ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL
BOARD
September
4,
1980
ILLINOIS ENVIRONMENTAL
PROTECTION AGENCY,
)
Complainant,
v.
)
PCB 78—240
CITY OF WOOD DALE,
a municipal
corporation,
Respondent.
MR. WILLIAM BARZANO, ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL, APPEARED ON BEHALF
OF THE COMPLAINANT..
BRADTKE
& ZIMMERMANN, ATTORNEYS AT LAW
(MR. JOHN J. ZIMMERMANN,
OF COUNSEL), APPEARED ON BEHALF
OF THE RESPONDENT.
OPINION AND ORDER OF THE BOARD
(by N,E,Werner):
This matter comes before the Board on the August 30,
1978
Complaint brought by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency
(“Agency”).
The six—count Complaint alleged that the Respondent,
the City of Wood Dale
(“City”), operated its municipal sewage treat-
ment plant
(the “plant” or “facility”)
in such a manner as to:
(1) fail to monitor five times per week,
as required by its NPDES
Permit,
the effluent levels of biochemical oxygen demand, total
suspended solids,
and pH;
(2) falsely report to the Agency that
these specified contaminants were monitored five times per week;
(3) fail to submit the necessary reports to the Agency of incidents
of non-compliance with the permit requirements;
(4) violate the
biochemical oxygen demand,
total suspended solids, and fecal coliform
effluent limitations set in its NPDES Permit;
(5)
fail to monitor
five times per week by composite sample the effluent levels of
ammonia
(as N); and
(6) falsely report to the Agency that ammonia
was to be monitored one time per week by grab sample in violation
of its NPDES Permit, Rule 901 of Chapter
3:
Water Pollution
Control Regulations
(“Chapter 3”),
and Sections 12(a),
12(b) and
12(f)
of the Illinois Environmental Protection Act
(“Act”).
After various discovery motions,
continuances,
and preliminary
settlement attempts,
a hearing was held on February
9,
1979.
This
hearing was recessed until March
9,
1979 to allow the parties
additional time to continue their negotiations.
At the hearing of
March
9,
1979,
the Hearing Officer indicated that the parties would
probably submit the final signed Stipulation to the Board by
April
16,
1979.
However, no Stipulation was received.
On January 10,
1980, the Board entered an Order which mandated
either prompt submission of the Stipulation or the scheduling of an
additional hearing within 60 days.
On February
8,
1980, the Agency
filed a Motion for Reconsideration which asked the Board to
reconsider its Order of January
10,
1980 and allow the parties an
additional
60 days in which to hold a hearing.
On February
19,
1980,
the Agency filed a Motion to Defer Ruling which requested that the
Board defer ruling on the Agency’s Motion for Reconsideration until
the March
6,
1980 Board meeting.
On March
6,
1980,
the Board
granted the Agency’s Motion for Reconsideration and ordered that
the parties schedule and convene a hearing by May
9,
1980,
A
hearing was held on May
9,
1980.
On May
15,
1980,
the Agency filed a Motion for an Extension of
Time
in which to file the Stipulation and Proposal for Settlement
(i.e., the Agency requested 15 extra days in submitting the executed
documents),
On May
22,
1980, the Hearing Officer filed with the
Board a letter which indicated that he granted the Agency’s post~
hearing motion requesting a 15”day extension of time to file the
executed Stipulation,
and the Hearing Officer stated that the
Stipulation would be filed on,
or before, June
5,
1980.
On August
7,
1980,
the Board entered an Order which attempted to expedite the
filing of the signed Stipulation.
On August 13,
1980,
the parties
filed their executed Stipulation and Proposal for Settlement.
The City of Wood Dale operates
a sewage treatment plant,
commonly known as the North Plant,
in Du Page County,
Illinois
which discharges effluent into Salt Creek,
a navigable Illinois
waterway, pursuant to NPDES Permit No,
IL
0020061,
The parties
have stipulated that one of the major conditions at the plant which
resulted in the discharge of effluents in excess of levels prescribed
in the Respondent’s NPDES Permit was the accumulation of sludge in
the plant’s polishing lagoon,
(Stip,
4),
This sludge, which
gradually accumulated in the lagoon, caused the polishing lagoon to
become totally filled with sludge for an extended period of time.
The proposed settlement agreement provides that,
in order to
insure that adequate capacity
(as determined by the City Engineer
and subject to review and approval by the Agency)
for the excess
flow storm pump is made available,
and to assure that the plant
discharges an effectively treated effluent, the City will
expeditiously clean the lagoon,
remove the sludge, and dispose of
the sludge in an environmentally acceptable manner.
(Stip,
4;
7).
During the time that the lagoon is being cleaned, the plant must
meet specified effluent limits as set forth in the Stipulation.
(Stip.
8).
Additionally, various modifications may be made to the
lagoon.
(See: Exhibits A and B),
The parties have also stipulated that,
in order to facilitate
the upgrading of the Respondent’s sewage treatment facility (while
at the same time providing adequate treatment of existing wastewater),
the Agency has issued a Construct Only Permit (Permit No. 1979~-AC—6142)
to the City which allows the construction of a twenty—one inch
(21”)
bypass line at its plant.
(Stip.
7),
—3—
The City has agreed to promptly submit a final plan for cleaning
the existing polishing lagoon (including plans, and permit
applications as required, for management of waste solids removed
from the lagoon)
and an application for a permit to operate the
21” bypass
line,
(Stip.
7).
Upon final approval
of the
plan and the permit application,
the Agency will issue an Operating Permit for the 21” bypass line
to allow the City to bypass the existing sludge—filled polishing
lagoon at the plant and transport
flow from secondary treatment
directly to the chlorine contact tank during the cleaning of the
lagoon.
(Stip.
7).
Additionally, the City has agreed to:
(1) begin an aggressive
maintenance program to correct existing equipment deficiencies and
prevent future breakdowns, and
(2)
coordinate the upgrading of its
facility with the Agency’s construction grant program.
(Stip.
5—6;
10).
The settlement proposal also indicates that the City neither
admits nor denies any of the allegations charged in the six—count
Complaint.
(Stip.
4),
Although the parties have stipulated as to
the details of the compliance plan and as to all other matters,
they have left the amount of the penalty open (i.e.,
for resolution
by the Board).
The Agency notes that it had originally been willing
to accept the proposal that the City clean a portion of the polishing
lagoon,
but the City has preferred to clean the entire pond at
additional cost.
(Stip.
10),
In evaluating this enforcement action and the proposed settle-
ment agreement,
the Board has taken into consideration all the facts
and circumstances in light of the specific criteria delineated in
Section 33(c) of the Act,
The Board finds the stipulated agreement
acceptable under Procedural
Rule 331 and Section 33(c) of the Act.
The Board finds that the Respondent,
the City of Wood Dale,
has
violated Rule 901 of Chapter 3:
Water Pollution Control Regulations
and Sections 12(a),
12(b), and 12(f) of the Act.
The Respondent is
ordered to follow the agreed—upon compliance program which
is
delineated in the Stipulation.
A penalty of $500.00 is hereby
assessed against the City
of
Wood Dale.
This Opinion constitutes the Board’s findings of fact and
conclusions of law in this matter.
ORDER
It is the Order of the Illinois Pollution Control Board that:
1.
The Respondent, the
City
of Wood Dale, has violated Rule 901
of Chapter
3:
Water Pollution Control Regulations and Sections 12(a),
12(b), and 12(f)
of the Illinois Environmental Protection Act.
—4—
2.
Within 45 days of the date of this Order,
the Respondent
shall, by certified check or money order payable to the State of
Illinois,
pay a penalty
of $500.00 which is to be sent to:
Illinois Environmental Protection Agency
Fiscal Services Division
2200
Churchill Road
Springfield, Illinois
62706
3.
The Respondent shall comply with all the terms and
conditions of the Stipulation and Proposal for Settlement filed on
August 13,
1980, which is incorporated by reference as if fully set
forth herein,
I, Christan L, Moffett, Clerk of the Illinois Pollution Control
Board, he~’çbycertify that the above Opinion and Order we~eadopted
on the
~day
of
~,
1980 by a vote of
~-O
Christan L. Moffet
,
rk
Illinois Pollution
ol Board
