ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
December
14,
1978
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
and PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS,
Complainants,
v.
)
PCB 77—298
WESCOM,
INC., an Illinois corporation,
Respondent.
MR.
DEAN HANSELL, ASSISTANT ATTORNEY
GENERAL,
APPEARED
ON
BEHALF OF THE COMPLAINANTS.
MR.
RAYMOND
I.
SUEIOFF,
ATTORNEY, APPEARED ON EEIIALF OF
THE
RESPONDENT.
OPINION AND ORDER OF THE BOARD
(by
Mr.
Young):
This matter comes before the Board on a Complaint
filed on November
17,
1977, alleging that on numerous
occasions Respondent has discharged effluent from its
sewage treatment plant containing concentrations
in excess
of the effluent and water quality standards
in Chapter
3:
Water Pollution Regulations and
in violation of Section
12(a)
of the Environmental Protection Act.
Specifically,
the Complaint charged Wescom,
Inc. with effluent limitation
violations
in Chapter
3 of BOB5
,
suspended solids,
copper,
lead,
fecal coliform and the coloration and turbidity
requirements.
The Complaint also alleged violations
of the
ammonia nitrogen, boron,
copper,
iron,
lead, phosphorus,
total dissolved solids and the unnatural color water quality
standards of Chapter
3.
Hearing was held
in Downers Grove,
Illinois, on
October
5, 1978,
in
which
the parties
submitted
a Stipula-
tion and Proposal
for Settlement and members of the Bruce
Lake Homeowners’ Association offered testimony and pictures
as exhibits H-I through
11-3 for the record.
The Board
\‘ill
accept the testimony and exhibits
as evidence of conditions
in
Bruce
Lake
downstreari. from Respondent’ s discharge.
32—231
--2—
Wescoin,
Inc.,
a. manufacturer of telecommunications
equipment,
installed
a prefabricated contact stabilization
treatment facility in 1973 with an average design flow of
0.030 MGD to treat the domestic of approximately 1000
employees.
The effluent from this facility is discharged
to ponds on Wescom’s property which flows into an inter-
mittent
ditch
tributary
to
Bruce
Lake
and
the
DesPlaines
River.
Neutralized
industrial
wastes
are
also
discharged
to the Wescom ponds after it
is passed through
a sand
filter bed
(Stip.
2,
3).
According
to the Stipulation and Proposal for Settle-
ment,
Respondent’s plant population increased
to approximately
1900 which rendered the treatment plantts biological processes
ineffective.
Respondent admits to each and every allegation
in the Complaint.
Since the filing of this action, Wescom
has undertaken measures necessary to achieve compliance with
the effluent and water quality requirements of the Act and
the Water Pollution Regulations.
Recently, Wescom has hired
an experienced wastewater treatment facility operator to
control and reduce effluent quality to applicable limitations.
Currently, plans have been initiated to survey and repair
leaks
in Wescom’s sewer system at an estimated cost of $5400
and tertiary filters for $400.
Respondent has also installed
a flow meter and equipment to reduce immediate levels of
phosphorus and fecal coliform for a combined cost of
$4000
(Stip.
7,
8)
To permanently eliminate the effluent violations
from
Bruce Lake and the DesPlaines River, Wescom is
in the process
of abandoning its private treatment facility and is con-
structing a sewer system connecting Wescom to the Marionhrook
Sewage Treatment Plant
in I)uPage County, Illinois,
at an
estimated cost of
$85,000.
Since Nescom is contemplating the
reduction of its current circuit hoard output to
a prototype
operation of several hundred circuit boards per week,
the
industrial effluent will be diverted from the ~escom
ponds
and collected in holding tanks
to be disposed of at
a properly
permitted disposal site
(Stip.
7,
8,
9).
PROPOSAL FOR SETTLEMENT
As part of the Settlement,
the Respondent has agreed
to terminate the use of the private domestic waste facility
by November 30,
1978, and to discontinue the discharge of
industrial waste by September 30,
1978.
The Settlement also
requires Wescom to apply to the Agency for an NPDES permit,
and abide by the permit requirements,
to discontinue the
discharge of any backwash and to seal all industrial and
domestic outfalls by no later than December
15,
1978.
Re--
spondent also agrees to pay a penalty
of $5,000.
32—
234
The Board accepts the Stipulation and Proposal for
Settlement submitted by the parties and finds Wescom,
Inc.
in violation of Rules
203,
402,
403,
404(f),
405 and 408(a)
of Chapter
3:
Water Pollution Regulations and Section 12(a)
of the Act.
In assessing
a penalty for these violations,
the Board
has reviewed the provisions
in Section 33(c)
of the Act.
Based on this record,
the Board finds that the Wescom treat-
ment facility has social and economic value and would be
suitable for Wescom’s purposes
if properly operated at design
capacity.
However, the water pollution generated by this
facility is excessive
in light of the technical practicability
and economic reasonableness
of improving the quality of the
discharge to Bruce Lake and the DesPlaines River.
The stipu-
lated penalty of $5,000 will be assessed against the Respondent.
This Opinion constitutes the Board’s findings
of fact
and conclusions of
law in this matter.
ORDER
1.
Wescom,
Inc.
is hereby found to have discharged
contaminants into the environment of Illinois in violation
of
Rules
203,
402,
403,
404(f),
405 and 408(a)
of Chapter
3:
Water Pollution Regulations and Section
12(a)
of the Act.
2.
The Respondent, Wescom,
Inc.
,
shall pay a penalty
of $5,000 within 45 days of the date of this Order by certified
check or money order payable to:
State
of Illinois
Fiscal Services Division
Environmental Protection Agency
2200 Churchill Road
Springfield,
Illinois
62706
3.
The Respondent,
Wescom,
Inc.,
shall adhere to all
provisions of the Settlement Proposal which
is hereby incor-
porated by reference as
if fully
set forth herein.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
I, Christan L.
Moffett, Clerk of the Illinois Pollution
Control
Board,
hereby
certify
e
abo
e
Opinion
and
Order
were
adopted
on
the
/~J1’
day
of
___________________,
1978
by
a
vote
of
2-Q
Christan
L. Moff~’~)Clerk
Illinois Pollutio~~ontrolBoard
32—235