ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD

October 30, 1975

CITY OF BELOIT, WISCONSIN,

Petitioner,

v.

)

PCB 75—229

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY,

Respondent.

MR. FRANK

M. COVEY, JR. and LOUIS M. RUNDIO, JR., appeared on behalf

oi Petitioner;

MR.

JEFFREY S. HERDEN, appeared on behalf of Respondent.

OPINION

AND ORDER OF THE BOARD (by Mr. Dumelle):

Petitioner

filed a Variance Petition and a Permit Appeal

on June 2,

1975, On June 3, 1975 Petitioner amended its

Petition. The

Environmental Protection Agency (Agency)

filed

a Recommendation to grant the Variance subject to

certath

conditions on August 27, 1975. This Recommendation

was amended

on September 4, 1975 and September 29, 1975.

A

hearing

was held on August 26, 1975 in Rockton, Illinois.

At the

hearing a settlement was outlined between the parties

which was

subsequently ratified by

the

Beloit City Council

on September 15,

1975. Petitioner

filed

a copy of the

resolution

authorizing settlement and the memorandum in

support of the variance petition on September 26, 1975.

PetitIoner, a Wisconsin city, operates a landfill located

on

a 32—acre site near the intersection of Highway 51 and

Prairie 1-1±11

Road, in Roscoe Township, Winnebago County,

Illinois. The

landfill is used to dispose of refuse from

Wisconsin

generated in the City of Beloit and Beloit and Turtle

Townships.

The City of South Beloit, and the Townships of Rockton

and

Roscoe located in Illinois, dispose of their refuse at the

landfill.

Approximately 300 cubic yards of refuse are accepted daily.

fend and

gravel were excavated from the site prior to 1946.

from 1946

to

1965 the site was used as a trash disposal

facility.

Petitioner states

that in

1965 it proceeded to

upgrade the

site into a sanitary landfill. Petitioner

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contends

that

the site was operated

so as to comply with the

requirements of the Illinois Sanitary Water Board (SWB) and

the Div:Lsi~nof Sanitary Engineers of the Illinois Department

of Public Health, The Agency maintains that from at least 1961

on

the Department of Public Health records indicate that the

contaminants from materials in the landfill would have a direct

access to the

ground water reservoir (Agency Exhibit B).

Petitioner seeks a variance from the permit requirements

found in Section 21(e) of the Illinois Environmental Protection

Act (Act) and Rules 202(b) and 316(b) of the Solid Waste

Regulations. Petitioner originally sought the variance to

continue operations for one year in order to dispose of refuse

from its own city and from the other neighboring areas.

Petitioner

also challenges the Agency denial of permit

applications.

In challenging the permit denial, Petitioner

puts forth numerous arguments. However, as a result of the

settlement presented, these issues are moot as Petitioner

has agreed to withdraw its permit appeal should the Board

crant the variance to allow the closing of the site (Paragraph

6

Memorandum of Petitioner (September 26, 1975)).

Petititioner specifically denies that the landfill has

contributed

to

any pollution of surface or ground water (Resolu-

tion of City Council, No. 4671 (September 26, 1975)). The

Agency, on the other hand, contends that potential for

contamination of ground water exists and that actual monitoring

data collected during July, 1975 demonstrates that contamination

is indeed occurring (pp. 5, 6, of Agency Recommendation).

Mr.

Richard Miller who lives approximately

one block west of

the landfill

testified that

his well water is discolored and

smells (R.

11). Although Petitioner has not

presented a strong

case which

would

normally warrant a variance, the

Board has

determined that

the

settlement presented represents an environmentally

sound method of abating problems associated with this landfill.

Petitioner has

beer in constant contact with the Agency regarding the

rec~u:Lred permit

for which

it has

applied

and reapplied numerous times.

Therefore,

we have

decided to

grant the variance from June 2, 1975

until

October 18, 1975

subject to the agreed to conditions which are

set

forth in the Order which follows.

rrhis

Opinion

constitutes the Board~s findings of fact and

conclusions of law.

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ORDER

The permit

appeal is hereby dismissed.

The City of Beloit, Wisconsin is granted a

variance from

June 2, 1975 until October

18, 1975 from Section 21(e) of the

Act and Rules 202(b)

and

316(b)

of the Solid Waste Regulations

subject

to the following conditions:

1, That the variance

be granted only up to and

including October 18,

1975;

2. That during the term of the variance, Petitioner

cor:Lply

with aLl

requirements of Chapter 7, especially those

relating to daily, intermediate

and final cover;

3,

That

on

October 18, 1975, Petitioner cease accepting

refuse, close ~-tssite and begin final covering of the site;

4, That Petitioner apply final

cover

in conformance with

tee

recommended procedures explained in paragraph 17 of the

Acency Recommendation;

5.

That

Petitioner ensure that the north and east slopes

arc not: :Less than 4 to I, with a minimum of 4 feet of

seeded

and stabilized

cover material on these side slopes

as per

paragraph (d) of

Petitioner~s

July 22, 1974, permit application;

6. That Petitioner conduct a ground and surface water

monitoring program as described in paragraph 1 of the Agency’s

November

i,

1974 letter (Petitioner’s Exhibit I), and as

further described and expanded in paragraph 9 of the Agency

Recommendation;

7. That

if

Agency inspections on

or before May 31, 1976

reveal substantial leaching from the site, that Petitioner

complete

construction of the clay berm around the north and

east sides of

the

site and channel surface water and whatever

leachate might emerge from these side slopes to a clay-lined

retention pond to be constructed on the southeast portion

of the

site,

as per paragraph

3 of the Agency letter dated

November 1, 1974 (Petitioner’s Exhibit I), and in accordance

with

sketches and description contained in Petitioner’s

Novemoer 27, 1974, application (Petitioner’s Exhibit J)

.

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149

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8. That Petitioner shall

collect

any surface water

arid/or leachate from the retention pond and other ponded

areas and transport same to its sewage

treatment plant

for treatment,

as per Petitioner’s November 27, 1974,

application (Petitioner’s Exhibit

J),

and as per Stanley J.

Goldsmith’s

October 24, 1974, letter to Frank 3. Zuicarelli,

(Agency Exhibit I);

9, That, within

sixty

(60) days of the date of the

Board’s Order in this case, Petitioner submit

to the Board

and the Agency, a plan subject to Agency approval for site

maintenance after closure,

in compliance with Rule 318 of

Chapter 7: Solid Waste Regulations;

10.

That Petitioner complete the application of intermediate

cover by no later than November 30, 1975 and complete applying

and grading final cover, and all other requirements of sub—

paragraphs (e) through (h) above as soon as possible and in

no event later than July 31, 1976;

ii. That

Petitioner begin seeding operations as soon as

weatner permits in

Spring, 1976 and complete seeding by no

later than July 31, 1976; and

12. Within

28 days after the date of the Board Order

herein the Petitioner

shall execute and forward to the

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 terms and conditions of the variance.

The form of said

certification shall be as follows:

1,

(We)

,

having

read and

f~:L1~understanding the Order

of

the Illinois Pollution

Control Board in

PCB 75-229 hereby accept said Order and agree

to

be

bound by all of the terms

and conditions thereof.

Signed

Title

Date

IT IS SO

ORDERED.

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

Board, hereby certify the above Opinion and Or~erwere adopted on

the

~

day of October, 1975 by a vote of __________________________

Christan L. Moffeti~,ç~rk

Illinois Pollution trol Board

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