ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD

May 20, 1976

OLD BEN COAL COMPANY,

Petitioner,

v.

)

PCB 76—61

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY,

Respondent.

OPINION AND ORDER OF THE BOARD

(by Mr.

Young):

This matter comes before

the

Board on the variance peti-

tion of Old Ben Coal Company filed March

2,

1976 seeking

relief from Rules

203(c),

402 and 404(f)

of Chapter

3:

Water

Pollution Rules and Regulations,

as applied to phosphorus.

An Agency Recommendation was filed with the Board on April

21,

1976.

No hearing was held in this matter.

Petitioner is engaged in the mining and processing of

bituminous coal in Franklin County.

Petitioner

is building

a wash house for its men and plans to construct an extended

aeration type package sewage treatment plant, with tertiary

filtration and chlorination to treat the wastewater from the

wash house.

Since this will be a new facility,

there is

presently no flow but the average design flow is estimated to

be 7000 gpd which will contain an effluent phosphorus concen-

tration of 0.5 mg/i

-

2.0 mg/i.

Rule 203(c)

sets a standard of 0.05 mg/l for phosphorus

as

P in any reservoir or lake, or in any stream at the point

where

it enters any reservoir or lake.

Petitioner’s effluent

will discharge to an unnamed ditch which is tributary to

Sanduskey Creek, which is tributary to Rend Lake.

Since the

streams have

a seven day,

ten year

low flow value of zero,

the

effluent must contain less than 0.05 mg/l phosphorus.

Peti-

tioner alleges there is no economically feasible method of

reducing their P concentration to this

level,

and therefore

requests this variance permitting an effluent phosphorus con-

centration of 2.0 mg/i.

While Petitioner did consider the

possibility of land application as well as pumping the effluent

to another watershed, these alternatives were discarded,

however,

because the Petitioner found they were not cost effective.

21—469

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—2—

Based upon the National Eutrophication Survey’s Report

on Rend Lake the annual total phosphorus loading to Rend Lake

is 164,090 pounds per year.

Assuming that Petitioner’s effluent

contains

2 mg/i P,

at the 7000 gpd flow rate the phosphorus

loading to Rend Lake from Petitioner’s facility would be approxi-

mately

40 pounds per year,

which represents oniy 0.015

of the

yearly phosphorus loading.

On January

5,

1976, the Agency filed a Petition for Regula-

tory Change

(R76-l) with the Board which would amend the Regu-

lation by requiring only point sources which have 1500 or more

population equivalent to treat wastewater to a level not to exceed

1 mg/i prior to discharge.

As justification for this proposal

the Agency submits that eutrophication studies by both the United

States Environmental Protection Agency and the Illinois State

Water Survey show that the contribution of point source dischargers

to the total phosphorus problem of lakes and reservoirs

is small

compared to the non-point source contribution.

The Agency submits

that non—point sources,

such as run—off waters from farm lands

fertilized with phosphate base fertilizers, account for the over-

whelming majority of the phosphorus loading of most lakes and

reservoirs.

In light of these studies and the exceedingly small contri-

bution that Petitioner’s discharge will make to the Rend Lake

phosphate problem, the Board finds that the Petitioner is entitled

to a variance.

Petitioner also seeks

a variance from Rules 402

and 404(f).

Rule 402 provides,

as does Rule 404(f) (ii) (A), that

no effluent shall alone or in combination with other sources cause

a violation of any applicable water quality standard.

Rule 404

(f) (ii) (D)

requires in part that the operator file a project

completion schedule for achieving compliance with applicable water

quality standards (phosphorus).

The Board finds that Petitioner

is also entitled to variance from Rules 203(c),

402, 404 (f) (ii) (A)

and 404(f) (ii) (D)

as those Rules concern phosphorus.

This Opinion constitutes the Board’s findings of fact and

conclusions of law in this matter.

ORDER

Old Ben Coal Company is granted a variance for the operation

of the aforesaid treatment plant from the phosphorus limitations

of Rules 203(c),

402,

404(f) (ii) (A) and 404(f) (ii)(D)

of Chapter

3:

Water Pollution Regulations until May 20,

1981,

subject to

the following conditions:

1.

This variance will terminate upon adoption by the Board

of any modification of the existing phosphorus water quality

standards and effluent limitations and Old Ben Coal Company shall

comply with such revised regulations when adopted by the Board.

21—470

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—3—

2.

Petitioner’s discharge shall not exceed

2 mg/l

phosphorus.

3.

Petitioner’s discharge shall not exceed 7,000 gpd

based on a 30 day average.

4.

Within 35 days of the date of this Order,

Petitioner

shall submit to the Manager, Variance Section, Division of

Water Pollution Control,

Illinois Environmental Protection

Agency,

2200 Churchill Road,

Springfield, Illinois, 62706,

an executed Certification of Acceptance and agreement to be

bound to all terms and conditions of the variance.

The form

of said certification shall be as follows:

CERTIFICATION

I,

(We), _________________________

having read

the Order of the Illinois Pollution Control Board in

PCB 76—61,

understand and accept said Order, realizing

that such acceptance renders all terms and conditions

thereto binding and enforceable.

SIGNED

TITLE

DATE

IT IS SO ORDERED.

I, Christan L. Moffett, Clerk of the Illinois Pollution

Control Board, hereby certify the above Opinion and Order were

adopted on the

________

day of

1976 by

a vote of ~

Illinois Pollution

Board