ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
October 4, 1978
EDWARD J. SVOBODA and
DORIS SVOBODA, his wife,
)
Complainants,
V.
)
PCB 77—328
DUPAGE PUBLIC WORXS DEPARTMENT,
)
Respondent.
MR. DONALD MESSENGER APPEARED ON BEPALF OF COMPLAINANTS.
MR. CHARLES RUTH APPEARFD ON BEHALF OF RFEPONDENT.
OPINION AND ORDER OF THE
BOARD
(by Mr. Young):
This matter arises out of a Citizens’ Complaint filed
by Edward and Doris Svoboda on December 9, 1977, against the
Respondent DuP~gePublic Works Departnent (Department). An
Amended Complaint against the Department was filed on January
18, 1978, and charged the Respondent with violations of
Rules 601 and 602 of Chapter 3: Water Pollution Rules, and
Section 12(a) and (h) of the Environmental Protection Act.
The Amended Complaint alleged that Respondent failed to
minimize rralfunctions which caused or allowed excessive
infiltration into and overflows from its sanitary sewers
which b~ckedup into Complainants’ basement on August 8,
1977, and on September 1, 1977. After reviewing the ~mended
Complaint
arid
Respondent’s Motion to Dismiss filed on December
23, 1~77, the Board denied Respondent’s notion and scheduled
the matter for hearing.
It is a well-established principle that public works
departments within this State are responsible for the pollu-
tional consequences of overflows from the combined and sani-
tary sewers under their control. EPA v. City of Champaign,
PCB 71—51C, 9 PCB 233 (1973); Hull v. City of Griggsville,
330 N.E.2d 293 (1975). This requirement is derived from
Section 12 of the Environmental Protection Act and Rules
601 and 602 of Chapter 3: Water Pollution Rules and Regula-
tions. Section 12(a) and 12(d) of the Act prohibit the dis-
charge of contaminants into the environment or their deposition
on land so as to cause water pollution or to create a water
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pollution hazard. Section 12(b) of the Act requires that
pollution control equipment be installed and operated in
accordance with their permit conditions ~to prevent violations
of the Act or Rules.
In Chapter 3, the applicable provisions of Rule 601
require the owners and operators to construct and maintain
their sewage treatment works and associated facilities so
as to minimize violation of the Act and the Rules during
periods of flooding, adverse weather and power or equipment
failure. Rule 602(h) expressly prohibits overflows from
all sanitary sewers and also requires that excess infiltra-
tion into sewers be eliminated and the maximum practicable
flow be transported to their treatment facilities.
Before considering the merits of this case, the Board
must deal with Respondent’s objections to evidence and to
certain exhibits offered by the Complainants which were
reserved to the Board by the Hearing Officer. The Board
has reviewed these objections and will overrule Respondent’s
objections to testimony concerning the extent of damages
(R. 23—24); the amount of damages (R. 90); and to the intro-
duction of Exhibits 1, 2, 3, pictures depicting the extent
of the back-up into Complainants’ basement on August 8, 1977
(R. 35) in that each is relevant to the allegations of water
pollution against the Fespondent.
In this case, Complainants are one of twenty-eight resi-
dents in Argonne Ridge Estates and Hinsdale Timber Lake Estates
serviced by an eight-inch sanitary sewer line which is tributary
to a lift station at Argonne Ridge Drive that pumps the sewage
through 285 feet of four-inch force main to a ten-inch sanitary
sewer line under Birnarr Trail Road (IL 52, 95—96). While this
lift station is designed to handle maximum loadings of 85 gallons
per minute and to serve population equivalents of forty—eight,
the Complainants experienced sanitary sewer hack-ups into their
basement of 15 inches on J\ugust 8, 1977, and two inches on
september 1, 1977, both immediately after heavy rains (fl 11,
24, 27, 28, 98). The record also indicates that this sewer line
has overflowed into the half-basement of Mr. Filippi on July
12, 1977, and into other basements on this sanitary line under
similar conditions (IL 56—57, 113).
The Respondent Department stipulated that it is directly
responsible for the operation of the sanitary sewer line and
the lift station at Argonne Ridge Drive and that as a result
of the cessation of operation of the lift station on August
8,
1977, and on September 1, 1977, Complainants’ basement filled
with discharges from the sanitary sewer (P.. 10). Complainants’
witnesses raised the issue that storm water inflow caused or
contributed to the lift station malfunction and to this sanitary
sewer overflow problem.
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The principal witnesses for Complainants include Edward
Svoboda and Lorence Filippi who testified at length with
respect to the sanitary back—ups into their basements and
the circumstances surrounding the separate occasions. Both
witnesses testified that they experienced back—ups in their
basements after heavy rain storms without power failures when
the flashing light alarm mechanism at the Argonne Ridge Drive
lift station indicated a malfunction (R. 27, 31, 32, 41, 56—57,
101). Mr. Filippi had observed the flashing light at the
lift station after heavy storms and, on a few occasions, during
good weather (IL 60). On August 8, 1977, Mr. Filippi testified
that storm water from heavy rains had flooded Argonne Ridge
Drive at 5:00 a.m. because the storm sewers were clogged with
construction debris (R. 79). Soon thereafter, Mr. Svoboda
experienced water “boiling” out of his floor drain until it
attained a height of fifteen inches at 8:30 a.m. (R. 20, 24).
Robert Hadley, Superintendent of DuPage County Public Works
Department, testified that failure of the pumps and normal use
of the sewer would not cause the sewage to gush up into Com-
plainants’ basement (R. 130). In addition, Mr. Hadley stated
that inflow could be the result of illegal connections not
presently known to the Department which are contributing to
or causing overflow problems faced by the residents in the
Argonne Ridge Drive area CR. 108, 131—132).
According to the Respondent, the Argonne Ridge Drive lift
station is inspected routinely three times per week (R. 140).
Raymond Borowski, the Department’s Field Supervisor, testified
that when a malfunction occurs personnel are dispatched to
correct the malfunction or failure as quickly as possible (R.
142—48). Mr. Borowski claimed that the malfunctions at the
Argonne Ridge Drive lift station on August 8, 1977, and on
September 1, 1977, were the result of momentary power outages
or electrical fluctuations which caused the pumps to cease
operation until manually reset (R. 140—41). In other testimony,
Mr. Borowski stated that the alarm mechanism at the lift station
is activated by either pump malfunction or when the level of
liquid in the wet well exceeds the normal level (IL 140—41, 152-
58, 160).
In view of the evidence surrounding these occurrences,
storm water inflow into the system is causing or contributing
to the back-ups experienced by the Complainants. Itis also
apparent that the Department has failed to take corrective
action to identify inflow sources causing or contributing to
these sanitary sewer overflows and implement reasonable measures
to prevent their recurrence. While Complainants’ witnesses do
not provide direct evidence of specific points of inflow or
infiltration into the Argonne Ridge sanitary sewer line, the
Board finds the evidence before us is sufficient to constitute
31—SP’
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violations of Rules 601(a) and 602(b) of Chapter 3 and Sections
12(a) and 12(b) of the Act by the Department for causing or
allowing overflows into Complainants’ basement on August 8,
1977, and on September 1, 1977.
At the conclusion of Complainants’ case—in—chief, Re-
spondent moved to dismiss this action against them (R. 84).
Having reviewed the evidence in the record at that point,
the Board will hereby deny Respondent’s Motion to Dismiss.
After considering the provisions of Section 33(c) and
other factors in mitigation, the Board finds that no useful
purpose will be served at this time by the assessment of a
penalty. The Board will, however, grant relief sought by
Complainants and will order the Department to cease and desist
violations of the Act and Rules by adopting a program for
remedial action for the modification, improvement or changes
necessary to upgrade the sanitary sewer system or the lift
station to eliminate future sewer overf1o~s into the basements
of those residents serviced by the Argonne Ridge Drive lift
station.
This Opinion constitutes the Board’s findings of fact and
conclusions of law in this matter.
ORDER
1. The DuPage Public works Department is found to have
violated Rules 601(a) and 602(b) of Chapter 3: water Pollution
Rules and Regulations and Sections 12(a) anc 12(b) of the
Environmental Protection Act on August 8, 1977, and on Sep-
tember 1, 1977.
2. The Department shall cease and desist from the opera-
tion of the Argonne Ridge Drive lift station and the sanitary
sewer connected thereto in a manner which causes or contributes
to sanitary sewer back-ups in violation of the Act and the Rules.
3. The Department shall conduct an investigation to deter-
mine the precise cause and any factors contributing to the back-
ups in the sanitary sewer line tributary to the Argonne Ridge
Drive lift station. The investigation should include the
following: an infiltration and inflow study of the sanitary
sewer line, a study of the design and operational reliability
of the lift station at Argonne Ridge Drive, inspection of all
manholes on the line, and such other inquiry as may be necessary
to identify the causes of these back-ups. The conclusions and
recommended action derived from the investigation shall be sub-
mitted to the Complainants and the Illinois Environmental Pro-
tection Agency for approval within ninety days from the date
of this Order. The Department sha1~. initiate the necessary
corrective action thirty days after approval by the Complainants
and the Agency and the issuance of any required permits.
3l—cRR~
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IT IS SO ORDERED.
Mr. Goodman abstained.
I, Christan L. Moffett, Clerk of the Illinois Pollution
Control Board, hereby certify t e pbove Opinion and Order were
adopted on the
a~1~\
day of
___________________,
1978 by a
vote of
4—~
Christan
6AU~S~J
L. Moffet~~ierk
~4’
Illinois Pollution Control Board
3J-—~89