ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
August
5,
1976
MINONK-DANA-RUTLAND COMMUNITY UNIT
)
DISTRICT 108,
Petitioner,
v.
)
PCB 76—137
)
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY,
Respondent.
OPINION AND ORDER OF THE BOARD
(by Mr.
Zeitlin):
Minonk-Dana-Butland Community Unit District 108
(District 108)
filed its Variance Petition in
this matter on May 11,
1976,
seeking
relief from Rule 962 of Chapter
3:
Water Pollution,
of the Board’s
Rules and Regulations, asking as relief permission to extend a Minonk
city sewer line approximately 150 feet to serve a single family home.
District 108 cannot obtain
a construction permit for such an extension
from the Environmental Protection Agency
(Agency) because the Minonk
sewage system has been placed on restricted status.
The Agency’s
Recommendation was received on June
23,
1976.
No hearing was held
in this matter.
For the last 30 years District 108’s vocational building trades
classes have constructed a
new
home every two years.
When
complete,
the house is sold to the highest bidder.
The houses built under this
program are single family ranch style homes with three bedrooms,
living room-kitchen-dining area, family room, one and a half baths,
two—car garage and a full basement.
The house which is the subject
of this Variance matter will not be completed until
surmner,
1978.
The Agency’s Recommendation notes that,
“The City of Minonk is
plagued with combined sewer problems.”
Rec.,
at
5.
The Minonk sewer
system consists almost entirely of combined sewers;
those sanitary
sewers which do exist are all tributary
to combined sewers.
The city
has three combined sewer overflow points tributary
to its sewage
treatment plant, and one area in the southwestern portion of the
city where
a combined sewer discharges directly to the South Branch
of Crow Creek.
The sewer extension proposed by District 108
to serve
the student-built house will discharge
through an 8-inch sanitary
sewer into
a 12-inch combined sewer tributary to the Minonk sewage
treatment plant.
An overflow structure
is located on this 12—inch
combined sewer.
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253
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The City of Minonk was awarded a Step
I grant on September
23,
1974.
However,
the facilities plan submitted under that grant was
not accepted by the U.
S.
Environmental Protection Agency.
A revised
facilities plan under Step
I grant funding was submitted to the
Agency on May 28,
1976, and
it is currently under review.
Minonk
is currently seeking grant funding to eliminate violations caused
by combined sewer overflows.
There are,
in addition, violations at the Minonk sewage treat-
ment plant, which discharges into Long Point Creek approximately 15
miles upstream of the Verrnillion River.
The sewage treatment plant
was constructed
in 1955 for an average flow of 0.25 mgd, with a
maximum hydraulic capacity of 0.50 mgd.
Recent reports by Minonk
to the Agency show the following performance:
Flow
(~tD)
BOD
(mg/i)
SS
(mg/l)
~nth
Avg.
Max.
Avg.
Max.
Avg.
Max.
April, 1976
.284
1.244
23.9
33.8
22.9
41.9
March, 1976
.427
1.488
14.75
19.0
14.5
21
February,
1976
.497
1.388
38.0
50.0
37.1
60.0
January,
1976
.177
.322
29.5
———
21.0
22.5
E~c?~nber,1975
.350
.856
30.0
———
21.0
Despite these problems with the Minonk sewer system and sewage
treatment plant, we feel that a Variance
is warranted in
this
case.
We agree with the Agency’s Recommendation that the benefits to be
gained by the vocational building trades class outweigh any possible
environmental harm which might occur as a result of the construction
of a single family dwelling.
The Board has often held that hardship
to the public may weigh heavily in favor of a Variance grant, particu-
larly where the likelihood of environmental harm is small.
Sandwich
Community Unit Schools District No.
430 v. EPA, PCB 74-428
(April
T
1975)
(and cases cited); WILCO Area Career Center v.
EPA,
PCB 75-173
(March 25,
1976); Hawthorne Lodge,
Inc. v.EPA, PCB 75—297
(Oct.
16,
1975)
(Opinion at 3); County of Macoupiin
V.
EPA, PCB 75-273
(Oct.
9,
1975)
(Opinion at 5).
As a condition to the Variance grant, we shall prohibit any
additional connections to the proposed 150—feet sewer extension.
The sewer extension which we allow here is to be used only for one
single family dwelling to be constructed by the vocational building
trades class.
This Opinion constitutes the findings of fact and conclusions
of law of the Board in this matter.
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254
—3—
ORDER
IT IS THE ORDER OF THE POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD that Petitioner
Minonk-Dana-Rutland Community Unit District 108 be granted a Variance
from Rule 962(a)
of Chapter
3: Water Pollution,
to allow the construction
of a 150—feet sewer extension to serve one
(1) single family dwelling
to be constructed by vocational building trades classes,
subject to
the following conditions:
1.
No additional connections shall be allowed
to the 150-feet sanitary sewer extension;
2.
Petitioner shall, within twenty-eight
(28)
days of the date of this Order, execute and forward
to the Environmental Protection Agency, Control
Program Coordinator, 2200 Churchill Road,
Springfield,
Illinois 62706, a Certificate of Acceptance
in the
following form:
I,
(We),
-
having read
the Order of the Illinois Pollution Control Board in
case No. PCB 76-137,
understand and accept said Order,
realizing that such acceptance renders all terms and
conditions thereto binding and enforceable.
SIGNED
TITLE
DATE
I,
Christan
L. Noffett,
Clerk of the Illinois Pollution
Control Board, h réby certify the ab ye Opinion and Order were
adopted on the
\ day of
_________
1976,
by a vote of-C
I’
Ch istan
L. Moff~.
erk
Illinois Pollution
•?rol Board
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