ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL
BOARD
April 14,
1977
CITY OF ATLANTA,
)
Petitioner,
v.
)
PCB 77-47
)
)
ILLINOIS ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
)
AGENCY,
Respondent.
OPINION
AND
ORDER OF THE BOARD
(by Mr. Goodman):
The City of Atlanta
(Atlanta)
filed its Petition for Variance
before the Board February 10,
1977,
requesting relief from Pollution
Control Board Rules and Regulations, Chapter
3, Rules
203 and 408.
The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency
(Agency)
filed
its
Recommendation March 18,
1977,
no hearing was held in this matter
and there has been no public comment.
The subject of this petition is Atlanta’s Water Treatment Plant
which produces potable water for a current population of 1,650.
Upon
determining that their water treatment system was not capable of
treating the required volume of water, Atlanta proposed to improve
the system by adding certain filters and pumps and replacing the
filter media in the existing filters.
The Agency denied a permit
for the improvements on the basis that the water treatment plant
waste water presently discharges untreated into a storm sewer which
discharges into Kickapoo Creek in violation of the Illinois Pollution
Control Board Rules and Regulations, Chapter
3,
Rules 203 and 408.
Total discharge per day from the plant including salt regenera-
tion of the zeolite softners and filter backwash from the four
66 inch
diameter filters is approximately 15,600 gallons, containing approxi-
mately 6,800 mg/i of dissolved solids.
Atlanta alleges that there
is
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no evidence of any damage caused by the presence of the high dissolved
solids
in the outlet stream and that if
it
is not allowed to construct
the addition to the treatment plant, many residents would install
zeolite softners in their homes whose salt brine and backwash would be
discharged to the City’s drain tile system resulting in Increased dis-
charge of dissolved solids.
In its Recommendation, the Agency agreed
that any adverse impact by Atlanta’s discharge
is minimal, noting that
it has not detected any degradation in water quality
in respect to
total dissolved solids and total iron which may be attributable to
Petitioner’s discharge.
In addition, during the sampling period,
Atlanta’s effluent disappeared by percolation into the ground a short
distance downstream of the discharge.
The Agency points out that Atlanta has received the Step I grant
for facilities planning to determine the feasibility of construction
of a sewage treatment plant and a new sanitary sewer system for the
community,
and suggests that any variance granted be conditioned upon
Atlanta’s continued interest in this program,
since such construction
would negate the necessity for a variance.
The Agency suggests that
Atlanta will also need relief from Rules 203(f) and 402 of Chapter
3
as such rules are applicable to chloride because the chloride concen-
tration of Atlanta’s discharge is expected to exceed the 500 mg/i
water quality standard of Rule 203(f)
of Chapter
3.
Atlanta has,
in
its Petition, agreed to install a slow sand filter on the plant back-
wash effluent line to remove iron from the discharge to the storm
sewer.
Considering the problems faced by Atlanta in treating sufficient
water for the use of its citizens and the minimal
impact upon the
environment by Atlanta’s discharge,
the Board finds that denial of
the variance would be an arbitrary and unreasonable hardship upon the
City.
The Board will therefore grant variance from Rules 203(f),
402
and 408(b)
of Chapter
3 of the Board’s Rules and Regulations and Rules
203(f) and 402 of Chapter
3 as these rules apply to chloride, with
certain conditions.
This Opinion constitutes the findings of fact and conclusions of
law of the Board in this matter.
ORDER
It
is the Order of the Pollution Control Board that the City
of Atlanta be granted variance from Rules 203(f),
402 and 408(b)
of
Chapter
3 of the Pollution Control Board’s Rules and Regulations as
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such rules are applicable to total dissolved solids and Rules 203(f)
and 402 of Chapter
3 as such rules are applicable to chloride, until
July
1,
1981 or until installation of
a sewage treatment plant, which-
ever occurs first,
under
the following conditions:
1.
Atlanta shall continue to pursue construction grant
funds for construction of a sewage treatment plant and
new sanitary sewer
system;
and
2.
Atlanta shall
install
a slow sand filter on the plant
backwash effluent line to remove iron from the discharge
to the storm sewer;
and
3.
Atlanta shall execute and forward, within 60 days of
the date
of
this Order,
to the Manager, Variance Section,
Division of Water Pollution Control, Illinois Environmental
Protection Agency,
2200 Churchill Road,
Springfield,
Illinois,
62706,
and the Pollution Control Board a Certifi-
cation of Acceptance and agreement to be bound to all terms
and conditions of this Order.
The form of said certification
shall be
as follows:
CERTIFICATION
I
(We)
,
____________________________having
read and fully
understanding the Order of the Illinois Pollution Control Board
in PCB 77-47 hereby accept said Order and agree to be bound by
all of the terms
and conditions thereof.
SIGNED_______________________________
TITLE________________________________
DATE___________________________________
I,
Christan L.
Moffett,
Clerk of the Illinois Pollution Control
Board,
hereby certify the above Opinion and Order were adopted on the
__________day
of~L,
1977 by
a vote of
~_O
Christan L. Moffe
ler
Illinois Pollution
~ontrol
Board
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