ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
July 14,
1983
VILLAGE OF LAKE VILLA,
)
Petitioner,
v.
)
PCB 83—67
ILLINOIS ENVIRONMENTAL
PROTECTION AGENCY,
Respondent.
OPINION AND ORDER OF THE BOARD
(by W.J. Nega):
This matter comes before the Board upon
a May
16,
1983
petition for variance from
35
Ill.
Adm. Code 312.102 filed by the
Village of Lake Villa
(Village) to allow its wastewater treatment
plant
(WWTP) to be operated by a certified Class
3 operator for a
period of
2 years or until
its present operator
obtains
the
requisite Class
2 certification, whichever occurs
first.
The
Illinois Environmental Protection Agency
(Agency)
filed
a
Recommendation on June
17,
1983 which recommended that variance
he granted.
No hearing has been held
in this matter.
The Village owns and operates a
WWTP
in Lake County,
Illinois
which has
a current population load of about 1,500 people.
This
WWTP is designed to serve
a population equivalent of 2,500 with
an average daily flow of 0.3 million gallons per day
(MGD),
However,
due to inflow and infiltration, actual reported flows
from the WWTP often exceed 0.3 MGD as a monthly average.
For
example, the annual average flow for the period of April,
1982
through March, 1983 was 0.311 MGD.
(Rec.2).
The WWTP includes a comminutor and bar screen; raw sewage
pumps;
a package-type activated sludge unit with contact aeration
chamber;
a chlorine contact
tank; mechanically cleaned secondary
clarifier; aerobic ãigestion chamber;
sludge drying beds; an
emergency electrical power generator and engine unit; and a main
control building with laboratory,
chlorination equipment,
chemical
feeders for phosphorus precipation, aeration blowers,
and flow
meter.
(Pet.
1—2).
After waste activated sludge
is aerobically
digested and dried on the sludge drying beds,
two oxidation ponds
act as excess flow facilities.
After
flows
recede,
recent changes
53-17
—2—
now
al
low
wastewater
from
the
oxidation
ponds
to
be
taken
back
through
the
WWTP
for
complete
treatment.
Effluent
from
the
WWTP
is
first
discharged
to
Eagle
Creek
(a
triburary
of
Long
Lake
which
is
tributary
to
Squaw
Creek)
and
then
eventually
discharged
to the Fox River pursuant to
NPDSS
Permit No. XL 0021342.
(Rec.
2—3).
During
wet
weather
and
heavy rains, inflow and infiltration
in
the Village’s sewer system sometimes results in bypassing of
the sanitary sewer system.
The most prevalent point of bypassing
is from the Village’s Lift Station #1 to a nearby storm sewer in
order to relieve manhole overflows and basement backups.
The
Village’s current WWTP operator regularly reports any such bypasses
to the Agency.
(Rec.
2).
On April 26, 1978, the Village received a Step 2/3 State of
tllinois grant, pursuant to the Anti-Pollution Bond Act of 1970,
from the
Agency’s
Water Pollution Control Division (Grant Project
No. C171571) for the design and construction of a new sanitary
interceptor relief sewer and sanitary sewer system rehabilitation
to eliminate excessive infiltration
and
inflow.
This tllinois
grant project
was
completed on September 8,
1982.
(Pet.
2—3).
However, in accordance with the special grant conditions
for this
project, the final Illinois grant payment (approximately $32,000.00)
will not be released by the Agency until the Petitioner has a
certified Class 2 wastewater treatment plant operator.
(Pet.
2—3; Rec.
4).
Under the Agency’s April
1,
1980 procedures for the certifica-
tion of wastewater treatment plant operators, the Village’s WWTP
was classified as a Group C facility which required a certified
Class 3 operator.
However, under the revised Agency procedures
which became
effective on January 27, 1982, the Village’s WWTP is
classified as a Group 2 facility which requires a certified Class
2 operator.
(Pet.
2; Rec. 2).
The Village’s WWTP is presQntly
being operated by Mr. Keith Peterson, a certified Class 3 operator.
Mr. Peterson
was
first employed by the Village on July 25, 1979
as an assistant to Mr. Robert Marts, the plant operator.
When
Mr. Marts resigned on September 1, 1980,
Mr. Peterson
took
over
as plant operator. On March
2,
1982,
Mr. Peterson received his
Class 4 certification and on July
6, 1982 he received his Class 3
Certificate of Technical Competency.
However, as of June
1,
1983, Mr. Peterson lacked the requisite 18 months additional
experience to qualify to write the Class
2 examination.
(Rec.
2-3).
The Agency has noted that “relying strictly on actual
operating experience, Mr. Peterson would
not
qualify to
write
the
Class 2 examination until December,
1984.”
(Rec.
3).
Nevertheless,
the Agency indicates that Mr. Peterson could take college and/or
wastewater treatment classes which would “shorten this period of
time.”
(Rec.
3).
53-18
—3—
The
Agency
has
stated
that
discharge
monitoring
reports
and
analyses
of
grab
samples
taken
since
Mr.
Peterson
became
plant
operator
indicate
that
the
Village’s
WWTP
has
been
in
substantial
compliance with the effluent limitations set forth in its NPDES
Permit.
(Rec. 3—4).
Moreover, the Agency believes that
Mr. Peterson is a ‘competent operator able to provide proper
operation
and
maintenance of Petitioner’s WWTP’ during the 18 month
period until he qualifies for the necessary Class
2 operator’s test.
(Rec.
4).
The
Agency
believes that if the Village employs a Class 2
operator, either in place of, or in addition to, Mr. Peterson, it
would:
(1) not result in any significant benefit to the environment;
(2) unnecessarily cost the Village approximately $12,000.00; and
(3) not result in the immediate release of the final grant
payment
(since a final grant audit must first be completed).
(Rec.
4-5).
Accordingly, the Agency has recommended that the Board grant the
Petitioner’s requested variance, subject to specified conditions.
Based upon these facts, the Board
finds
that
denial
of
the
requested variance would cause an arbitrary or unreasonable
hardship upon the Petitioner and concludes that variance should
be granted subject to the conditions recommended by the Agency,
which were not objected to by the Petitioner.
This Opinion constitutes the Board’s findings of fact
and
conclusions of law in this matter.
ORDER
The Village of
Lake
Villa is hereby granted a variance from
the wastewater treatment plant operator certification requirements
of 35 Ill. Mm.
Code
312.102 subject to the following con4itions:
1.
This variance shall expire on January 1, 1985 or upon
Mr. Peterson terminating his employment at Petitioner’s
WWTP
or
upon
Mr. Peterson becoming properly certified,
whichever occurs first.
2.
If Mr. Peterson terminates his employment at Petitioner’s
WWTP prior to January 1, 1985,
Petitioner shall, within
3 months of such date, employ the services of a properly
certified operator.
3.
Petitioner shall insure that it obtains the best possible
operation and maintenance for its WWTP during the term
of this variance.
53-19
—4—
4.
Within 45 days of the date of this Order, the Village
of
Lake Villa shall execute a Certification of Acceptance
and Agreement to be bound to all terms and conditions
of the variance.
Said Certification shall
be submitted
to the Agency
at 2200 Churchill Road,
Springfield,
Illinois
62706.
The 45-day period shall
be held
in
abeyance during any period that this matter is being
appealed.
The form of
said Certification shall be as
follows:
CERT
IFICATION
I,
(We)
,
hereby
accepts and agrees to
be
bound by all terms and conditions of the
Order of the Pollution Control Board in PCB 83-67,
dated July 14,
1983.
Petitioner
Authorized Agent
Title
Date
IT IS
SO ORDERED.
I, Christan
L, Moffett, Clerk of
the Illinois Pollution
Control Bo~rdhereby certify that the above Order was adopted on
the
_______day
of
____
_______
,
1983 by a
vote
_____________
Christan
L.
Mo
t,
Clerk
Illinois
Pollution
Control
Board
53~-20