ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD

July 11, 1985

CITY

OF SYCAT~ORE,

)

Petitioner

PCB 83—172

V.

ILLINOIS ENVIRONMENTAL

PROTECTION AGENCY,

Respondent.

DISSENTING STATEMENT

(by R. Flemal):

I share many of the views of the majority regarding

Eycamore’s failure to provide the full information necessary

to warrant granting its requested variance.

I further share

the majority impression that Sycamore could have done much more

towards addressing the fundamental problem of basement backups

by reacting sooner and more forcefully to correct the inordi-

nately high inflow and infiltration experienced by its sanitary

sewer system;

from the perspective of the City’s administration,

this is indeed a case of self—imposed hardship.

Finally,

I share the majority view that bypassing raw sew-

age, however dilute,

is a wholely inadequate remedy for the

basement flooding problem.

The flooding is plainly promoted

by

the combination of excessive I/I and inadequate ability to con-

vey

and treat the resultant sanitary sewer flows.

It is in

correcting these system deficiencies that the remedy to basement

backups must lie.

Sycamore needs to realize that it can neither

maintain a faulty sanitary sewer system nor impose its problems

upon downstream users

of the river by bypassing.

Nevertheless,

I must dissent from the majority order that

no variance be granted, even for some short period to allow

Sycamore

to take the actions necessary to bring it into compli-

ance.

The hardship borne as a consequence of the majority’s

action is carried not so directly by the City, but by the por-

tion of its citizens who actually experience backups.

They re-

quire such protection from the City’s failure to address

its

sanitary sewer problems

as might be afforded by operation of the

bypass.

The

preferable method to both assure

the citizens of

Sycamore against perpetual backup problems

and

to provide en-

vironrnental protection to the receiving waterway and its down-

stream users would seem to be to impose upon Sycamore

a strict

65-21

---

compliance program as a condition of granting the variance.

That Sycamore would indeed fulfill the conditions of the

variance could be insured by performance bond.

For these reasons,

I dissent.

I,

Dorothy M. Gunn, Clerk of the Illinois Pollution Control

Board, hereby certify

hat the above Dissenting Statement was

submitted on the

j

day of

~9-z.A.41

-,

1985.

~.

_

Dorothy M.

Gunn, Clerk

Illinois Pollution Control

Board Member