ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
December
20,
1973
ENVIRONMENTAL
PROTECTION AGENCY,
Complainant,
v.
)
PCB 71—51C
CITY OF CHAMPAIGN,
)
Respondent.
John Marco,
Director,
for
the Environmental Protection Agency
Albert Tuxhorn and James Evans, Attorneys
for City of Champaign
OPINION AND ORDER OF THE BOARD
(by Mr.
Henss)
This enforcement action was brought originally
by the
Environmental Protection Agency against
the Cities
of Champaign
and
Urbana for
causing
or allowing the pollution
of Boneyard Creek.
Urbana’s Motion for Severence was granted.
A Third Party Com-
plaint was filed by Champaign against Alpha. Material
and Fuel
Company and against
the University
of Illinois.
On September
16,
1971
this Board found that the Respondents had violated provisions
of
the Environmental Protection Act and
the Rules
and Regulations
of
the Sanitary Water Board.
The City of Champaign
and
the
University
of Illinois
sought review
in
the Appellate Court,
4th
District.
No appeal was filed
by
Alpha.
The Appellate Court
vacated our findings
as
to
the
University
of Illinois,
and also
vacated
our Order
as
to the City
of Champaign but remanded the
cause for further proceedings as
to the City.
At this point
following review by
the Appellate Court only the action against
the City of Champaign remains pending.
Our prior Order required Champaign to report regarding
the
condition of
the Boneyard Creek and steps taken by the City to
deal with pollution
of
the
Boneyard;
and
to report on
a program
for the policing of
the Boneyard Creek and City storm sewers,
and
for improving
the quality
of
the water
in the Boneyard.
The
Appellate Court vacated
the order but seemed
to indicate
that we
should rely upon
the report
in making our final determination.
The Court
said:
10 —387
—2—
“Until after the City files its program for policing
the
(iischarqe
of
unnecessary pollutants into Bone-
yard Creeb,
there
can he no appropriate determination
whether or not or to
what
extent the responsibility
rests with the City or other parties or any basis to
determine
if, when,
how
or by whom the Boneyard may
be made pure.’~
The
City of Champaign on March
15,
1972 renorted the following
as
probable
causes of pollution:
the
University
of Illinois,
Abbott
Power
Plant;
illegal private sanitary sewer connections
to
City storm sewer
lines; breaks
in the sanitary sewer mains of
either the City or
the
Urbana-Champaign Sanitary District; dumping
or soillaqe of
waste
products in such
a manner that they either
directly or indirectly enter the City’s storm sewer system or
Boneyard Creek;
urban runoff consisting of street refuse carried
to storm sewers
by
orecipitation and septic liquids remaining in
catch basins.
The discharge from Abbott Power Plant has been halted,
thus
it no lonqer presents a pollution danger
to Boneyard Creek.
The
City has
taken
steps
to discontinue the other sources of pollution
whenit has found violations
of applicable ordinances.
Letters are
sent
to
offenders
by
the City and if no response is forthcoming
the case is sent to
the City
attorney.
According to the City,
voluntary compliance
has
been excellent.
In only two cases has
the City had to resort to
the
City attorney and in those two cases
the offenders complied when contacted by the City attorney.
The City’s report contains methods they used to investigate
pollution problems.
Dumping and spillage violations are discovered
by visual inspections or as
a result of citizen complaints.
The
City does not indicate
the
existance of
a program
to prevent such
discharges.
Respondent alleges
that
violations due to sanitary
sewer leakage and direct private sanitary sewer connections are
investigated by a continual sampling program of
the Creek and the
tributary storm
sewer
system.
Twenty-four hour composite samples
are taken but the City did not disclose how often it performs
these tests.
~hen the City finds a relatively high COD reading
upstream samples are taken to determine the exact. spot where
the
pollutional discharges enter
the Creek.
When it
is determined by
change in the COD level that
the pollutant is entering
the
storm
sewer between two manholes, sewer dye
is placed in any adjacent
sanitary sewer,
and if it
is observed in the storm sewer it
is
apparent thnt the sanitary sewer is leaking into the storm sewer.
If the results of
this dyeing are negative,
it
is then necessary
to start placing dye in the sanitary facilities
of each pronerty
adjacent
to
the storm sewer which is receiving pollution to
10
—~
388
—3—
determine if one of the properties has its sanitary facilities
connected directly to the storm sewer system.
This often re-
quires all buildings on both sides of the street for a City block
to be dyed.
We have previously found that the City of Champaign violated
Section 12(a)
of the Environmental Protection Act in that the
City allowed the discharge of contaminants
so as
to cause or tend
to cause water pollution in Illinois.
The record clearly proves
that water pollution was caused cn August 7,
1970 and September 21,
1970 but in addition thereto the City has stipulated
that:
“The Boneyard has,
for more than forty years, been a
polluted drainage ditch or water source unsuited for
domestic,
commercial, agricultural or recreational
uses or to livestock, wild animals, birds, fish or
other aquatic life.
.
.
.A substantial portion of the
polluted waters discharged into the Boneyard flow through
various outlets of storm sewers owned by
the
City of
Champaign.”
The City contends, however,
that it did not generate the waste but
only transported it.
The Agency has agreed that:
“In no instance has the City of Champaign originated,
authorized, acquiesced in, licensed, or ignored any
pollutional discharges into the Boneyard or failed to
take any positive action to prevent any continued
pollutional discharge of which it had knowledge or
which has been called
to its attention.”
(R.614)
Our determination that the City of Champaign had allowed the
pollutional discharges was based upon a finding that the City had
failed to seek out the sources of pollution with
a positive action
program.
At page
19 of our September 16, 1971 Opinion
we
said:
“However,
the City’s confession that
the
Boneyard
is polluted as
a result of its sewers creates an
obligation
to institute
a program of policing and
enforcement beyond any that was described in the
record,
to prevent further pollution from the sewers
to the extent practicable.”
The report filed in March 1972 indicates that the City has
embarked upon such a program of positive action to seek out
pollution sources and to reduce,
if not eliminate,
the pollutional
discharges to the Boneyard.
It is apparent from
the
report that
positive action can accomplish some abatement of pollution.
The
10
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389
—4—
City
as owner of the storm sewers transporting the polluted
waters is obligated to take affirmative action beyond that
passive stance which it had apparently taken for some forty
years.
We will not impose a monetary penalty upon the City
of Champaign for its failure
to seek out pollutional discharges
in the past.
However, we will require that those steps which have
recently been taken be continued.
In addition,
the Agency states
that “frequent tests of storm sewer discharges, particularly
during dry weather would probably facilitate discovery of illegal
storm sewer connections.
Once violations have been uncovered,
notified and corrected detailed follow—up studies should be
conducted to insure that the problems have been corrected.”
We believe it is reasonable
to add such testing and follow-up
studies
to the City program.
We realize that even with a positive action program it might
take some time
to clean up the Boneyard.
The effects of
40 years
of
“passive” pollution control cannot be changed overnight.
However,
continued application of
the
Champaign program could in time bring
much improvement in the quality of
the Boneyard.
We will expect
the Environmental Protection Agency to offer such technical assistance
as it can in this effort.
The Agency also has its responsibility,
but the task of policing,
investigating pollution sources, following—
up on abatement action is best performed by the owner of the
storm
sewer system,
the City of Champaign.
ORDER
It is
the Order of the Board that:
a)
The City of Champaign continue its program of
investigating pollution of the Boneyard Creek
and abating pollution sources.
The program
shall include tests of storm sewer discharges,
particularly during dry weather and such
follow-up studies as may be necessary to
determine that pollution abatement action has
actually been taken.
b)
For the next three years,
the City of Champaign
shall
file progress reports quarterly with the
Environmental Protection Agency which reports
shall contain results of samples to be taken from
Boneyard Creek at representative locations and
from the storm sewers and tributaries to the
Creek.
Test data for each sample shall include
fecal coliform, ammonia, biological oxygen demand,
chemical oxygen demand, pH and dissolved oxygen
levels performed according to standard methods.
10 —390
—5—
c)
The quarterly progress report shall
also contain
detailed accounts of improvements to the tributary
storm sewers and possible leaking sanitary sewers
and reports of follow-up investigations of former
violators.
The City
shall
also continue
to send
the
Agency
copies of correspondence with violators.
I, Christan L.
Moffett, Clerk of the Illinois Pollution Control
Board, hereby certify the above Opinion and Order was adooted
this
~
day of
___________,
1973
by
a
vote of _____to
~)
10
—
391