ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD

January

10~1985

IN

RE~

)

CITY OF

SPR1N:GFIELD

PCB.

84—74

C~CTION

30 2,2~11tf~

P~TTTION

UR~ALAN. P, BIELAWSKI

(ISHAM, LINCOLN

& BEALE)~APPEARED FOR

TUE CITY OF SPRINGFIELD.

MR. DAVID i.~

RIESE.R

(ATTORNEY—AT—LAW~

APP~RED

FOR THE

ILLINOIS

T~NVI

RON~ENTAL PRO~T~ECT

ION

AGENCY.

OPtr~TION

AND~

ORDER

OE~ THE

BOARD

(by B.~Foreadej.

On June 13,

19~4,

the City of Sprirtg~fie)~d(“City”) submitted

a petition far a

Seeti~n

~G2,2i1(f)~ hearing to demonstrate that

discharges

of

he~t~

efflua~t

from

the

Dailman

Unit

No.

3

have

not

caused

and

cannot

be

reasonabLy expected to~cause significant

ecological

dtama9e

to the

re

eiiruig

waters,

On August

13,

1984,

the

Illino$s

~nvironmetal

Protection

Ag~ency ~Agency”)

filed

a recommendation~,putr~uantto1 35 III. Ad~ Cbde

106.104,

that

the

Board

n~ake

the

req~isitefinding of no significant ecological

damage

A hearing

wasP

held

September 12,

1984,

in

Springfield

No citizen ~itnesses

appe1ared~

This

proceeding: involves

the thermal

discharges

to Lake

Sr~ingiieldfron City*s

Lakeside

and

Daliman

coal—fired

electric

generating facilities.,

In l9Th~

City

petitioned

this Board

(POB

78-ZM

far

~

s1ite~specific

thermal discharg~e

limitation

and petitioned

(PCB 78—52)~for a hearing to demonstrate that

the then e~istinggenerating imits caused

no

significant

eco-

logical

damage,

On

September

21,

19~7~S,

the Eoard made the

requisite

finding cf no significant

ecoIog~ical

damage

and

established

the

fed l~wincj

thermal

discharge

limitation

(3.1

PCB

463)~i

It

is

the

Order

of

the

Po~1

1u~tion Ccntroi

Board

that:

1)

The

thermal

discharge

to

Lake

Springfield

from

the Lakeside plant shall not exceed 99°

more.

than

5

of the hours in the 12—month period

ending wIth any month and the discharge from the

Dallman

plant shall not exceed

99°more than

0

of the hours in the 12-month period ending with

any

month

and

at

no time shall any discharge ex-

ceed

109°.

62-263

---

I

noted,

however,

tha?

the

new

Daliman

Unit

No,

3

had

conmenced

operations and

that

City

would

be

required

to

~rio~e:~te

no

significant

ecological damage

within

5

to

6

i

~~er

Daliman

~Jnit

No,

3

commenced operations.

The

i.nstant

~-i.

~

3

to make

~uciia ~howinq

~r

Daliman

1init

No.

3.

3~-ic~

the

~)73

proceeding

the

namep~ftc generating

capacity

at

~~‘zesi.lnhas he

rocl’iced, whU.n ~aIlman

has increa

d,

as

Th

~lD~.1~?

1978

1984

Lakeside

Generating

Capacity

in

Megawatts

141

66

Dalitian

Cenerating

Capacity

in

Megawatts

160

352

Total

301

418

Lake Springfield, located

in Springfield, Illinois, was created

in 1930 by damming Sugar and Lick Creeks, tributaries of the Sanga—

mon River.

Lake Springfield has a surface area of 4,234 acres,

57 miles of shoreline, and

is the largest impoundment

in Sangamon

County.

The lake encolapasses a watershed of nearly 265 square miles.

Lake

Springfield

~isa multipurpose reservoir, providing the public

water

supply for the City of Springfield;

recreational activities,

such

as

boating,

fishing,

and

swimming;

and

cooling

water

for

City~s

electrical generating stations.

Lake Springfield

is Y—shaped, having a major stem and two

smaller

arms

receiving drainage from Sugar and Lick Creeks.

The

stem

is

oriented

roughly

north—south,

and

is divided into two

sections

with

a constriction occurring at Lindsay Bridge.

The

northern baqin

(1200 acres)

extends

from

Spaulding Dam to Lindsay

Bridge.

This is the deepest section with a maximum depth of 40

foot.

The

~entra1

area

(1600 acres) extends from Lindsay Bridge

to

the

Illinotq

Central

Railroad

Bridge an~has

a maximum depth

of about 20 feet.

¶The remainder of the lake west of Interstate

55,

is orIented

oast—wes~and extends

west of the Illinois Rail-

road

Bridge.

This

section

is

shallow

and

receives

drainage

from

both

Sugar and

Lick Creeks.

Sugar Creek flows

into a

small

north—

south oriented

arm.

Lick Creek flows

east—west

and

discharges

directly

into an

east~-westoriented

arm.

City

is charged with providing electricity for the metro-

politan area of Soring~io1d.

It

does ~o with the Lakeside and

Dailman

generating

stations

located

on

the

northwest

shore

of

the

northern

basin

o~

Lake

Sprinqfiel.d.

The

Lakeside

plant~s

disoharges

arc

located

near

Spaulding

Dam

and

mix

directly

with

the

main body of the lake.

The

Daliman plant discharges

flows

into

a

short

canal

and

into

a

small

cove

before

mixing

with

the

main

body

of the

lake.

The L&zeside

and

Daliman

discharges

are

senaratecl

by

a

neninsula,

Total

generating

capacity

of

currently

operating

units

is

66

MU

at

Lakeside

and

352

MW at Dallman.

Illinois bituminous coal

from

the Turns

Mine

in

Ei.khart,

Illinois

is

used

in

all

boilers,

All

boiler

units

use

once~through

condenser

cooling.

The combined

62-264

---

3

maximum flow rate and heat rejection are

738 cfs and 649.7 MBtu,

respectively.

Typical annual operation has been (1978—1982 average)

31

percent of capacity for Lakeside and 52 percent for Daliman.

Summer operation (June,

July, and August) has averaged

15 percent

for Lakeside and 54 percent for Daliman.

During the period July

1979 through September 1983,

average monthly discharge temperatures

were highest in July and August.

Average monthly discharge

temperatures for those two months at Dailman ranged from 91.9°F

in August 1982 to 100.4°Fin July 1983 and at Lakeside from 89.6°F

in July 1981 to 99.7°Fin July 1983.

Under 35 Ill. Adm, Code 302.211(f), City is required to de—

monstrate at hearing,

~‘that

discharges from that source has not

caused and cannot reasonably be expected to cause significant

ecological damage to the receiving waters.”

More detail on

the type of information required for such

a showing

is contained

in 35 Ill. Adm. Code Part

106., Subpart A.

To comply with

these requirements, City had three reports prepared:

1.

203(i)(5) Thermal Study of Lake Springfield, R.W. Beck

and Associates, January, 1984 (“hereinafter the Beck

Report”)

2.

Biological

Surveys

at

Lake

Springfield Near Dailman

and Lakeside Generating Stations 1982—1983 Final

Report,

WAPORA,

Inc.,

May 16,

1983 (“hereinafter

the WAPORA Report”)

3,

Final Report 1983 Lake Springfield Fisheries Survey,

1983 (“hereinafter the ESE Report”)

These reports and the testimony of three individuals were offered

by City for the requisite showing.

The ESE Report evaluated monthly fisheries sampling at Lake

Springfield

from

May through September 1983.

Four sampling locations

were chosen, all

in the northern basin.

Station No.

1 was in the

Daliman thermal mixing zone along the western shore.

Station No.

2

was approximately 1300 yards south of Station No

1,

Station No.

3

was

approximately 1000 yards east of Station No.

1 and along the

eastern shore,

and Station No.

4 was approximately 3000 yards

south

of Station No.

I and near Lindsay Bridge.

The purpose of

the report was to characterize the fish community and identify

seasonal and spatial trends in distribution relative to the heated

effluent.

The ESE Report contained essentially raw data on

species diversity and number with few conclusions regarding thermal

impact.

The WAPORA Report resulted from an ecological investigation

during

1982 and early 1983 at the same four sampling locations pre-

viously identified.

The objective was to identify major populations

of fish, benthic macroinvertebrates, phytoplankton and zooplankton,

as

well

as assess thermal impacts.

The report compared current

61-265

---

4

results to studies of Lake Springfield in the early

1960’s. and

early

1970’s by others, as well as studies in other Illinois

lakes.

The WAPORA Report noted many ecological similarities

between:

current sampling and past sampling

at

Lake

Springfield,

current sampling and other similar lakes, and between Station

No.

1

(presumably the most heavily impacted) and other sampling

•tations.

However, the report cautioned:

“Throughout the 1982—83 sampling survey the

Daliman Unit

33 was either not operating or

operating at less than normal capacity.

Thus,

a worst case condition for thermal

effects could not be demonstrated.

Under

greater generating capacity, the thermal

effects noted during this study may have

been greater”

(WAPORA

Report at

58.).

The Beck Report contains substantial information on the

generating units, heat dissipation models, plume studies,

and

anticipated future operating characteristics for both of City’s

facilities.

The Beck Report included a review and summary

of

the ESE and WAPORA Reports as well as other studies.

The

aquatic Biology Effects conclusion noted the similarities be—

tween present Lake Springfield populations and other Illinois

reservoirs, similarities between 1982 populations

(a year of

mild meteorological conditions and plant operations)

and 1983

populations (extreme meteorology and plant operations),

as

well as similarities between predicted worst case conditions

and actual summer 1983 conditions (Beck Report at 6-li)..

At hearing, City provided testimony by three people experienced

in evaluating lake biology and ecology.

They concluded that Lake

Springfield

is healthy,

similar to other lakes in the~areaand

thermal impacts from City’s discharges have not and cannot be

expected to have a significant adverse ecological impact.

On August 13,

1984, the Agency filed a recommendation ~which

found the data from City to be thorough and accurate.

The ~Agency

agreed with City’s conclusions and urged the Board to make the

requisite finding of no significant adverse ecological

impact.,

Based on the foregoing,

the Board concludes that the dis-

charges from Daliman Unit No.

3 have not caused and cannot reason-

bly be expected to cause significant ecological damage th Lake

Springfield.

Therefore,

City continues to be subject to the

thermal effluent limitations of the September

21,

1978,

Order,

This

Opinion constitutes the Board’s findings of fact and

conclusions of law on this matter.

62-286

---

5

ORDER

1.

The

Board finds that the City of Springfield has

complied with 35

Ill. Adm. Code 302.211(f),

in that

it

has demonstrated that the thermal discharges from

Dailman Unit No.

3 have not caused and cannot reasonably

be expected to cause significant ecological damage.

2,

The City of Springfield

shall continue to comply with

paragraph two of the Board’s Order in PCB 78-23 and PCB

78—52 Consolidated, dated September 21,

1978.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

I,

Dorothy M. Gunn~Clerk of the Illinois Pollution Control

Board,

hereby

certify

that the above Opinion and Order was

adopted on the

/~~-

day of

_______________,

1985 by a vote

~

Dorothy M.

G~’nn, Clerk

Illinois Pollution Control Board

62-287