ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD

May 25,

1978

GALESBURG SANITARY DISTRICT,

Petitioner,

v.

)

 PCB 77—192

ENVIRONMENTAL

 PROTECTION AGENCY,

Respondent.

Gilbert H. Brown,

 Lucas, Brown

 & McDonald,

 appeared on behalf

of Petitioner.

Patrick J. Chesley, Assistant Attorney General, appeared on

behalf of the Respondent.

OPINION

AND

ORDER OF THE BOARD

 (by Mr. Young):

This matter returns

 to the Board upon

 a Motion filed on

January

 20, 1978,

 by the Gaiesburg Sanitary District to

reconsider the Board decision of December

20,

 1977, which

withheld the remedy of an abatement order as

 a condition to

a grant of the variance.

 On February

2,

 1978, the Board

granted Petitioner’s Motion and set this matter for hearing.

In the December 20, 1977,

 Order, the Board granted a

variance from the Rule 203(f)

 ammonia nitrogen water quality

standard,

 the Rule 404(f)

 requirements

(SQl)5

and suspended

solids),and Rule 602(d) combined sewer overflow requirements

of Chapter

 3 until June

1,

 1982, provided that Petitioner

follow its proposed construction grants program.

 Petitioner’s

request for an abatement order was rejected notwithstanding

the

Agency

favor~h1 e

 recommenda

t:

1 On

 tiiC’

 1~()1rd

 found no

cvi

c.lcnce

i.

fl

Lhe

 record wh

i

cli

j

u~

I

i

ii

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 (‘II try

o

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order

 hearing was held on April

5,

 1978,

 in Galesburq,

Illinois.

 At the hearing, Petitioner introduced testimony

of Mr. James

L.

 Hawley,

 a consulting enqineer for the Galesburg

Sanitary District.

 Mr. Hawley estimated the total cost for

the proposed construction project would be $20 million.

The

plan contemplates upgrading the Galeshurg sewage treatment

plant to meet

 10 mg/i BOD5,

 12 mg/i suspended solids

 and.

1.5

mg/i ammonia nitrogen and correcting combined sewer overflow

problems in its system.

 Under the federal matching program,

the Galesburg Sanitary District must contribute 25

 or $5

million dollars total amount of the project.

30—271

—2--

Testimony

by

Don Johnson, Treasurer of the Galesburg

 Sanitary District,

 indicated. that the District

 had. attempted

to raise the necessary monies

in

 a bond referendum on

April

5,

 1977.

 The proposal

to

issue $5 million of general

obligation bonds was defeated by a vote of 3423

 to 1805

or almost

a

 2 to

 I margin.

 The District Treasurer further

testified

 that the Sanitary District would have no other

means for raising the matching funds

 for the construction

grants program unless the Board

 issued. an abatement order

in this matter

 (Rec.

 p13).

In the Motion of January 20,

 1978,

 Petitioner states

that

has

continuously

objected

 thu expenditure of

approximately $20 million for the purpose of abating pollu-

tion because they fail

 to see the economic justification

for the expenditure and

 it is probable that this attitude

is reflected in the rejection of the referendum on April

5,

1977.

 However,

 the Petitioner has not,

 at any time, placed

any facts before the Board

 in justification of their con-

clusion that the expenditure

 is unnecessary.

 The pleadings

and the Agency Recommendation clearly indicate that the

facilities

 as they now exist are inadequate.

The Board affirms

 its finding of December

20,

 1977, that

Petitioner’s proposed construction program is necessary

to

achieve compliance.

 In view of this supplemented record,

the Board will grant a variance from Rules

 203(f) (ammonia

nitrogen),

 404(f)

 and 602(d)

 of Chapter

 3 on the condition

that Petitioner will abate these violations on or before

June

1,

 1982,

This

 Ooinion constitutes

 the Board~s findings of fact

and conclusions of law in

 this matter.

ORDER

1.

 Galesburq Sanitary District

 is hereby qranted

a

var

 ;ince

Irorn

 Rulo~

203

 ( I) (uinmon

I

~i

iii

t~

ro(Jon)

~104 (I)

and

602(d)

 of Chapter

3:

 Water Pollution Regulations provided

that

 the District shall

abate

its

discharge

inadequately

treated wastewater and to correct bypass and combined sewer

overflow problems in accordance with the following project

completion schedule:

a.

 Submit Status Report to the Agency--May

1,

1978

b.

 Submit plans and specifications

for

Phase

 IV (sewer separation)

 to the

Agency

 May 15,

1978

c.

 Arrange

 local

 financing for Phases

 III,

IV,

and

 (STP improve-

ments)

June

1978

30

—

272

—3-.-

Open

Bids

(Phase

IV)

--~--Ju1y

1,

1978

Step

 3 Grant and Advertise for Bids

(Phases

II,

 August 15,

1978

Award

Contracts

 (Phase

IV)

Sentember

15,

1978

Open

Bids

(Phases

III,

October

1978

Award

Contracts

(Phases

III,

 V)—-December

31,

1978

Complete

all

Construction---

June

1982

2.

 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 Accentance and Agreement

to be bound to all terms and conditions of the variance.

The

forty—five day period herein shall be suspended 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 77-192,

understand and accept said Order, realizing that such

acceptance renders

 all terms and conditions thereto

binding and enforceable.

SIGNED

TITLE

DATE

IT IS SO ORDERED.

I, Christan

 L. Moffett, Clerk of the Illinois Pollution

Control Board, hereby certify

 the above Opinion and Order were

ado~ed on the ~

 day of

____,

 1978 by

 a vote

Christan L. Mo ~t,

 Clerk

Illinois Poliut~ Control Board

30

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273