ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
September 13,
1989
CITY OF DECATUR,
)
Petitioner,
v.
)
PCB 89—146
)
ILLINOIS ENVIRONMENTAL
)
PROTECTION AGENCY,
)
Respondent.
OPINION AND ORDER OF THF BOARD
(by J. Marlin):
This matter comes before
the Board upon
a recommendation
filed
by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (“Agency”)
on September
13,
1989 recommending that
the Board grant
a 45—day
provisional variance
to
the City of Decatur.
Decatur requests
this variance from 35
Ill.
kdm. Code 302.203 and
302.208
for
iron
and color
to allow an evaulation
study
to be conducted
of well
waters into
a tributary of Friends Creek.
Friends Creek
is
tributary to the Sangamon River which
is tributary to Lake
Decatur.
Lake Decatur
is
the water source
for
the City of
Decatur.
The purpose of this evaulation program
is
to provide an
alternative source
of water
to Lake Decatur.
Decatur owns and operate
a public water supply serving
Decatur
and nearby areas.
During the summer of
1988, Decatur
“experienced the lowest inflow
to the water
supply lake
in the
history of
the
facility.
Only drastic
and very costly emergency
action with temporary measures, plus mandatory water restrictions
on
the public and industrial
users
of water,
made
it possible for
the community
to continue at normal employment through
the
drought period.”
(~gencyRec.
at
1).
Decatur
seeks
this
provisional variance “to allow the continued emergency activity
toward development
of
the alternative source
of emergency
supply.”
(Id.)
Decatur has reviewed the alternative sources
of supplemental
water
and has adopted
the use
of groundwater.
Decatur proposes
to drill two test wells
into the Teays aquifer
and evaluate the
results from these wells.
Decatur has conducted preliminary
tests
of
the iron content of the well water
and has determined
that
the
iron concentration will
be approximately 2.0 rng/l.
~s
an exact concentration
is currently not known at this time,
Decatur
requests
a variance
from the 1.0 mg/l concentration
of
Section 302.208
up to
3.0 mg/l
iron.
The Agency states that
it
agrees
that this additional
limit may be necessary during
this
evaluation program.
(Agency Rec.
at
2)
103—81
—2—
Decatur states that the test work will
be completed within
45 days from the onset of the test work.
Decatur also states
that “it
is likely that the maximum time will be
28 days.”
The
Agency states that
it recommends Decatur be
allowed 45 days
in
case the full
45 days
is necessary to obtain all. study data.
Bids
for construction work
for the test wells were
to be opened
on August 31,
1989.
Decatur has reviewed available alternatives
to achieve compliance in lieu of a provisional variance.
Decatur
estimates that treatment
at
its North Treatment Plant would cost
$1,550,000;
a containment lagoon would cost $166,000 and onsite
treatment by aeration would cost $65,800.
Decatur
states,
and
the Agency states that
it agrees that
these costs
are high
in
comparison
to the benefits obtained during the provisional
variance period.
Decatur claims that the adverse effects of
this provisional
variance will
be minimal.
The Agency states that
it agrees with
this statement, due
to the short duration as well
as
the
requested limitations.
The Agency also states that
there are no
federal
regulations which would preclude the granting of
this
variance.
The Board having received notification from the Agency that
compliance
on a short
term basis with the effluent limitations
imposed
by 35
Ill.
Adm.
Code
302.203 and 302.208 would impose an
arbitrary or unreasonable hardship upon Decatur, and the Board
concurring
in that notification, will grant Decatur’s provisional
variance,
subject
to
the conditions suggested
by the Agency.
This Opinion constitutes the Board’s findings
of fact and
conclusions
of law
in
this matter.
ORDER
The City of Decatur
is hereby granted provisional variance
from
35
Ill.
Adm.
Code 302.203
as
it pertains
to color
and
302.208 as
it pertains
to
iron,
subject to the following
conditions:
a.
Variance shall
begin
when
the evaluation period from the
wells
begin and continue
for a period of
45 days
or until
the evaluation
is completed, whichever occurs
first.
b.
During
the the
term of
this variance,
the instream
iron
concentration shall be limited
to
3 mg/l
iron.
c.
The
results of
all
iron sampling done during
the term of
this variance shall
be submitted
to the Agency.
d.
Decatur
shall notify Pat Lindsey of the Agency via
telephone at 217/782—9720 when the evaluation period from
the wells begin
and when
the evaluation program ends.
103—82
—3—
Written confirmation of each notification
shall
be
submitted within
5 days
to:
Illinois Environmental Protection Agency
Division of Water Pollution Control
2200 Churchill Road,
p.
0. Box
19276
Springfield,
Illinois
62794—9276
Attn:
Compliance Assurance Section
e.
Within
10 days of this Order,
Decatur
shall execute
a
Certificate of Acceptance and Agreement which shall
be
sent
to Mark T. Books at
the address
indicated above.
This variance shall be void
if Petitioner
fails
to execute
and forward
the certificate within the ten day period.
The ten
day period shall be held
in abeyance during any period that this
matter
is being appealed.
The form of said Certification shall
be
as follows:
CEPTIFICATIO~
I,
(We),
the City of Decatur, having
read the Order of
the
Illinois Pollution Control Board,
in PCB 89—146,
dated September
13, 1989, 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
Section
41
of the Environmental Protection Act,
Ill. Rev.
Stat.
1987 ch.
1111/2 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.
IT
IS SO ORDERED.
103—83
—4—
I, Dorothy M. Gunn, Clerk of the Illinois Pollution Control
Board, hereby certify
that the above Opip’ion and Order was
adopted on the
L,~Z
day of
A~lf5~~4!~CJ
l989,byavote4~c.
~
~,
Dorothy
M. 9~n, Clerk,
Illinois Pollution Control Board
103—84