ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD

July

17,

1975

IN THE MATTER OF

THE PROPOSED AMENDMENT TO RULE 409

)

R74-17

of the WATER POLLUTION REGULATIONS

OPINION AND ORDER OF THE BOARD

(by Mr. Dumelle):

The Pollution Control Board

(Board)

authorized a proposed

amendment

to Rule 409 of the Water Pollution Regulations

(Water Regulations)

for public hearing on December

19,

1974.

The proposal, together with a Statement of Need, was published

in Newsletter #96 on January

10,

1975.

Two days of public

hearing were held in Chicago and in Springfield.

Following

a thirty day public comment period the Board proposed for

final public cornin~nta revised amendment to Rule 409 on May

15,

1975.

This

final proposal was published

in Environmental

Register #102

(formerly the Newsletter).

Public comments

were invited until June

15,

1975.

The proposed amendment to Rule 409 of the Water Regulations

would extend the compliance date for certain of the effluent

limitations found in Part IV of

the Water Regulations.

Rule

409 was originally proposed by the Environmental Protection

Agency

(Agency)

on March

7, 1973 and was enacted by the

Board on July

19,

1973

(R73-4).

The effect of the adoption

of Rule 409 was to extend the compliance dates for all

effluent standards which were required to be met on December

31,

1973 to December

31,

1974 for any discharger, who

is or

will be eligible for a construction grant under Section

201(g)

of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments

of 1972

(FWPCA).

This extension was a recognition of the

delay in attaining compliance by the impoundment of federal

construction grant monies.

The extension of the compliance date from December

31,

1974 to the proposed July

1,

1977 date was proposed because

of the delays in federal funding of

sewage treatment plants,

impoundment of

$9 billion in grant funds by the President,

and the publication of new regulations and guidelines necessary

to establish project eligibility.

In addition,

the Board,

on August

29 and September

5,

1974, enacted the National

Pollutant Discharge Elimination System

(NPDES)

regulations

which give the Agency the power to vary the December 31,

1974 compliance date up to and including July

1,

1977.

The

NPDES permit program has not been accepted by the federal

government and consequently the power to vary the compliance

date does not now repose

in the Agency.

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The extensiJn of the deadlines by which municipalities

and sanitary districts must comply with the effluent requirements

found

in Part IV of the Water Regulations eliminates the

need for the filing of individual variances by those municipalities

and sanitary districts who are awaiting construction grant

awards or are in the actual construction phase after having

received such an award.

During the two days of public hearings,

representatives

from the Metropolitan Sanitary District of Greater Chicago,

the Agency and t~LeIllinois Municipal League appeared in

support of the proposal.

Public comments were received from

Olin Brass Company, City of Batavia, and the Galesburg

Sanitary District in support of the proposed amendment.

No

opposition was raised concerning the basic proposal.

Mr.

Michael

J.

Hayes, manager of the grant administration and

tax certification section of the Division of Water Pollution

Control of the Agency testified concerning delays which have

occurred in the awarding of construction grant funds.

Significant delays in contract awards have occurred because

of the delay by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

(U.S.

EPA)

in adopting final regulations and guidelines

for

the awarding of construction grants,

the Presidential impoundment

of construction g2ant funds and new grant requirements such

as

sewer system evaluation

(R.

7).

On February

11,

1975

final

U.S. EPA regulations on construction grants for treatment

works were proposed which require facilities planning prior

to the granting of construction grants

(40 CFR 35.

917(b)).

Mr.

Hayes

testified that this facilities planning requirement,

when coupled with thE requirement of prior approval for

each step in the construction grant phase, delayed almost

all sewage treatment plant construction projects in Illinois

(R.

9)

The federal construction grant program provides grants

through three steps.

Step one involves planning,

step two

is the preparation of design,

and step three is a construction

phase

of the grant program.

Both federal and state funds

can be available for each step

(R.

7).

The Agency ha3

prepared a construction grant project list which contains

some 967 individual projects which await funding

(R.

32).

Approximately 650 individual communities or sanitary districts

have submitted the 979 applications for individual projects

which make up the project list

(R.

32).

The project list

compiled by the Agency is based upon a number of

factors

including the severity of the pollution impact of the discharge

and are subject

to public hearings conducted by the Agency

(R.

33).

18

—

157

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—3—

Presently, out of the entire project

list, projects

numbered

1 through 125 are eligible for step three construction

grant funding from U.S. EPA, projects 126 through 175 are

eligible for step three state construction funding,

and

projects numbered 17G through 400 are eligible for step one

and step two grants

1~roin the U.S. EPA

(R.

11).

Therefore,

projects 401 thru the remainder of the list are currently

not funded by either the U.S. EPA or the State.

The Agency testified that the total federal construction

grant monies available for award

in Illinois and the Illinois

construction grants will provide funding for projects

1 thru

400

(R.

46).

It is estimated that most of these projects

will begin construction by July

1,

1977

(R.

45).

However,

Mr. Michael Mauzey,

Manager of Environmental Programs for

the Agency,

testified that it would be “extremely doubtful”

that the proposed deadline of July

1,

1977 could be met

CR.

57)

Given

the delay

in the awarding of construction grant

funds and the act’ial construction time once the funds have

been awarded,

thE. Board has decided to extend the compliance

date for effluent limitations found in Part IV of the Water

Regulations as published in Environmental Register #102 on

May 19,

1975.

The extension until July

1,

1977 in Rule 409

would affect the

following Rules or portions of Rules found

in Part IV:

Rule

404(a) (i) and

(ii)

Rule 404(b) (i)

and

(ii)

Rule 404(c)

(except

(C)(ii))

Rule 404(d)

Rule 404(f)

Rule 404(g)

Rule 405

(only for discharges to Mississippi

& Ohio River)

Rule 406

Rule 407(b)

Rule 408(c) (ii) (B)

It was suggested that the requirement imposed by Rule 402

to comply with applicable water quality standards also be extended.

The Board has decided that

a discharger whose effluent,

either alone or in ccmbination with other sources causes a

violation of an applicable water quality standard,

should

apply for appropriate variances

from the applicable regulations.

The case-by—case approach seems warranted rather than adoption

of a blanket rollback in such cases.

Rule 409(b) enables

18

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158

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—4—

the Board

to require the abatement of water pollution by

dischargers who, because of Rule 409(a), do not have to

comply with the rules found in Part IV until July

1,

1977.

However,

the effluent of these dischargers could because of

low flow or other reasons cause water pollution.

The Board

would be free to enter such an order pursuant to an enforcement

case initiated under Sections

30 through 34 of the Act where

it was found that a discharger was indeed violating Section

12(a)

of the Act or an applicable water quality standard

found in Part

II of the Water Regulations.

This Opinion constitutes the Board’s findings of fact

and conclusions of

law.

ORDER

The following amendment to Rule

409 Delays

In Upgrading

of the Water Pollution Regulations

is hereby enacted:

(a)

All effluent standards

required to be met on

December

3J,

1973 or December 31, 1974 are extended

to July

1,

1977 for any discharger to the waters

of the State who

is or will be eligible for a

construction grant under Section

201(g)

of the

Federai Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of

1972

(33 U.S.C.

1951 et seq.)

and has filed an

application for such grant on or before December

31,

1975.

(b)

The above provision shall not limit the power of

the power of the Board to enter an order directing

immediate construction of facilities necessary to

abate pollution of the waters of the State, when

the Board has found, as the result of an enforcement

case initiated under Sections 30-34 of the Act,

that the discharger

is causing or threatening

to

cause water pollution.

(C)

Whenever a discharger

subject to the provisions

of this Rule files or has filed the Project Completion

Schedule required by Rule 1002 and receives a time

extension through the application of this Rule,

said Project Completion Schedule will be automatically

adjusted to reflect the time extension.

IT

IS SO ORDERED.

18

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159

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—5—

I, Christan

L. Moffett, Clerk of the Illinois Pollution Control

Board, hereby certify the above Opinion and Order were adopted on the

/711

day of July,

1975 by a vote of

_____________________

QJL~

C9I~&

Christan L. Moffe~-,

lerk

Illinois Pollution

ntrol Board