ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
April
16,
1981
CROOK DEVELOPMENT CO. AND THE
)
BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE TOWN OF STOOKEY,
)
Petitioners,
v.
)
PCB 80—230
.t1~LI~OISENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY,
Respondent.
OPINION AND ORDER OF THE BOARD
(by J. Anderson):
This matter comes before the Board on the petition for
variance filed December 22,
1980 by Crook Development Company
(Crook),
as amended March 10,
1981
(pursuant to the Board’s
Order of February
19,
1981)
to include as a petitioner
the
Board of Trustees of the Town of Stookey
(Stookey),
in St. Clair
County.
Variance is sought from Sections 12 and 39 of the Act,
and Rule
962(a)
of Chapter
3:
Water Pollution,
so as to allow
issuance to Crook of a permit to construct and operate a sewer
extension tributary to Stookey’s treatment plant, which
is on
restricted status.
The initial Recommendation of the Illinois
Environmental Protection Agency
(Agency), was filed February
13,
1981, pursuant to a motion to file instanter, which is hereby
granted.
This Recommendation,
as amended March 24,
1981,
is that
variance from Rule 962(a) be granted,
subject to conditions.
Hearing was waived and none has been held,
as the one objection
to the variance filed January 19,
1981 was withdrawn January
27,
1981.
Since 1972,
Crook has been engaged in the development of Oak
Hill Village Apartments,
located
in Stookey Township.
Oak Hill
Village currently consists of
44 apartment units.
One additional
16—unit apartment building is currently under construction and was
50
completed as
of December,
1980.
Crook would plan to construct
an additional 48 units over the course of the next nine years.
Based on a maximum occupancy figure of three persons per unit,
Crook estimates that each unit would daily generate between
3 and
12 P.E.
of sanitary sewage
(Pet.
3).
The sanitary sewer extension which Crook proposes to install
would be tributary to the sewage treatment plant owned and oper-
ated by Stookey since 1968.
The plant discharges to the Prairie
DuPont Creek.
On September 24, 1976 the Agency issued a notice
of critical review
to Stookey,
as the plant had an estimated
tributary load of 95
of its design capacity.
On January
9,
1980
the Agency issued a notice of pending restricted status because
41—~65
2
of an estimated tributary organic waste load of
108
of the design
capacity of 5,000
P.E.
Restricted status was imposed on the plant
July
8,
1980
(Rec.
4).
The Agency further advises that Stookey’s sewers are subject
to infiltration and inflow during wet weather periods,
but that
Agency records indicate no record of complaints about basement
hack—ups or sanitary sewer overflows.
Solids build-up at the
plant has been washed out at peak flow periods and discharged
to the Prairie DuPont Creek.
The one objection
to this variance
petition was based on this sludge wash—out problem,
and resulted
in a January
23,
1981 meeting between objector Orville Warring,
an Agency representative,
and Stookey officials to discuss and
determine ways
to eliminate the sludge discharge.
The objection
was thereafter withdrawn, and the Agency has recommended that
if
variance is granted, that Stookey should be required to submit
a written plan for prevention of sludge discharge
(Pet.
3-4,
Attach.
1—2).
Finally,
the Agency also reports that Stookey
is and
has
been active in the federal construction grants program,
and has
recently submitted plans and specifications for expansion and
upgrading of its plant to the Agency for review.
Stookey
is
eligible for Step
3 funding,
and comprehensive improvements
are scheduled to be completed by January
31,
1983
(Pet.
6).
It would appear from Crook’s petition that it seeks variance
to allow issuance of permits for construction of a sewer extension
to serve the 16 units under construction,
as well as the additional
48 units
it plans to construct within the next
9 years.
In support
of its petition, Crook states that there is a shortage of apart-
ments
in the middle to upper rental range in the Stookey Township
area, as economic conditions have virtually halted construction
in the area.
Because of the “construction slump,” Crook believes
that denial of variance would cause
it and its sub—contractors to
lay—off employees who might well not find other work
(Pet.
5,
1).
Variance
is denied as to the 48 planned units. The imposition
of
an arbitrary or unreasonable hardship has not been sufficiently
proven as to these units not under construction, particularly since
some of them possibly may be “dropped from the plan”
(Pet.
3).
Based on the Agency’s estimation that the additional
P.E.
loading
from the 16 half—constructed units will not overload the system,
the fact that plant improvements are in progress, and the depressed
state of construction
in the area,
the Board finds that petitioners
have demonstrated arbitrary or unreasonable hardship as to these 16
units,
in spite of the petition’s failure to state whether con-
struction was commenced before or after imposition of restricted
status.
Variance
is therefore granted from Rule 962(a) of Chapter
3; variance from the Act
is denied as unnecessary.
In addition
to adopting the Agency’s suggested condition regarding Stookey,
the Board will require Crook to install water saving devices in
the
16 unit building to minimize
loading on the sewer system.
41—266
3
This Opinion constitutes the Board’s findings of fact
and
conclusions of law
in this matter.
ORDER
1.
Petitioners, Crook Development Co.
and the Board of
Trustees, Town of Stookey, are hereby granted variance from Rule
962(a) of Chapter
3:
Water Pollution to allow issuance of
sewer
constructionand operation permits for a 16 unit apartment building
located in Oak Hill Village, subject to the following conditions:
A)
Water conserving designed or equipped water closets,
faucets and shower heads are to be installed in each unit.
Crook
and the Agency shall develop a schedule for a reasonable number
of inspection tours of the building by Agency personnel who are
to verify that water conservation devices have been installed
prior to occupancy of the building.
B)
Within 45 days of the date of this Order, Stookey
Township shall submit to the Agency
a)
the
findings of
its study
of
the
sludge discharge problem,
b) its plan to prevent discharge
of sludge from the plant immediately,
and c)
its planned facility
improvements to permanently eliminate the sludge discharge problem.
This material shall be submitted to:
Robert L.
Schleugher,
Manager,
DWPC Region
6,
117 West Main Street,
Collinsville, Illinois
62234
C)
Stookey shall continue to expeditiously pursue federal
construction grant funding.
In the interim, its existing plant
shall be operated and maintained
in the best manner practicable.
2.
Variance as to the 48 planned units
is denied for
failire
to prove arbitrary or unreasonable hardship.
3.
As to the 16 units for which variance Rule 962(a) has been
granted, variance from the Act is denied as unnecessary.
4.
Within forty—five days of the date of this Order, each
Petitioner
shall execute and forward to the Illinois Environmental
Protection Agency, Division of Water Pollution Control, Variance
Unit,
2200 Churchill Road,
Springfield,
Illinois
62706,
a Certi-
ficate of Acceptance and Agreement to be bound to all terms
arid
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 he
as follows:
CERTIFICATE
I,
(We),
__________________________
_____,
having read
the Order
of the Illinois Pollution Control Board in PCB 80—230,
dated
____________________________,
understand and accept the said
Order, realizing that such acceptance renders all terms and
conditions thereto binding and enforceable.
41—267
4
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
were adopted on the
jt~*A
day of
~
____—,
1981
by a vote of
5-t~
.
J
.
~)
Li1~J~i
~
Christan L. Moffett,
Clet!~
Illinois Pollution Control Board
41—268