ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
July
9,
1981
VILLAGE
OF HOFFMAN ESTATES,
Petitioner,
PCB 81—51
ILLINOIS ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY,
Respondent.
OPINION AND ORDER OF THE BOARD
(by J.
Anderson):
This matter comes before the Board on the petition for
variance of the Village
of Hoffman Estates
(Village),
filed
April
9,
1981 as amended May
7,
1981.
The Village seeks variance
from the
1.0 mg/i barium concentration limitation of Rule 304(13)(4)
of Chapter
6:
Public Water Supplies.
The Illinois Environmental
Protection Agency (Agency)
filed its Recommendation in support of
grant of variance June
8,
1981.
Hearing was waived and none has
been held.
The Village of Hoffman Estates,
located in Cook and i~ane
Counties,
supplies drinking water to its approximately 30,000
residents
from 20 wells~
Twelve of these wells are shallow,
ranging from 119 to 242 feet deep; these wells, which comply with
the barium standard, supply the Village with roughly one—third of
its needed water.
Of the other eight wells, which are drilled
deep (1357 to 1415 feet)
into the Galesville sandstone aquifer,
six wells produce water with non—complying barium concentrations
of from 1.51 to 2.97 mg/i.
The Village has not stated whether its distribution system
is such that blending of the waters of these 20 wells can produce
finished water with a 1.0 mg/i barium concentration.
It has,
however,
investigated the possibility of removing barium by the
sodium zeolite softening process or by ion exchange treatment.
The cost of necessary ion exchange facilities was estimated to
be $2,904,000 in capital expenditures, with annual operation and
maintenance costs of $360,000.
The Village does not favor the treatment option on either a
long or short term basis,
as
it has received a Lake Michigan water
allocation with which to replace its current well water
supply.
By ordinance of March
9,
1981, the Village joined the Northwest
Suburban Municipal Joint Action Water System
(System).
It is
currently anticipated that the System will have transmission lines
43—29
2
in operation by October,
1984.
The Village has already spent
roughly $44,000 as part of its commitment to this project, which
will cost its eight member municipalities a projected $106.8
million.
The Village,
then,
seeks variance to continue to use its
well system while
it is pursuing this favored compliance option.
As Hoffman Estates is part of the regional water supply
System, the Agency recommends grant of variance until January
1,
1986, consistent with Section 1416 of the Safe Drinking Water Act.
The Agency states in support of its conclusion that it believes
that consumption of the Village’s well water will
impose no threat
to the health of its water users.
In light of the high cost to the Village of treatment of its
current water supply, the lack of demonstrated threats
to health
from consumption of barium at the levels in the Village’s water,
and finally the Villagets demonstrated commitment to the regional
water system, the Board finds that denial
of variance would impose
an arbitrary or unreasonable hardship.
The requested variance
from Rule 304(B)(4) of Chapter
6
is hereby granted until January
1,
1986,
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.
Petitioner,
the Village of Hoffman Estates,
is hereby
granted variance from the 1.0 mg/l barium standard of Rule 304(B) (4)
of Chapter
6:
Public Water Supplies until January
1,
1986,
subject
to the following conditions:
a.
Petitioner shall continue to perform its
obligations as outlined
in the Northwest Suburban
Municipal Joint Action Water System
(System) Agree-
ment,
as it may be from time to time amended,
and
shall replace its current water supply with System-
supplied water as expeditiously as is practicable.
b.
Petitioner shall take all reasonable
measures with its existing equipment to minimize
the level of barium in its finished water.
c.
Pursuant to Rule 313(D)(1)
of Chapter
6, on
or before September
30,
1981 and every three months
thereafter Petitioner will send to each user of its
public water supply
a written notice to the effect
that Petitioner has been granted by the Pollution
Control Board a variance from the 1.0 mg/i maximum
barium standard.
The notice shall
state the average
content of barium in samples taken since the last
notice period during which samples were taken.
43—30
3
2.
Within forty—five days of the date of this Order,
Petitioner shall execute and forward to Enforcement Programs,
Illinois Environmental Protection Agency,
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 81-51,
dated __________________________,
understand and accept
the said
conditions thereto binding and enforceable.
Petitioner
By:
Authorized Agent
Title
Date
IT
IS SO ORDERED.
Mr. Anderson abstained.
I, Christan
L. Moffett, Clerk of the Illinois Pollution
Control Board,
hereby certify that the above Opinion and Order was
adopted on the
‘/‘~
day of
_____________,
1981 by a vote of
/
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LL~
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Christan L. M~ffet~,Clerk
——____
Illinois Pollution~C~ntrol Baord