ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
    September
    6, 1979
    CITY OF MARION,
    Petitioner,
    v.
    )
    PCB 79—137
    ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY,
    )
    Respondent.
    OPINION AND ORDER OF THE BOARD
    (by Mr. Young):
    This matter comes before the Board on a Petition for Variance
    filed on July
    5,
    1979,
    by the City of Marion requesting relief
    from Rules
    402 and 402.1 of Chapter
    3:
    Water Pollution Regulations,
    to allow Petitioner to discharge axmnonia nitrogen to a daily
    maximum of
    5 mg/i until March
    1,
    1980.
    On August
    8,
    1979, the
    Environmental Protection Agency submitted its recommendation in
    favor of granting the requested relief provided that Petitioner
    adhere to certain conditions.
    No hearing was held in this matter;
    hearing was properly waived in its petition pursuant to Procedural
    Rule 401(b).
    On May
    24,
    1979, the Board granted the City of Marion a
    variance from Rules
    203 (c), 402 and 404 (f) (ii) (A)
    of Chapter
    3
    in City of Marion
    v.
    EPA, PCB 79-46, which permitted a discharge
    of 10 mg/l BOD5 and 12 mg/i total suspended solids from the
    Marion plant into the receiving stream.
    As indicated in the
    former Opinion, the City of Marion has recently constructed a
    new sewage treatment plant with a design capacity of
    2.5 million
    gallons per day.
    The Marion sewage treatment plant discharges
    its effluent to the West End Creek which
    is tributary to the
    Crab Orchard Creek and the Crab Orchard Lake.
    (Pet.
    2,
    3).
    The new treabnent plant consists of two bar screens,
    a
    grit chamber and t~~o
    primary settling tanks.
    The City’s waste-
    water is then processed through ten 12-foot diameter rotating
    biological discs
    (Bio-Discs),
    two secondary settling tanks,
    two sand filters and a disinfection detention tank before it
    is discharged
    to the waters of Illinois.
    (Pet.
    2,
    3).
    The Marion STP is currently operating under NPDES Permit
    IL0029751 which requires that the effluent quality not exceed
    4/5 BOD5/TSS, despite the Board decision on May
    24,
    1979,
    to
    35—327
    —2—
    allow
    a
    10/12 BOD5/TSS effluent limitation and which ordered
    the Agency to modify Petitioner’s permit accordingly.
    (Pet.
    3).
    While the Marion STP became operational in April,
    1978,
    problems were almost immediately experienced with the Bio-Disc
    shafts.
    On July 11,
    1978,
    a fish kill occurred as
    a result of
    a malfunction at the Marion plant for which the City has paid
    $486.78 as compensation to the Illinois Department of Con-
    servation.
    During the period between January and May,
    1979,
    the Marion STP was operating with less than four Bio-Discs
    to
    treat incoming wastewater which resulted in incursions with
    the ammonia nitrogen effluent limitations.
    (Pet.
    3,
    5;
    Exh.
    C).
    Rule 402.1
    of Chapter 3
    as adopted June
    22,
    1978, requires
    this Petitioner to meet a 1.5 mg/i ammonia nitrogen effluent
    limitation in the summer
    (April through October)
    and 4.0 mg/i
    for the remainder of the year provided that Petitioner not cause
    or contribute to a violation of the ammonia nitrogen water
    quality standard.
    The Petition discloses that after extended negotiations,
    the original supplier had agreed to replace the ten Bio-Disc
    shafts with stronger units,
    and currently all ten have been
    replaced and nine of the ten are operational.
    Petitioner
    contends that once all the Bio-Discs become operational, it
    will require
    a reasonable amount of time to correct mechanical
    and operational difficulties
    in the system and for active blo-
    mass
    to accumulate properly on the surface of
    the Bio—Discs.
    The Petitioner requests and the Agency supports a variance to
    allow the discharge of ammonia nitrogen to a maximum daily
    concentration of
    5 mg/l until March
    1,
    1980.
    (Pet.
    4;
    Rec.
    1,
    2)
    The Board finds that a variance is warranted to allow
    Petitioner to correct the mechanical problems and acquire the
    operational skills necessary to meet the ammonia nitrogen
    effluent requirements.
    Petitioner will be granted
    a variance
    from Rules 402 and 402.1 of Chapter
    3 until March
    1,
    1980,
    provided that the ammonia nitrogen discharge from the Marion
    treatment plant does not exceed 5.0 mg/l as
    a daily maximum.
    The Board will direct the Agency to modify Petitioner’s
    NPDES permit to be consistent with this Order and the PCB 79-46
    Order pursuant to Rule 914 of Chapter
    3 to include such interim
    measures
    as may be achieved through the application of best
    practicable operation and maintenance practices
    in the existing
    facility.
    This Opinion constitutes the Board’s findings of fact and
    conclusions of law in this matter.
    35—328
    —3—
    ORDER
    1.
    The City of Marion, Illinois is hereby granted a
    variance from Rules 402 and 402.1 of Chapter
    3:
    Water Pollution
    Regulations
    to the extent that compliance is required
    with
    that
    portion of Rule 203(f)
    (ammonia nitrogen)
    until March
    1,
    1980,
    subject to the conditions
    in Paragraphs
    2,
    3 and
    5 as
    set
    forth below.
    2.
    The dischirçe from the Marion treatment plant shall
    not exceed an ammonia nitrogen concentration of 5.0 mg/l as
    a daily maximum.
    3.
    Petitioner, within 30 days of the date of this Order,
    shall request Agency modification of its NPDES Permit 1L0029751
    to incorporate all conditions of the variances in this proceed-
    ing and in PCB 79-46.
    4.
    The Agency, pursuant to Rule
    914 of Chapter
    3,
    shall
    modify Petitioner’s NPDES Permit 1L0029751 to be consistent
    with all conditions set forth
    in this Order and the PCB 79-46
    Order including such interim effluent limitations as may be
    reasonably achieved through the application of best practicable
    operation and maintenance practices
    in the existing facility.
    5.
    Within forty-five
    (45) days
    of the date of this Order,
    the Petitioner shall submit to the Manager, Variance Section,
    Division of Water Pollution Control,
    Illinois Environmental
    Protection Agency,
    2200 Churchill Road, Springfield,
    Illinois
    62706, an executed Certification of Acceptance and Agreement to
    be bound by all terms of the variance.
    The forty-five day
    period herein
    shall be stayed during judicial review of this
    variance pursuant to Section 41 of the Environmental Protection
    Act.
    The form of said certification shall be as follows:
    CERTIFICATION
    I,
    (We), ___________________________
    having read
    the Order of the Pollution Control ~5~rd
    in PCB 79-137,
    understand and accept said Order, realizing that such
    acceptance renders all terms and conditions thereto
    binding and enforceable.
    SIGNED
    TITLE
    DATE
    IT IS SO ORDERED.
    35—329
    —4—
    I,
    Christan L. Moffett, Clerk of the Illinois Pollution
    Control Board, hereby certify the above Op~nio and Order were
    adopted on t~
    day of
    ______________
    1979, by
    a vote of
    -~
    Christan L. Moff
    Illinois Pollutior~trol Board
    35—330

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