ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
    May 10, 1979
    E. W. KNEIP,
    INC.,
    an Indiana Corporation,
    )
    Petitioner,
    v.
    )
    PCB 79-23
    )
    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 by E.
    W. Kneip, Inc.
    on February 22,
    1979,
    for an extension from the applicable effluent and water quality
    standards.
    Petitioner requests an extension of its variance
    from
    Rules
    203,
    402,
    404,
    405,
    407 and 408 of Chapter
    3:
    Water
    Pollution Regulations.
    On April
    5,
    1979, the Environmental
    Protection Agency submitted a recommendation favorable to the
    grant of the variance extension until September
    30,
    1980, sub-
    ject to certain conditions.
    No hearing was held on this matter;
    Petitioner
    properly waived hearing and the 90-day statutory
    decision period in its pleadings submitted to the Board.
    E.
    W, Kneip,
    Inc..
    owns and operates a livestock slaughtering
    and packing plant in Elburn, Kane County, Illinois which requires
    400,000 gallons of water to process approximately 440 cattle
    slaughtered each day.
    After pretreatment, wastewater from the
    slaughter house is received by the Welch Creek which flows into
    the Big Rock Creek before it empties
    into the Fox River.
    (Pet.
    1,
    2)
    Since
    the
    pollution problem was identified in an action
    brought
    against
    Kneip and others in PCB 73-55, February
    7,
    1973,
    the
    Petitioner
    has fully cooperated with the Agency to develop
    the best
    practicable means for bringing the Kneip plant into
    compliance.
    Numerous variance grants reflect these efforts:
    PCB 73-174, February 21, 1974;
    PCB 74—372, February 14,
    1975;
    PCB 75—171,
    August 18,
    1975; PCB 75—60, May 10, 1976;
    PCB 77—46,
    August
    4,
    1977.
    In the initial enforcement action,
    the Board ordered the
    Petitioner on January
    3,
    1974,
    to undertake a compliance plan
    pursuant to the parties~ settlement agreement, which provided
    for interim measures and long range programs.
    Petitioner was
    originally given
    until January
    3,
    1975,
    to complete its total
    program
    of compliance.
    (Pet.
    3)
    33—459
    —2—
    In the course of implementing the requirements of the
    settlement agreement, Petitioner discovered that the proposed
    treatment plant was economically unfeasible and that time was
    needed to study alternative means and devise a consolidated
    treatment system agreeable to both the Agency and the Petitioner.
    As an alternative to the original agreement, Kneip agreed to
    install
    a pretreatment system
    (costing over $400,000)
    to connect
    to a sewage treatment plant to be built by the Village of
    Elburn,
    In
    the
    last
    two variance petitions, the Petitioner’s
    extensions were necessitated by the Village of Elburn’s
    inability to finish its sewage treatment plant by the projected
    completion
    date.
    (Pet.
    3,
    8-9;
    Rec.
    2)
    Petitioner~spretreatment facility was completed in July,
    1976,
    or
    approximately six months in advance of the scheduled
    completion
    date.
    Pursuant to Board order 76-50, Petitioner
    has investigated alternative interim compliance programs,
    including construction of a lagoon requested in that order.
    The cost was estimated to be in the hundreds of thousands of
    dollars,
    far in excess of any interim benefits.
    A plan to use
    the Village lagoon until completion of the Village STP proved
    impossible because the Village treatment system does not
    contemplate use of a lagoon..
    Petitioner’s engineers also
    investigated ways to incorporate
    a bio-cxidation process into
    its pretreatment system to improve the effluent quality.
    How-
    ever,
    this method was rejected for a number of reasons including
    high cost,
    the lengthy construction period required and the
    possibility that t~iewhole process could prove ineffective.
    After reviewing the interim compliance measures, the Board will
    agree
    with
    the
    Petitioner that interim means for reducing BOD
    are not practical.
    (Pet.
    6-8)
    As indicated throughout this record, Petitioner has acted
    expeditiously and in good faith
    in seeking compliance.
    Since
    the settlement agreement accepted by the Board on January
    3,
    1974, Petitioner has undertaken the investigation of alternative
    interim measures, completed its pretreatment facility ahead of
    schedule and has currently spent substantial amounts in an effort
    to comply with the applicable effluent and water quality
    standards.
    The existing delay
    is through no fault of the
    Petitioner.
    Under these circumstances, the Board finds that denial of
    an extension to the existing variance would cause an arbitrary
    and unreasonable hardship for the Petitioner.
    The Board will
    therefore grant a variance extension to
    E.
    N. Kneip,
    Inc.
    subject to the conditions set forth in this order.
    The extension
    will be granted until the Elburn sewage treatment plant is
    completed and is operational.
    This opinion constitutes the Board’s findings of fact and
    conclusions of law in this matter.
    33—460
    —3—
    ORDER
    1.
    E.
    W. Kneip,
    Incorporated
    is granted a variance from
    Rules
    203,
    402,
    404,
    405,
    407 and 408 of Chapter
    3:
    Water
    Pollution Regulations for its facility in Elburn, Kane County,
    Illinois until the Village of Elburn sewage treatment plant
    has been completed and is operational, subject to conditions
    in paragraphs
    2,
    3,
    4 and
    5 as set forth below.
    2.
    Petitioner shall not increase the strength or quantity
    of wastewater discharged from its facility in Elburn, Kane
    County,
    Illinois.
    3,
    Petitioner shall continue to maintain and increase
    operational efficiency of its wastewater systems in Elburn,
    Kane County,
    Illinois.
    4.
    Petitioner shall make timely submittal of any information
    concerning the Elburn sewage system upgrading program and shall
    take all reasonable measures to expedite this program.
    5.
    Within forty-five
    (45) days of the date of this order,
    the Petitioner shall execute and forward to the Illinois
    Environmental Protection Agency, Variance Section,
    Manager,
    2200 Churchill Road,
    Springfield, Illinois,
    62706 and to the
    Illinois Pollution Ccntrol Board a Certificate of Acceptance
    and Agreement to be bound to all terms and conditions of the
    variance.
    The forty-five day period shall be suspended during
    judicial review of this variance pursuant to Section
    31 of the
    Environmental 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 79-23,
    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.
    33—46 1
    —4—
    I, Christan L. Moffett, Clerk of the Illinois Pollution
    Control Board,
    hereby cert1ify the above Opinion and Order
    were adopted
    __________
    day of
    __________,
    1979,
    Christan L. M ffe t,
    lerk
    Illinois Pollution
    trol Board
    33—462

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