ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
June
10, 1987
CITY OF SOUTH BELOIT,
)
Petitioner,
)
v.
)
PCB 86—213
ILLINOIS ENVIRONMENTAL
)
PROTECTION AGENCY,
)
)
)
Respondent.
MR. CHARLES
K. STOWE, SALADINO
& SALADINO, APPEARED ON BEHALF OF
THE PETITIONER.
MR. THOMAS DAVIS APPEARED ON BEHALF OF THE RESPONDENT.
OPINION AND ORDER OF THE BOARD
(by
3.
Marlin):
This matter comes before
the Board
on
a Petition and Amended
Petition for Variance filed by the City of South Beloit
(City)
on
December
16,
1986 and January
8,
1987 respectively.
The City
is
seeking variance until July 1,
1988 from 35
Iii. Adm. Code
304.120, Deoxygenating Wastes,
as it concerns effluent
limitations for biochemical oxygen demand
(HOD5) and total
suspended solids
(TSS).
Also, the City
is seeking variance
from
Section 309.241 so that it may
be issued extension and connection
permits for
the hook—up of an additional 1000 population
equivalents
(PeE.)
On February
9,
1987,
the Illinois
Environmental Protection Agency (Agency)
filed
its recommendation
requesting that the Board deny the variance due to “deficiencies
in the City’s proposed
compliance plan.”
In response
to the
Agency Recommendation,
the City filed more information with the
Board on March
9,
1987.
In its Order
of March
19,
1987, the
Board stated that the filing of March
9 constituted an Amended
Petition and that as
a result, the decision due date
for
this
proceeding was extended
to July
7,
1987.
A hearing was held
in
this matter on March 11,
1987
in South Beloit.
The City’s wastewater treatment facility is currently
subject, through its NPDES permit,
to effluent limitations for
BOD5 and TSS of
20 milligrams per
liter
(mg/i)
and 25 mg/i
respectively.
The City
is requesting
that
for the variance
period
it be subject to limits of
30 mg/i for BOD5 and 35 mg/i
for TSS.
These effluent limitations represent computed monthly
averages.
The City’s treatment facility consists of two treatment
plants.
One plant has a capacity of approximately 14,000 P.E..
The other
plant has
a capacity of
9800 P.E.
Consequently,
the
78.371
2
total treatment capacity of the City amounts
to approximately
28,000 P.E.
The population of the City is about
4,200.
However,
eighty percent of the organic loading on the facilities are due
to industrial,
not residential, contributors.
(R. 24—25).
The
City’s effluent does not meet current limitations because of
the
large amount of organic loading to the treatment facility
(B.
18).
There are two separate aspects of the City’s compliance
plan.
First,
the City intends
to enforce a pretreatment
ordinance, which
is currently on the books, so that industrial
discharge
to the City’s system will consist of “normal strength
sewage”
(R.
21,
27).
Secondly,
the City proposes to add an
additional treatment plant which will expand the City’s treatment
capacity
by 10,000 P.E.
At hearing, an engineer
testifying
on
behalf of the City,
stated that
if the large amount of industrial
organic loading from two industrial dischargers were removed
from
the system,
the City could meet its current effluent limits.
However,
the engineer
stated that even
if the organic loading
problem was solved,
the expansion of the City’s treatment
facility would still
be necessary from a hydraulic
standpoint.
(R.
26).
Agency personnel concurred with this assessment.
(R.
65).
The two major
industrial contributors
to the City’s
treatment system are McCleary Industries (McCleary)
and Pate
Foods
(Pate).
Both companies are snack food manufacturers.
McCleary’s discharge averages a BODç content between 2,500
to
3,000 mg/i.
The concentration for ~SS is near 2,000
mg/i.
Through the addition of
a treatment system McCleary hopes to
bring
the concentration down
to 300 mg/l for both BODç and TSS.
Such a level
is what the City would require by its orainance.
(R.
36—39).
According
to the City’s Amended Petition, compliance
with the City’s limits will be attained by McCleary by 1988.
(Am.
Pet. p.
5).
At hearing,
a representative for McCleary stated
that if McCieary implemented a total
treatment, costing about one
half million dollars,
it could reduce
the concentration of BOD5
and TSS to 30 mg/i.
With such a concentration, McCleary claims
that
it
could
discharge
directly
into
the
Rock
River
and
not
have
to discharge to the City’s treatment system.
According to
MeCleary, such an option is dependent upon McCieary’s ability to
gain access to the river
(R.
43).
Pate
is currently discharging effluent into the City’s
system which has an average BOD5 concentration of about 4000
mg/i.
The TSS concentration
is generally between 2,500
and 3,500
mg/i.
It is currently discharging 40,000 gallons per day
(R.
46—
47).
Pate
is changing
its manufacturing process
in order
to
reduce the quantity and improve the quality of its discharge.
After
the changeover, which should be completed by February,
1988, Pate expects to discharge 5,000 gallons per day of “normal
strength” sewage.
(R.
51—52).
78~372
3
According to the Amended Petition, the City’s expansion of
the treatment facility, which will add an additional 10,000 P.E.
to the present capacity, will
be completed
by June of 1988.
(Am.
Pet.
p.
2).
However, the City is requesting that it be allowed
to extend
sewer service
to various commercial
and residential
developments during the period of the variance.
Specifically,
it
would like to hook—up to the current treatment system an
additional flow of 100,000 gallons per day which would represent
an extra load of 170 pounds of BOD5 and 200 pounds
of TSS.
(Pet.
p.
3).
This additional flow would equate to 1,000 P.E.
(R.
23).
The City claims that the new commercial
developments
include firms which employ from four
to eight people as well as
40 to
50 unit motel complexes.
The City claims that these
additions during the variance period would not cause exceedances
of the proposed
30/35 standards and that once the treatment
facility expansion is completed, the City will have more than
enough capacity
to handle the additions.
(Pet.
p.
3).
Environmental
Impact
According to the City,
the variance,
if granted, would have
minimal environmental impact.
The City’s treatment facility
discharges
into the Rock River.
The Rock River has
a 7—day,
10—
year low flow of 509.0 MGD.
According to the City, the portion
of the Rock near
the City’s discharge is not known
for
its game
fish or contact use.
The City asserts that rough fish currently
constitute
the major
fish present
in the river, although pan fish
and some game fish are periodically identified.
The City also
points out that the City of Beloit, Wisconsin has a wastewater
treatment facility that discharges at 30/30 limits
in the Rock
River
upstream of the City.
(Am.
Pet.,
p.
2).
In its
Recommendation,
the Agency notes that the Beloit, Wisconsin
discharge constitutes 7.7 MGD.
(Ag.
Rec.,
p.
5).
The City’s
treatment facility has a design average flow of 2.2 MGD.
(Ag.
Rec.,
p.
2).
The Agency agrees with the City that the variance would
not
cause
a sig.nficant environmental
impact.
According to the
Agency,
the Rock River “would continue
to assimilate South
Beloit’s effluent which would
be subject to 30/35 limits.”
(Ag.
Rec.,
p.
5).
Findings
The Board
notes that the City’s NPDES permit limits
of 20/25
became effective
in April,
1985.
(Ag.
Rec., p. 4).
On May
22,
1986, the Agency held
a pre—enforcement conference with the City
concerning its BOD5
and TSS effluent levels.
(Pet.
p.
1).
Subsequent meetings have led
to the filing of this variance.
It
is apparent from the record before
the Board that the City,
McCleary,
and Pate have all made good faith efforts
to find
methods by which the City can ultimately achieve compliance.
It
is heartening
for the Board
to see
such cooperation between
78-373
4
industry
and
local
government
as
they
work
together
for
betterment
of
the
environment.
The
Board
concurs
with
the
Agency’s
conclusion
that
a
variance in this instance would not cause any significant
environmental harm.
If the City enforces its pretreatment
ordinance and the two industries pretreat their effluent
according to their testimony at hearing,
the extent of the
organic loadings upon the City’s treatment facility will be
diminished greatly.
Also,
i~f the City expands its treatment
facility to increase its capacity by 10,000 P.E., the City will
be able to allow increased commercial
and industrial development
without compromising environmental quality in the process.
Given
the circumstances of this case and
the fact that the City
is
requesting the variance only until July 1,
1988, the Board finds
that a denial
of the requested variance would constitute an
arbitrary or unreasonable hardship.
Therefore,
the Board will
grant
the City a variance subject
to conditions.
In
its Recommendation,
the Agency requested that if the
Board grants the City a variance, the Board should include
as
a
condition
to that variance
a requirement that the City
participate
in the Agency’s pretreatment program.
The Agency
asserts that as a participant,
the City would have to develop
procedures to monitor compliance with its pretreatment ordinance
as well as
actually monitor the pretreatment and report to the
Agency the results of the monitoring.
(R.
60).
The City asserts
that it can handle
the pretreatment situation on its own without
Agency involvement.
(R. 79).
At hearing, the Agency stated that
a review process will be conducted by the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency
(USEPA)
to determine whether communities such
as the City will need
to be included in the pretreatment
program.
The Board
finds no reason
to interfere with that
process by requiring the City’s participation
in the Agency
pretreatment program as
a condition to its variance.
This Opinion constitutes the Board’s findings of fact and
conclusions
of law in this matter.
ORDER
The Board hereby grants the City of South Beloit (City)
variance from the effluent
limits of
35
Ill.
Adin. Code 304.120
and from 309.241 subject to the following conditions:
1)
This variance shall begin on June
10,
1987
and end on
July 1,
1988.
2)
The City shall
be subject to monthly average effluent
limits of
30 mg/l for five day biochemical oxygen demand
(BOD5) and
35 mg/i total suspended
solids
(TSS).
3)
The City shall enforce its pretreatment ordinance
to the
fullest
extent
of
the
law.
78-374
5
4)
The City shall
construct an expansion of its wastewater
treatment facility consistent with the proposal
presented
to the Board
by the City in this proceeding.
5)
The City
is granted variance
to Section 309.241
to the
extent that
it may extend
its sewers so
as
to add to
its
wastewater treatment system an untreated waste load of
no more than 1,000
P.E. during the variance period.
6)
The City shall timely apply to the Agency for all
permits necessary to comply with this Order and the laws
and regulations of the State.
7)
The City shall conduct monitoring according
to
procedures set forth
in its permits.
8)
Within forty five (45) days after
the date of this Order
the City shall execute and send to:
Mr. Tom Davis
Attorney, Enforcement Programs
Illinois Environmental Protection Agency
2200 Churchill Road
P.O. Box 19276
Springfield,
IL 62794—9276
CERTIFICATION
The City of South Beloit hereby accepts and agrees to be
bound by all terms and conditions
of the Order of the Pollution
Control Board
in PCB 86—213 adopted June 10,
1987.
City of South Beloit
By:
______
Name
Name
Date
IT IS SO ORDERED.
B.
Forcade concurred.
78-375
6
I,
Dorothy
M.
Gunn,
Clerk of the Illinois Pollution Control
Board,
hereby certify that the abo e Opinion and Order was
adopted
on
the
/O~Z.’
day
of
_________________
of
(~-o
_______________,
1987, by a vote
Dorothy M. Aunn, Clerk
Illinois Pollution Control Board
78-376