ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD

May 15,

1975

EXLINE SPORTSMENS CLUB,

Petitioner,

)

V.

)

PCB 75—128

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY,

)

Respondent.

OPINION P~NDORDER OF THE BOARD

(by Dr. Odell)

On March

25,

1975,

the Exline Sportsmens Club filed a

Petition For Variance with the Illinois Pollution Control

Board

(Board).

Petitioner sought

a variance from Rule 203(h)

of the Water Pollution Regulations

(Chapter Three)

to apply

rotenone to its private fishing pond.

Rule 203(h)

states: ~‘any

substance toxic to aquatic life shall not exceed one-tenth of

the 48-hour median tolerance limit

(48—hr.

TLm)

for native fish

or fish food organisms.”

Petitioner operates a private fishing

club in the SE 1/4, Section 25, T.

31N.,

R.

12E. three miles

east of Kankakee,

Illinois.

The pond, which has a surface area

of 1 1/2 acres, has a volume of nine acre—feet.

Petitioner seeks to apply six gallons of

a

5

rotenone

solution to the pond during April or May of this year.

There

are no discharges from the pond, which is used exclusively for

members’

fishing.

The purpose of the fishkill is to rebalance

the fish population to permit restocking with

fingerlings.

The

Club stated that a fishery biologist from the Illinois Depart-

ment of Conservation will administer the toxin.

Petitioner

stated that “all dead fish will be collected and disposed of.’

On April 28, 1975,

the Illinois Environmental Protection

Agency

(Agency)

recommended that the variance be granted.

The

Agency indicated that it had received additional

information in

a March

31 submission to complement the information received on

March

25,

1975.

The Agency stated that Petitioner does not

intend to have detoxification agents available during the kill.

The Agency believed that detoxification chemicals should be

available.

The Agency also requested that the dead fish be

disposed of in a landfill instead of following the present plan

to let club members keep the dead fish.

Finally, the Agency

believed that the Petitioner should not make any use of the

tqaL~

until fingerling trout or bluegill survived 48 hours in

livecars

Th

the

pond.

We

grant

‘:arianc~e

subject

to

the

conditions

recoir~

ed

by

the

Acr~

y,

2he

has

granted

variances

in

case~

similar

t.~. t~~ ~n

th~

See

City

of

Jacksonville

~

17—45

---

—2—

Environmental Protection Agency PCB 74-92,

13 PCB 631

(September

19,

1974) and Lake Patterson Fishing Club v.

Environmental Protection Agency PCB 74—341,

14 PCB 529

(November 22, 1974).

In balancing the circumstances of the

Petitioner against the potential adverse environmental impact

resulting from a single application of a toxicant as well as

considering the beneficial effects from the fish kill to the

community,

it would be an unreasonable hardship to deny the

Petition For Variance in this case.

This Opinion constitutes the finding of fact and con-

clusions of law of the Board.

ORDER

The Exline Sportsmens Club is hereby granted a variance

from Rule 203(h)

of Chapter Three from May

1,

1975,

until June

15,

1975,

to permit it to apply a 5

concentration of rotenone

to its private pond provided that:

(a)

A method for detoxification of the rotenone is avail-

able to protect against possible environmental harm;

(b)

The dead fish are immediately disposed of in an

Agency-approved landfill;

(c)

A Department of Conservation Fishery Biologist applies

the rotenone;

and

(d)

The pond is closed for all use until such time as

fingerling bluegills survive

48 hours~exposure in livecars in

the pond.

IT

IS SO

ORDERED.

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

Board, hereby ce tify that the above Opinion and Ordef was

adopted on the

I

~

day of May,

1975, by a vote of

s5—~

~

Illinois Pollution

rol Board

17—46