ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD

April 12,

1973

CITY OF ELMHURST,

Petitioner,

v.

)

PCB 73—57

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY,

Respondent.

Charles Weigel,

Jr., on behalf of City of Elmhurst;

Steven C. Bonaguidi, Assistant Attorney General, on behalf of

Environmental Protection Agency.

OPINION AND ORDER OF THE BOARD

(by Mr. Seaman):

Petitioner, the City of Elmhurst,

an Illinois municipal

corporation, filed a petition for Variance dated February 8,

1973,

therein requesting a waiver of Rule 921(d)

of Chapter

3:

Water Pollution Regulations.

Rule 921(d) provides as follows:

“921

Standard for Issuance

The Agency shall not grant any Permit required

by this Part, except an Experimental Permit

under Rule 907, unless the applicant submits

adequate proof that the treatment works,

sewer,

or wastewater

source:

(d)

if subject to a future compliance date,

the

applicant has an approved Project Completion

Schedule in accordance with the provisions of

Rule 1002.”

Thus,

Rule 921(d) prohibits the Agency from issuing a permit

for treatment works unless the applicant has an approved project

completion schedule in accordance with Rule 1002.

Pursuant to

Rule 1002 (b) (ii), Petitioner was to have filed

a Project Comple-

tion Schedule by September

1,

1972;

such Project Completion

Schedule showing compliance with the effluent standards of Rule

404(c) not later than December 31,

1973.

On July

7,

1972, Petitioner was granted permit number

1972-AB-760 by the Agency, approving its Plans and Specifications

for the wastewater plant expansion.

Petitioner was permitted to

install, own and operate one primary settling tank, one aeration

7

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553

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tank,

two final settling tanks,

an effluent pump station, two

chlorine contact—excess flow tanks, one sludge thickener,

twenty sludge drying beds, and related appurtenances, with

discharge to Salt Creek, tributary to the DesPlaines River.

On January

31,

1973,

the Agency disapproved Petitioner’s

Project Completion Schedule since the schedule did not provide

for compliance with Rule 404(c)

by December 31,

1973.

Petitioner states quite frankly that it cannot realistically

allege completion of its proposed project in compliance with

Rule 404(c) by the deadline of Rule l002(b)(ii).

Petitioner

requests an additional nine to twelve months.

Petitioner has received approval of its application for

Federal grant funds under the provisions of the Federal Water

Pollution Control Act.

This $1,527,290 grant

is

expressly

conditioned upon beginning construction by June

1,

1973.

Petitioner asserts that the Federal deadlin~makes it

impossible to proceed with a formal hearing for the variation

requested,

advertise for bids,

and get approval of

same by

State and Federal Agencies by June 1,

1973.

The granting of the variance requested by this petition

will,

in no way, modify Petitioner’s responsibility to meet all

other requirements of the applicable regulations.

It is the

finding of the Board that insistence on compliance with Rule

921(d) will impede rather than further Petitioner’s compliance

with the necessary Regulations and would be in derogation rather

than furtherance of the objectives of the ~egulations.

Accordingly, we grant the variation as requested and without

hearing.

This opinion constitutes the findings of fact and conclu-

sions of law of the Board.

IT IS THE ORDER of the Pollution Control Board that the

City of Elmhurst be granted a Variance without hearing from the

filing date requirements of Sections 921(d) and l002r~b)(ii)

of

the Water Pollution Regulations.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

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

Board, certify that the above Opinion and Order was adopted by

the Board on the /~.‘~‘~day

of

______________,

1973, by a vote of

______

to

~

.

~~/;__~~

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