ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
April
17,
1972
NORMAN
NACHTRIEB
V.
)
PCB 72—8
SOUTH PALOS TOWNSHIP
SANITARY DISTRICT
Norman Nachtrieb,
pro se
Arthur C.
Thorpe, Attorney for South Palos Township Sanitary District
Opinion and Order of the Board
(by Mr. Aldrich):
Norman Nachtrieb,
an interested citizen of the South Palos Township
Sanitary District,
filed a complaint against said District on January
7,
1972.
The complaint alleges
that the District
is unable to complete
a sanitary sewer system for residents
of the area for financial
reasons.
Complainant asks
the Board to order the District to complete
the sewer system and to issue the necessary bonds
to finance its
completion.
A hearing was
held March 22,
1972.
The facts in the case are not in dispute.
The inhabitants of the
District are presently disposing
of their sewage through privately
owned individual septic systems.
Soil conditions
in the area are
such that the septic systems
are ineffective because the soil cannot
safely absorb the sewage
(R.
3).
As
a result,
the discharge of
sewage is causing pollution of both the ground and
the air in the
District.
The ground pollution
is also threatening to contaminate
the water supplyof
the District~sinhabitants.
In order to eliminate the aforementioned problems,
the District
proposed to construct a sanitary sewer
system.
A general obligation
bond issue of $250,000.00 was approved by the District’s inhabitants
March
21,
1970, which exhausted the statutory limit of the bonding
power of the District.
An engineer estimated the total cost of the
project to be $1,100,000.
Accordingly, special.assessments
in the
amount of $849,905.91 were made against the inhabitants of the
District which together with
the $250,000 in bonds would meet the
estimated total
cost.
The lowest construction bid received, however,
was $1,140,411, considerably higher
than the estimate of $701,725
(R.
6,7).
Nevertheless,
the lowest bid was accepted and construction
of the sewer system was
begun.
At the
time of the hearing,
the project
was about 85
complete, but the District
lacks about $400,000
in monies
to complete the project
(R.
7).
Applications
for
State and Federal
funds have been made but the likelihood of receiving these funds is
unknown.
The complaint alleges
that the contractor will
cease
his
construction operations if payments to him
are
not continued.
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181
Complainant
Nachtrieb
asks that we order the District to complete
the sewer system thereby abating pollution of the ground and air and
eliminating the threat of a contaminated water suppiy.
The District
takes the position that it
has taken all the steps required by law
to install sanitary sewers but that its
funds have been exhausted
because of inflation
(R.
13).
The District agrees, however,
that a
pcllution problem does exist and that it is essential that the sewer
system be completed.
We agree.
Considering the heavy investment
in
the sewage system by
the inhabitants of the District and the fact
that the
project is already
85
finished, completion of the system
is the only rational approach at this point in time.
We
shall order
the District to complete
the sewer system~expeditiously.
Complainant specifically requests that, pursuant to the provisions
of
Section 46 of the Environmental Protection Act, we order the Dis-
trict to issue bonds necessary to finance the completion of the
sewage system.
Mr. Nachtrieb notes that the inhabitants of the
District face
a considerable financial burden because of debts
already incurred in connec~tionwith the sewage system.
The issuance
of general obligation bonds to finance completion of the project
would spread the tax load over a number of years,
thereby easing the
immediate~burdensomewhat.
Whatever the merits of this argument,
the decision to issue general obligation bonds or to use alternative
means of raising funds rests with the District, not with this Board.
Our order today requires the District to complete the sewer system
as soon as feasible in order to abate pollution.
To comply with
this order the District is authorized
pursuant
to Section
4.6
to
issue general obligation or revenue bonds without refererrdum and, as
we have held in previous cases, without regard to any statutory
limit to bonded indebtedness
(cf. League of Women Voters v. North
Shore Sanitary District, PCB 70-7, March 31,
1971; City of Marion v.
EPA, PCB 71-225, October
28,
1971).
No specifid order to issue
bonds
is necessary.
In ordering that the sewer system be completed
as soon as feasible we merely say that financial considerations must
not be allowed to cause undue delay in completion of the project.
The District asks that
if the Board orders the issuance of bonds for
completion of the sewer system such order be deferred fo~at least
six weeks
(R.
14,
15).
In making this request, the District reasons
that action may be taken on
its applications for Federal and State
funds within a period of six weeks.
There
is currently at the federal
level legislation under consideration to reimburse municipalities for
sewage disposal improvements that have already been initiated or completed
but this has not yet been enacted.
As indicated later, we shall accede
to the District~srequest for a short delay.
4—
182
The District further argues that within six weeks
a decision may be
made
in
a lawsuit in the Appellate Court of the Second District
construing
the Board~spower to order the issuance of bonds by munici-
palities or sanitary districts.
Though it is our
view
that the time for
pollution
abatement
is
now, we recognize the dilemma of the District
with respect to decisions as to Federal or State assistance and the
Appellate Court decision.
Until
a decision is available either with
respect
to
financial
assistance
from
Federal
or
State
sources,
or
by
the Appellate Court,
the District risks having monies committed without
hope of reimbursement or without proper authority
to issue the necessary
boncls.
Unless the Appellate Court rules otherwise,
the District by
virtue
of the order we enter today has
the authority
to issue the neces-
sary bonds.
We shall
at this tirne.grant the District until June
1,
to
submit
a statement indicating the earliest
date on which completion
of
the sewage system can reasonably be expected and to file reports at
monthly intervals thereafter indicating what progress has been made
toward completing the project.
This Opinion constitutes the Board’s findings of fact and conclusions
of
law.
ORDER
1.
South Palos Township Sanitary District shall take all necessary
steps for the abatement of pollution within its boundaries by
the
completion
of
its
sanitary
sewage
system.
2.
South Palos Township Sanitary District
shall.,
by June
1,
1972,
submit
to
the
Pollution
Control
Board
a
statement
indicating
the
earliest date on which completion of its sanitary sewage system
can reasonably be expected.
3.
Following compliance with
#2
of this order,
South Palos
Township
Sanitary
District
shall
file
with
the
Pollution.
Control
Board
monthly reports indicating what progress
has been
made
toward
completing
the sanitary sewage system and when completion can
be expected.
I, Christan
L. Moffett, Clerk of the Pollution Control Board, certify
that the Board adopted the ab ye Opinion and Order this
/7
day of
April 1972, by
a vote
of
-~
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