ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL 

BOARD

December 18, 1975

CITY OF FARMINGTON,        

)

Petitioner,

v.

)

PCB 75—346

)

ENIVRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY, 

)

Respondent.

OPINION 

AND

ORDER OF THE BOARD (by Mr. Goodman):

On September 4, 1975, the City of Farmington, Illinois,

(Farmington) filed a Petition for Variance with the Pollution

Control Board (Board), seeking a variance from Rule 404(f),

Part IV, Chapter 3, of the Water Pollution Regulations of

the State of Illinois (Water Regulations). Pursuant to the

Board’s More Information Order of September 18, 1975, Petitioner

filed Addendum Number 1 to its Petition for Variance on

October 20, 1975. The Illinois Environmental Protection

Agency (Agency) filed its Recommendation on November 24,

1975. No hearing has been held on this matter.

Farmington, located in Fulton County, Illinois, owns

and operates a wastewater treatment plant. Effluent from

the plant is discharged into Littlers Creek, a tributary to

the Spoon River. The Agency Recommendation indicates that

the facility, constructed in 1956, was designed to serve and

is presently serving a population of 4,000.

The Farmington Sanitary District has proposed to build

a new sewage treatment facility which when completed will

provide the sewage treatment for the City of Farmington. A

Step I grant was awarded to the Farmington Sanitary District

on March 31, 1975, and the Step I facilities plan has been

completed and is being reviewed by the Agency. The current

grant schedule indicates that Step 

II

is to be completed by

March, 1976, the Step III grant is to be awarded in September,

1977, and the anticipated completion date of the new Sanitary

District facility is February, 1978.

Rule 404(f) of Chapter 3 requires that no effluent

whose dilution ratio is less than one to one shall exceed 4

mg/i of BOD or 5 mg/i of suspended solids (SS). Littlers

Creek has a seven day 10 year low flow of zero. However,

Farmington’s present faci1ity~cannot achieve the 4 mg/i BOD

or 5 mg/l suspended solids limitations. Farmington Requests

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and the Agency recommends that the Variance sought permit

BOD and SS levels up to 40 and 50 mg/i, respectively.

The Board is of the opinion that a trickling filter would

result in BOD and SS levels of 20 and 25 mg/l, respectively.

However, that information does not appear in the record and

therefore the Board reluctantly concurs with the Agency’s

Recommendation. According to Farmington, the new facility

proposed by the Sanitary District, with the granting of the

exemption provided in Rule 404 (f) (ii), will be able to meet

10 mg/i BOD5 and 12 mg/i SS.

Prior to October 22, 1974, the Agency received citizen

complaints about Farmington’s facility indicating that

septic sewage odors were common, that minnows were no longer

•present in Littiers Creek, and that the water in Littlers

Creek was getting progressively worse. Since October 22,

1974, no citizen complaints have been received. Biological

surveys conducted by the Agency on September 28, 1971 and

November 7, 1974, to determine the effect of Petitioner’s

plant effluent on Littlers Creek indicate that the creek

downstream of Farmington’s plant was in a semi-polluted

state. Agency grab samples of the effluent at Farmington’s

plant indicate BOD and SS levels as high at one point as 330

and 362, respectively, prior to November, 1974, with steady

and significant improvement since that time.

During November, 1974, Farmington hired a new sewage

treatment plant operator. The effluent sample results show

a significant improvement in effluent quality since the new

operator has been with Farmington. Sample results from March

through August of 1975 show levels ranging from 26-43 mg/l

BOD and from 18-48 mg/i SS. The operational efficiency of

the plant has also improved, and there have been no more

citizen complaints. Data submitted by Farmington indicates

that the dissolved oxygen levels in Littlers Creek during

October and May of 1975 meet the required levels. Furthermore,

Farmington on August 5, 1975, was issued an Agency permit to

construct, own and operate a grit chamber designed to handle

a maximum flow of 2.8 MGD and chlorination facilities

designed to feed 200 pounds of chlorine per day at the

existing plant. The new facilities will improve the performance

and reliability of the present treatment system

The Board grants Farmington variance from Rule 404(f)

of Chapter 3. The Board accepts the allegation that there

is no reasonable method by which Farmington may comply with

the BOD and SS limitations of Rule 404(f) in the operatior~

of its wastewater treatment plant. Requiring such compliance

would impose an unreasonable hardship. The effluent quality

and operational efficiency improvements brought about since

the hiring of the new plant operator and the proposal of a

grit chamber and chlorination facility indicate that Farmington

501

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has begun a good faith effort to control as much as possible

the amount of BOD and SS in its effluent. Furthermore, the

Farmington Sanitary District has proposed a new facility to

provide the sewage treatment for the City of Farmington.

This new facility will apparently comply with Rule 404(f).

An NPDES permit, which will expire on March 31, 1977,

has been proposed for Farmington’s present facility.

Therefore, the Board will tie the period of the present

variance to the expiration date of Farmington’s proposed

NPDES permit and will grant Farmington’s variance until

March 31, 1977.

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 Farmington be granted variance from the BOD~and

suspended solids limitations of Rule 404 (f), Part IV of

Chapter 3 of the Water Regulations for its wastewater

treatment facility until March 31, 1977, upon the following

conditions:

A. That the wastewater treatment plant be operated and

maintained in the best possible manner with the effluent

concentration not exceeding 40 mg/i BOD and 50 mg/i suspended

solids;

B. That a grit chamber and chlorination facility be

installed and operated as soon as practicable, in no event

later than January 31, 1976;

c.  That Farmington submit monthly reports to the

Environmental Protection Agency indicating the levels of

BOD5 and SS levels contained in its effluent;

D.. Within 28 days of the adoption of this Order, the

Petitioner shall execute and forward to both the Illinois

Environmental Protection Agency, 2200 Churchill Road, Springfield,

Illinois 62706 and the Pollution Control Board a Certification

of Acceptance and agreement to be bound to all terms and

conditions of this Order. The form of said certification

shall be as follows:

502

—4—

CERTIFICATION

I (We), ________________________ having read and fully

understanding the Order of the Illinois Pollution Control

Board in PCB 75-346 hereby accept said Order and agree to be

bound by all of the terms and conditions thereof.

Signed _______________________

Title ________________________

Date __________________________

Mr. Young abstained.

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

Control Board, hereby cer~ifythe above Opi •on and Order

were adopted on the 

J~”~ 

day of 

_____________

1975 by a vote of 

_____________

Christan L. Moffe  

lerk

Illinois Pollution ntrol Board

503