ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
January 22,
1981
~‘(~‘JNTY
OF DuPAGE,
Petitioner,
v.
)
PCB 80—160
~Lf~NOS
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY,
Respondent.
1~’IflIONAND ORDER OF THE BOARD
(by J.
Anderson):
This matter comes before the Board on
the
petition for
variance filed by the County of DuPage
(County) September
9,
1980
as amended October 31,
1980.
The County seeks variance from Rule
~62(a) of Chapter 3:
Water Pollution.
It desires to obtain an
operating permit for a sanitary sewer extension to serve 52 homes
in a subdivision known as Timberlake Estates,
Unit
3,
in Clarendon
Hills.
The already constructed sewer extension,
built pursuant
to EPA Permit No.
1979—HC—5293
(construct only), would deliver
sewage
Lo the County’s Marionbrook treatment plant, which has
been
on restricted status since April
30,
1979.
The Recommendation of the Illinois Environmental Protection
~gency (~gency)filed December
17,
1980 was that variance be
~~ranted,subject to the provisions of an Order entered
in People
~ftheState_of
Illinois v. County of DuPage,
80MR432, by the
Court
for the 18th Illinois Judicial Circuit,
DuPage County,
on
Deceriber
4,
1980.
Hearing on this petition was waived, and none
has h~en
held.
The
52
homes
in Timberlake Estates,
Unit
3 are currently
served
by
individual septic fields.
The septic fields are located
in
the back of each lot; private wells are located
in
the front
of
each
lot.
The lots on which these homes are located are subject
to flooding, which
in turn has caused a washout of raw sewage
from the septic fields
in 1970,
and 1976—1978.
These washouts
accordingly produce a localized health hazard.
On April
28,
1980
the DuPage County Health Department reported to the Director of
Public Works that it had surveyed the septic fields and had found
a
“substantial number” defective and marginally defective.
It
recommended that the septic fields
“be abandoned” and sewer
connections made as soon as possible.
Sewer connection to the
Marionbrook plant would cost each homeowner about $2,950, half
the estimated cost of upgrading the septic system to correct
the problem.
The County stated that there is no other alternate
facility and no space
left for on—site collection and treatment
with a small package plant.
40—335
2
The Board has been advised of the severe and continuing
problems with the ~arionbrook treatment plant in several past
variance petitions
(e.g. Willowbrook Deve~pmentCorp.
v.
EPA,
P03 80—58, July
3,
1980, Corporate West,
Inc.
et al.
v.
IEPA,et
al.,
PCB 80—96 to 100
consolidated,
August
7,
1980),
and has
b~cn
made aware of the widespread concern
in the DuPage
County
area
concerning the adverse environmental and economic impacts
the
si~t.i-
ation has caused.
The filing of a Complaint for Injunction
in
the
above referenced Circuit Court action has been one of the results
of
that concern.
The Court Order, based on a stipulation by
the
parties, provides
in part for the upgrading of the Marionhrook
olant by specified dates,
and for the phasing
in of connections
to
it ~or persons who had previously received Agency construct only
or construct and operate permits.
However,
these connections are
to
be made only as the plant demonstrates,
in specified fashion,
its
ability to treat new flows to limits specified in
that
Order.
The Board commends the parties to that action for
their
initiation of expeditious plant rehabilitation.
As the parties
have also explicitly recognized that Marionbrook cannot currontis’
bet the
effluent limitations of
its NPDES permit,
the Board
assumes that they have also recognized that compliance with the
effluent limitations of the Court’s Order does not constitute
compliance with the Act or the Board’s rules.
The Board, there-
fore,
anticipates that the parties’ will shortly initiate
appropriate variance or other proceedings before the Board as
the plan is implemented,
since any permit issued by the Agency
~iithout a proper variance would lie void.
The Board
finds that denial of variance would impose an
.~rh:itraryor unreasonable hardship.
Connection
of the 52 homes
to the sewer extension
is the most cost—effective,
environmentally
sound response to this health hazard,
particularly
in
view
of
~)iPage County’s enforceable commitment
to upgrade the Marionbr~o’r.
niant.
Variance from Rule 962(a)
is granted.
While the Board declines to condition this variance on
compliance with the Order entered
in 80MR432, the Board assumes
that the County will follow the plan
in allowing these connections.
The Board will
give great weight to reports concerning Marion—
brook’s compliance in any future petitions
to remove the
restricto~
status impediment to the Agency’s authority to issue operation or
construction—operation permits
for sewers tributary to the plant,
although non—compliance with that Order
is of course independently
enforceable.
This Opinion constitutes the Board’s findings offact and
conclusions of law in this matter.
ORDER
1.
Petitioner, the County of DuPage,
is hereby granted
variance from Rule 962(a)
of Chapter
3:
Water Pollution,
to
permit issuance of an operation permit for the sewer extension
40—3 36
3
constructed pursuant to EPA Permit No. 1979—HC—5293 to serve 52
homes
in the subdivision known as Timberlake Estates, Unit
3 in
Clarendon Hills,
Illinois.
2.
Within forty-five days of the date of this Order,
Petitioner
shall execute and forward to the Illinois Environmental
Protection Agency, Variance Section,
2200 Churchill Road, Spring-
field,
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:
CERTIFICATION
I,
(We),
,
having read
the Order of the Illinois Pollution Control Board in PCB 80—160,
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.
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
~‘
f
I
~
/
/~
Christan L. Moffett1 Clerk
Illinois Pollution’ Control Board
40—337