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ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL 

BOARD

May 29, 

1984

CITY

OF MATTOON,

Petitioner,

PCB

84—63

ILINOIS

ENVIRONMENTAL

)

PROTECTION

AGENCY,

Respondent.

OPINION AND ORDER OF THE BOARD (by 

J. Nega):

This provisional variance request 

comes before the Board

upon a 

May 29, 1984 Recommendation of the Illinois 

Environmental

Protection Agency (Agency), 

The

Agency 

recommends that the Board

grant 

the City of Mattoon (Mattoon) 

a provisional variance from

35

Ill, Adm, Code 304.120(c) and 35 111, 

Adm. Code 304.141(a) to

allow higher levels of biochemical oxygen 

demand (BOD) and sus-

pended 

solids (SS) in the effluent discharged 

from the Petitioner~s

wastewater treatment plant 

(WWTP) 

during the 

time that its tertiary

sand filters are removed from service for 

upgrading and rehabilita-

tion. 

The Board previously granted Mattoon 

a 45—day provisional

variance in ~t’ of Mattoonv, IEPA, PCB 84~47 

(April 19, 1984)

and

the Petitioner has indicated that it 

needs additional time

to

allow the completion of the necessary 

rehabilitation work.

The Petitioner owns and operates 

a

wastewater 

treatment

facility which has 

a

design average flow of 4.5 million 

gallons

per day (MCD), Mattoon~s WWTP has treatment units 

which include

pumping, primary settling, grit removal, activated 

sludge process,

secondary settling, chlorination, treated storm 

overflow, sludge

digestion and drying, and tertiary sand filters, 

(Rec, 

1).

Mattoon has stated that the work which still 

needs to be

done includes: (1) completion of the new low 

pressure air diffusion

system; (2) replacement of the underdrain mesh; 

(3) placement of

new media; and (4) installation of the new chemical 

cleaning

system. (Rec. 1). Because some of the butterfly 

valves and

piping are at, or below, water level and since the 

clear well

needs to he drained in order to clean the well, 

the only feasible

method of finishing this necessary work is tb keep 

the filters

out of service during this interim period. (Rec, 

1). Mattoon

estimates that construction work on the sand filters 

will be

finished by June 21, 1984 and that the initial 

start~upand

operation of the new control system will be completed 

by June 30,

1984, (Rec, 1).

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Mattoon ~as cxoetienced various problems with its 

sand

filters since at least October, 1983 (Rec, 2), Since 

that

time, 

the Petitioner nas report~d the following 

levels for BOD

and CS on its disc ai~e monicoring reports to the agency:

BOb

Month    

Flow (MCD 

)

Av~ ~mg/l) Nax.jj~1) 

~~/l)   

~~m/l)

October, 

1983

17

21

November,

1983

7,3

11

17

19

December,

1983

8,2

9

15

22

January, 

1984

11

15

18

February, 

1984

7,4

12

March, 1984     

9

10

14

21

April 

1—18, 1984  8,6           

11

13

22

*Aprjl

19—30, 1984 8,6            

14

18

25

Average

7~4

11.5   

15,3

20,5

*BOD 

and SC concent~a~ions sported for the portion of 

April when the

tertiary 

sand filters were bypassed.

the Petitionex has indicated that it does not 

expect any

adverse ervironirental impact to be caused by a small 

increase in

BOO and SS levels ~r the erfluent during the time 

period of

the

requested provisiorc~I variance because of the high 

stream flows

durirg this part ~f the year. Mattoor intends to 

operate all

portions of its Wv7I~except the tertiary sand filters 

during the

period wher the 

~. ~‘

ar~ Lei~g upgraded (Rec, 2).

TI-c Agency b~ ie e~t at the provisional variance is appro-

priate because ‘t wi I allow the Petitioner 

an opportunity to

correct the problems previcusly experienced with 

the sand filters

and will have a minima ensironmental impact 

on

the receiving

stream due to tr~eh lh str~am flows and the quality of 

the effluent

discharged from Mattoon~sW~cTP~ (Rec, 2), 

Accordingly, the

Agency believes t’iat the denial of the provisional 

variance 

would

impose an arbitrary or unreasonable hardship on the 

City of

Mattoon

Thu~, the Agency recommends that the Board grant 

the City of

Mattoon a provisional variance from Sections 304,120(c) and

304,141 a) to begis. on une 3, 1984, subject to certain 

conditions,

Pursuant to Sectton 3~b) of the Illinois Environmental 

Protection

Act, the Board hereby grant3 the provisional variance 

as recommended,

The City of r4att.on 

£5

hereby granted a 

provisional variance

from 35 Ill. Adm. Code 304 120(c) and 35 Ill. 

Adm, Code 304,141(a)

to begin on June 3 I’~4tJ allow higher levels 

of BOD and SS in

the effuent discharged from lbs Petitioner~s 

wastewater

treatment

nlint 

during the time that its tertiary sand filters

are removed

from service for upgrading and

rehabilitation to 

allow completion

of the work begun on its filters under the previous

provisional

variance

in PCB 84—47, seh~ect 

the following 

conditions:

1. This variance shall

continue until June 30, 

1984 or

until such time 

as all the sand filter cells are

returned to

service and

the initial start-up and operation 

of the

new control

system is complete, 

whichever

occurs 

first, but in

no event shall

this variance exceed the statutorily

allowed 

time~period for such

a provisional variance,

2.  The Petitioner shall 

meet the effluent

limitations as

given

below:

~max,

BOO

20 mg/i      

30 mg/l

25 mg/I

37 mg/l

The frequency of sampling and testing 

shall

remain as in

NPDES Permit 

#1L0029831.

Work 

on the sand

filters shall continue 

as expeditiously

as

possible so 

that the

sand filters will be 

returned to service

soon 

as possible Individual filter cells shall 

be returned

to service, 

as soon as the work on

each one 

completed,

4,   The PetitIoner shall notify Roger Cruse 

of the Agency~s

Compliance Assurance Section by telephone at 

217/782—9720 of any

violations of the above effluent limits, Such 

notification shall

be followed by written notification sent to Robert 

Cruse at the

address indicated belov~.

5,  The Petitioner shall 

notify Roger Cruse by

telephone at

217/782-9720 when the work on the sand filters is 

completed and

when the sand filters are placed back in service.

Such

notifica—

t~on(s) shall be followed 

by written notification(s) sent to

Roger Cruse at ~he a~dxessindicated below.

6,  During the period of this variance, the 

Petitioner

3hall operate a~ naintain the wastewater treatment 

facility

(with the exceptior of the tertiary sand filters) 

so as to achieve

the best quality of effluent possible.

7.  Within 10 days of the date of the 

Board~s

Order, the

City of

Mattoon snaIl execute a Certificate of 

Acceptance and

Agree:rent thich sI-au be sent 

to:

Illinois 

Environmental Protec-

tion Agency, 

Division cf Water Pollution Control,

Compliance

58~265

Assurance Section, 2200 Churchill 

Road, Springfield, Illinois

62706. This certification shall have the following 

form:

CERTI FICATION

I, (We),        

___

_________having 

read

the

Order of the Illinois Pollution Control 

Board in PCB

84—63

dated May

29, 1984, understand and accept the 

said Order,

real-

izing that such acceptance renders all terms and 

conditions

thereto binding 

and

enforceable,

Petitioner

By:

Authorized Agent

Title

Date

IT IS SO ORDERED

I, Christan L. Moffett, Clerk 

of

the Illinois 

Pollution

Control Board, hereby qertify that the above Opinion 

and Order

wa~adopted on the~~day ~        

1984 by a vote of

Illinois Polluti     

Board

58~266