ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL
October 13,
1977
PEOPLE OF THE
STATE OF ILLINOIS,
Complainant,
v.
)
PC~376—323
HINSDALE SANITARY DISTRICT,
a municipal corporation, and
VILLAGE OF CLARENDON HILLS,
a municipal corporation,
)
Respondents.
Ms. Helga Huber, Assistant Attorney GenerniI~ uppeared on behalf
of the People;
Mr. Louis
R.
Main,
Scofield
& Main,
appearoP on behalf of the
Hinsdale Sanitary District;
Mr. Harvey M.
Sheldon, Plunkett, Nisen, Elliot
& Meier, appeared
on behalf of the Village of Clarendon Hi1ls~
u~INIONAND ORDER OF THE BOARD
(by Mr.
Young)
This matter comes before the Board upon
a Complaint filed
by the Attorney General, against
the Hinsdaie Sanitary District
(HSD, District)
on December
20,
1976.
The Complainant alleged
that the District had caused or allowed surcharges from its
sanitary sewer system in violation of Rule 602(b)
of Chapter
3
of the Pollution Control Board Regulations
(Regulations)
and
Section 12 (a) of the Environmental Protection Act
(Ac’L),
The Complaint was amended on February 7~ 1977,
naming the
Village of
Clarendon
hills
(Village)
as
o.”n’~
of the sanitary
sewer
system
in
qucstion.
The
Viliaqe
filed
Motion
to
Dismiss
and the People
responded with a Motion to
‘
tr.ike
On June
9
1977,
the
Board
ruled
to
Stay
the
Motion
until
the
hearing.
On July
29,
1977,
the hearing was held
in Hinsdaie,
Ilijnoi~,.
At that time the parties presented their St~.pulationand Proposal
for Settlement which admits
to the violations
in the Complaint
and thereby moots all prior motions.
28-31
—2—
The Respondents
in this Settlement stipulate that the
Village was the original owner and operator of this sanitary
sewer system.
On July
8,
1970, the Village and the District
entered into an agreement in which the District assumed operation
and maintenance responsibilities of the sanitary sewer system in
the Village including round-the-clock response to sewer problems.
The Village, however, retained ownership of the sanitary sewers
and responsibility for the storm sewers.
The Respondents further
admit that surcharges
from this sewer system have flooded many
homes on Grant, Prospect, and Walker Avenues in Clarendon Hills
for many years
(Stip.
8,
p4-5).
Since February,
1977, the District has conducted many
investigations and has completed numerous prolects to correct
this overflow problem
(Stip.
10, p6-7).
The District admits
that the conditions causing surcharges still exist.
It contends
that the problem will not be solved until inflow from surface
water runoff is diverted and the influx from point sources are
identified and eliminated.
At the present time the Village is
seeking a grant for a $300,000 storm sewer project designed to
alleviate flooding during periods of precipitation.
PROPOSAL FOR SETTLEMENT
In the Proposal for Settlement, the District agrees
to
complete its investigatory program by January
1,
1978, and to
continue projects which are designed to eliminate excessive
infiltration and inflow contributing to surcharges
in the Village.
The Attorney General and the Village will closely monitor
the District’s progress in this matter.
The HSD agrees to provide
the Attorney General and an authorized representative of Clarendon
Hills with advance notice of any testing or inspection of the
Village’s sanitary sewer.
The District shall also submit monthly
progress reports of its investigation program to the aforementioned
parties and maintain for review accurate records of sanitary sur-
charge incidents including follow-up efforts and corrective measures.
In addition,
the
LISO
shall, notify
Lhc A~torncyGeneral of
all
completed sanitary sewer projects designed
to eliminate the
surcharging problem.
The District agrees
to strictly enforce
the
ordinance regulating its sewers.
It further stipulates that it
will obtain all permits required for any work performed pursuant
to this Settlement,
and the District shall forward all copies of
the permit applications and permits granted or denied to the
Attorney General and Clarendon Hills.
28-32
—3--
The Village of Clarendon Hills agrees
to execute
a Quit—
Claim Deed transferring its title and all interests
in the
sanitary sewer system to the District within
30 days of this
Board Order.
Upon its execution,
the Village shall be dismissed
from this action.
The Attorney General recommends that no penalty be assessed
in this case.
The Board recognizes the District’s willingness
to bring the sanitary system into compliance and will impose no
penalty
at this time.
The Board believes that public funds
in
this instance would be better spent on meaningful pollution control
measures rather than for past transgressions.
The Board will,
however,
retain continuing jurisdiction in this cause pending
completion of the District’s investigative program scheduled to
be completed on January
1,
1978.
The Board finds the Stipulation and Proposal for Settlement
in compliance with the requirements
of Procedural Rule
331.
The
Board also finds the terms of the Settlement
to be acceptable
and will require that the parties adhere to all provisions con-
tained therein.
The Stipulation recites that the Village of Clarendon Hills
is actively seeking grant funds for a storm sewer system which
is
designed to divert surface water runoff from their overloaded
sanitary sewer.
The Board commends such efforts and expects that
the Village will take all reasonable measures
to expedite this
much—needed improvement.
This Opinion constitutes the Board’s findings of fact and
conclusions of law in this matter.
ORDER
1.
The Hinsdale Sanitary District is hereby found to have
caused or allowed surcharges from the sanitary sewer system in
Clarendon Hills
in violation of Rule 602(b) of the Chapter
3
Regulations and Section 12(a)
of the Act.
2.
The District shall adhere
to all provisions of the
Settlement Proposal, which is hereby incorporated by reference
as
if fully set forth herein.
3.
The Board shall retain jurisdiction in this cause
pending completion of the investigative program scheduled for
completion on January
1,
1978.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
28-33
—4—
I,
Christan
L.
Moffett, Clerk of the Illinois Pollution
Control Board, hereby certify th~~bove Opinion and Order were
adopted on the
/~
~
day of
________________,
1977 by a vote
of
_____
Illinois Pollution
Board