ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL
BOARD
July
24,
1980
ILLINOIS ENVIRONMENTAL
PROTECTION AGENCY,
Complainant,
v.
)
PCB 78—264
CITY OF KEWANEE, a Municipal
)
Corporation,
Respondent.
DOUGLAS
P. KARP, ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL, APPEARED ON BEHALF
OF COMPLAINANT.
SCOTT E. CLEMENS, CITY ATTORNEY OF KEWANEE, APPEARED ON BEHALF
OF
RESPONDENT.
OPINION AND ORDER OF THE
BOARD
(by
I.
Goodman):
On October 13,
1978 the Illinois Environmental Protection
Agency
(Agency) filed
an enforcement action against the City
of
Kewanee.
On November
13,
1978 the Board granted the Agency
leave
to file an amended complaint which alleged violation of Sections
12(a),
(h), and
(f)
of the Illinois Environmental Protection Act
(Act)
and Rule 901 of Chapter 3:
Water Pollution Control Rules
and Regulations
(Water Regulations).
Two hearings were held at
which representatives of the news media were present.
At the
last hearing on May
13,
1980 the parties submitted a stipulation
and proposal for settlement
(Stipulation) and questions of the
news media were answered; however,
no public testimony from
citizens was offered.
The Respondent owns and operates
a sewage treatment plant in
the City
of Kewanee, Henry County,
Illinois which discharges the
plant’s effluent into the western fork of the Spoon River
pursuant
to a NPDES permit.
The parties stipulate that in
violation of Respondent’s NPDES permit,
Sections 12(a),
(b),
and
(f) of the Act and Rule 901 of the Water Regulations the
Respondent:
(1) has failed to submit several Discharge Monitoring
Reports
(DMR’s),
(2) has submitted untimely DMR’s,
(3) has failed
for extended periods of time to monitor fecal coliform, chlorine
residual, and heavy metals
in its effluent,
and
(4) has
exceeded
effluent limitations
for BOD5 and total
suspended solids
(TSS).
—2—
The parties agree that Respondent’s failure to operate and
maintain the plant properly have contributed to violations, but
also that the present facilities can not consistently meet BOD
and PSS effluent standards
in Respondent’s NPDES permit.
Alga
in the lagoon
(used for tertiary and excess flow treatment) has
caused BOD
and TSS concentrations to exceed NPDES permit
limitation~during the months of March through September,
1978.
Furthermore, improvements made to the plant
in 1972,
including
the addition of an effluent and storm water pump station, a
lagoon, chlorination facilities,
an aerated grit chamber, and an
aerobic digester, did not increase the treatment capacity of
existing secondary facilities or improve the plant’s operational
flexibility.
Respondent, currently
in the Sewer System Evaluation Survey
stage of a Step
1 United States Environmental Protection Agency
(USEPA) Grant Project, has been preparing a Facilities Plan since
September
1,
1977.
Preliminary reports indicate that serious
infiltration and inflow problems impair plant operation and
effluent quality.
Installation of
a 48—inch interceptor in 1978
has increased the flow to the pumping facilities so that flows of
25 million gallons per day
(MGD)
are reached during high flow
periods.
Because pumping capacity
(11.5 MGD)
is considerably
less than flow capacity, the plant~sinterceptor and treatment
units surcharge.
Activated sludge
solids, consequently,
are
washed out of the aeration and reaeration tanks.
Re—establishing
biological growth and returning the system to normal generally
takes several weeks.
There are three other problems.
First, without
a
considerable expenditure
for a chlorine contact tank
(which may
not be needed if pending regulation R77—12,
Docket D is adopted)
it is impossible to obtain adequate contact time for effective
chlorination of the secondary settling tank.
Second,
the present
treatment facilities,
designed before ammonia-nitrogen effluent
requirements were adopted, cannot meet present stream quality
standards for that contaminant.
Third, the city,
with a priority
number
of 842,
may not be eligible for construction grant funds
for several years and it has alleged that without grant
assistance
it cannot finance improvements necessary to meet
current effluent and water quality standards.
The parties have stipulated to terms of settlement which
direct the city to do the following:
(1)
submit a Facilities
Plan to the Agency by July 1,
1980,
(2) fulfill all requirements
necessary
to obtain grant funds as expeditiously as possible,
(3)
implement upon receipt of grant funds all recommendations
for the
Facilities Plan and all other steps necessary to achieve
compliance with environmental standards as expeditiously as
possible, and
(4) comply with an interim plan,
designed to
minimize environmental harm, pending grant—funded upgrading of
the plant.
The interim plan requires:
(1) reducing inflow and
infiltration into the sewer system by removing downspout
connections and repairing sewer defects,
(2) routing
of influent
—3—
through bypasses to avoid sewer overflows and “washing out” of
activated solids in the aeration and reaeration tanks,
(3)
installing telemetering alarms to detect high water conditions,
(4)
increasing,
training, and managing personnel
to assure
adequate maintenance, operation, and surveillance of the system,
(5)
employing accurate procedures and equipment for timely
monitoring,
(6) repairing,
cleaning, or replacing present
equipment,
(7) acquiring auxiliary equipment and spare parts
inventories,
and
(8) complying with interim effluent standards.
The interim plan, as noted, calls for the construction of
bypasses to avoid sewer backups and washouts of activated solids.
Section 304(b)
of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act,
33
U.S.C.
466,
et
~j.,
provides for the promulgation of effluent
limitations by the Administrator of the USEPA.
These effluent
limitations are contained in USEPA’s regulations governing the
National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System,
40 CFR Part 122,
which regulations prohibit NPDES permits to allow bypasses unless
certain conditions are met.
40 CFR §122.60(g)(4)
in 45 Fed.Reg.
33354
effective
July 18,
1980.
The Board has reviewed these
conditions and has determined that authorizing the Agency
to
modify Respondent’s NPDES permit
to be consistent with the
interim plan would not encourage an improper permit modification.
In the future, however, the Board would prefer that the public be
notified of and given an opportunity to comment on bypass
incidents of significant duration.
The Stipulation contains the following effluent limitations:
30
rng/l
on a 30—day average and 45 mg/l as a daily maximum for
BOD
and TSS, no limitations for NH
,
and fecal coliform and
chl~rineresidual limitations of 40~/100ml daily maximum and
.75
mg/l on a 30 day average respectively with the exception that no
limitations are to apply if these two pollutants are discharged
from a point other than the lagoon.
The Board finds that these
limitations are achievable and will minimize environmental damage
in a reasonable manner until
a federally—funded construction
program is completed.
Finally,
the parties stipulate that a penalty of $2,000 be
paid by Respondent
for violating the provisions discussed herein.
The Board,
in considering all the facts and circumstances bearing
upon the reasonableness of the discharges and monitoring report
deficiencies,
finds that the penalty amount of $2,000 is a
reasonable one in light of the decreased expenses occasioned by
noncompliance.
The Board hereby accepts the Stipulation, finding
it to be a suitable resolution of the case and one which will
minimize environmental damage until
final
compliance with the
Board’s regulations and the Act
is achieved.
The Board has
fully considered the facts and circumstances involved in §33(c)
of the Act and in the Board’s Procedural Rule 331(a).
This Opinion constitutes the findings of fact and
conclusions of law in this matter.
—4—
ORDER
It
is the Order of the Pollution Control Board
that:
1.
The City of Kewanee has violated Sections 12(a),
(b),
and
(f) of the Illinois Environmental Protection Act and Rule 901
of Chapter
3:
Water Pollution Control Rules and Regulations.
2.
The City of Kewanee shall execute the interim plan set
forth in Paragraphs 29—34 inclusive of
the Stipulation and
Proposal for Settlement (Stipulation),
filed June
2,
1980,
which
Stipulation is hereby incorporated by reference as if fully set
forth herein.
3.
The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency
is
authorized to amend NPDES Permit No. 1L0029343
so that
it will be
consistent with the terms of this Order.
4.
Within 45 days of this Order, the City of Kewanee shall
pay by certified check or money order a penalty of $2,000, to be
sent to:
Fiscal Services Department
Illinois Environmental Protection Agency
2200 Churchill Road
Springfield, Illinois
62706
Mr. Dumelle concurs.
I, Christan L.
Moffett, Clerk of the Illinois Pollution
Control Board, heçeby certify tha
the above Order was
adqpted on the
~
day of
______________,
1980 by
a vote
of$.-O
Christan L. Mof~~,Clerk
Illinois Polluti’&I’Control Board
