ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
January
10,
1974
)
NORTH SHORE SANITARY DISTRICT
)
)
)
v.
)
PCB 73-134
)
)
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
)
)
MR. MURRAY R.
CONZELMAN,
appeared on behalf of the North Shore
Sanitary District
MR. RICHARD W.
COSBY and MR. JOHN E.
SLATTERY, Assistant Attorneys
General, appeared on behalf of the Environmental Protection
Agency
MR. RICHARD M.
KATES, appeared on behalf of the League of Women
Voters of Illinois
MR.
BERLE
L.
SCHWARTZ, appeared on behalf of the City of Highland
Park
OPINION AND ORDER OF THE BOARD
(by Mr.
Dumelle):
On April
5,
1973,
the North Shore Sanitary District
(“District”)
filed
a variance petition seeking authority to issue
an additional
2,500 single family permits representing 10,000 population equi-
valent
(P.E.),
from Paragraph
7 of the Pollution Control Board
(“Board”) Order in the case
of League of Women Voters,
et
al
v.
North Shore Sanitary District
PCB 70-7,
12,
13,
and 14
(PCB 1-369,
396).
Paragraph
7 of that Or~eradOpted by the Board on March
31, 1971 provided as follows:
“7.
The District shall not permit any additions
to present
sewer
connections,
or new sewer connections,
to its facilities
until
the District can demonstrate
to the Board that
it can
adequately treat the wastes
from those new sources
so as not
to violate the Environmental Protection Act,
or
the Rules
and Regulations promulgated thereunder.”
The Environmental Protection Agency (“Agency”)
filed
a Response
recommending that
the variance not be granted on May 4,
1973.
On
May 17, 1973 the Board granted the Petition to Intervene which
had been filed by the League
of Women Voters.
The Board granted
the City of Highland Park’s Petition to Intervene on June
7,
1973.
Hearings were held on June
4,
and 7,
1973,
and by Joint Motion of
the Parties continued until January
2,
1974.
The parties
filed
10—605
-2-
Joint Stipulation at the January
2,
1973 hearing
as set out on
pages
3-5
of
this Order.
The history of the present variance petition extends back
to September 1,
1970 when the League of Women Voters
(“League”)
filed an enforcement complaint with the Board alleging that the
District was polluting the waters of Lake Michigan by discharging
inadequately treated effluent directly into the Lake
so
as
to
violate the Water Quality Standards found in Sanitary Water Board
Regulation
-
SWB-7
(League of Women Voters of Illinois
et
al
v.
North Shore Sanitary District, PCB
70-7,
12,
13 and 14,
1 PCB 369).
The Board found that the District was indeed causing water pollution
and ordered the District to proceed with
an extensive program of
abatement; and the Board imposed a sewer ban upon future connections
to the District’s Clavey Road and Waukegan Sewage Treatment
Plants.
On November
2,
1971,
the District filed
a petition
seeking a variance to allow the District to issue
8,000 P,E. of
permits because the District had undertaken the use of chemical
additives which they alleged had increased the capacity at
its
treatment plants
(PCB
71-343,
3-541).
On January 31,
1972,
the
Board granted the District a variance
to “add
a total of 1,000
living units or 4,000 P.E.
to the sewers tributary to the Clavey
and Waukegan Plant”
(Order of the Board, North Shore Sanitary
District v.
Environmental Protection Agen~y,PCB 71-343,
3-541,
557).
Pursuant
to a timely request for Reconsideration, the
Board on March
2,
1972 determined that
the District should be
permitted to allow the addition of 5,000 permits or 20,000 P.E.
to the sewers tributary to the Waukegan and Clavey Plant, subject
to the restriction that one-third of the permits could only be
tributary to Clavey and the remaining two-thirds
to the Waukegan
Plant
(North Shore Sanitary District v.
EPA, PCB 71-343,
3-697,
702).
On October
24, 1972 the Board entered an Order stating that
the so-called “Pfeffer exemption” found in Rule
404(f) (ii) Chapter
3, Water Pollution Rules and Regulations,
applied
to the District and
rejected the Agency’s position that
it was not available
(North
Shore Sanitary District
v.
EPA, PCB 72-367)
The Board extended the
original variance granted pursuant to Board Order of March
31,
1971
in PCB 70-7,
12,
13 and 14
(1 PCB 369),
and extended by Order
of the
Board on January
31,
1972 and March
2,
1972,
PCB 71-343
(3 PCB 514
and 697), until March
2,
1974 in an Order dated February 14,
1973,
PCB 72-451.
The District in the present variance petition seeks authority
to enable it to issue an additional
2,500 permits or 10,000 P.E.
because
it has allegedly upgraded and expanded its Clavey Road
Sewage Treatment Plant.
Throughout
the history of this proceeding
the parties have always referred to permits and population equiva-
lents
(P,E.).
A “permit” refers
to the equivalent of a living unit
housing four people.
Thus while referring to 2,000 permits, the
actual controlling number
is 8,000
P.E.
(2,000 x 4).
The District
—
606
-3-
must equate
a permit
to an individual
P.E.
The parties have
reached an agreement and submitted the following Stipulation:
IT IS HEREBY STIPULATED AND AGREEDED by and between all of the
parties to the above matter, by their respective attorneys
as
follows:
1.
That the Illinois Pollution Control Board has jurisdiction
of
the above
cause and all of the parties thereto.
2.
That on March
2,
1972,
the Illinois Pollution Control Board
granted a variance to the NORTH SHORE SANITARY DISTRICT “to add
a total of 5,000
living units
or
20,000 P.E.
to the sewers tributary
to the Waukegan and Clavey Plants” and at
that time
the Board
ordered “The DISTRICT shall apportion the allotment under the variance
between the subject plants in approximate ratio of one-third
of the
new connections
to Clavey,
the remainder
to Waukegan”.
3.
That subsequent
to the entry aforesaid,
the NORTH SHORE
SANITARY DISTRICT apportioned one-third of the permits
for new
connections to Clavey Road and issued all of said permits.
That
the NORTH SHORE SANITARY DISTRICT has
requests
for additional permits
authorizing connection
to its Clavey Road Plant in excess of 1200
new connections
at the present
time.
4.
That
on or about September 15,
1973,
the NORTH SHORE
SANITARY DISTRICT completed sufficient
facilities
at its Clavey
Road
Plant
to increase the capacity of said Plant to ten million
gallons per day and at the same time
said 1)ISTRICT increased
the
pumpage capacity of the Skokie Interceptor Sewer serving said Plant
from
22 MGD to
30 MGD on the date
of. this Stipulation,
and to 40
MGD by March
1,
1974.
5.
That the NORTH SHORE SANITARY DISTRICT has diverted the
dry weather flow from its sewage treatment plant at Lake
Bluff,
Illinois
to the Clavey Road Plant and is
in the process
of diverting
the dry weather flow from its Lake Forest and Cary
Avenue Plants
in Highland Park to the Clavey Road Sewage Treatment Plant.
6.
That when the three lake front plants aforesaid,
namely
the plants
in Lake Bluff, Lake Forest and Cary Avenue in Highland
Park
are diverted to
the Clavey Road Plant, said plant will then
be treating nine million gallons of effluent per day,
leaving
one million gallons daily excess capacity, expressed in terms
of
average daily flow,
and specifically excluding wet weather flows.
7.
Than an additional
2,500 connections could be made to
the Clavey Road Sewage Treatment Plant without exceeding
the ten
million gallons daily capacity.
10
—
607
-4-
8.
That to add a measure
of safety and to regulate the rate
at which
additional connections are made,
the NORTH SHORE SANITARY
DISTRICT should be granted authority to issue
2,000 permits
(8,000
P.E.)
authorizing connection to
its Clavey Road Plant upon the
following conditions:
A.
Each such permit shall
be
subject
to the approval of
the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency.
When
permit applications
are received by the NORTH SHORE
SANITARY DISTRICT,
the DISTRICT shall send one copy of
each to the Attorney General.
B.
No such permit
shall authorize
a connection
to the system
of the NORTH SHORE SANITARY DISTRICT until
July
1,
1974.
Each permit granted under this variance shall include
a
condition indicating that connection prior to July
1,
1974, will cause the revocation
of the permit in question,
and the DISTRICT shall take all steps permitted by law
to require disconnection by the offender.
C.
No such permit
shall be issued for connection for the
benefit
of
any
premises
outside
the
actual
legal
boundaries
(specifically
excluding
planning
boundaries)
as
of
the
date
of
filing
of
the
Petition
For
Variance
until
July
1,
1974,
nor
then
if
valid
applications
for
premises
with:in
the
actual
legal
boundaries
of
the
DISTRICT
are
pending.
D,
Owners
of
existing
dwellings
served
by
septic
systems
and
owners
of
single
parcels
of
land
seeking
a
permit
(4
P.E.)
to
permit
the
construction of
a single family
home
as
the
residence
of
an
applicant,
and
for
the
connection of buildings
of municipal
or other governmental
agencies shall have priority in allocation
of permits
over all other applicants.
IT
IS HEREBY FURTHER STIPULATED AND AGREED
by
and between all
of the parties
to the above matter, by
their
respective
attorneys,
as
follows:
9.
That
on
or
about
February
1,
1974,
the
NORTH
SHORE
SANITARY
DISTRICT plans to finish and have in operatio:n the Highland Park
lakefront
interceptor.
This
interceptor
will
join
the Northern
two
Highland
Park
plants,
Park
Avenue
and
Ravine
Avenue
Sewage
Treatment Plants
to
the
Cary
Avenue
Sewage Treatment Plant and will
have sufficient capacity to transport both dry weather and wet
weather flows.
The Cary Avenue Plant
is now connected
to the Clavey
Road Plant by an interceptor which has sufficient capacity to trans-
port the expected flows
from all three Highland Park plants.
10.
That on or about July
1,
1974,
the NORTH SHORE SANITARY
DISTRICT plans to finish and have in operation its overflow treat-
ment facilities
at
its Clavey Road Plant.
When the overflow treatment
facilities
are completed and in operation,
the Clavey Road Plant
will be able
to treat all of the flows
to the
three Highland Park
Sewage Treatment Plants.
10
—
ROS
11.
That on or about November 1,
1974,
the NORTH SHORE SANITARY
I)ISTRICT plans to have completed and in operation the first phase
of its Middle Fork Interceptor.
The first phase
of the Middle
Fork Interceptor will run from the Clavey Road Sewage Treatment
Plant North
to Chicago Avenue
in Highland Park, approximately one-
fourth of
a mile South
of Half-Day Road
(Illinois Route
22).
The
DISTRICT plans to install
a cross-connection between the Skokie
Interceptor and the first phase of the Middle Fork Interceptor,
thereby relieving the Skokie Interceptor South of Chicago Avenue,
Highland Park,
Illinois.
12.
In recognition
of
the fact that by November
1,
1974,
the
Clavey Road Sewage Treatment Plant will be operating
at
its
full
planned capacity
(with the exception of complete tertiary treatment)
that the Highland Park lakefront interceptor will be
completed,
thus allowing diversion from the three Highland Park lakefront plants
and that
the first phase of the Middle Fork
Interceptor will be
completed relieving the overburdened Skokie Interceptor,
the
parties respectfully submit that the sewer ban imposed by
the
Illinois Pollution Control Board on March
31, 1971 be lifted for
the
NORTH SHORE SANITARY DISTRICT’s Clavey Road Sewage Treatment
Plant on November
1,
1974,
or the date
of connection of the Middle
Fork Interceptor sewer
to the Skokie outlet, whichever
is
Later.
13.
That
this Stipulation shall be submitted to the Illinois
Pollution Control Board along with the record made
in the above
case
to date and represents
the agreement
and motion of all parties
to the above cause
and that an Order be entered consistent herewith.
Counsel for the 1)istrict offered into evidence Peititioner
Exhibit
1,
a report entitled, “Calvey Road Sewage Treatment Plant
Effect of Chemical Treatment” by Greeley and Hansen dated March
25,
1973
(R.
21).
The Agency and the League objected and the Hearing
Officer withheld ruling on admission of the exhibit.
The Board
hereby overrules
any objection to the admission of Petitioner’s
Exhibit
I
into evidence and accepts Petitioner Exhibit
1
into
evidence.
The Board after
a careful review of the transcripts
and exhibits has decided to accept the proposed order presented
in
the Stipulation with certain changes
and modifications.
The Board has modified Paragraph
8D of the Stipulation to
insure
that septic tank problems and single family dwellings
are
given priority by the District in the issuance of permits.
Govern-
mental and private
institutions of
a substantial public interest
are
given priority over other large scale developments.
The
ordering of priority as set out in the Board Order to follow is
not intended to
allow
a developer to divide his development up into
single
family
units
so
as
to
circumvent
the
Board’s
intention.
Developers are to remain at the end of the priority list.
However,
the record supports the fact
that only 1200 requests have been
made,
either formally
or
informally,
to the Pistrict and that
-6-
most developers will undoubtedly will be able to obtain permits
for their immediate construction needs.
The District could
possibly pursuade developers
to
seek permits for only their
immediate construction needs
(1974
and
1975)
to insure the optimum
use of the 2,000 permits until the ban is lifted.
The Board has further amended Paragraph
8
by
providing
an additional Order
#5 which establishes
a reserve of
75 permits
or 300
P.13.
for single family dwellings
to insure that
those
individuals seeking
a sewer permit for a single family home will
be
able
to obtain
a permit.
The record establishes
a potential
whereby the District could issue permits
to developers before
the
expiration of the variance which would pre-empt the remaining
unallocated
permits
so
that
an
individual
could
not
obtain
a
permit for a single family dwelling
(R.
114).
The District
issued permits
to developers
outside
of the then present District
boundaries,
in November and December, 1972
some three months before
the variance expired
(R.
114).
Any individual, even those with
septic tank problems, seeking
a sewer permit for
a single family
dwelling would have been precluded by this action from obtaining
a permit and would have had to seek
a variance from the Board.
By establishing the reserve for single family dwellings,
the
District may go through the priority list found in Order
#4
and issue the
1925 permits for 7,700
P.13.
to
those who have
present pending permit applications
(subject to the restrictions
in Order
#3).
Any unallocated permits remaining after those
applications on file were satisfied,
would be fulfilled by normal
District procedures subject
to the priority list.
After
the first
1925 permits are issued,
the District would then issue permits
to
those individuals who next sought single family dwelling permits.
The above Opinion constitutes the Board’s findings of facts
and conclusions
of law.
ORDER
The Illinois Pollution Control Board hereby grants to the
North Shore Sanitary District, authority to issue 2,000 permits
(8,000
P.13.) authorizing connection with the Clavey Road Plant
upon the following conditions:
1.
Each such permit
shall be subject
to the approval of the
Illinois Environmental Protection Agency.
When permit
applications are received by the North Shore Sanitary
District,
the District shall send one copy of each to the
Attorney General.
10—610
-7-
2.
No such permit
shall
authorize
a connection to the system of
the North Shore Sanitary District until July
1,
1974.
Each permit granted under this variance shall include
a con-
dition indicating that connection prior
to July
1,
1974,
will cause
the revocation of the permit in question,
and the
District shall
take all steps permitted by law to require
disconnection by the offender.
3.
No
such
permit
shall
be
issued
for
connection
for
the
benefit
of
any
premises
outside
the
actual
legal
boundaries
(specifically excluding planning boundaries)
as
of the date
of filing of the Petition for Variance until July
1,
1974,
nor then if valid applications for premises within the actual
legal boundaries
of the District are pending.
4.
The District shall
issue permits
subject
to
the following
priority:
Owners of existing dwellings
served by
septic systems;
owners of single parcels of land seeking
a permit to construct a single family home
as
the residence
of an applicant;
governmental and private agencies such
as
schools, hospitals, nursing homes,
day-care centers, churches,
etc.
shall have priority in allocation
of permits over all
other applicants.
5.
The District shall
establish
a reserve
of
75 permits
(300
P.13.)
to be issued to single-family residences
after the issuance
of all 1925 permits
(7,700 P.E.)
The District shall present
to the Board on or before November 1,
1974,
a detailed repoit on the current status of the District’s
compliance
schedule including the status of the Gurnee Treatment
Plant.
The Board retains jurisdiction i~nthis proceeding
to issue
further orders as become necessary.
IT
IS
SO ORDERED.
I, Christan
L. Moffett, Clerk of the Illinois Pollution Control
Board,
hereby certify the above Opinion and Order were adopted on the
/~‘~day of January,
1974 by
a vote of
J~—o
Illinois Pollution
trol Board
10
—
611