ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
    May 14,
    1981
    CITY OF CASEY,
    )
    Petitioner,
    v.
    )
    PCB 81—16
    )
    ILLINOIS ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY,
    )
    Respondent.
    OPIUION AND ORDER OF THE BOARD
    (by J. Anderson):
    This matter comes before the Board on the petition for
    variance of the City of Casey
    (City),
    filed February
    4,
    1981 and
    amended February 25,
    1981.
    The City seeks “permanent” variance
    from the effluent standard of Rule 405 of Chapter
    3: Water Pol-
    lution, which
    limits the fecal coliform count to 400 per 100 mi
    of effluent, thereby requiring dischargers to disinfect effluent
    with chlorine.
    As Section 36(b) of the Environmental Protection
    ~ct authorizes grant of variance only for a five year period, the
    Board will construe the petition as requesting variance for that
    period.
    The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency
    (Agency)
    supports grant of variance in its Recommendation filed April
    1,
    1981
    (along with a motion to file instanter, which is hereby
    granted).
    Hearing was waived and none has been held.
    The City of Casey,
    located in Clark County, currently owns
    and operates two wastewater treatment plants serving the needs
    of an agriculturally—oriented community of about 3,000.
    However,
    these plants are to be abandoned upon completion on or about
    June,
    1981 of a new wastewater treatment plant costing some
    $1,800,000,
    financed in part by the construction grants program.
    Chlorination facilities have been constructed in the
    new
    plant.
    The City seeks variance to avoid the annual operation and
    maintenance costs of the use of the chlorination facilities,
    which are estimated by the City to be $17,055
    (Pet.
    1,3).
    The City states that elimination of chlorination of effluent
    would have no adverse environmental impact, and reminds the Board
    of the Agency’s R77-12,
    Docket D proposal that the requirement be
    deleted.
    The City believes that the required chlorination will
    impose arbitrary or unreasonable economic hardship on the 1338
    users of its sewage service.
    The monthly user fee if chlorination
    is not required would be $9.54; chlorination would raise costs by
    $1.06 per month for a total monthly charge of $10.60.
    As in 1970
    9.8
    of the City’s families had a median income below the poverty
    41—427
    2
    level, and given Clark County’s low estimated 1980 median income
    of $15,400, the City argues that imposition of the additional
    yearly cost of $12.72 for chlorination
    is unwarranted.
    The Agency,
    in its Recommendation,
    supports the City’s clai’~
    that it would not otherwise be required to chlorinate if the
    Agency’s R77-12, Docket D proposal were adopted by the Board as
    written.
    This
    is because a) the City
    is not within 20 miles
    upstream of either a public bathing beach or a water intake used
    for a public or food processing water supply and b) the City’s
    discharge would not cause violation of water quality standards
    in another state,
    since the Wabash River, into which the City
    discharges by way of the Embarass River,
    is
    75 miles downstrear~
    from the City’s discharge location.
    After discussing the merits
    or
    its proposal, the Agency recommends grant of variance for
    5 years
    or until deletion of the chlorination requirement, whichever first
    occurs.
    The Agency did not address the City’s hardship claims.
    The Board finds that the City has failed to prove that denial
    of variance would impose an arbitrary or unreasonable hardship.
    Even accepting the City’s 0
    & M estimate of $17,055 as its actual
    annual
    cost, the costs of using the already—installed chlorinatior~
    equipment is
    low.
    If, on the other hand,
    the $10,840
    “equipment replacement”
    figure reflects the annual amount of depreciation on the already
    installed equipment, this “sunk cost” would not be reduced by
    grant of variance.
    The annual, controllable
    (i.e.
    savable)
    chlorination costs would therefore be $6,205.
    While the Board
    understands the Agency’s advocacy of its R77—12 proposal, the
    Board cannot lawfully prejudge the outcome of a pending
    regulatory proposal in considering a petition for variance.
    Variance is therefore denied.
    This Opinion constitutes the Board’s findings of fact and
    conclusions of
    law
    in this matter.
    ORDER
    The City of Casey is hereby denied variance from Rule 405
    of Chapter
    3:
    Water Pollution.
    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
    ______
    day of
    _________,
    1981 by a
    vote of ~-u
    .
    ()
    C~nL.~fW~erk
    -
    Illinois Po1lution~.
    ntrol. Board
    41—428

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