbonnais (Village)

and

operated

by

the

Kankakee

Water

Co.,

Inc.

(Company)

dis-

charged

excessive

levels

of

contaminants

into

the

Kankakee

River,

thereby

exceeding

NPDES

Permit

effluent

limits

and

causing water pollution in violation of Section 12(a) and

12(b) of

the

Illinois Environmental Protection

Act (Act).

On September 2, 1981, the Company filed a Motion to Dis-

miss the Complaint.

On September 24, 1981, the Board entered

an Order denying this motion.

A hearing was held on February

5,

1982.

At this hearing, the Complainant made an oral motion

to amend the Complaint

(to change the alleged date of the inci-

dent from March 24, 1981 to March 22,

1981) which was granted

by the Hearing Officer.

The parties filed a Stipulation and

Proposal for Settlement on February 17,

1982.

The

Respondents’

sewage

treatment

facilities

are

located

in the Village of Bourbonnais in

Kankakee

County, Illinois near

the Kankakee River.

The Kankakee River State Park, a popular

recreational area for hunting, fishing, camping, boating, hiking

and other outdoor activities, is located about four miles down-

stream from the Respondents’

facilities.

46—11

---

The parties have stipula±edthat:

(1)

the Village has

limited capabilities for the treatment of its effluent intro-

duced into the Kankakee River

from its sewage treatment plant;

(2)

the plant sometimes operates above its rated capacity due

to the growth of the area which lb serves,

thereby resulting

in the discharge of effluents which exceed the limits set forth

in NPDES Permit #1L0025275;

(3)

the Company, which operates the

plant for the Village, will continue “to make their best effort

to alleviate any adverse impact on the receiving stream,.

.

.by

utilizing sound and prudent plant management procedures... .and

by the application for and introduction of additional facilities

and plant expansion;” and

(4) the Respondents admit that,

on

March

22,

1981, the effluent discharged from their plant into

the Kankakee River exceeded certain limits allowable under the

NPDES Permit,

(Stip.

1—2).,

The proposed settlement agreement provides that:

(1) the

Respondents shall follow a specified compliance program to in-

crease the monitoring of the sewage treatment plant effluent

(including various water sampling, laboratory analysis, and

notification procedures)

until such time as the facility is

expanded or altered to alleviate its capacity flow problems;

(2)

the Company shall pay a penalty not to exceed $1,000,

“any

or all

of which

amount,

as determined by the Pollution Control

Board,

shall be paid into the Wildlife and Fish Fund, or to

local not—for-profit environmental groups... .or to the State of

Illinois, as the Board shall see fit;”

(3) the Company shall

pay $2,500

“to reimburse Complainant

for its costs and attor—

ney~sfees,” and

(4) the NIAA agrees

to commence no further

legal action against the Respondents

for events occurring on,

or before,

the date of their agreement

(i.e., February 5,

1982).

(Stip,

2-4).

The Board finds the settlement agreement acceptable

under Procedural Rule 331 and Section 33(c) of the Act and finds

that the Respondents have violated Sections 12(a)

and 12(b) of

the Act.

Since no fish kill

is involved here and the environ-

mental

injury

is

to

the

general

public,

a

penalty payment to the

Wildlife

and

Fish

Fund

is inappropriate.

There

is

no

provision

in

the

Act

which

would

allow

the

Board

to

direct

a

penalty

pay-

ment to a private environmental group.

Accordingly,

the

Company

will

be ordered

to pay a penalty of $1,000

to the State of Illinois.

This Opinion constitutes the Board’s

findings of fact and

conclusions of law in this matter.

ORDER

1.

The Respondents,

the ~a.nkakee Water

Co.,

Inc.

and the

Village of Boubonnais,

have violated Sections 12(a)

and 12(b)

of the Illinois Environmental Protection Act.

6

12.

---

—3—

2.

Within 30 days of the date of this Order, the

Kankakee

Water Co.,

Inc.

shall, by certified check or money order payable

to the State of Illinois, pay a penalty of $1,000 which is to be

sent to:

Illinois Environmental Protection ~gency

Fiscal Services Division

2200 Churchill Road

Springfield,

Illinois

62706

3.

The Respondents

shall comply with all the terms and

conditions of the Stipulation and Proposal for Settlement filed

on February 17, 1982, which is incorporated by reference as if

fully set forth herein.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

I,

Christan

L. Moffett, Clerk of the Illinois Pollution Control

Board, hereby certify that t e above Opinion and Order ~ere

adopted

on the

~

day of

_______

,

1982 by a vote of

_______________

Illinois Pollu

Control Board

46—13