ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
February 22,
1990
CITY OF CHARLESTON
)
Petitioner,
v.
)
PCB 90-25
(Provisional Variance)
ILLINOIS ENVIRONMENTAL
)
PROTECTION AGENCY,
)
Respondent.
ORDER OF THE BOARD
(J. Marlin):
This matter comes before the Board on receipt of an Agency
Recommendation dated February 21,
1990.
The recommendation
refers to a request from Petitioner,
City of Charleston for a 45
day provisional variance from the Board’s wastewater effluent
deoxygenating wastes and NPDES effluent standards rules, asset
forth in 35 Iii. Adm.
Code 304.120 and 304.141(a),
which are
otherwise applicable to its discharges of excess storm water,
for
the period beginning from initiation of the discharge and lasting
for 45 days.
Upon receipt of the request, the Agency issued its
recommendation,
concluding that due to unforeseen,
temporary and
uncontrollable circumstances,
failure to grant the requested 45—
day provisional variance,
with conditions, would impose an
arbitrary or unreasonable hardship on Petitioner.
The City of Charleston operates wastewater treatment
facilities
(WWTF)
that normally discharge tertiary-treated
effluent to a first order
stream,
Casseli Creek, tributary to
Riley Creek, Kickapoo Creek,
and the Embarras River.
The
limitations of the City’s NPDES permit
(numbered IL0021644)
are
10 mg/i biochemical oxygen demand
(BaD5)
and
12 mg/i suspended
solids
(TSS)
(monthly averages).
The WWTF has experienced
several unexpected difficulties
in unrelated incidents over the
past four to six weeks:
a mechanical
failure of
a sand filter
cell
(January 6,
1990)
,
VFD pump problems, and recent heavy rains
and snow melt.
These result
in diminished WWTF treatment
capacity,
an increased amount of
WWTF
influent,
and an increase
in the frequency of pumping to the storm water lagoons.
Those
stormwater
lagoons, although designed for reintroduction of
excess flows back to the
WWTF
for treatment and not for discharge
to the stream,
are presently full and at the point of overflowing
their berms.
Influent flows to the
WWTF
are presently beyond the
hydraulic capacity of the plant,
resulting
in an overflow through
an emergency manhole.
lOS—239
The City desires to operate
a siphon tube from the lagoons
for a period of
45 days to reduce the volume of wastewater they
contain.
To accomplish this, the City proposes mixing the
siphoned untreated effluent with treated plant effluent,
chlorinating the combined effluent,
and discharging the
chlorinated mixture to the stream.
The City estimates that the
combined effluent would contain 20 mg/i BOD5 and 24 mg/l TSS.
The Agency has determined that a denial of the requested
provisional variance would result in an arbitrary and
unreasonable hardship on the City.
It would result in increased
wastewater flows
to the WWTF beyond its hydraulic capacity,
cecreased effluent quality,
and prolonged non—compliance once
influent flows return to normal.
The Agency believes that the
environmental impact on the receiving stream will be minimal.
The Agency does not believe that there would be any adverse
impact on the City of Newton public water supply, which
is 40 to
45 miles downstream.
The Agency is unaware of any federal
regulations that would preclude
a grant
of therequested relief.
The Agency recommends that the Board should grant the proviEional
variance with certain conditions relating to plant operation,
the
duration of the variance,
the combined WWTF effluent quality,
and
effluent monitoring.
Having received the Agency Recommendation,
the Board hereby
grants a provisional variance from 35
Ill. Adm.
Code
304.120 and
304.141(a)
subject to the following conditions:
1.
The term of this provisional variance shall
commence upon initiation of the discharge and
continue for
45 days thereafter;
2.
During the term of this provisional variance,
the City of Charleston’s effluent
is limited
to
a maximum monthly average concentration of
20 mg/i DOD5 and 24 mg/i TSS.
3.
During the term of this provisional variance,
the City of Charleston shall operate its
wastewater treatment facility
in
a manner
that produces the best practicable effluent
quality,
and the City of Charleston shall
provide complete treatment for all flows as
soon as such treatment is possible.
4.
During the term of this provisional variance,
the City of Charleston shall monitor its
combined wastewater treatment plant and
lagoon effluents for the parameters listed
in
NPDES permit 1L0021644 at the point where the
lagoon discharge and treated plant effluents
mix prior to discharge to the receiving
stream.
inS— 240
5.
The City of Charleston shall, within ten days
of the date of this order,
forward to the
Agency an executed copy of the Certificate of
Acceptance and Agreement,
as set forth in
condition
6,
addressed as follows:
Illinois Environmental Protection Agency
Division of Water Pollution Control
Compliance Assurance Section
2200 Churchill Road
P.O.
BOx 19276
Springfield, Illinois
62794—9276
Attn:
Patricia Lindsey
6.
The City of Charleston shall,
within ten days
of the date of this order,
execute a
Certificate of Acceptance and Agreement,
by
which
it agrees to be bound by all terms and
conditions
of this provisional variance,
and
that Certificate shall take the following
form:
CERTIFICATE OF ACCEPTANCE AND AGREEMENT
I
(We),
______
do hereby ceritfy that
I have
reviewed a copy of the Order of the Pollution
Control Board
in PCB 90-25, dated February
22,
1990,
and do hereby accept and agree to
be bound by all terms and conditions
thereof.
Petitioner
Authorized Agent
Title
Date
Section 41 of the Environmental Protection Act,
Ill.
Rev.
Stat.
1985 ch 111 1/2 par.
1041,
provides for appeal of final Orders of
the Board within
35 days.
The Rules of the Supreme Court of
Illinois establish filing requirements.
1flS—2~l
IT IS SO ORDERED.
I,
Dorothy N.
Gunn,
Clerk of the Illinois Pollution Control
Board,
do hereby certify that the above Order was adopted on this
-
day of
~
-
,
1990,
by a
voteof
-
.
Dorothy M.
Gunn, Clerk
Illinois Pollution Control Board
108—242