ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD

Decerrber 14, 1978

VILLAGE OF ROSELLE,

Petitioner,

v.

)

PCB 78—244

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY,

Respondent.

OPINION AND ORDER OF TIlE BOARD (by Mr. Young):

This matter comes before the Board on a Petition

for Variance filed by the Village of Roselle on September

11, 1978, seeking relief for the Roselle Main STP from

Rules 203(c), 402, 404(f) (ii)(A) and 404(f) (ii)(D) of

Chapter 3 of the Board’s Rules and Regulations as each

rule applies to phosphorus. On November 13, 1978, the

Environmental Protection Agency filed its recommendation

in favor of the requested relief provided that Petitioner

adhere to certain conditions. No hearing was held in this

matter; the Village of Roselle properly waived hearing in

its Amended Petition filed on October 11, 1978.

The Village of Roselle owns and operates the Roselle

Main sewage treatment plant which handles an average flow

of 1.3 MGD, 86.7 of design capacity, and discharges its

effluent to Spring Brook Creek tributary to Lake Kadijah

and approximately 13,000 feet from the Roselle outfall.

Waters from Lake Kadijah f1o~: into the DesPlaines River.

The Roselle treatment facility is subject to the require-

ments of Rule 203(c) and 402 for phosphorus which, in com-

bination, prohibit any discharge from causing or contributing

to a violation of the 0.05 mg/l phosphorus water quality

standard in any lake or in any stream at the point of entry

of the lake. Petitioner would not need a variance from the

phosphorus requirei~ents in Rules 404 (f) (ii) (A) and 404 (f)

(ii) (D) of Chapter 3 unless the Roselle i4ain STP does not

qualify for the relief granted to it and other parties

joined in the variance petition designated PCB 78-124,

Bloomingdale v. EPA. 2’ccorclinq to the revised Board Order

in this matter, Roselie is exempt from the Rule 404(f)

BOD/suspended solids requirements provided that their

discharge does no~exceed the 10 mg/l BOD and the 12 mg/i

suspended solids limitations and if granted a variance from

the phosphorus limitations imposed by 203(c) and 402.

32—269

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The Roselle Main STP is an activated sludge facility

consisting of an influent pump, a grit tank, two primary

clarifiers, two trickling filters, a gravel—lined aeration

basin, a final clarifier and a chlorination system. Origi-

nally constructed in 1928, this treatment facility was

expanded in 1961 and in 1972. According to the Petition,

the Village of Roselle does not plan to further expand the

capacity of the Roselle Main STP. Increased wastewater loads

will be treated at the new plant in the Village, the Jerry

A. Botterman Wastewater Reclamation Facility (Pet. 3, 4).

In April, 1977, the Village of Roselle participated

in a Facilities Plan with the Villages of Bloomingdale and

Glendale Heights which was submitted to the Agency on June

8, 1977, by Glendale heights. The Facilities Plan proposed

to eliminate the discharge to the Roselle Main STP and

divert all flows to a regional treatment plant within the

Glendale Heights Facilities Planning i\rea. However, the

plan also analyzed seven alternatives to meet the treatment

needs of the three communities. Alternative #2 which called

for the retention and the expansion of separate treatment

facilities was found to be most acceptable among the partici-

pants (Pet. 2; Pec. 3).

Under this treatment alternative, the Village of

Roselle has proposed to upgrade both sewage treatment plants

as well as to expand the capacity at the Botterman plant.

Anticipated improvements at the Roselle Main STP, consist

of general rehabilitation of the facilities and also the

addition of chemical storage, a feed system and a second

final clarifier to provide the facility with the capability

of removing phosphorus to an effluent concentration of 1.0

mg/i. Petitioner claims that removal of phosphorus to 1.0

mg/i will contribute a 2070 kg/year load of phosphorus to

Lake Kadijah (Pet. 2, 4, 6)

Petitioner’s NPDES Permit (No. IL0030813) issued

May 11, 1977, eventually contained interim conditions requiring

that the effluent not exceed 10 mg/i BOD and 12 mg/i suspended

solids on a 30—day average. This Roselle plant qualifies

for the variance from Rule 404(f) as provided for Petitioner

and 287 additional dischargers in PCB 78-124, Bloomingdale

V.

EPA. If granted a variance from Pules 203(c) and 402,

Petitioner will he permitted to upgrade the Roselie Main

STP pursuant to Step II and Step III funding under the con-

struction grants program, while discharging at the interim

effluent limitations established by the variances.

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The Village of Roselle stated that strict adherence

to the 0.05 mg/i phosphorus water quality standard is

technically infeasible. In evaluating alternative methods,

the Petitioner alleges that land application and diversion

of treated effluent to an alternate basin was economically

unreasonable and that control technology for phosphorus to

a 0.05 mg/i level was not technically feasible, hut that

treatment to a 1.0 mg/i phosphorus effluent concentration

is currently possible. The ~gency also recommended that

the Village of Roselle consider the construction of an out-

fall to bypass Lake Kadijah and to discharge directly into

Spring Brook Creek, a tributary of the DesPlaines River

(Pet. 1, 5; Rec. 6).

The Board is familiar with the problems facing munici-

pal dischargers in meeting phosphorus standards. City of

Floopeston, PCB 76-234, 24 PCB 441; Southern Illinois University

at Edwardsville, PCB 77-111, 25 P03 775; Valley Water Compafly,

Inc., PCB 77—146, 25 PCB 289.

In those and other cases, the Agency and the Board

have recognized that it is economically impractical for the

Petitioner to comply with the current phosphorus limitations

of Chapter 3. In addition, the Agency has petitioned the

Board in regulatory proposal R76—l for appropriate amendments

to the phosphorus effluent and water quality standards of

the Water Pollution Regulations. If regulatory proposal

R76—l were adopted as proposed, the Roselle Main STP would

he required to treat phosphorus to a level of 1.0 mg/i (Rec.

6).

The Board will grant a variance to the Roselle Main

STP from the phosphorus requirements of Rules 203(c) and 402

for five years or until the Board adopts a regulation change

under R76—l, whichever occurs first. Before final submission

of the Glendale Heights Facilities Plan, the Petitioner should

further investigate the feasibility of diverting the effluent

of the Roseile Main STP outfall from Lake Kadijah.

The Board will direct the Agency to modify Petitioner’s

NPDES permit consistent with this Opinion and Order. The

Agency shall also incorporate in the new NPDES permit such

interim effluent limitations as may be reasonably 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.

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ORDER

1. The Village of Roselle is granted a variance for

the operation of the Roselle ~~ain STP from Rules 203(c)

and 402 of Chapter 3: Water Pollution Rules and Regulations

regarding phosphorus until January 4, 1983, subject to the

following condition:

a) This variance will earlier terminate

upon adoption by the Board of any

modification of the existing phos-

phorus water quality standards and

effluent limitations and the Village

shall comply with such

revised

regu-

lations when adopted by the Board.

2. The Petition for Variance from the phosphorus

requirements of Rules 404(f) (ii) (A) and 404(f) (ii) (D) of

Chapter 3: Water Pollution Regulations is hereby dismissed.

3. Petitioner shall within 30 days of this Order

request Agency for NPDES permit to incorporate all conditions

of the variance set forth herein.

4. The Agency, pursuant to Rule 914 of Chapter 3,

shall issue a new NPDES permit consistent with the conditions

set forth in this Order including appropriate monitoring

requirements and such interim effluent limitations as may

reasonably be achieved through the application of best

practicable operation and maintenance practices in the

existing facilities.

5. Within forty-five (45) days of the date of this

Order, the Petitioner shall submit to the ~anager, Variance

Section, Division of Water Pollution Control, Illinois En—

vironmental Protection Agency, 2200 Churchill Road, Spring-

field, Illinois, 62706, an executed Certification of Acceptance

and Agreement to be bound to all terms and conditions of the

variance. The forty-five day period herein shall be suspended

in the event of judicial review of this variance pursuant to

Section 31 of the Environmental Protection Act. The form of

said certification shall he as follows:

CERTIFICATION

I, (We)

,

_________________________________ having

read the Order of the Pollution Control Board in

PCB 78-244, understand and accept said Order,

realizing that such acceptance renders all terms

and conditions thereto binding and enforceable.

32—272

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SIGNED

TITLE

DATE

IT IS SO ORDERED.

I, Christan L. Moffett, Clerk of the Illinois Pollution

Control Board, hereby certify th above Opinion and Order were

adopted on the

j~/1~

day o1 ~

,

1978 by a vote

of?-p

Christan L. floffbj~, Clerk

Illinois Pollution Control Board

32—2 73