ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD

October 2,

1980

ILLINOIS ENVIRONMENTAL

PROTECTION AGENCY,

)

Complainant,

v.

)

PCB 79—154

VILLAGE OF WINSLOW,

an Illinois municipal

corporation,

Respondent.

ALICE NUSBAUM

KOHN,

ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL, APPEARED ON

BEHALF OF THE COMPLAINANT.

WILLIAM J.

SCHMITZ, ATTORNEY AT LAW, 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

1,

1979

Complaint brought by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency

(“Agency”).

Count

I of the Complaint alleged that the Respondent

owned a public water supply system which was operated from

September 23,

1977 until August

1,

1979 without chlorination

treatment of the water before it entered the distribution system

in violation of Rule 305 of Chapter 6:

Public Water Supplies, and

Section 18 of the Illinois Environmental Protection Act (“Act”).

Count II of the Complaint alleged that from September 23,

1977

until August 1,

1979, the Respondent operated its public water

supply system without having in its employ a certified water supply

operator in violation of Section 1 of an Act to Regulate the

Operating of a

Public Water Supply,

Ill.

Rev.

Stat. 1977,

ch.

111½,

par. 501 (“Public Water Supply Act”);

Rule 302 of Chapter

6:

Public

Water Supplies; and Section 18 of the Act.

A hearing was held on January 17,

1980.

The parties filed a

Stipulation and Proposal for Settlement on January 18,

1980.

On

March 20, 1980, the Board entered an Interim Order which rejected

the Stipulation and Proposal for Settlement.

On April

8,

1980,

the Agency filed a Motion for Reconsideration of the Interim Order.

On May

1,

1980, the Board denied the Agency’s Motion for Reconsider-

ation.

On September 16,

1980, the parties filed an Amended

Stipulation and Proposal for Settlement.

---

—2—

The Village of Winslow, which has a population of approxi-

mately 400 individuals,

owns and operates a public water supply

system

(“system”)

in Stephenson County, Illinois.

Its water supply

system, which was installed in 1916,

includes one 350—foot deep

artesian well, two high service pumps,

and one hydropneumatic

storage and distribution system,

At the hearing,

the Village

President and Mayor, Mr, Richard A.

Miller,

testified that,

in the

past,

the system~swater tower was worked on and cleaned out once

a year,

and,

at that time,

the water was chlorinated.

(R,

13),

Mr. Miller

indicated that the Village has now spent about $1500.00

to set up chlorination equipment and that they are currently wait-

ing for a plumber to hook-up the pipes into the system.

(R,

12),

Mr. Miller signed the stipulation on behalf of the Village.

Nevertheless,

at the hearing,

Mr. Miller outlined many reasons why

he felt that the agreed-upon measures would be financially burden-

some.

(R,

11—14;

R.

15—16).

In essence, Mr. Miller indicated that

because of the Village’s poor financial condition and the large

debt load incurred for a recently installed sewerage system, he

felt that the originally agreed—upon stipulated penalty of $500.00

was quite high.

Accordingly,

after the Board rejected the original settlement

proposal, the subsequent Amended Stipulation and Proposal

for

Settlement provides for

a lower stipulated penalty of $275.00

(to

be

paid in two equal installments),

(Stip.

6),

It is stipulated that Agency inspections on December

13,

1976

and September

23,

1977 revealed that compliance problems existed.

(Stip.

2),

The Agency subsequently sent four letters to the Village

informing them that they would need to chlorinate their water and

employ a certified operator.

(Stip,

2; See: Exhibits A,

B,

C, and

On November

5,

1977,

the Respondent’s attorney sent a letter

to the Agency on behalf of the Village which indicated that the

Respondent was actively seeking to hire a certified operator and

was planning to install chlorination equipment.

(Stip.

3; See:

Exhibit F),

On October 13,

1978, the Agency sent the Responden~a formal

Notice of Violation,

(Stip.

2—3; See: Exhibit

E),

On October

20,

1978,

the Village attorney sent a letter to the Agency on behalf

of the Respondent which indicated that a Village employee was

currently training for the certification test.

(Stip,

3; See:

Exhibit G),

However,

this letter also indicated that the Village

Board did not feel the residents of the Village were in favor of

chlorination and requested a public meeti~ig“to explore the whole

situation.”

(Exhibit G),

A negotiated settlement was subsequently

entered into by both parties,

The

proposed settlement agreement includes a detailed compliance

program and schedule which provides that

the

Respondent admits

the

---

—3

violations alleged in the Complaint and agrees

to:

(1)

install the

appropriate chlorination equipment;

(2)

employ a properly certified

operator;

(3) make arrangements to have

a certified relief operator

available;

and

(4) pay a stipulated penalty of $275.00

(in two

installments of $137.50 each).

(Stip.

4—6).

In evaluating this enforcement action and proposed settlement,

the Board has taken into consideration all the facts and circum-

stances in light of the specific criteria delineated in Section 33(c)

of the Act.

The Board finds that the Respondent, the Village of

Winslow, has violated Section 1 of the Public Water Supply

Act;

Rules

302 and 305 of Chapter 6:

Public Water Supplies;

and

Section 18 of the Illinois Environmental Protection Act.

The

stipulated penalty of $275.00

(payable in two installments) is

assessed against the Respondent.

This Opinion constitutes the Board’s findings of fact and

It is the Order of the Illinois Pollution Controi

Board that:

1.

The Respondent,

the Village of Winslow, has violated

Section

1 of an Act to Regulate the Operating of

a Public Water

Supply,

Ill.

Rev.

Stat.

1977,

ch.

111½,

par.

501;

Rules 302 and

305 of Chapter

6:

Public Water Supplies;

and Section 18 of the

Illinois Environmental Protection

Act.

2.

The Respondent shall, by certified check or money order

payable to the State of Illinois, pay the stipulated penalty of

$275.00 in two equal installments of $137.50 each.

The first

installment of $137.50 shall be paid within 30 days of the date of

this Order, while the second installment shall be paid within

180 days of the date of this Order.

Illinois Environmental Protection Agency

2200 Churchill Road

Springfield, Illinois

62706

3.

The Respondent shall comply with all the terms and

conditions of the Amended Stipulation and Proposal for Settlement

filed September 16,

1980, which is incorporated by reference as if

fully set forth herein.

I, Christan

L. Moffett,

Clerk of the Illinois Pollution Control

Board, heresy certify that the above Opinion and Order wer~adopted

on the

~

day of

(r~t~J~t&)

,

1980 by a vote of

~-O

Illinois Polluti