ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
December
20,
1985
VTLLAGE
OF AVISTON
)
Petitioner,
v.
)
PCB 85—104
ILLINOIS ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
A(~ENCY
Respondent.
OPINION AND ORDER OF THE BOARD
(by 3.
Marlin):
This matter comes before the Board upon the filing by the
Village
of
Avistori,
Illinois (Aviston)
of
a July
12,
1985
petition for variance from
35
Ill, Adm. Code 304.120(c)
for
its
publicly—owned wastewat:er treatment plant
(WWTP)
discharge.
Pursuant
to
a July
19,
1985 Board more information order, Aviston
filed
an amended petition on September
9,
1985.
The Illinois
Environmental Protection Agency (Agency) filed
its recommendation
to grant
the variance on November
5,
1985.
Hearing was waived
and none was held.
Aviston
is located
in Clinton County,
Illinois.
It
discharges wastewater
from its WWTP pursuant to NPDES permit
number 1L0020001.
Discharge
is
to
an unnamed ditch of Lake
Branch which
is tributary to Sugar Creek
and to the Kaskaskia
River.
The unnamed tributary has
a
7 day,
10 year low flow of
zero.
The WWTP has
a design average
flow of 0.12 million gallons
per day
(MGD),
a design maximum flow of
0.3 MGD and a one—time
maximum flow of 0.55 MGD.
It consists of
a contact stabilization
unit,
dual RBC’s,
a secondary clarifier,
tertiary sand filters,
and chlorination equipment.
Section 304.120(c) requires that Aviston’s discharge meet
10
mg/l biochemical oxygen demand
(BOD)
and
12 mg/l total
suspended
solids (TSS),
as does
its NPDES permit.
The discharge monitoring
report
(DMR)
results submitted to the Agency by As.riston do not
agree with the Agencyts sampling
data.
Aviston alleges
that only
in intensive wet weather does
it exceed its permit
limits, which
is about
20 percent
of the time.
Based on eight grab samples over
a one—year period,
the
Agency’s data for BOD ranged from 11
to
97 mg/i with
an average
of
36 mg/i,
and TSS ranged from 6 to 80 mg/i with an average
of
27 mg/i
(Agency Rec.
at
2).
Of the eight samples collected,
none
met
the DOD limits,
only two met the TSS limit and the applicable
ammonia
limits
were
met
only
three
times.
Id.
It
is
not
clear
67-81
2
whether the Agency
is comparing
a grab sample to
a daily
composite.
The Agency’s data shows
that Aviston
is not meeting
the effluent
limits even during dry weather
flow.
While Aviston claims that
its discharges
in excess
of permit
limits occur only during
intensive wet weather when the ditch
is
relatively full,
and the Agency claims that excess discharges
do
occur
at low flow,
both agree that any impact
to the environment
would
be minimal.
The Board
finds
that
for the short
term of any
variance
at the present discharge levels,
adverse environmental
impact will be minimal.
While Aviston makes
no claim that immediate
compliance with
Section 304~l20(c)would impose an arbitrary or unreasonable
hardship,
the Board
construes the petition
as alleging the
requisite hardship.
The Board
finds
that immediate compliance
with Section 304.120(c) would impose
an arbitrary or unreasonable
hardship
on Aviston.
The Board agrees with Aviston
and the
Agency to grant
the variance for one year subject
to conditions.
Because further information
is needed
to prepare
a proper
compliance plan,
the conditions
of the variance essentially
require
a compliance plan to be developed and submitted within
nine months
of the date
of this Order.
There have also been
ammonia nitrogen violations.
An ammonia nitrogen limit will
be
imposed during flows
in excess
of 0.12 MGD.
The Agency has
requested imposition
of a condition requiring Aviston to obtain
a
Class
2 operator for its plant.
It has been represented that
Aviston has agreed to this condition.
Since Aviston has not
responded otherwise,
and the condition appears reasonable,
the
Board will impose it.
This Opinion concludes the Board’s
findings of
fact and
conclusions
of law in this matter,
Order
The Village
of Aviston
is granted
a variance
from 35
Ill.
Adm.
Code 304.120(c)
for its wastewater treatment plant discharge
subject
to the following conditions:
1.
This variance begins on the date of
this Order and expires
on
December 20,
1986.
2.
When the monthly average
flow exceeds
0.12 MGD
(DAF),
the
effluent shall meet
30 mg/l BOD,
30 mg/l TSS and 10 mg/i
ammonia nitrogen,
all on
a monthly basis.
3.
When the monthly average flow
is less than 0.12 MGD (DAF),
Petitioner
shall meet final effluent
limitations
in
its NPDES
permit.
4.
Petitioner
shall obtain the services
of
a Class
2 operator
within three months of
the date of
this Board Order.
67-82
3
5.
Petitioner shall submit
a report within nine months
of the
date
of
this Order on
its progress and plans
to achieve
compliance.
The report shall
include:
a)
Analysis of alternative means
of achieving compliance,
b)
Complete and detailed basis of design for proposed
alternatives,
c)
Cost analysis of alternatives,
d)
Schedule of
implementation,
and
e)
Method
of financing
and shall be sent to the address
in paragraph
6 below,
6.
Petitioner
shall execute and forward to James
C.
Frost,
Illinois Environmental Protection Agency,
Compliance
Assurance Section, Division of Water Pollution Control, 2200
Churchill Road,
Springfield,
IL 62706,
and to the Pollution
Control Board, within twenty—eight days after the date of
the
Board Order herein
a Certificate of Acceptance
and Agreement
to be bound to all
the terms and conditions of this Variance.
This period shall
be held
in abeyance during any appeal of
this matter.
The form of
said Certificate
to be as follows:
CERTIFICATION
Village
of Aviston,
an Illinois municipal corporation, has
received and understands the Order of the Illinois Pollution
CorILLO1 Board
in PCB 84—104 and hereby accepts
said Order and
agrees
to be bound to all
of the terms and conditions thereof.
By:
Michael
B. Buscher
President,
Board of Trustees
Date
IT
IS SO ORDERED.
I,
Dorothy M. Gunn,
Clerk of the Illinois Pollution Control
Board,
hereby certify that the above Opiniç~and Order was
adopted on the
_______________
day of
~Jtc.--~
Lc~-i,
,
1985
by
a
vote of
___________________
)
I).
.
~
-
Dorothy M.’Gunn, Clerk
Illinois Pollution Control Board
67-83