ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL

BOARD

August

18,

1977

ELDORADO

COMMUNITY UNIT SCHOOL

DISTRICT #4,

Petitioner

)

V.

) PCB 77—127

ENRIRONMENTAL

PRTOECTION AGENCY~

Respondent

OPINION AND ORDER

OF THE

BOARD

(by

Mr.

Durnelle):

This

matter is before the Board on

a Petition for Variance

filed by the

Eldorado Community Unit School

District #4 (Eldorado)

on May 9, 197L

An Amendment. to the Petition

was filed on May 31

pursuant to the

Board Order of May 12th

requesting additional

information~

The Agency Recommendation in

support of the variance

was received

on August 17, l977~ No hearing

was held.

The variance requested herein concerns

the expansion of

Petitioner’s

Hillcrest Elementary School.

Variance is sought

from Chapter

3:Water Pollution Regulations,

Rules 604(b)

,

404(f)

and 402 in order

to connect the Hillcrest

School to the City of

Eldorado’s sewerage

system and to operate

the school’s present

sewage

treatment facility in the interim,

Eldorado

is expanding Hillcrest because

hazardous conditions

have

forced

closing three other schools

in the district, thus

requiring

accommodation of 471 additional

students. Hillcrest,

with 245

students,

is presently served

by a

small on—site facility

discharging

into an unnamed tributary of

Rector Creek which

is

tributary

to the

North Fork of Saline Rivera

The Hillcrest

---

facility is presently “vr1oasec Cot~~ancewfth existing

regulations

and

acccr.~Aa’-~o’ ‘ e

4d1.--4 c-mt students would require

upgrading the fanflit” •t a

:‘‘

0t3

of

S8O,000.

The alternative co upqraE

..;

tYe -.~rccentfacility is to

construct

an extension to co~r

a

-,

r”f

Cfly

~f EldoradQ sewer

system. The city syster, 1’o7~vet ~ti:rnentl:’ on “restricted

status” due to severe in’ L :xV-.

ry,

~rr

- ,t’

problems resulting

from unexpected growth

:‘ c~

“ “

~L:

:f

the

city. tpgrading

of the city of Eldora&’ oe~e:

c.

:em

‘n

~s

-

o fleet present standards

is being

planned

Ste:’

-

rant

‘C ‘Cc

i

~s”ent:ally

complete and

a Step 2—3 grant has teen oftarea

~

-~-

t’e hgency

has

yet to

receive the plans or jeni t ~pp...

-.

:

e

The projected

time

table indicates fufl ~perat~o.

:s “c’~ iCe wiMiin 900 days after

receipt of the

Step

2/3

zn-ar-

~--e°

-

Eldorado argues

~-d

4-lic. DrFr

c,

°‘-.

that denial of the

variance would impose

~v n.lraarr.

‘ardship. Construction

costs of a

new

or

upg’ac’ed t-””-r’..

- -

~atatentfacility are

double that of the pr’~ose~.

‘~

.e

“iot. Maintenance costs

of an

upgraded

facili’-~

are

- ~

a-

Jc.a of the proposed sewer

extension for whicn iraintera’

‘~

-

v;..

-‘ould çractically be

eliminated.

Land

acqisit~ ot. r

r

-.

~se” on-s ~te facility would

add

considerably to its costs. a~d pgrad:ng the present on-site

plant would utilize land so

-tc. tc

:L..!Lnata the physical education

facilities planned fcr -t-e ate-

Against the hardship w~

a’

t ~e c1nro:n’ental considerations.

The

Agency

indicates

tha th:’

Cr the r..ij.crest facility does not

include disinfection, tie c~ ~ant -s as... nitrified and

low

in

carbonaceous BOD. Disc’a.cge ±cc~t

‘~c

pi3nt is small and of

relatively high quali4-y

~‘

:

:n 4-~attree

schools

will

not be

vacated until See’

per-

197$.

Because

two

of the

schools closing are pren:’tl~ conxectez3 to the city system,

the connection of the flit? ?rest

o~hool

extension will result

in

the

increased use by 375

sttCeT.ts

or a 100 population

equivalent. Measurements of ~z&c “tttCes at the City facility,

which discharges into a tr&h~thrv of c~e Saline, are indicative

of a

good

quality effluent

cant

tàeri~the

type

of plant and

nature

of the overloat~.

Under these

circrmststcea,

the Board finds that Petitioner

has

shown

sufficient

‘~ardsitp‘o

warrant a variance from the

sewer ban to allow connection t.f the

~i

‘crest extension to the

city

of Eldorado’s sewage systen~and

~‘tm

Rules 404(f) and 402

of Chapter 3 to operate the preseat F4flcrest facility until the

connection is completed1 presert3, scheduled for late 1977.

---

IT

IS

SO

ORDERED.

I,

Christan

L,

Moffett, Cleth of

the

Illinois Pollution

Control Board, hereby

certify the abo~re Opinion

and

Order were

adopted on the4

~day

of

~

~.

_____,

19

7 7

by a vote

j

ci~stan LT~off,~er~

Illinois Pollutio~~ontrolBoard

---

This

Opinion constitutes the Board!s findings of fact and

conclusions of law in

this matter.

IT IS THE ORDER OF THE POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD THAT:

1. Eldorado Community Unit School District

~4 is hereby

granted a variance from Rule

604(b)

of Chapter 3:Water

Pollution Regulations to allow the connection of the

Hillcrest extension

to the City of

Eldorado sewage system.

2. Petitioner is hereby grauted variance from Rules 404(f) and

402 in

order to

allow operation of the

Hillcrest sewage

treatment plant until the Hillcrest

extension is connected,

subject to the following condition:

a. Petitioner shall operate the existing Hillcrest

facility in good order, free from vegetation and

debris,

3.

Petitioner,

within twenty eight days

after the date of

the Board Order herein, shall execute and forward to the

Manager, Variance Section, Division of Water Pollution

Control,

Illinois Environmental Protection

Agency, 2200

Churchill Road, Springfield, Illinois, 62706, and to the

Pollution Control Board, a Certification of Acceptance and

agreement to be bound to all the terms and conditions of

the Order herein, The form of

said

Certification shall be

as follows:

I(We),___

,

having read and fully understand

the order o~~Pol1utio~ontro1Board in PCB 77-127, hereby

accept said Order and agree to be bound by all of the terms and

conditions thereof,

Signed:

Title:

Date:

~

_~