ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
    April 16, 1987
    CITY OF BELVIDERE,
    )
    Petitioner,
    PCB 87—47
    )
    ILLINOIS ENVIRONMENTAL
    )
    PROTECTION AGENCY,
    )
    Respondent.
    OPINION AND ORDER OF THE BOARD (by 3D. Dumelle):
    This provisional variance request comes before the Board
    upon an April 16, 1987, Recommendation of the Illinois
    Environmental Protection Agency (Agency)
    The Agency recommends
    that because of
    an
    arbitrary and unreasonable hardship, the City
    of Belvidere (City) be granted a provisional variance subject to
    certain provisions to allow the City to exceed the effluent
    limitations in its NPDES permit No, IL 0027685 for biochemical
    oxygen demand (BOD) and total suspended solids (TSS) while
    construction is underway on the primary units of the treatment
    plant
    The City owns and operates a wastewater treatment facility
    which has a design average flow of 6.5 million gallons per day
    (MDG) and consists of “screening and grit removal, primary
    sedimentation, activated sludge units, secondary sedimentation,
    filters, effluent disinfection and sludge digestion/handling
    (Rec, 1). Effluent is discharged from the plant into the
    Kishwaukee River,
    The City has been and continues to be in the construction
    grant program. The grant has included construction of new bar
    screens, influent lift stations, expansion of the activated
    sludge system, new tertiary filters, an effluent pump station, a
    new 6.5 million gallon aerated retention basin, miscellaneous
    building and piping modifications and sewer rehabilitation (Rec,
    1—2). The Agency believes that the City is making satisfactory
    progress with its construction (Rec. 2),
    On March 3, 1987, the City had to remove the east primary
    clarifier from service. The Agency believes that effluent
    quality will not significantly change from what is currently
    discharged after the east primary clarifier is returned to
    service and the west primary clarifier is removed from service
    (Rec. 2). Therefore, the Agency concludes there will be minimal
    adverse environmental impact (Rec, 2). This conclusion is
    77-185
    —3—
    3, Petitioner shall meet the following effluent
    limitations:
    Month Average
    Daily Maximum
    (mg/i
    mg/i
    BOD
    40
    80
    TSS
    40
    80
    4 Petitioner shall meet all other requirements of its
    NPDES permit;
    5. Petitioner shall operate its treatment facilities so as
    to produce the best effluent possible;
    6. Petitioner shall notify the Agency’s Rockford Regional
    Office by phone of:
    i. the removal of the west primary clarifier from
    service; and
    ii. the return of this clarifier to service.
    Petitioner shall follow—up this notification with
    written notification
    to the Agency to be addressed to:
    Illinois Environmental Protection Agency
    Division of Water Pollution Control
    Compliance Assurance Section
    P0 Box 19276
    Springfield, Illinois 62794—9276
    7. Petitioner shall not remove the west primary clarifier
    from service prior to the east primary clarifier being
    returned to service and shall not remove the final
    clarifier without the other final clarifier being in
    service;
    8. Petitioner shall attempt to remove the final clarifier
    from service for inspection when flows are expected to
    be low to minimize the hydraulic loading on the other
    final clarifier, The final clarifier shall not be
    removed from service from more than 48 hours; and
    9. Within ten (10) days of the date of this Order,
    Petitioner shall execute and submit a certificate of
    Acceptance agreeing to be bound by the terms and
    conditions of this variance, This Certificate of
    Acceptance shall be sent to James Frost at the address
    shown above.
    77.187
    —2—
    further reinforced by the fact that flow rates in the Kishwaukee
    River should be high providing higher assimilation capacity. The
    Agency has stated that it is unaware of any other technically
    feasible and affordable method of completing the required work.
    The Agency, however, has indicated that it does not agree
    with the effluent limitations the City requested (Rec. 3). The
    interim limits imposed by the City’s NPDES Permit for BOD and TSS
    are 20 and 25 mg/i respectively. Final limits are 10 mg/i BOO
    and 12 mg/i TSS, both on a monthly average. The City requested
    an increase in the limits to 80 mg/l for BOD and 120 mg/i for TSS
    until the end of May, 1987. The Agency noted, however, that
    during March, with one primary clarifier out of service, the
    City’s effluent averaged 65 mg/l BOO and 55 mg/i TSS (Rec, 3).
    The Agency’s recommended limitations are incorporated into the
    Order.
    After determining that the City had not received a
    provisional variance within the past 12 months and that no
    federal laws would preclude granting of this variance, the Agency
    concluded that compliance on a short—term basis with the limits
    for BOO and TSS set forth in the NPDES permit would impose an
    arbitrary and unreasonable hardship on the City (Rec, 3). The
    Agency believed the cost of renting a truck mounted clarifier,
    the only alternative to taking the unit out of service, would be
    prohibitive. Further, the Agency stated that there was no other
    alternative to taking the west clarifier out of service,
    The City requests that the variance be made retroactive to
    March 3, 1987. ,The Agency recommends that the City be granted
    such a provisional variance, subject to certain conditions.
    Pursuant to Section 35(b) of the Illinois Environmental
    Protection Act, the Board hereby grants the provisional variance
    as recommended,
    This Opinion constitutes the Board’s findings of fact and
    conclusions of law in this matter,
    ORDER
    The City of Belvidere is hereby granted a provisional
    variance from 35 Ill. Adm. Code 304.i41(a), subject to the
    following conditions:
    1. The variance shall begin on March 3, 1987, and extend to
    April 17, 1987;
    2. The variance shall be extended to begin on April 18,
    1987, and extend to June 1, 1987;
    77~186
    —4—
    CERTIF ICATION
    I, (We)
    hereby accept and agree to be bound by all terms and
    conditions of the Order of the Pollution Control Board in PCB
    87—47, April 16, 1987.
    Peti tioner
    Authorized Agent
    Title
    Date
    IT IS SO ORDERED
    I, Dorothy M. Gunn, Clerk of the Illinois Pollution Control
    Board, hereby cer~4~y.that the above~Opinionand Order was
    adopted
    on the
    ~
    day of ______________________, 1987, by a
    vote of
    (~2()
    .
    ~2, ~
    Dorothy M, ~óunn, Clerk
    Illinois Pollution Control Board
    77-188

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