ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
    July
    11,
    1974
    CITY
    OF EUREKA,
    Petitioner,
    PCB
    74—132
    E~IRONMENTAL
    PROTECTION
    AGENCY,)
    Respondent.
    OPINION AND ORDER OF
    THE
    BOARD
    (by
    Dr.
    Odd?)
    On Apr31
    3,
    1974,
    the
    City of
    Oureka
    filed
    a
    Petition
    with
    the
    Pollution
    Control
    Board
    (Board)
    requesting
    a
    variance
    from
    Rule
    20 3(f)
    of
    the
    Water
    Pollution
    Regulations
    (Chapter
    Three)
    .
    Rule
    203 (f)
    of
    Chapter
    Three
    states,
    in
    pertinent
    part,
    that
    the
    concentration
    of
    copper
    in
    any
    water
    of
    the
    State,
    :ua~
    not
    exceed
    0.02
    mg/i.
    Petitioner
    wants
    to
    treat
    it:s
    50,400,000
    gallon
    water
    reservoir
    with
    copper
    sulfate
    in
    suflicicmt
    ceounts
    to
    control
    the
    algae
    problem
    which
    routinely
    occurs
    durin~
    the
    warm
    summer
    months.
    On
    April
    18,
    the
    Board
    issued
    an
    interia
    Order
    rceuestinc~
    additional
    information
    within
    45
    days
    on
    the
    City
    s
    1973
    experience
    in
    treating
    with
    copper
    sulfate
    pursuant
    to
    the
    variance
    qranted
    for
    that
    summer.
    See
    City
    of
    Eureka
    v.
    Environmental
    trotection
    Agency
    #73—206,
    8
    PCB
    623
    (July
    26,
    1973)
    .
    The
    Board
    inhica
    ted
    ThTts
    interim
    Order
    that
    failure
    to
    timely
    file
    the
    re~.1uested
    information
    would
    make
    the
    Petition
    liable
    to
    dismissal
    ~or
    inade-
    quacy.
    rphe
    Environmental
    Protection
    Agency
    (EPA)
    filed
    ILS
    Recommendation
    on
    May
    17,
    1974.
    The
    EPA
    Recommendation
    included
    data
    from
    the
    one
    report
    received
    from
    the
    City
    of
    Eureka
    to:r
    a
    September
    11,
    1973,
    treatment
    of
    800
    pounds
    of
    copper
    sulfate
    into
    the
    public
    water
    supply.
    The
    report
    indicated
    the
    following
    con-
    centrations
    in
    the reservoir:
    Immediately before application:
    0.25 mg/l copper.
    Immediately after application:
    0.10 mg/I copper.
    Twenty-four hours after application:
    0.48
    mg/i
    copper.
    Raw water intake twenty—four hours
    after application:
    0.07 mg/l copper.
    The above copper values for “immediately before application”
    and
    “immediately after application”
    of copper sulfate
    do not appear to
    be consistent,
    and they
    should be checked more carefully
    in future
    sampling and analysis.
    13—41
    The
    EPA
    also had copper measurements from
    its
    own routine
    bacteriological samples:
    May
    21,
    1973:
    0.03 mg/i copper
    July
    24,
    1973:
    0.00
    mg/i
    copper
    August 20,
    1973:
    0.00 mg/l copper
    September 24,
    1973:
    0.03 mg/i copper
    October 22,
    1973:
    0.01 mg/i copper
    Subject to certain conditions, the EPA recommended that
    the Variance be granted.
    EPA indicated that copper sulfate treat-
    ment has been routinely practiced by Petitioner for at least ten
    years with no apparent adverse effects on human or aquatic
    life.
    Chlorine application was not recommended to be a good substitute
    for copper sulfate because
    it created taste and odor problems.
    On
    June
    27,
    Petitioner
    waived
    until
    July
    11,
    1974,
    the
    90
    day
    decision
    requirement
    under
    Section
    38
    of
    the
    Act.
    We
    grant
    the
    Variance,
    Although
    Petitioner
    has
    not
    supplied
    additional information
    as requested by
    the Board,
    the information
    contained in
    the EPA Recommendation
    supplies us with data sufficient
    for
    a decision.
    No adverse environmental consequences will result
    from the grant of this Variance.
    Furthermore,
    treatment of
    the
    water supply with copper sulfate will prove beneficial
    to the
    public
    interest.
    ORDER
    IT
    IS TEE ORDER of the Pollution Control Board
    that:
    1.
    Variance
    is granted
    from Rule 203(f)
    of the Water
    Pollution Regulations
    to permit exceeding the water quality
    standard
    for copper
    of 0.02 mg/l when dosing with copper sulfate
    for algae control
    in the water supply reservoir.
    The variance is
    subject
    to the
    following conditions:
    a.
    Copper sulfate treatments are limited
    to one
    each
    for the months
    of June through and including
    September
    1974.
    b.
    The dosage shall not exceed
    800
    lbs.
    per treatment
    of copper sulfate.
    c.
    The copper concentration
    at the raw water intake
    to the
    treatment plant shall never exceed
    1,0
    mg/i.
    d.
    The copper concentrations
    in the reservoir are to
    be measured immediately prior
    to and after each
    treatment
    and
    the results
    submitted to the Agency
    on
    a monthly basis.
    I,
    Christan
    L.
    Moffett,
    Clerk
    of the
    Iiiinois Pollution
    Control
    Board, hereby certify that
    the above Opinion and qrder was adopted
    on
    the fJ~day of
    ,
    1974, by a vote of ~
    to ~
    13 —42
    c~stanL.Moffcler~

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