ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD

October 13, 1977

J~vIRONMENTAL

PROTECTION

AGENCY,

)

Complainant,

v.

)

PCB 76—150

KANKAKEE UTILITIES CORPORATION,

Respondent.

MS.

DEBORAH

SENN, ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL, APPEARED ON

BEHALF

OF COMPLAINANT.

OPINION AND ORDER OF THE BOARD

(by Mr. Dumelle):

This case comes before the Board on a complaint alleging

violations of Section

12(a)

of the Illinois Environmental Pro-

tection Act

(the Act)

and Rules

403, 405, and 602(b)

of Chapter

3:

Water Pollution of the Board’s Rules and Regulations.

A hearing

was

held on June

22,

1977 in the City Council Chambers in

Kankakee,

Illinois.

Throughout

these proceedings Respondent has never answered

any of the Agency’s pleadings.

At the hearing a member of the

Respondent’s Board of Directors asked that the matter be continued.

The Hearing Officer properly denied this request since there had

been no indication before the hearing that a continuance was needed.

When

this

director was asked if he would be acting as the Re-

spondent’s representative,

he declined and later left the hearing

and did not return.

The Board finds that the Respondent

is in

default under Rule 327 of the Procedural Rules.

Consequently,

this case shall be judged solely on the basis of the Agency’s

F)lCdd

I

fl(J~

~.I1)(I

th(’

(~V

idence

jut

O(1(lced

nt.

IU’

hedri.n(~

On

~\uqust

~B, t97?

the

1\~q~nc~r

ser’jes~the Resp

th~r~t

~ith

a

Request

for

Admission of Fact.

This request was never answered

so all of the requested admissions shall be deemed admitted pur-

suant

to Rule 314(c) of the Procedural Rules.

These admissions

and the exhibits admitted at the hearing establish that Respondent

violated

Rule 403 of Chapter

3 on at least

11 different occasions,

Rule 405 on

10 dates, and Rule 602(b)

four times.

It

is obvious

that Respondent has been guilty of long standing neglect in its

failure

to maintain its sewage treatment plant.

These violations

of the Board’s Rules constitute violations of Section 12(a)

of the

Act.

2825

---

—2—

Resudent.’

s violations constitute a~threat to the health

1~a~~

T~1~

resLden1~

Eldorado Te~i~ceSubdivision

il~es

rhL

operation

of

~hc

lit

t

station

often

resulted

in

tLiiassn~

1~ these

instances

raw

sewage

flowed

out

into

a

slough

and was

nc\Tc~

treated

Despite

repeated

warnings

Respondent

ne~er

installed

chlorination

facilities

thereby

causing

extremely

high

bacterial

coliform

counts

in

its

effluent.

The

overflowing

sanitary

sewers

also

constituted

immediate

threats

to

public

health.

Respondent’s

sewer

system

and

sewage

treatment

plant

are

integral

parts

of

the

Eldorado

Terrace

Subdivision

Proper

opera-

tion

and

maintenance

of

these

facilities

is

essential

to

the

viability

of

this

community.

There

was

testimony

to

the

effect

that

the

sewage

treatment

plant

was

located

in

a

suitable

area.

There

are

a

number

of

things

that

Respondent

could

do

to

improve

its

present

operations

These

are

summarized

in

Exhibit

27

and

were

agreed

upon

at

a

compliance

conference

on

July

30,

1975

The substance of

this

agreement

wa5

incorporated

into

the

Agency’s

Request

for Admissions of Fact

Petitioner must

live up to this

agreement

until

an

improved

system

is

i~stal1ed

None

ot

these

interim

measures

represents

any

large

capital

expense.

The

Agency

introduced

evidence

to

tl~e effect

that

a

compre-

hensive review of the Respondent’s entire sewage treatment plant

may be necessary to achieve consistent compliance with the Board’s

standards

While

the

operation

of

the

present

system

is

being

im—

oroved,

Respondent

must

engaq~

a

qualified

consultant

who

will

develop

a

plan

which

will

provide

for

long range compliance.

The

Board

is

aware

of

the

fact

that

these

mandated

improvements

maj

result

in

significant

expense

to

a

ut~lity

whose

financial

con-

dition

is

weak

However,

the

record

in

this

case

is

replete

with

brol’cn

prom

i

s

and

I

Li

1

tire

to

Lak

any

act

LOO

wh

i

ch

would

esul

L

i Ft

1 o op

—

I.

rm

m p

rov

IIw

Ft

t

Con

.

qu.

n I ly

,

the

Boat

i

nd

s

Lha

t~

a

)0fl~ll

tiy

nuts

1

1w’

imposed

to

a 1(1

in

I

lie

eu

lorcenien

I

C)

I

the

Ac

t~

This

Opinion

constitutes

the

Board’sfindings

of

fact

and

conclusions

of

law

in

this

matter.

Mr.

Young

abstains.

ORDER

It

is

the

Order

of

the

Pollution

Control

Board

that:

1)

Respondent

shall

proceed immediately to perform the

following

improvements:

28-26

---

—3—

a)

The chlorine tank shall be kept free of sludge

solids and a chlorination system installed.

h)

Solids shall b’ skimmed from the final clarifier

and the

sludge return system shall be checked twice

per

week.

c)

A fence shall be constructed around the facility to

preclude vandalism and keep animals away.

d)

A report shall be filed with the Agency each month

indicating Respondent’s progress in completing these

improvements.

2)

Respondent shall develop a plan for consistent compliance

with the Board’s standards.

This plan shall include but not

be limited to evaluation of the following:

a)

Additional capacity for the lift station.

b)

Installation of a new activated sludge treatment

system.

c)

Installation of new air diffusion equipment.

d)

Installation of a new final clarifier.

3)

The plan mentioned in paragraph

2 of this Order shall be

completed

by

a

qualified

consultant

and

shall

be

submitted

to

the Agency for approval within six months of the date of

this

Order.

4)

Within six months of the date the Agency approves the

plan mentioned in paragraph

2 of this Order, Respondent shall

cease and desist all violations of the Board’s Rules and

Regulations.

5)

Within

30

days

of

the

date

of

this

Order,

Respondent

.1

Ic)

rwa

rd

I.Jio

sum

01

1..

ItCefl

hUfldre(I

dol

Jars

( $

J

,

500)

riyab Lo by cerI

i

I

i

0(1

check

or money

order

to:

Fiscal

Services Division

Illinois

Environmental Protection Agency

2200 Churchill Road

Springfield,

Illinois

62706

I,

Christan

L.

Moffett,

Clerk

of

the

Illinois

Pollution

Control

Board, hereby certify the above Opinion and Order were adopted on

the

~

day of

________________,

1977 by a vote of

~‘—~

ilinois Pollution