ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD

June

13,

1974

WILLIAM McKINLEY, JR.,

Petitioner,

v.

)

PCB 74-47

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY,

Respondent.

OPINION AND ORDER OF THE BOARD

(by Dr.

Odell)

The Petitioner, William McKinley,

Jr., filed a petition for a

sewer variance, which was received by the Illinois Pollution Control

Board

(Board)

on January 28,

1974.

The Board~sOrder of January 31,

1974, stated that the petition “is inadequate in that the location of

the lot for which

a sewer connection

is desired is not given.

Petitioner

also should state whether his connection,

if granted, would be to an

overloaded sewer.

Petitioner

is asked to review the Board~srecent

order in PCB 73-134,

North Shore Sanitary District v, EPA to determine

whether he can now secure a permit for connection after July 1,

1974.”

Additional information from the Petitioner was received by the

Board on March

5, 1974.

The Petitioner, his wife,

and three teenage

girls and one boy live in

a two-bedroom house at 2201 Argonne Drive,

North Chicago,

Illinois.

Petitioner alleges that this house is too small

for his family and “has created an undue

and mbst unbearable hardship~~”

To relieve this condition, Petitioner purchased a nearby 1~tat the

corner of Argonne and Sherman Drive in North Chicago,

Illinois, and plans

to build on it a larger home for his family. Petitioner seeks relief

from Order #7 of League of Women Voters v, North Shore Sanitary District,

PCB 70-7,

12,

13, and 14, to allow

a sewer connection for his proposed

new single-family home.

The sewer for this lot is not overloaded, but

the proposed connection is tributary to the North Chicago sewage treat~

ment plant of the North Shore Sanitary District

(NSSD).

A Recommendation was received from the Environmental Protection

Agency (Agency)

on March

6,

1974. Data submitted for 1973 by NSSD indicate

that the effluent biological oxygen demand and suspended solids concentra~

tion at the North Chicago treatment plant often fail to meet requirements

under Rule 404(b)

of Chapter

3, Water Pollution Regulations.

However,

the NSSD expects

to complete a retention pond at

the North Chicago treat-~

ment plant in the near future which will help prevent bypassing

of

sewage

flows during wet periods.

“All flow from the North Chicago plant

will be diverted to the improved Gurnee plant when scheduled improvements

are completed there.. .in May of 1975.”

On the basis of information

12—5G9

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—2—

available on March

6, the Agency recommended denial of this request

for a variance.

Petitioner had not adequately established a case

for unreasonable hardship

nor explored other alternatives.

An Amended Petition for Variance was received from Mr. William

McKinley,

Jr.

on March 18,

1974.

The Amended Petition alleges additional

circumstances by which Petitioner attempts to show an arbitrary and

unreasonable

hardship.

Mrs. McKinley recently suffered a nervous break-

down forcing her to be hospitalized for several weeks and requiring her

to quit her

job,

Mr. McKinley was hospitalized for five months in 1963

for a heart condition and recently he had to remain

home from

work

for one month as a result of extreme heart palpitation.

Petitioner~s

doctor referred to the stresses of the family~scurrent living conditions

as contributing to his condition,

In addition

to

health problems,

Petitioner alleged facts pertaining to his present situation that prevent

him from seeking a home elsewhere and make it extremely difficult for

him to find acceptable alternatives,

Petitioner

is presently serving

as an elected member of the North Chicago School Board, thus he has an

interest in maintaining a North Chicago residence.

Petitioner~spresent

home is

so situated that it is impossible for him to construct an addition.

Petitioner claims that the real estate market in North Chicago is extremely

limited.

Mortgage companies are reluctant to write mortages for older

homes for more than seventeen or eighteen years, thus placing the pay-

ments beyond Petitioner~smeans,

The fact that Petitioner owns a lot

that may not presently be developed compounds his problems.

The capi.tal

investment ties up funds he might apply to purchasing other property

and the sewer ban in the area makes a sale of the property difficult if

not impossible.

Septic tanks are not permitted in North Chicago and

holding tanks provide an expensive temporary alternative that probably

cannot be justified in Petitioner~ssituation,

On April

30, 1974, the Agency filed an Amended Recommendation in

which they pointed out that the Amended Petition for Variance presented

much more evidence of unreasonable hardship experienced by the McKinley

family and that alternative solutions

to their housing problem had been

explored and rejected.

On the basis of fuller information supplied

by Petitioner, the Agency~sAmended Recommendation suggested that the

variance petition for William B. McKinley,

Jr. be granted.

The Board

concurs.

This opinion constitutes the Boardvs findings

of

fact

and

conclusions

of law.

ORDER

It is the Order of the Pollution Control Board

that a Variance

is

hereby granted from Or~der#7 of League of Women Voters

v.

North Shore

Sanitary District, PCB 7O~7,12,

13, and 14,

so that Mr. William McKinley,

12

510

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—3—

may obtain a sewer connection permit for a proposed single—family

home on his

lot at Argonne and Sherman Drive in North Chicago,

Illinois.

I, Christan

L. Moffett,

Clerk

of the Illinois

Pollution Control Board,

herçby certify that

the above Opinion and Order was adopted on

the

J~3~”day

of

1974,

by a vote of ~

to

c~j~

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clerk