ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
July
24, 1980
CITY OF BELVIDERE,
)
Petitioner,
V.
)
PCB 80—86
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
Respondent.
OPINION
AND
ORDER OF THE BOARD (by J. Anderson):
This matter comes before the Board on the April 21, 1980,
petition by the City of Belvidere for variance from the BODç and
Total Suspended Solids (TSS) limitations of Rule 404(c) of chapter 3:
Water Pollution (Chapter 3). On June 18, 1980, the Environmental
Protection Agency (Agency) filed its Recommendation in support of
variance. Hearing was waived, and none was held.
Petitioner, the City of Belvidere (City), which is located
in Boone County, owns and operates an area wastewater treatment
facility serving 14,946 residents and 275 commercial and industrial
users. The discharge monitoring reports for this facility for
theand12pastmg/iyearTSSshowmonthlyconsistentaverageexcursionsand
the 25-30from dailythe
10maximummg/i BOD5
effluent limitations established by its NPDES permit. The City
attributes these excursions to a) excessive infiltration and
inflow, h) inefficiency of existing vacuum sludge filters,
resulting in solids carryover into plant effluent, and c) the
fact that the facility when upgraded in 1970 was designed to
produce the 20 mg/i 130D5 and 25 mg/i TSS monthly average effluent
required by then existing rules (Pet. 1—2, Rec. 1—2).
The City has actively sought the funding necessary to upgrade
its plant since 1977. It currently holds place number 633 on the
Agency’s Fiscal Year 1980 Construction Grants Priority list.
Because of the numerous and costly problems involved with main-
tenance of its sludge filters, in 1979 the City applied for and
received emergency authorization from the Agency to desic~n and
install belt filter press solids dewatering equipment prior to
the eventual design and construction of the balance of the im-
provements identified in the City’s facility plan. (It is
important to note that in the emergency authorization situation,
the authorized work is done without immediate 75 Federal Funding.)
The City calculates that the dewatering equipment will be installed
and operational by July 1, 1981, assuming no undue delays in Agency
review of plans or in equipment manufacture. It is anticipated that
2
the balance of the plant improvements will be completed before
July, 1983, although this time estimate is contingent upon Agency
certification of Step 1 studies and the availabliity of Federal
construction funds (Pet. 2, 4, 7, Rec. 3).
Pursuant to this plan for upgrading its facility, the City
requests a two-step variance. First, until installation of the
belt filter press dewatering system, and for approximately one
month of operation thereafter (to allow the plant solids inventory
to reach equilibrium), the City seeks to have the monthly average
BOD5 and TSS levels set at 30 and 30, and the daily maximum limits
set at 75 and 75. Second, during the period after installation of
the dewatering system but before completion of the balance of the
upgrading improvements, the City petitions that these levels be
set at a monthly average of 20 and 25, and a daily maximum of 50
and 63 (Pet, 6—7),
The City alleges that the grant of the requested variance
will have no adverse impact on the quality of the Kishwaukee
River into which its plant discharges, and the Agency confirms
this. As its last point, the City explains that denial of variance
would impose a severe economic hardship, in that the $8.8 million
dollars in capital improvements necessary for upgrading its plant
are economically feasible only if the City can count on 75 of
this cost being federally funded, which funding is contingent on
compliance with applicable state law (Pet, 8, Rec. 3).
The Board finds that it would be arbitrary and unreasonable
to refuse to grant the City~svariance request; the City has
moved expeditiously to upgrade its plant and essentially here
petitions the Board for the necessary authorization to continue
to do so. Therefore, variance from Rule 404(c) of Chapter 3 is
granted, with conditions, through July 31, 1983. The Board
extends the variance periods suggested by the parties by one
month to provide some slight cushion for unavoidable delay.
This Opinion constitutes the Board~s findings of fact and
conclusions of law in this mattet.
ORDER
Petitioner, the City of Belvidere, is hereby granted a
variance from Rule 404(c) of Chapter 3: Water Pollution, subject
to the following conditions:
1) Through July 31, 1981, the effluent from the City~s
wastewater treatment facility shall not exceed the following
effluent levels: a monthly average for both BOD5 and Total
Suspended Solids (TSS) of 30 mg/l, and a daily maximum for both
SOD5 and TSS of 75 mg/i.
2) From August 1, 1981, through July 31, 1983, the effluent
from the City’s wastewater treatment facility shall not exceed the
3
following effluent levels: a monthly average for SOD of 20 mg/i
and for TSS of 25 mg/I. and a daily maximum for BOD5 o~50 mg/i and
for TSS of 63 mg/i.
3) The City shall continue diligent pursuit of grant funding
for the upgrading of its facility.
4) The City shall operate and maintain its facility at all
times in such manner as to produce effluent of the best quality
practicable.
5) Within 45 days of the date of this Order, the City of
Belvedere shall execute and forward to the Illinois Environmental
Protection Agency, Division of Water Pollution Control, Variance
Unit, 2200 Churchill Road, Springfield, IL 62706, and executed
Certification of Acceptance and Agreement to be bound by all
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 Environmental Protection Act. The form of
said certification shall he as follows:
CERTIFICATION
I, (We,)
,
having read
the Order of the Illinois Pollution Control Board in PCB 80-86,
dated
__________________,
understand and accept the said Order,
realizing that such acceptance renders all terms and conditions
thereto binding and enforceable.
Petitioner
By ____________________________
Authorized Agent
Title ________________________
Date ___________________________
IT IS SO ORDERED.
I, Christan L. Moffett, Clerk of the Illinois Pollution
Control Board, hereby certify that the above Opinion and Order
were adopted on the
______
day of
__________,
1980, by a vote of
Christan L. Moffett, Clerk
Illinois Pollution Control Board
