ILLINOIS POLLUTION

CONTROL BOARD

January

6,

1977

VILLAGE OF VILLA PARK,

Petitioner,

v.

)

PCB 76—273

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY,

Respondent.

OPINION AND ORDER OF THE BOARD

(by Mr. Dumelle):

This matter comes before the Board on

a Petition for Variance

filed by the Village of Villa Park, DuPaqe County,

Illinois.

Petitioner

seeks a variance from Rule 962(a)

of the Board’s Water

Pollution Regulations

in order

to construct a sanitary sewer

extension to serve Lots

2-7 on North Avenue west of Villa

Avenue

in Villa Park.

The receiving sewage treatment plant was placed

on restricted status on April

15,

1976.

With the exception of Lot *5,

which

is presently vacant,

these

lots contain commercial buildings

with an average combined daily flow of 1,500 gallons.

The buildings

are presently served by septic systems which have malfunctioned,

resulting

in effluent reaching the ground surface during wet weather.

On November

22,

1976 the Agency submitted an objection to the

granting of the requested variance.

However, on December 16,

1976

the Board granted the Agency’s December 13,

1976 Motion

to Withdraw

its Objection.

The Agency filed its Recommendation on December

13,

1976 requesting that the Board grant the requested variance.

No public

hearing has been held in this matter.

The

iacts alleged in the Petition and the Aqency ‘s Recommenda-

tion

clearly

indicate

that

a

denial of this variance would result

in

an

arbitrary

or

unreasonable

hardship.

The

Salt

Creek

Drainage

Basin

Sanitary

District

Treatment

Plant

(Plant)

is

currently

being

upgraded and expanded from a capacity of 3.5 MGD to 12.5 MCD.

The

final completion date

is scheduled as November 1977.

The expanded

primary treatment facilities will be available for use in the

Spring of

1977,

at about

the time the oroposed sewer extension

would become operable.

The plant’s tertiary treatment facilities

would become available during the Summer of 1977.

Further,

the

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557

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proposed eight inch sanitary sewer would not be tributary to

any combined sewers

inasmuch

as

the

Agency

has

already

certified

Petitioner’s Step TI grant application for the separation of sanitary

and storm sewers

to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for

final action.

The Agency

S

Recommendation gives effluent data for five

recent months with BOD5 levels ranging from 10—14 mg/i and suspended

solids from

24-26

mg/F compared to the standard to be achieved of

10 mg/i BOD~and

12 mg/I suspended solids.

Any environmental damage caused by the grant of this variance

would be miniscule,

especially when weighed against the health hazard

created by the presently malfunctioning septic systems.

There can

be no doubt that this variance is required in order to prevent an

arbitrary or unreasonable hardship from being placed upon the Village

of Villa Park,

This Opinion constitutes the Board’s findings of fact and

conclusions of law.

ORDER

Petitioner, Village of Villa Park,

DuPage County,

Illinois

is

hereby granted

variarice from Water Pollution Regulation 926(a)

to

enable it

to construct and operate an eight inch sanitary sewer

extension from Lots

2,

3,

4,

5,

6, and 7 on North Avenue in Villa

Park to the Salt Creek Drainage Basin Sanitary District Treatment

Plant via the existing

18 inch sewer on Villa ~venue.

IT

IS SO ORDERED.

I, Christen

L. Moffett, Cerk

of the Illinois Pollution Control

Board, hereby certify

the above

Opinion

and

Order

were

adopted

on

the

j~~~dayof January,

1977 by

a vote of ____________________________

~~tanL.of~e~,

~

Illinois Pollution C

ol Board

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558