ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
July
23,
1981
LT. JOSEPH
P. KENNEDY, JR.
SCHOOL,
)
Petitioner,
v.
)
PCB 81—56
ILLINOIS ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
)
AGENCY,
Respondent.
OPINION AND ORDER OF THE BOARD
(by J.D. Dumelle):
On April 15,
1981 the Lt. Joseph
P. Kennedy, Jr.
School
(School)
filed a petition for variance from Rules
203(d),
402,
902(i) and 404(f) of Chapter
3:
Water Pollution.
On
May 5,
1981,
an amended petition waiving hearing was filed
in response to a Board Order of April 16,
1981.
An Illinois
Environmental Protection Agency (Agency) recommendation to
grant the variance for Rules 203(d),
402 and
(902)(i)(1),
subject to certain conditions, was filed on June 15,
1981.
No hearing was held.
The School operates a wastewater treatment plant which
serves a school
for exceptional children and is located in
Palos Park.
Discharge was originally permitted under NPDES
Permit #IL0024660.
The Agency has advised the School that
the permit could not be renewed without the relief sought in
this proceeding.
The treatment system consists of an Imhoff tank with a
dump chamber followed by intermittent sand filter units, a
chlorination basin and a baffled mixing and retention tank.
The discharge is located in the east—half of NE
¼
Section 30
Township
37 Range 12, East-Third-Cook County and flows into
an unnamed ditch under Ford Road tributary to the Cal-Sag
Canal.
Eventually, these waters discharge to the Des Plaines
River.
Average monthly discharge is
0.011 million gallons per
day.
Weekly analysis of BODç and SS from February
5,
1981
to February 26, 1981 shows c~ncentrationsof 2—3 mg/l and 1—4
mg/i, respectively.
Since an amendment of Rule 404 of Chapter
3
has increased the BOD~/SSlimitation from 4/5 to 10/12 mg/l,
there is no proof tha~variance from these limitations is
needed. The Board finds that variance from Rule 404(f)
is
unnecessary, and in fact, that rule having been deleted.
43—83
—2—
The relief sought by the School
is essentially identical t~
that granted by the Board in Village of Bloomingdale v,EPA
(PCB 78—124,
32PCB23, Nov.
2,
1978), and the Board’s reasoning in
that case applies here.
In Bloomingdale nearly
300 dischargers
to the Des Plaines and DuPage Rivers were joined in a variance
proceeding regarding depressed dissolved oxygen
(DO) levels in
those rivers.
Demonstrations of non—contribution to violations
of DO by all dischargers was held to impose an arbitrary and
unreasonable hardship.
The Board finds that flows involved here are small and the
quality of the effluent should be good.
The Board finds that there
would be little or no adverse environmental impact.
Using the same
reasoning for the School
as for the joined parties in Bloomingdale, the
Board concludes that a denial of variance from Rules 2O~Td)a~T02
as they relate to DO, would constitute an arbitrary and unreasonable
hardship. Variance from these rules should be sufficient to gtve
the School
its requested relief.
Variance from Rules 910(a)(4) and
910(b)
is,
therefore, denied as unnecessary.
Pursuant to Section 208 of the Federal Water Pollution
Control Act, the Northeastern Illinois Planning Commission
(NIPC)
has developed an areawide wastewater treatment management plan for
the northeastern Illinois area which includes the portion of Cook
County where the School
is located.
Therefore, under Rule
902(j)(4) of Chapter
3 of the Board’s regulations, the School must
obtain a revision of that plan to include its discharge prior
to
Agency approval of construction or operating permits.
The Board notes that no specific length of time was requested
for variance, and the Agency made no specific recommendation in
that regard.
However, the Board will set a limiting date in
conformity with other such variances.
This Opinion constitutes the Board’s findings of fact and
conclusions of law in this matter.
ORDER
1.
The Lt. Joseph
P. Kennedy,
Jr. School is hereby
granted variance from Rules
203(d),
and 402 of
Chapter
3 of the Board’s Rules and Regulations
as they relate to dissolved oxygen water quality
until October 19,
1983,
subject to the following
conditions:
a.
The School shall obtain a modification to the
NIPC wastewater treatment management plan.
b.
The School
shall operate its treatment plant using
the best practicable operation and maintenance
practices.
c.
Within 45 days of the date of this Order the
School
shall execute and forward to the Board and to
43—84
—3—
the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency,
Water Pollution Control Division,
2200 Churchill
Road,
Springfield, Illinois 62706,
a Certification
of Acceptance and Agreement to be bound to all
terms and conditions set forth in the Order.
The
45 day period shall be held in abeyance during any
period in which this matter is being appealed.
The
form of Certification shall be as follows:
_______________
hereby accepts and agrees to
Petitioner
be bound by all terms and conditions of the order
of the
Pollution Control Board in PCB #81—56,
dated __________________________
Petitioner
—_________
By ____________________—____
,
authorized agent
Title
Date
_________________
______
2.
The School
is denied variance from Rules 404(f),
910(a)(4)
and 910(b) of Chapter
3: Water Pollution.
3.
The School
shall obtain the necessary construction and
operating permits from the Illinois Environmental
Protection Agency.
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
~?‘~-~
day of
____________,
1981 by a vote
of
ç’-~)
*
~
ii ~
Christan L. Mo~fett,/~’erk
Illinois Pollution Control Board
43—85