ILLINCIS ~~OLLUTION
CONTROL BOARD
N~
rember
23, 1977
ARLAN
R. JOHNSON AND SALLY P.
JOHNSON,
Petitioners,
V.
)
PCB
77—222
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY,
Respondent,
OPINION AND ORDER OF THE BOARD
(by Mr. Werner):
This matter comes before the Board upon the September
1,
1977 Petition for Variance filed by Arlan
R. Johnson and
Sally P.
Johnson, requesting permission to connect two homes
into
a sewer extension built in
1976.
That
extension connects
into the sewer system of Hanna City, Peoria County,
Illinois,
which has been on restricted status since April
16,
1974.
The Agency filed its Recommendation
in
favor of denying
this variance on October 28,
1977 after the Petition had
been amended by filing a waiver of hearing on September 27,
1977.
No hearing was held in this matter.
In Arlan
R.
Johnson
v,Environmental
Protection
Agency,
PCB
76-176,
24
PCB 241,
the
Board
granted
permission
to
construct
a
sewer
extension
and
connect
one
home
into
it.
The
rationale
for
that
decision
was
not
the
hardship
imposed
on
Johnson
but
rather the
hardship
imposed
on
the
Baillez
family,
the
purchasers
of the
lot
who
were
waiting
to
move
into
their
completed
home.
In
the
present
matter,
the
Johnsons
are
requesting
that
two
more
homes
be
connected
into
the
same
sewer
extension
based
upon
arbitrary
and
unreasonable
hardship
to
them,
No
purchasers
are
affected
as all purchases are prospective and construction of homes
has not begun.
The hardship alleged here is an inability to pay a
note
for $10,591.00,
used to finance the sewer extension, which
comes due on December
4,
1977.
However,
this hardship is
self—imposed.
Construction
of the Baillez
home did
not begin
until July 26,
1976
(24 PCB
241
at
241)
even though Hanna
City was placed on restricted status
in early 1974.
Without
that construction,
the sewer extension would have been
unnecessary.
28
—
265
—2—
Tf~~
environmen~..
imp&.ct of a variance gnnt would be
to exac.erbato an ex
i
high level sanita~sewer over—
floss ptoblem in Hanna Cit.
In addition, thc flanna City
scwa~etreatment plant
Ii~
:icrically overlc ~Ocd,
Based on this evidence,
i~.
Board finds chat Arlan
and Sally Johnson have not dunn’
trated
any hardship which
is arbitrary or unreasonable when weighed against the necessity
of maintaining the integrity of ~ restricted status
and
the
possibility of environmental dam~ge. The request for variance
is denitd.
This Opinion and Order constitute the f’
‘ings of fact
and conclusions of law of the Board.
ORDER
It is the Order of the b... Ltion Control Board that the
Petition for Variance filed h~
lan Johnson and Sally Johnson
on September 1, 1977 be and :~..iereby denied.
I, Christan L. Moffett, Clerk of the Illinois Pollution
Control Board,
lereby ce~ifythe above Opinion and Order
were adopted op the
ti2”t’
day of
,
1977
byavoteof Sb
.
—
istan L. Mo
~
C er
Illinois Polluti
Control
Board