ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD

September

1,

1977

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

AGENCY,

Complainant,

v.

)

PCB 77-53

CITY OF EAST ST. LOUIS,

Respondent.

OPINION AND ORDER OF THE BOARD

(by Mr. Werner):

I,

LEGAL BACKGROUND

This matter comes before the Board upon the February

17,

1977

Complaint of

the Environmental Protection Agency

(Agency) charging

the City of East St. Louis

(City) with violation of Rules

4039

601,

and 1201 of Chapter

3: Water Pollution and Section

12(a)

of the

Environmental Protection Act

(Act)

and violation of Rule 951(a)

of

Chapter

3 and Section

12(h)

of the Act,

A hearing was held on

July

20,

1977.

II, FACTUAL BACKGROUND

In the Spring of

1975,

a sewer break occurred near State and

66th Streets

in East St. Louis, Illinois.

The break has not been

permanently repaired.

Instead, the City bypass-pumped raw sewage

into Harding Ditch until approximately June 19,

1975.

Since that

date, raw sewage has been bypass—pumped into

a force main which

discharc~esinto

a downstream manhole.

This

pumping

system

was

installed

and

operated without reliability safeguards such as

shelter,

burial

of the force main below the frost

line,

a backup pump, and

an alarm system.

This system has not eliminated discharges

of raw

sewage into waters of the State

as the pump has malfunctioned on

several occasions,

including June,

1976 and February,

1977,

causing

raw sewage

to flow into storm sewers and then pumped into Harding

Ditch.

Construction and operating permits from the Agency con-

cerning this pumping system were not obtained.

The City owns and operates an adequate sewage treatment

plant

(STP).

At

no time since May,

1975 has the plant been

operated by a certified Class

1 operator.

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III. WATER VIOLATIONS

The Board finds the City

in violation of rules

403,

601, and

1201 of Chapter

3:

Water Pollution and Section 12(a)

of the Act.

The discharge of raw sewage into Harding Ditch from June 19, 1975

up to February 17,

1977

is

in violation of Rule 403.

Installation

and operation of the pumping system without reliability safeguards

from on or about June

19, 1975 up to February 17,

1977

is in

violation of Rule

601.

Finally, operatico of a STP serving

a

population of 50,000

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60,000 by someone other than a certified

Class

1 operator from on or about May

99

1975 up to February

17, 1977

is in violation of Rule 1201.

The Board has considered the

Section

33(c)

factors

in finding, and assessing

a penalty for, violations of

Section 12(a)

of the Act.

The sewer and STP have social and

economic value and are suitable to the area in which they are

located.

The extent of injury to the health and general welfare

of the people

is substantial, as raw sewage is being discharged

into waters of the state and operation of a STP without a qualified

operator could

lead to the discharge of inadequately treated

sewage.

Abatement is technologically feasible.

We reject the

City’s contention that construction of Interstate

255 would make

permanent repair of the existing sewer and proper burial of the

force main not practical because the additional fill over these

lines by the highway could be avoided by their relocation.

Abatement

is also economically reasonable, despite

the City’s

financial plight, because installation

of reliability safeguards

would have been relatively inexpensive in comparison with the

total cost of the pumping system and because the City failed to

make use of Board variance procedures

to avoid compliance on

grounds of severe financial hardship.

However, because the

Board believes that public monies are better spent to achieve com-

pliance, no money penalty will be imposed for these violations.

IV. PERMIT VIOLATION

The

City

constructed and operated the pumping system without

obtaining

a construction permit from the Agency.

The Agency did not

require this permit until the pumping system had “taken on a certain

degree of permanency”

(Ex.

8), but notified the City that the permit

must be obtained on or about June 30,

1976.

Any waiver of the

permit requirement expired on that date, especially since the City

was aware from June,

1975 of what improvements to the pumping system

were necessary

in order to obtain the Construction Permit and that

a permit was not required only so long as the pumping system was a

temporary measure.

We find the City in violation of Rule 951(a)

Chapter

3:

Water Pollution and Section

12(b)

of the Act.

The

Board has considered the Section 33(c)

factors

in assessing a

penalty for this violation.

Based on these factors,

no money

penalty will be imposed.

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This

conclusions of

It is the Order of the Pollution Control Board that:

1.

The City is in violation of Rules 403,

601, and

1201 of Chapter

3: Water Pollution and Section 12(a)

of the Act and in violation of Rule 951(a)

of

Chapter

3 and Section 12(b)

of the Act.

2.

The City

is to cease and desist from all violations

variance therefrom, within six months of the date

of this Order.

3.

The City shall apply for all necessary permits from the

Agency within

IT IS SC

~DERED.

I,

Christan L. Moffett, Clerk of the Illinois Pollution Control

Board, here y certify the above Order was adQpted on the

______

day of ~

,

1977, by a vote of

3..~

~~1)~

C ristan

•

Mo

e

Illinois Pollution

trol Board

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26-433

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