ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD

August

20,

1981

VILLAGE

OF HENDERSON,

Petitioner,

v.

)

PCB 81—84

ILLINOIS ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY,

Respondent.

OPINION AND ORDER OF THE BOARD

(by J.

Anderson):

This matter comes before the Board on the variance petition

of the Village of Henderson

(Village) filed May

11,

1981 and

amended June

11,

1981.

By its Recommendation of June 4, 1981,

the Illinois

Environmental Protection Agency

(Agency) suggests

that the Villag&s request for variance from the 2.0 mg/i

maximum fluoride standard of Rule 304(B)(4)

of Chapter

6:

Public

Water Supplies be granted, subject to conditions.

Hearing was

waived and none has been held.

The Village of Henderson, population 300,

is located in

western Knox County and supplies its 130 water users from a

single 705 foot deep well.

The fluoride content of this water,

both raw and finished,

is 2.2

to 2.3 mg/i.

The Village~sconsulting engineers, Kenneth E.

Schrader &

~ssoc.,

Ltd., have advised the

Village that no complying, alternate

source of surface water

is available.

The Village states that tt

has investigated fluoride removal by means of activated alumina

and bone char adsorption,

reverse osmosis,

and electrodialysis.

Installation of a fluoride removal system of the adsorption type

was estimated to involve a total capital expenditure of $141,000,

and annual operation and maintenance expenditures of $26,000.

The Village asserts that immediate compliance would impose

an arbitrary or unreasonable hardship on its water users.

Water

users, who currently pay an estimated

$7 per month, would be

forced to pay an additional

$26 to cover the additional cost.

The

Village believes that if it is forced to impose these costs,

that

“further development in the Village will be hampered, and property

values will decrease”.

As its final point,

the Village argues

that continued use of its water will have only “aesthetic or

beneficial” health effects.

The Agency concurs with the facts and assertions presented

by the Village, and “considers this to be a small water supply

deserving of the same consideration as the City of Minonk”,

PCB

43—185

---

2

80—136, October

2,

1980.

However, it is recommended that varianc.~

be granted only until January

1,

1984,

the deadline date for

exemptions under S1416 of the Safe Drinking Water Act

(SDWA).

The Board finds that the Village has proven that requiring

immediate compliance of its very small system will impose an

arbitrary or unreasonable hardship, and agrees with the Agency

that its petition should be granted as was that of the City of

Minonk.

Accordingly,

a full five year variance is granted

pursuant to S1415 of the SDWA which has no deadline date.

This

variance is 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 Henderson,

is granted a

variance from the 2.0 mg/i maximum fluoride concentration limit

of Rule 304(B) of Chapter

6:

Public Water Supply

for five years

from the date of this Order, subject to the following conditions:

a.

Beginning on or about December

1,

1981, and

at six month intervals thereafter, the Petitioner

shall

communicate with the Agency in order to ascertain whether

fluoride removal techniques specifically applicable to

small systems have been developed and identified.

b.

As expeditiously after identification of a

feasible compliance method as is practicable, but no

later than January

1,

1984,

Petitioner shall submit

to

the Agency a program (with increments

of progress) for

bringing its system into compliance with fluoride

standards.

c.

Petitioner shall take all reasonable measures

with its existing equipment to minimize the level of

fluoride in its water supply and shall not allow the

fluoride concentration to exceed an average of 4.0 mg/i.

d.

Pursuant to Rule 313(D)(1)

of Chapter

6, on or

before October

1,

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 a variance from the 2.0 mg/i maximum

fluoride standard by the Pollution Control Board.

The

notice shall state the average content of fluoride in

samples taken since the last notice period during which

samples were taken.

2.

Within forty—five days of the date of this Order,

Petitioner shall execute and forward to the Illinois Environmental

Protection Agency,

PWS Enforcement Programs,

2200 Churchill Road,

Springfield,

Illinois

62706,

a Certificate of Acceptance and

Agreement to be bound to all terms and conditions of this variance.

43—186

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3

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—84,

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.

Mr. Goodman abstained.

I, Christan L. Moffett, Clerk of the Illinois Pollution

Control Board, hereby certify that the above Opinion and Order

was adopted pn the

~o*

day of

_________________,

1981 by

a vote of

~-O

~

~

Christan L.

T4offe~4(S/ctlerk

—-

Illinois Pollutiohtthitrol Board

43—187