ILLIMOTs

POLLUTION

COr’.TTUOL POAPU

May

29,

1980

‘ZILLACF

OF

RFLLrIOT’JT,

Petit~onor,

)

v.

)

PUB

80—6~3

PNV IRONMFNTAL

PPOTECT~O~’J AGENCY

Pespondent.

OPTNION

AND ORDER OF THE BOARD

(by Board Member Anderson):

On April

7,

1980, the Villaqe of Bellmont

(Village)

petitioned the Board for variance from Rule 1201 of Chapter

3:

Water Pollution Rules and Regulations.

The petitioner requests

the variance

in order to gain time for the present operators

of

the Village’s wastewater treatment plant to take the Class

4

examination and then to become properly certified by the Illinois

Environmental Protection Agency (Agency).

The Board received the

Aqeil~y‘s

Recommendation

supportlnq

the

pet ition

for

variance

with

conditions

on

May

5,

1980.

Jearinq

was

properly

waived

in

the

pe

ti

t:I

on

and

none

wa s

he I d

Beilmont,

a

villaqe

in

t’7abanh

County,

operates

a

newly

constructed 3—cell

lagoon wastewater treatment facility which

presently serves 200 families.

This

facility is required by the

Agency to he under the supervision

of at least

a Class

4 treatment

plant operator.

The current operators,

Edward

M. and Nathan

F.

Bowman,

are currently not certified,

although they have been

operating

the

plant

for the last year.

The Village states

in its petition that a thorough search

has been made in the surrounding counties for a certified operator.

None has been found.

The village claims that,

since the current

operators are capable, and are willing to operate the plant

for

salaries within its budget, arbitrary and unreasonable hardship

would result

if 3ellmont

is required to locate and hire an operator

from outside the surrounding counties at a higher than budgeted

salary.

In its Recommendation,

the

Agency

verified

that the Bowmans

have demonstrated themselves to he capable of operating this

plant pending their certification.

While

the new facility has

not been completely

free of operation and maintenance problems,

the Agency stated that work was underway to correct remaining

problems.

The Agency further

rioted that on January

31,

1980

these operators had each enrolled

in

an operations course to

prepare themselves

for the Class

4 examination.

The

Agency

therefore supports,

and in fact suggested,

the Village’s petition

for variance.

---

2

The RoaM agrees that failure to provide the requested

relief would impose an arbitrary and unreasonable hardship under

these circumstances.

The Village will be granted a variance from

Rule 1201 of Chapter 3:

Water Pollution Rules and Regulations

for a period of one year,

subject to the Agency—recommended

conditions incorporated in the attached Order.

This Opinion constitutes the Board’s findings of fact and

conclusions of law in this matter.

ORflFR

1.

The Village of Rellmont is granted a variance from Rule

1201 of Chapter 3:

Water Pollution Rules and Regulations for a

period to terminate on

May

25,

1981, under the following conditions:

a)

If either Edward or Nathan Bowman is properly

certified by the Agency as a Class

4 operator before

May 25,

1981, this variance shall terminate at such

earlier time.

b)

If both

Edward

and Nathan

Bowman

terminate

their

employment as operators of the Bellmont wastewater

treatment plant before

May

25, 1981, this variance

shall terminate at such earlier

time.

c)

The Beilmont wastewater treatment plant shall be

operated according to the best practicable operation

and maintenance procedures for the facility.

2.

Within 45 days of the date of this Order, the Village of

Bellnont shall execute and forward to the Illinois Environmental

Protection Agency, Division of Water Pollution Control, Variance

Unit,

2200 Churchill Road, Springfield, IL

62706, an 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

CERTIFICAt’ION

I,

(We),

____

___________________,

understand and accept the said Order, realizing that such

SIGNED _________________________

TITLE

DATE

---

3

IT IS

SO ORDF~RED.

I,

Christan

L.

Moffett,

Clerk

of

the

Illinois

Pollution

Control Board, herqhy certify

the above Opinion and Order were

adopted on the ~jT~

day of

~

1980,

by

a vote

of

Christan

T~. Moffet.,~flJerk

Ill

inois

Pollution

Control

Board