ILLINOIS
POLLrJTION CONTROL BOARD
April
7,
1988
VILLAGE OF FORREST,
Petitioner,
v.
)
PCB 88-63
ILLINOIS ENVIRONMENTAL
PROTECTION AGENCY,
Respondent.
OPINION AND ORDER OF THE BOARD
(by J.D. Dumelle):
This provisional variance request comes before the Board
upon an April
6,
1988 Recommendation of the Illinois
Environmental Protection Agency (Agency).
The Agency recommends
that because of
an arbitrary and unreasonable hardship,
the
Petitioner, Village of Forrest,
be granted
a provisional
variance,
subject
to certain conditions,
from
35
Iii.
Adm.
Code
302.209(b)
to allow
for removal
of its tertiary lagoon from
service
for repair and upgrading,
and
to allow
it
to exceed
its
interim NPDES effluent limitations during
the period
that
the
lagoon is out of service.
Petitioner
owns and operates
a wastewater
treatment facility
which consists of
a bar screen,
imhoff
tank,
trickling
filter,
secondary pumping,
activated
sludge,
aerobic digestion,
and a
tertiary lagoon with
a chlorine contact zone.
Design average
flow is 0.2l/MGD and effluent
is discharged to the South Fork of
the Vermillion River.
Petitioner presently
is required by its NPDES permit
to meet
effluent
limitations
of
30 mg/l monthly average
for both BOD and
suspended solids and Fecal Coliform limits of 400 per 100 ml for
monthly averages.
The Petitioner has stated that the repair and upgrading
of
the lagoon is
to
be done
to satisfy a Municipal Compliance Plan
(MCp).
Petitioner has also stated “it
is necessary to bypass the
lagoon during
this project.”
The Agency agrees with both
of
these statements.
Although Petitioner has requested the variance
for BOD,
suspended solids and fecal coliform,
the evidence presented by
the Petitioner indicates
that the remaining treatment units could
meet the current NPDES limits
for BOD and suspended
solids.
Therefore
the Agency considered
the variance request
for
fecal
coliform only.
88—7°
—2—
Petitioner has stated that
it will provide temporary
chlorine treatment
to the secondary clarifer effluent flume
during this project.
However,
the Agency states
that based upon
subsequent
information obtained via telephone,
(from Douglas
C.
Melton o~Farnsworth and wylie,
P.C.
on March
30,
1988)
the
Petitioner
is concerned
that the chlorine contact time provided
by this temporary hook—up will not
be sufficient
for
disinfection.
The Agency anticipates
that since
the remaining portion of
the plant will remain
in service,
the environmental impact on the
South Fork
of the Vermillion River caused by the tertiary lagoon
being
out
of service will be minimal.
There
are no public water supplies which would
be adversely
affected by granting this provisional variance.
The closest
downstream water supply
is Peoria Water Company,
approximately
125 miles downstream.
There are no federal laws which would preclude the granting
of this variance.
Petitioner claims that the refusal to grant
the requested
variance will impose an arbitrary and unreasonable
hardship.
The
Agency states that
it
is supporting
the hardship in this
provisional variance based on the assumption that
the Petitioner
only recently became aware
that the temporary chlorination system
will lack sufficient detention
time
to meet standards and
insufficient
time was available
to request
a standard variance
in
lieu of the proximity of the July
1,
1988 compliance deadline.
The Agency therefore recommends provisional variance,
subject to
conditions
listed below.
Pursuant
to Section
35(b)
of the Environmental Protection
Act,
the Board hereby grants the provisional as recommended.
This Opinion constitutes
the Board’s findings of fact and
conclusions of law
in this matter.
ORDER
The Village of Forrest, Petitioner,
is hereby granted
provisional variance
from 35
Ill.
Adrn.
Code 302.209(b)
fecal
coliform,
subject to the following conditions:
a)
This variance shall commence upon
initiation of bypassing of
the tertiary
lagoon and continue
for
a period
of
45
days
or until
the lagoon
is returned
to
service or until July
1,
1988, whichever
88—80
—3—
comes
first.
b)
Petitioner
shall notify Steve Baldwin
of
the Agency’s Champaign Regional Office
via telephone at
217/333—8361 when
bypassing
of the lagoon
is begun and when
it
is returned to service.
Written
confirmations
of each notification shall
be sent within
5 days
to the following
addresses:
Illinois Environmental Protection
Agency
2125 South First Street
Champaign,
Illinois
61820
Attn:
Steve Baldwin
Illinois Environmental Protection
Agency
Compliance Assurance Section
2200 Churchill Road
P.O. Box 19276
Springfield,
Illinois
62794—9276
c)
The sludge contents
of the lagoon shall
be disposed of by the Petitioner
in
a
manner acceptable
to the Agency.
d)
During this provisional variance
Petitioner
shall operate
its wastewater
treatment
facility so as
to produce
the
best effluent practicable.
Additionally,
Petitioner
shall perform the necessary
repair work on
the tertiary lagoon as
expeditiously as possible so
as
to
minimize the period
of time
that
it
is
out of service.
e)
Within 10 days
of the date of
the PCB
Order, Petitioner shall execute
a
Certificate of Acceptance
and Agreement
which shall
be sent
to Mark Books at the
Springfield
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:
88—81
—4—
CERTIFICATE
I,
(We), Village of Forrest, having read
the Order
of the
Illinois Pollution Control
Board,
in PCB 88—63,
dated April
7,
1988,
understand and accept
the said Order,
realizing that such
acceptance renders all terms
and conditions thereto binding and
enforceable.
Petitioner
~~1~
Titie
By:
Authorized Agent
Date
Section 41 of
the Environmental Protection Act,
Ill.
Rev.
Stat.
1985
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.
I,
Dorothy
NI.
Gunn,
Clerk of
the Illinois Pollution Control
Board, hereby certif~that the above
inion and Order was
adopted on the
/~-~-
day of
“~,
,
1988,
by
a
vote
of
7_O
Th.
___
Dorothy
NI.
Gánn, Clerk
Illinois Pollution Control Board
88-82