ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
August 23, 1979
CITY OF WINDSOR,
Petitioner,
v.
)
PCB 79—130
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY,
)
Respondent.
OPINION AND ORDER OF THE BOARD
(by Mr. Young):
This matter comes before the Board on
a Variance Petition
filed on June
28,
1979,
by the City of Windsor for relief from
the dissolved oxygen water quality standards of Rules
203(d)
and 402 of Chapter
3:
Water Pollution Regulations,
in order to
ciualify for a “Pfeffer Exemption” pursuant to Rule 404(f) (ii)
of Chapter
3.
On August
7,
1979,
the Agency filed
a Recommen-
dation favorable to the grant of this relief provided that the
Petitioner adhere
to certain conditions.
No hearing was held
in this matter; heiring was properly waived by the Petitioner.
The City of Windsor is currently considering measures for
upgrading its treatment facility under a Step
1,
Facilities Plan.
Petitioner’s existing facility consists of an activated sludge
treatment system, an effluent polishing pond and chlorination.
The Windsor treatment facility is currently designed to receive
an average flow of 150,000 gallons per day.
The effluent is
discharged to a tributary of Sandy Creek which
is
3 to
4.5 miles
upstream from Lake Shelbyville.
(Pet.
2,
3,
5;
Rec.
2).
On June
18,
1979, Petitioner’s request for a “Pfeffer
Exemption” was denied.
The Agency rejected the request to allow
Petitioner’s proposed facility to plan treatment capabilities of
10 mg/i BOD5 and
12 mg/i total suspended solids on the basis that
it was impossible to determine,
by modeling,
the impact of
Petitioner’s discharge on the dissolved oxygen concentration in
the
receivinq stream.
The Streeter—Pheips equation, which
is
des
ic;ned
t
pieclict
the
reacration
capabilities
of
a
particular
stream
seqment,
can
not
be
modified
to
accurately
determine
the
dissoLv~d
exyqen
impacts
on
Lake
Shelbyville.
(Roe.
2,
3).
35—233
—2—
In preparing its Step
1,
Facilities Plan,
the City of
Windsor has advanced three alternative measures for achieving
compliance with the Board’s Water Pollution Rules.
Alternative
#1 proposes improvements to upgrade the plant’s treatment
capabilities
to 10/12 BOD5/TSS, provided that
a variance be
obtained from the dissolved oxygen requirements of Chapter
3.
Alternative
#2 would require an expenditure,
in addition
to
the cost of the treatment improvements
in Alternative
#1, for
a secondary lift station and 13,000 feet of six—inch pipe to
divert its wastewater to an alternative river basin.
Alternative
#3 consists of proposed land application measures
to the secondary
treated
effluent
of
the
Windsor
plant.
The
estimated
cost
for
upgradinq the Windsor facility in accordance with Alternative
#1
is $542,000;
the estimated costs for Alternatives
#2 and #3
are $1,228,000 and $1,352,000, respectively.
With timely grants
of Step
2 and Step
3 design and construction monies under the
construction grants program, the City of Windsor anticipates
completion of its improved facility by August,
1981.
(Pet.
3—5,
Tables
1-3).
After assessing the economic reasonableness of the alternative
treatment techno1o~ies in its Facilities Plan,
the Petitioner
states and the Age:icy does not dispute that implementation
of Alternative
#2, diversion to another watershed and Alternative
#3,
land application, would impose an arbitrary and unreasonable
hardship.
In R77-l2, Docket C, the Agency has proposed the
deletion of the 4/5 BOD5/TSS effluent limitation for dischargers
to streams with less than one—to—one dilution ratio.
During
substantive hearings
in this matter, the Agency has stated that
treatment to a 4/5 BOD5/TSS level
is beyond the capabilities of
conventional tertiary treatment.
(Pet.
4-5)
The Board agrees that failure
to grant the requested relief
would impose an arbitrary and unreasonable hardship in view of
the pending proceeding
in Docket
C of R77—12.
Petitioner will
be granted
a variance from Rules
203(d)
and 402 of Chapter
3 for
two years
in order for the Petitioner to qualify
for its “Pfeffer
Exemption”.
This variance shall terminate upon the adoption of
any modification
to the 4/5 BOD5/TSS requirements
in R77—l2,
Docket C.
During this interim period, Petitioner
shall consider all
reasonable measures in the design of the proposed facility for
improving the dissolved oxygen concentration in the effluent
from its existing treatment facility.
Petitioner will not be
required to monitor dissolved oxygen levels downstream from its
discharge as recommended by the Agency at this time.
35—234
—3—
The Board wilt direct the Agency
to modify Petitioner’s
NPDES permit
to be censistent with this Order pursuant to
Rule 914 of Chapter
3 to include interim effluent limitations
and other measures as may be achieved or implemented through
the application of best practicable operation and maintenance
practices
in the
existing
facility.
This Opinion constitutes the Board’s findings of fact and
conclusions of law in this matter.
ORDER
1.
The City of Windsor
is granted a variance for its
wastewater treatment plant from Rules
203(d)
and 402 of Chapter
3:
Water Pollution Regulations regarding dissolved oxygen
until August
23,
1981, subject to the following conditions:
(a)
The City shall implement all reasonable
measures
in the design of its proposed
treatment facility to increase dissolved
oxygen levels in the treatment plant’s
effluent;
(b)
The variance shall terminate earlier upon
adoption by the Board of any modification
to 4/5 13OD5/TSS requirements and the City
shall comply with the revised regulations
adopted by the Board.
2.
Petitioner, within
30 days of the date of this Order,
shall request Agency modification of its NPDES Permit to
incorporate all conditions of the variance set forth herein.
3.
The Agency, pursuant to Rule
914
of Chapter
3,
shall
modify Petitioner’s NPDES Permit consistent with all conditions
set forth
in this Order including such interim effluent limita-
tions as may reasonably be achieved through the application of
best practicable operation and maintenance practices in the
existing facility.
4.
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 be 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:
35—235
—4—
CERTIFICATION
I,
(We),
____________________
_______
having read
the Order of the Pollution Control Board in PCB 79-130,
understand and accept said Order, realizing that such
acceptance renders
all terms and conditions thereto
binding and enforceable.
IT IS
SO ORDERED.
Dr. Satchell abstained.
SIGNED
TITLE
DATE
I, Christan
L. Moffett
Control
adopted
on
the
______
day
of
a vote of
4-p
Clerk of the Illinois Pollution
Order were
,
1979,
by
Illinois Pollution
~ol Board
~S—2~6