ILLINOIS
POLLUTION
CONTROL
BOARD
June
6, 1972
CITY
OF
MATTOON
#72-64
v
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
MR. JOSEPH SPITZ, ATTORNEY FOR CITY OF MATTOON
MR.
THOMAS
J.
IMMEL, ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL, ATTORNEY FOR
ENVIRONMENTAL
PROTECTION
AGENCY
OPINION
AND
ORDER
OF
THE
BOARD
(BY
SAMUEL
T.
LAWTON,
JR.)
Pursuant
to
Opinion
and
Order
of
the
Board
in
case
entitled
“City of Mattoon v.
Environmental
Protection
Agency,
#71-8”,entered
April
14,
1971,
a sewer connection ban was imposed against the City
of Mattoon in consequer~ceof the city’s failure to have complied with
the provisions of Regulation SWB-l4, resulting
in an extreme overload
of the city’s sewage treatment facilities and the serious and unabated
pollution of Kickapoo Creek.
(Prior thereto,
on November 20,1970,
the
Environmental Protection Agency had issued a letter stating that no
new
sewer
connections
would
be
permitted
until
effluent
requirements
of
Technical
Release
20-22
had
been
met,
in accordance with the time
schedule stated
in
SWB-14.)
Our
April
14,
1971 Order provided as follows:
“1.
The
City
of
Mattoon
is
hereby
ordered
to
submit
to
the Environmental Protection Agency, on or before
September 1,
1971, final plans and specifications
for
the
facilities required to bring
its sewage
collection and treatment facilities into compliance
with Rules and Regulations
SWB-14.
2.
The City of Mattoon
is hereby ordered to complete
the construction of the facilities specified in para—
graph
1
of
this
Order
no
later
than
July
1,
1972.
3.
The City of Mattoon shall post with the Environmental
Protection Agency,
on or before May 14,
1971,
a bond
or other security in a form to be determined by the
Agency,
in the amount of $10,000,
such
sum
to be for-
feited to the State of Illinois in the event that the
City does not comply with the provisions of this Order,
as found by the Pollution Control Board in a supplemen-
tary proceeding.
4
—
653
4.
The
City
of
Mattoon
shall,
on
or
before
July
15,
1971,
issue without referendum such revenue bonds and/or general
obligation
bonds
as
may
be
necessary
to
finance
the
design
and
construction
of facilities specified in paragraph
1
of this Order.
5.
The City of Mattoon shall complete the construction of
the primary sedimentation tanks for reduction of bypasses
by September
1,
1971.
?.
The City of Mattoon shall not permit the connection of any
new sewers or other sources of waste to its facilities,
or any increase in the strength or concentration of wastes
discharged to its facilities, until it demonstrates to the
Agency that’~itis in full compliance with the requirements
of SNB-14 with respectto overloads, bypasses, and the
provision of advanced waste treatment.
7.
The City of Mattoon shall pay to the State of Illinois,
on or before May 14, l97l~the sum of $1000 a~a penalty
for violation of the water pollution regulations specifying
dates for the submission of plans and the letting of contracts
for construction of sewage treatment facilities.
On April 10,
1972, an amended petition for variance was filed with
the Board requesting that the November 20,
1970 Environmental Protection
Agency Order and paragraph
6 of our Order be varied “so as
to permit the
connection of new customers to the City Sewer System”.
The petition alleges that subsequent to the April
14, 1971 Order,
the City has made the following improvements and modifications in its
sewage treatment facility:
1.
Construction of a 60
foot diameter sedimentation tank used
for storm water treatment;
2.
Construction of a
60 foot sedimentation tank used for
secondary
treatment;
3.
Improvement
of
all
primary
sewage
pumps
to
a
total
capacity
of
8.4
million
gallons
per
day.
All three of the foregoing facilities are installed and presently opera-
tional.
The following items of aeration equipment have been added
to the
Cityts sewage treatment facilities:
1.
Three
25
tiorse
power
mechanical
aerators;
and
4
*
654
2.
One
75
hoi~e~
power centrifugal
blower.
As
a
result
of
the
foregoing
installations,
the
City
now
has
capacity
for
providing
primary
and
secondary
treatment
for
4.4
million
gallons
per
day
instead
of
3.2
mg/d
existing
when
the
sewer
bans were
imposed
and
has
capacity
for
an
additional
4,000,000
gallons
per
day
of combined waste water which can receive primary treatment as compared
with~~
7~a±~blewhen the bans were
imposed.
On~April
1,
1972,
a referendum was approved by
the
voters
of
Nat-
toon providing
for the issuance and sale
of
general
obligation
bonds
in
the amount of 1.6 million dollars to pay the municipality’s share of
a
proposed
six
million
dollar
improvement
program
for
expansion
and
modernization of the City’s sewer system,,
the
balance
of
the
funds
an-
ticipated to come
from State
and Federal grants.
The program contem-
plated would bring the program of development within the time schedules
and effluent standards for tertiary and advanced treatment as provided
in
our
newly
adopted
Regulations,
Chapter
3,
Water
Pollution,
Part
IV,
Sec.
404.
The
petition
represe~its
that
during
the
months
of
January
and
February,
1972,
tests made of BOD and suspended solids of the City’s
effluent show that the treatment plant now produces an effluent of an
average
20 mg/l for BOD and 40 mg/l for suspended solids
(except during
periods of storm water overflow, which condition has presumably been
corrected).
These numbers satisfy BOD limits and approach suspended
solids limits established for these contaminants by our Regulation
for the current period prior to the deadline of December 31,
1973 for
compliance with tertiary treatment standards of
4 BOD and
5 Suspended
Solids.
Hardship resulting from the imposition of the sewer connection ban
is asserted, based on the economic impact on the community consequential
to the inability to accomodate new industrial and residential uses so
long as the ban remains in effect and the severe unemployment of
tradesmen
and
building
personnel
resulting
therefrom.
Testimony
received
at the September 22,
1971 hearing “In Matter of Sewer Connection Bans,
#R71-19”
is
referred
to
in
the
petition
and
incorporated
by
stipulation
in
the
present
record.
We
acknowledge
the
presence
of
hardship
without
further proof.
The remaining problem is what,
if anything,
should be
done
with
respect
to
the
lifting
of
the
ban
in
consideration
of
the
impact of such removal on the public welfare.
The petition for variance states that all by-passing of untreated
sewage
has
been
completely
eliminated
and
that
the
City
now
has
a
total pumping capacity of 8.4 million gallons per day.
The City’s
primary and secondary treatment capacity
is now 4.4 million gallons
per day, reflecting an increase of 1.4 million gallons per day, and the
ability to give primary treatment to
4 million gallons of storm water
per day, an increase of 3.2 million gallons per day over what was the
rapacity on the date of the sewer ban Order.
4
—
655
Petitioner represents that its anticipated constructien prograi~
will meet the newly established requirements of Chapter III for ter-
tiary
treatment
before
the
December
31,
1973
deadline.
The
Agency
recommendation
confirms
the
pumping
capacity
figures
above
set
forth
with
respect
to
primary
and
secondary
treatment
and
the character of
the effluent during the testing period resulting in
a BOO of 20 and a Suspended Solids average of 40.
The recommendation
notes that presently no chlorination facilities have been installed
which
will
be
required
pursuant
to
Rule
405
of
the
new
regulations
by
July
31,
1972.
The
recommendation
observes
that
a
BOO
of
4
and
a
Suspended
Solid
limit
of
5
will
be
met
prior
to
the
December
31,
1973
deadline,
and
that
with
the
exception
of
the
lack
of
chlorination
and suspended solid content of the plant’s effluent, petitioner will
be in compliance with the July, 1972 deadliness
completion dates will be met by December 31, 1973 with respect to all
tertiary
and
advanced
treatment.
The
recommendation
of
the
Agency
states,
in
part,
as
follows:
“14.
In view of the new Regulations and the facilities which
the petitioner has provided since the Board Order,
the
Agency
would
recommend
that
the
Board
completely
remove
the
ban
and
relinquish
jurisdiction
over
the
case,
if
it
were
not
for
the
chlorination
and
suspended
solids
problems.
15.
Once
these
problems
have
been
resolved
and
approved
final
completion
schedules
have
been
submitted,
regular
Agency
permit
procedures
can
be
resumed
and
will
assure
that
new
connections
will
not
overload
the
treatment
facilities and cause pollution of Kickapoo Creek.”
The
ultimate
recommendation
of
the
Agency
is
as
follows:
“16.
Based
on
the
improved
facilities
and
enlarged
capacity,
and
the
Water
Pollution
Control
Regulations
adopted
March
7,
1972,
the
Agency
recommends
that
the
Board
retain jurisdiction and grant a variance subject to
the
following
conditions:
1.
The operation of the new facilities
is improved to
meet the suspended solid standard of
25
(based on a
30
consecutive
day
average),
2.
The
petitioner
installs
and
operates
chlorination
facilities and,
4
—
656
3.
The
Petitioner
files
an
approved
project
comple-
tion
schedule
according
to
Rule
1002-b-u.
17.
The Agency requests that it be authorized to issue
conditional installation permits
(construction allowed
but connection prohibited)
but that no connections be
allowed until condition #1
and
2 are satisfied1
and
petitioner can show to the satisfaction of the Agency
that additional connections will not violate the Act
or
any
applicable
Regulations.
18.
The Agency further requests that the Board retain juris-
diction only until the Agency.notifies it that conditions
1,
2 and
3 have been satisfied.
19.
The Agency reserves the right to modify or revoke its
recommendation prior
to
the
close of the Record on this
matter.”
Hearing was held on the petition and recommendation in Mattoon
on April
17,
1972.
Testi~monyconfirmed
the
capacities for primary
and secondary treatment and for storm water treatment
(R,
14),
and
the installation of additional pumping systems,
sedimentation tanks,
aeration facilities and blower.
At
the present time there is no
storm water by-passing of the sewage treatment plant nor the main out-
flow approximately 300 feet upstream of
the
sewage treatment plant
(R.
15).
Total cost to date for the improvements installed has been
approximately $326,000.00.
(R.
16).
Since receipt of the Agency
recommendation, plans and specifications for the purchase of chlorina-
tion equipment have been prepared and a new pump is being installed
which will bring suspended solids down to the 25 mg/I limit.
Chlorina-
tion facilities will be installed by July
31,
1972.
The new sewage treatment plant facilities to be constructed and
in operation by approximately September
1,
1973 are designed to increase
the present capacity to accommodate a peak flow of 12,000,000 gallons
per day with complete tertiary treatment and chlorination, and will pro-
vide an additional 12,000,000 gallons per day for storm water retention
and treatment.
Chlorination will be provided for all flows
(R.
46).
It is anticipated this will accommodate a fifteen-year period
of growth and will cost $6,040,000.
Interim chlorination will cost
between $10,000
and $12,000.
(R. 47).
The new facilities, when
completed, will entirely eliminate the possibility of non-treated storm
water reaching Kickapoo Creek.
4
—
ci~ci
Tests introduced by the Agency confirm the great iiüprovement
in BOD and suspended solid limits but disclosed the presence of high
fecal coliform readings,
the abatement of which requires the chiorini-
ation
process.
(R.
58 through
64, Agency Exhibits
I through
5).
In the opinion of the Agency witness, the installation of a new sludge
pump would enable compliance with the 25 MG/I Suspended Solids limits~
A witness from the Mattoon League of Women Voters recommended
the lifting of the sewer ban subject to the City complying with the
construction deadlines and effluent limits,
as well as the conditions
proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency.
The witness also
recommended
the
adoption
of
a
sewer
surcharge
ordinance
to
“assure
a
system
of
equitable
cost
recovery
for
the
citizens
of
Mattoon.”
(R.
79)
On March
28,
1972,
the
Board
granted
a
partial
lifting
of
the
sewer
ban
to
permit
connection
by
Kraft
Food
Division
of
Kraftco
Corporation,
(#7l~388),
subject:
to certain specified terms
and
con~
ditions,
including
pre-treatment
and
the
installation
and
operation
of in-plant facilities to minimize the hydraulic
and
organic
impact
on
the
Mattoon
sewers.
We
believe
that
petitioner’s
program of
improvement
since
the
imposition
of
the
sewer
ban
to
bring
its
effluent
to
tolerable
limits
approximating
those
which
are
required
by
regulation,
together
with
the
installation
of
chlorination
facilities
and
a
new
sludge
pump,
as well
as
its
overall
program
of
improvement
to meet the December,
1973 deadlines for tertiary treatment,
justify a lifting of the
sewer ban,
subject
to
the
terms and conditions set forth in our Order~
The
hardship
imposed
on
the
community
and
its
citizens
resulting
from
the
suspension
of
construction
is
manifest,
and
we believe
the
public
interest
will
be
protected
upon
suspension
of
the
sewer
ban
by
what
the
City
has
already
achieved
and
by
what
it
will be obliged
to
do
in
the
future.
We
adopt
the
conditions
proposed
by
the
Agency
with
the
exception
that
we
do
not
require
the
installation
of
all
necessary
facilities
for
chlorination
and suspended solids improve-~
ments
prior
to
lifting
the
ban,
but
will
require
that
these
conditions
be
met
as
a
basis
for
the
continuation
of
the
sewer
ban
suspension.
As
we
did
in
the
original
case,
we
must
again
recognize
the
valuable
input
of
the League of Women
Voters
of
Mattoon.
Its state-
ment in
this case recommended granting of the relief to the City
on
three
conditions:
1.
That the City meet the conditions recommended by the
Agency;
4
658
2.
That the City file monthly progress reports to the
Board; and
3.
That the City write a sewer surcharge ordinance to
comply with Federal regulations.
The substance of
the
first
two
suggestions
will
be
incorporated
in our Order although not precisely in the form proposed.
The third
suggestion, of a sewer surcharge ordinance,
is indeed a good one.
In
order to obtain Federal funds, the City must, among other things, make
sure that industry
is paying its fair share of the treatment costs.
A sewer surcharge ordinance is on~way to assure compliance with the
Federal regulations and we strongly suggest that the City give con-
sideration to its adoption.
This opinion constitutes the findings of fact and conclusions
of law of the Board.
IT
IS THE
ORDER of the
Pollution
Control
Board
that
the
sewer
connection ban orders en~eredby the Environmental Protection Agency
on November 20, 1970 and by the Pollution Control Board on April
14,
1971 be and the same
are
hereby
terminated, subject to the following
terms
and
conditions:
1.
Facilities shall be installed to assure compliance
with
a suspended solids standard of 25 mg/l by
July
31,
1972.
2.
Chlorination facilities shall be installed by~July31,
1972
that
will
bring
fecal-coliform
counts
into
com-
pliance with existing regulations.
3.
The
project
completion
schedule
shall
be
filed
in
accou~ancewith
Rule
1002—b-u
for
all
construction
required to be completed to meet secondary and tertiary
sewage
treatment
standards
as
provided
by
Regulation.
4.
The Board retains jurisdiction for such other and further
Ordersas shall be appropriate, including the right to
reinstate the sewer ban when hydraulic or organic effluent
limits are shown
to have been exceeded, pursuant to
hearing
by
the
Pollution
Control
Board.
4
—
659
5.
The City of Mattoon shall post with the Environmental
Protection Agency, on or before July
6,
1972,
a bond or
other security in a form to be determined by the Agency,
in the amount of $25,000.00,
such
sum
to be forfeited
to the State of Illinois in the event that the City does
not
comply
with
the
provisions
of
this
Order,
as
found
by
the
Pollution
Control
Board
in
a
supplementary
proceeding.
I,
Christan Moffett,
Clerk of the Pollution Control B a
~,
certify
that
the
above
Opinion
and
Order
was
adopted
on
the
‘Iday
of
June,
1972,
by
a
vote
of
to
4
—
660