ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD

March 20, 1980

VILLAGE OF ELBURN,

)

)

Petitioner,

)

)

v.

)

PcB 80—5

)

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY,

)

)

Respondent.

OPINION AND ORDER OF THE BOARD (by Dr. Satchell):

This matter comes before the Board upon a variance netition

filed January 8, 1980 by the Village of Elburn (Elburn). The

Petitioner requests for its public water supply filter backwash

effluent a variance from the 2.0 mg/l standard for iron and the

15.0 mg/i standard for total suspended solids (TSS) contained in

Rule 408(a) of Chapter 3: Water Pollution. On February 27,

1980 the Environmental Protection Agency (Agency) recommended

that the variance be granted subject to conditions. The hearing

was waived and no public comment has been received.

Elburn

provides water service to 1450 residents in Kane

County. It has three wells: Well #3 is a 1300 foot deep well

which is the primary supply; Well #1 is the secondary source;

Well #2 is used only in case of failure of the other wellth or

excessive demand. It is 153 feet deep and was built in 1937.

When it was used on a regular basis it had a capacity of 140,000

gallons per day. It has a high iron content. Apparently there

is a filter system for Well $2 at the corner of North and First

Streets, Elburn. Backwash from the filter system is discharged

into a field tile which discharges at an unknown point to a trib-

utary of Blackberry Creek which is tributary to the Fox River.

Petitioner states that it has NPDES permit No. IL 0051594 for this

discharge.

The petition appears to request a variance for the discharge

for the Well #2 treatment plant only. Petitioner states that Well

#2 has not been operated in the previous year and that

backwashinq

of filters has been done every three months for routine maintenance.

This results in

a discharge of 4500 gallons containing .8 to .9

ppm

(mg/i) iron. No values are given for TSS.

The Agency believes

the backwash should be higher in iron but has no data since Elburn

has never filed discharge monitorina reports. The value for iron

is within the limits set by Rule 408(a). No estimate of the back-

wash in the event of actual use of Well #2 is offered.

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Elburn states that in 1973 an engineering firm advised it

that the backwash violated the effluent standards. This is in-

sufficient to demonstrate a current need for a variance, Elburn

further states that it cannot discharge the backwash to its sewage

treatment plant because it is on restricted status. However, the

Agency has no record of such restricted status, The Board does

not favor the grant of variances to cover only emergency situations.

The petition will therefore be dismissed.

This Opinion constitutes the Board!s findings

conclusions of law in this matter.

ORDER

of fact and

The

petition Is dismissed without prejudice.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

I, Christan L. Moffett, Clerk of the Illinois Pollution

Control Board, hereby certify the above Opinion and Order were

adopted on the

~

day of/))44.4j.~1 1980 by a vote of

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Illinois P