ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL
BOARD
July
21,
1982
MICHAEL SOBEL, et a?,,
)
Petitioner,
V.
)
PCB 82—20
)
ILLINOIS ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
)
AGENCY, et al.,
Respondent.
OPINION AND ORDER OF THE BOARD (by J.
Anderson):
This matter comes before the Board on the petition for
variance filed February
26, 1982 as amended April
16,
1982 by
Michael Sobel,
Albert Lang,
Dave Perritt, Phillip McJunkens, and
Edward Glader (Sobel et a?.).
These individuals, who reside in
the Village of Riverwoods,
Lake County, seek variance from Rule
962 of Chapter 3:
Water Pollution in order to receive
a permit
to construct and operate a proposed Duffy Lane Sanitary Sewer
Extension.
This extension would receive sewage currently dis-
charged to each of petitioner~sprivate failed or failing septic
fields.
As the proposed sewer extension would be tributary first
to the sewage collection system owned and operated by the Village
of Riverwoods
(Village),
and then to the interceptor system and
Des Plaines River Sewage Treatment Plant owned and operated by the
County of Lake
(County),
the Village and the County were joined
as respondents in this action pursuant to the Board~sOrders of
March
4 and April
29,
1982.
On June
10,
1982 the Illinois
Environmental Protection Agency (Agency)
filed
its Recommendation
in support of grant of variance on June 10,
1982,
Hearing was
waived and none has been held.
Sobel
et a?. reside at homes
in the Village located at the
following street addresses:
2800,
2840,
2860,
and 2790 Duffy Lane,
and 2000 Robinwood Lane,
Of the five septic disposal systems
involved, three systems, owned by petitioners Sobel,
Perritt and
Glader, have completely failed and discharge to the ground surface
in the area during the entire year,
another discharges during wet
weather and the fifth has to pump every two weeks
to avoid ground
discharges.
Each of these homeowners has received Notices of Vio-
lation issued by the Lake County Health Department, Sobel having
been cited in December, 1981 and the others
in October,
1981.
2
Sobel notes that he had completely replaced his septic system
at a cost of $3,000 in about February,
1981, but that this new
system has failed,
Perritt states that his seepage field was
expanded some
6 years
ago, but that it too has failed, and that
he has spent $100.00 in the last year
bo have his holding tank
pumped out.
The Lang system discharges durinq wet seasons
(approximately
4 months per year),
which has resulto” in the (unquantified)
expense of having the tank pumped “several times per year”.
The
McJunkens system consists of only a holding tank, which is emptied
every
2
weeks at a yearly cost of
$2,000
in order to prevent
discharges to the ground.
Sobel et al. estimate that the yearly discharge from these
four discharging septic systems amounts to between 300,000 to
600,000 gallons of sewage, which “stands in depressional areas
to the rear of the properties year round.”
(However,
the
petition also states that the effluent discharges to an open ditch
tributary to a storm sower system discharging into a lake which is
part of the west fork of the north branch
of
the
Chicago
River.)
Sobel et a?. are concerned about the resulting threats to the
health of their families and neighbors,
and in addition wish to
be relieved of the financial burdens, reduction in property
values,
and impending Health Department enforcement actions
attributable to their sewage treatment problems.
Sobel et a?. report that, according to the Lake County Soils
survey,
the soils
in the area “have severe limitations
for use
as septic system filter fields due to the slow permeability and
seasonal high water table,
The Agency concurs, adding that this
Soil Survey, prepared by the U.S. Department
of
Agriculture
and
the Illinols Agricultural Experiment Station, more specifically
describes the soil as having an estimated percolation rate slower
than 90 minutes/inch.
The Agency notes that the soil’s relative
impermeability
and the seasonal high water table make these
soils
“unsuitable
for
sewage
absorption
systems
according
to
the
Private
Sewage
Disposal
Licensing
Act
and
Code.”
Sobel
et
a?.
accordingly
began
investigating
connection
to
a
sanitary
sewer
system,
One
option
would
be
to
connect
to
the
Village
of
Lincoinshire
sanitary
sewer
system
of
a
lift
station
and
1300
feet
of sewer or
force
main,
at
a
cost
of
$70,000,
as-
suming
such connection to another Villag&s system was politically
feasible.
The other option is
construction
of the Duffy Lane
Sanitary
Sewer
Extension,
involving 965 feet of
8” sewer,
4
foot
diameter holes
(sic), and
6” sewer connections to the individual
residences, at a cost of $17,742.50.
The average daily flow to
be
transported
by this sower is estimated at 1250 gallons per day.
The
Agency
denied
Sohel
et
al.
a
construction
permit
in
February,
1902.
In
its
denial
letter,
the
Agency
stated
that
“the
Deerfiold
Road
Interceptor
and
the
Des
Plairies
River
Lift
Station
47-4~S
3
which transport sewage flow are operating at their design capacity
Until additional capacity exists within the Deefield Road
Interceptor and the Des Plaines River Lift Station no construction
permits will be issued.,.”
The Agency recommends that variance be granted to the five
petitioners.
In its Recommendation,
the Agency notes that the
lift station and a few upstream manholes are subject to overflows.
As a result,
a Notice of Pending Restricted Status was issued to
the Village on April
27, 1979.
It would appear that Restricted
Status was never actually imposed, and the Recommendation does
not enlighten the Board as to why.
Sobel et al.
relate that sewer
surcharging and discharges
to the ground surface
adjaceft
to the
Des Plaines River have occurred intermittently since 1975,
but
that ground discharge occurs only after a concentrated rainfall,
on or about
4 days annually for an average period of six hours.
The Lake County Health Department “highly recommends that
variance he granted”, while the Village has advised petitioners
that
it would “not make any objection to your request.”
Balancing
the severe environmental and
public health threats of the con-
tinued septic discharges against the lesser environmental threat
of allowing additional flows
to be added to an intermittently but
infrequently discharging sewer,
the Board finds that denial of
variance would impose an arbitrary or unreasonable hardship
to
petitioners.
Variance from Rule 962(a) of Chapter
3 is granted,
subject to the conditions outlined in the attached Order.
This Opinion constitutes the Board’s findings of fact and
conclusions of law in this matter.
ORDER
1.
Petitioners Michael
Sobel,
2840 Duffy Lane, Albert Lang,
2860 Duffy Lane,
Phillip McJunkens,
2800 Duffy Lane,
Edward Glader,
2790 Duffy Lane and Dave Perritt, 2000 Robinwood Lane are hereby
granted variance from Rule 962(a)
of Chapter
3:
Water Pollution
to allow for issuance of a construction and operation permit for
the Village of Riverwoods Duffy Lane Sanitary Sewer Extension,
subject to the following conditions:
a)
This extension shall service only the five lots at
the above—listed street addresses.
h)
Each petitioner shall discontinue use of his
private septic system as soon after construction of the
sanitary sewer extension as is practicable.
In the interim,
each petitioner shall take all reasonable steps
to prevent
ground discharges of sanitary sewage from his septic system.
4
2.
Within forty—five days of the date of this Order,
Petitioner shall execute and forward to the Illinois Environmental
Protection Agency, Division of Water Pollution Control, Compliance
Assurance Section,
2200 Churchill Road,
Springfield,
Illinois
62706,
a Certificate of Acceptance and Agreement to be bound to
all terms and conditions of this variance.
This forty—five day
period shall be held in abeyance for any period this matter is
being appealed.
The form of the certificate shall be as follows:
CERTIFICATE
I,
(We), _________________________________,
having read
the Order of the Illinois Pollution Control Board in PCB 82-20,
dated _________________________________, understand and accept the
said Order,
realizing 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 certify that the above Opinion and Order
was adopted on the
~2
/~
day of
__________,
1982
by a vote of
_______.
Christâfl L. Mof ett,
Cl~,t
Illinois Pollution Cont~1 Board
47-430