ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
August
24,
1978
VILLAGE
OF
H~.NOVERPARK,
)
)
Petitioner,
)
v.
)
PCB 78—122
ENVIRONMENTAL
PROTECTION AGENCY,
)
)
Respondent.
OPINION AND ORDER OF THE BOARD
(by Mr. Young):
This matter comes before the Board on an Amended Petition
for Variance filed on June 16,
1978, by the Village of Hanover
Park for relief from the Water Quality Standards in Chapter
3:
Water Pollution Rules and Regulations.
After reviewing this
Petition,
the Environmental Protection Agency recommended that
Petitioner be granted a variance from Rules 203(d), 203(f)
(ammonia nitrogen),
402 and 962 of Chapter
3.
No hearing was
held in this matter; hearing was properly waived by Petitioner.
The Village of Hanover Park owns and operates
a sewage
treatment plant with a design flow of 0.4 MGD which discharges
to the West Branch of the DuPage River.
The existing plant *2
constructed under Agency Permit #l971—AA-1164
is required to
meet effluent limitations of
10 mg/l BODE,
12 mg/i suspended
solids,
a pH range of
6 to
9, and a fecal coliforrn limitation
of 200 per 100 ml
in accordance with its
NPDES Permit #IL
0034487
(Rec.
2).
The Village of Hanover Park is presently considering
measures for upgrading this treatment plant.
The expansion
will increase treatment capacity to 1.2 MGD and improve effluent
quality by the addition of grit chambers, biological nitrifica-
tion,
tertiary filters, and chlorination facilities.
Presently,
Petitioner’s discharge monitoring reports indicate general
compliance with
the
effluent limitations of its NPDES permit.
Upon completion theplant improvements are expected to meet 10/12
30D5/suspended solids effluent standards which with biological
nitrification is considered by the Agency to be the most effective
control measures for BOD~/SSand ammonia nitrogen in municipal
wastewater
(Rec.
4).
31—275
—2—
The Agency claims that a variance is necessary from the
Rule 203(d) dissolved oxygen and the Rule 203(f)
ammonia
nitrogen water quality standards.
Model studies conducted by
the Northeastern Illinois Planning Commission
(NIPC)
pursuant
to Section 208 of P.L. 92-500 indicates efforts to improve
quality of point-source discharges to the DuPage River will
fall short of attaining compliance with the Board’s water
quality standards.
The study concludes that the DuPage River
basin will experience periodic violations of dissolved oxygen
and ammonia nitrogen water quality standards despite the
efforts of this Petitioner and others who treat municipal
sewage entering the DuPage River basin to tertiary levels
(10/12 BOD5/SS)
and by the incorporation of biological nitri-
fication treatment
(Rec.
3).
Under Rule 203(d)
of Chapter
3 the Board requires that
dissolved oxygen in Illinois waters shall not fall below 5.0
mg/l at any time or 6.0 mg/i during 16 hours of any 24-hour
period.
Rule 203(f) provides that a 1.5 mg/i concentration
of ammonia nitrogen not be exceeded in certain waters of
Illinois and the rule
is applicable to the West Branch of
the DuPage River.
In addition, where the downstream dissolved
oxygen and ammonia nitrogen water quality standards will
continually be violated, the Village of Hanover Park would be
required to meet the water quality standards as an effluent
limitation unless Petitioner is granted a variance from Rule
402
in addition to Rules
203(d)
and 203(f) (ammonia nitrogen)
of Chapter
3.
In a number of cases involving the ammonia nitrogen re-
quirement,
the Board has granted a variance provided that
Petitioner agree to achieve the minimum discharge of ammonia
nitrogen consistent with best practicable control measures.
City of Canton, PCB 77-234
(November
23,
1977); Village of
Arthur,
PCB 77—266
(December
20,
1977);
Village of Lake
Zurich, PCB 78-89
(June
8,
1978).
Since then, the Board has
adopted a new Rule 402.1 effective July 27,
1978, as an
exception to Rule 402 which establishes an interim ammonia
nitrogen effluent limitation for discharges to streams of this
State.
Without a variance from Rules 203(f) (ammonia nitrogen)
and 402, Petitioner’s discharge from its treatment plant #2
would be required to meet 1.5 mg/i ammonia nitrogen effluent
limitation in the summer
(April through October)
and 4.0 mg/i
for the remainder of the year provided that Petitioner does
not cause or contribute to a breach of the ammonia nitrogen
water quality standard.
In view of the foregoing,
the Board will grant a variance
to the Hanover Park sewage treatment plant #2 from Rule 203(f)
as
it applies to ammonia nitrogen and from Rule 402 for three
years or until designed improvements are completed.
31—27E
The Agency recommends that a variance from Rule 203(d)
and Rule 402 is necessary based on the dissolved oxygen
conditions
in the West Branch of the DuPage River downstream
from Petitioner’s discharge.
Although the record indicates
that the proposed improvements to the Hanover Park plant *2
are expected to improve downstream water quality conditions,
the NIPC study indicates that dissolved oxygen violations
will not be eliminated
(Rec.
3).
The Board is concerned with the dissolved oxygen condi-
tions that apparently will continue to occur in the DuPage
River basin after concerted efforts to improve point—source
discharges to these waters.
In view of these conditions,
the Board finds that a variance from Rule 203(d) dissolved
oxygen water quality standard is necessary.
A variance will
be granted to Petitioner from Rules 203(d)
and 402 for five
years on the condition that the Village of Hanover Park con-
sider all reasonable methods for improving dissolved oxygen
levels in its effluent from its sewage treatment plant
#2.
The Board will not require Petitioner to monitor dissolved
oxygen levels in the receiving waters since the Agency main-
tains two water quality monitoring stations in
the
vicinity
of Petitioner’s discharge.
The Agency also claims that Petitioner requires a variance
from the standards of issuance requirements of Rule
962 in
Chapter
3 before the Agency may issue the necessary permits.
The Board disagrees.
A variance from the standards of issuance
requirements for permits
is applicable where Petitioner is not
afforded relief from the water quality standards subject to
violation.
In this matter, the Board finds that a variance
from Rule 402 in addition to the Rule 203(d) and the Rule 203
(f)
(ammonia nitrogen) water quality standards is sufficient to
preclude the need for relief from Rule
962 of Chapter
3.
The Board will direct the Agency to modify Petitioner’s
NPDES Permit IL 0034487 consistent with this Order pursuant to
Rule 914 of Chapter
3 to include interim effluent limitations
as may reasonably be achieved through application of best
practicable operation and maintenance practices in the existing
facilities.
This Opinion constitutes the Board’s findings of fact
and conclusions of law in this matter.
ORDER
1.
The Village of Hanover Park is granted a variance for
the operation of its sewage treatment plant
#2 from Rules
203(f)
and 402 of Chapter
3:
Water Pollution Rules and Regulations
regarding ammonia nitrogen until September 7,
1981, or until
the sewage treatment plant’s facility improvements become
operational, whichever occurs first,
subject to the following
condition:
31—277
—4—
(a)
During the period of this variance
the Village shall operate this
treatment plant to achieve the
minimum discharge of ammonia nitro-
gen consistent with the capabilities
of existing equipment and process.
2.
The Village of Fanover Park is granted a variance
for its sewage treatment plant #2 from Rules 203(d)
and 402
of Chapter
3:
Water Pollution Rules and Regulations until
September 7,
1983,
subject to the following condition:
(a)
During the period of this variance
the Village shall implement all
reasonable measures to increase
dissolved oxygen levels in the
treatment plant’s effluent and
in the waters downstream from
its discharge.
3,
Petitioner, within 30 days of the date of this Order,
shall request Agency modification of NPDES Permit
IL 0034487
to incorporate all conditions of the variance set forth herein.
4.
The Agency pursuant to Rule
914 of Chapter
3 shall
modify NPDES Permit IL 0034487 consistent with the conditions
set forth in this Order including such interim effluent limita-
tions as may reasonably he achieved through application of
best practicable operation and maintenance practices in the
existing facilities.
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 he bound
to all terms and conditions of the variance.
The
forty—five day period herein shall be stayed during judicial
review of this variance pursuant to Section 41 of the Environ-
mental 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 78-122,
understand and accept said Order, realizing that such
acceptance renders all terms and conditions thereto
binding and enforceable.
31—278
—5—
SIGNED
TITLE
DATE
IT
IS
SO
ORDERED.
Mr.
Goodman abstained.
I, Christan L. Moffett, Clerk of the Illinois Pollution
Control Board,
hereby certify the above Opinion and Order were
a~o~tedonthe~I~’ day of
_______________,
1978 by a vote
aa~zr~
Christan L. Moffet~
‘
lerk
Illinois Pollution
ntrol Board
31—279