ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL ROARD
March
5,
1981
VILLAGE OF HANOVER PARK,
Petitioner,
v.
)
PCB 80—221
ILLINOIS ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
)
AGENCY,
Respondent.
OPINION AND ORDER OF THE BOARD
(by
3. Anderson):
This matter comes before the Board on the petition of the
Village of Hanover Park
(Village),
filed December
5,
1980 as
amended December 23,
1980,
for variance from the 1.0 mg/i barium
concentration limit of Rule 304(B)(4) of Chapter
6:
Public Water
Supplies.
The Board has previously granted variance from this
standard in two proceedings, the records of which have been incorp-
orated into this action in Village of Hanover Park v.
IEPA,
PCB 77-
348,
29 PCB 439, March
30,
1978; and PCB 79—199,
37 PCB 135, January
10,
1980.
On January
22,
1981, the Agency filed its Recommendation
in support of grant of variance, with conditions.
Hearing was
waived and none has been held.
As noted in the Board’s latest Opinion,
two of petitioner’s
six wells
(4 deep,
2 shallow) contain barium in excess of the
barium standard,
(Wells
#2 and 4).
While
water from Wells
#2 and
4 is mixed with water from the rest of Petitioner’s system, the
Petitioner
feels that compliance cannot be achieved by commingling
(blending) without installing additional transmission lines and
limiting use of well
#4, which
is needed to serve ongoing demand
(37 PCB
135,
136).
The Village’s updated estimated treatment
costs, which to the Agency appear “higher than usual
...but with-
in the range of possibility,” are a)
for an ion exchange system,
$1,262,000 capital cost,
$40,800 annual operation and maintenance
(0
& M),
b)
for a lime softening system,
$3,800,700 capital cost,
$79,200 annual 0
& M, and c) for a chemical precipitation system,
$3,435,100 capital cost and $155,900 annual 0 & M.
As a result of the studies and reports commissioned by the
Village as part of its past compliance efforts,
the Village entered
into an enforceable agreement to join the Northwest Suburban Water
System
(Venture).
Venture is a regional public water
supply, cur-
rently including
8 municipalities and a utility company, created
to
develop
“a legally, technically, professionally and financially
sound program to construct a water transmission pipeline system”
41—43
to transport treated Lake Michigan water to its members.
As
of
July 25,
1980,
Venture had completed two/thirds of its preliminary
planning program, and was entering into the final phase of prepa-
ration of preliminary engineering and financial plans.
Based on
the projected schedule,
a Venture pipeline could be
in operation
in
1985.
Although the Village does not estimate total costs to
it of the Venture project, as of December,
1980 it had spent
$23,000
as part of its commitment to the project
(affidavit of
Village Manager Dawson).
The Agency supports grant of variance until January
1,
1986,
the deadline for exemptions under the Safe Drinking Water Act
(SDWA), 42 U.S.C.
§1416,
as recently extended by P.L.
96—502,
for
water supplies that have binding commitments to become part of a
regional water supply.
Although noting that it has never been
established under federal
law exactly what constitutes
a “binding
commitment”
or a “regional water supply”, the Agency believes that
the Village’s entry into the Venture arrangement satisfies the
policy and intent of the SDWA.
The Board finds that the Village’s entry into the Venture
agreement satisfies the SDWA requirement.
In light of the high
cost to the Village of treatment of its current water supply,
the
lack of demonstrated threats to health from consumption of barium
at the levels
in the Village’s water, and finally the Village’s
demonstrated commitment to the Venture regional water project,
the
Board finds that denial of variance would impose an arbitrary or
unreasonable hardship.
The requested variance from Rule 304 of
Chapter
6 is hereby granted until January
1,
1986,
subject to the
conditions outlined in the attached Order.
This Opinion constitutes the Board’s findings of fact and
conclusions of law in this matter.
ORDER
1)
Petitioner,
the Village of Hanover Park,
is hereby granted
variance from the 1.0 mg/i barium standard of Rule 304(B)(4)
of
Chapter
6:
Public Water Supplies until January
1,
1986,
subject to
the following conditions:
A)
Petitioner shall continue to perform its obligations
as outlined in the Northwest Suburban Water System (Venture) Agree-
ment, as
it may be from time to time amended,
and shall replace its
current water supply with Venture—supplied water as expeditiously
as is practicable.
B)
Petitioner shall take all reasonable measures with
its existing equipment
to minimize the level of barium in its
finished water.
C)
Pursuant to Rule 313(D)(1)
of Chapter
6, on or
before June 30,
1981 and every three months thereafter Petitioner
~iillsend to each user of its public water supply a written notice
to the effect that Petitioner has been granted by the Pollution
41—44
Control Board a variance from
the
1.0
mg/I
maximum
barium standard.
The notice
shall state the average content
of barium in samples
taken
since the last notice period during which samples were taken.
2)
Within forty—five days of the date of this Order,
Petitioner
shall execute and forward to David L.
Rieser, Technical
Advisor, Enforcement Programs,
Illinois Environmental Protection
agency,
2200 Churchill Road,
Springfield,
Illinois 62706,
a Certif-
icate of Acceptance and ~greement to he bound to all terms
and
conditions of
this variance.
This forty—five day period shall
he
held
in abeyance for any period this matter
is being appealed.
The
form of the certificate shall be as follows:
CERTIFIC~TION
I,
(We), _________________________——
,
having
read.
the Order
of the Illinois Pollution Control Board
in PCB 80-221,
dated
_____________________________,
understand and accept the said
conditions thereto binding and enforceable.
Petitioner
By:
Authorized Agent
Title
Date
IT
IS SO ORDERED.
I,
Christan
L.
Moffett, Clerk
of the Illinois Pollution Cor~tro2
Board,
he e~ycertify that
the
above Opinion and Order were adopted
on the
________
day of
~
1981 by a vote of
~
Christan L. Mof~~ Clerk
Illinois Pollution~ontrolBoard
41—4.5