TRANSMITTAL LETTER FOR BOARD MEETING OF AUGUST 14, 2008
COMMITTEE ON ENGINEERING
Mr. Richard Lanyon, General Superintendent
Title
Recommendation for the issuance of a permit to 600 Waukegan Road LLC, as Sole Permittee, for a project in unincorporated Northfield Township, Sewerage System Permit Application 06-015
Body
Dear Sir:
The Engineering Department is in receipt of a Sewerage System Permit application for construction of a private sanitary sewage treatment facility and associated sewer system to serve a proposed multi-unit commercial office development with a population equivalent of 15. The treatment system will discharge treated wastewater to the West Fork of the North Branch of the Chicago River near the interchange of the Edens Expressway Spur (1-94) and Waukegan Road in unincorporated Northfield Township (Township). After occupancy, the commercial development will be organized as a commercial condominium association. Responsibility for maintenance and operation of the site infrastructure, including the sanitary sewage collection and treatment system, will be shared collectively by the individual unit owners and is detailed within the “Declaration of Condominium Ownership”.
The Township has signed the permit application as Permittee for stormwater drainage but it has declined to sign for the sanitary sewers and sewage treatment system. Since the Township has declined to act as Permittee for the sanitary sewer and sewage treatment system, the applicant, 600 Waukegan Road LLC, has requested that the permit be issued to it as Sole Permittee for same. Section 2(h)5 of the Sewer Permit Ordinance provides that permits may be issued to “…any responsible individual, individuals or corporation … upon presentation of satisfactory evidence of responsibility as determined by the Board of Commissioners, where construction of sewers or sewerage systems is contemplated to serve property owned by said individual, individuals, corporation, in an unincorporated area, and the contemplated construction is intended for the sole, exclusive and perpetual use of the owner; provided that said unincorporated area is outside the jurisdiction of a local sanitary district and outside the area of a public utility company certificated for such service and the township government declines to execute the permit application and to assume the obligations of a joint permittee…”
The applicant, 600 Waukegan Road LLC, will be a Sole Permittee relative to the construction, maintenance and operation of the sanitary sewers and treatment system and as Co-Permittee with respect to the discharge to the West Fork of the North Branch of the Chicago River, a District regulated waterway. After office condominium units are sold, a condominium owners’ association will be formed and will assume maintenance and operation responsibilities.
As part of its permitting requirements for the proposed private sanitary sewage treatment facility, the Cook County Department of Public Health (CCDPH) has reviewed the treatment facility design and has issued a Sewage Disposal System Permit (Permit No. 16453). The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) also has granted its approval in the form of an experimental use permit.
Recently, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) has renewed/reissued a two year acceptance of this project (IDNR Consultation Project No. 0810728). The renewed approval provided by the IDNR, which oversees the Illinois Nature Preserves Commission (INPC), addresses the concerns presented by the INPC in a letter to the MWRD dated April 1, 2008 regarding the project’s effluent and drainage discharge to an Illinois Nature Preserve within the Cook County Forest Preserve
adjacent to the project site to the south.
The IDPH has required a number of conditions for its approval to ensure the protection of the public health and water quality. Permit requirements include metering of the site well water supply to help ensure that discharge flows do not exceed the maximum permitted flow rate, and effluent sampling and testing to ensure that treatment standards are met.
Since the proposed wastewater discharge for this development consists of domestic wastewater only and is proposed to be less than 1,500 gallons per day, a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Permit from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) is not required. If the abovementioned metering indicates a higher flow, an IEPA permit will be required.
Since the Township has declined to act as Permittee under the permit for sanitary sewer and treatment facility construction and operation, the District requires that it provide a written statement to this effect before the permit can be issued. The District further requires that the Township sign the section of the permit where the Township accepts responsibility as Permittee for drainage and storm sewer construction. Accordingly, as part of the application process, the subject applicant has provided the District with the following:
1. A written statement from Northfield Township advising that the Township will not sign the permit application as Permittee for sanitary sewer and treatment facility construction and operation.
2. Signature of Northfield Township on the permit accepting responsibility as Permittee for stormwater drainage and storm sewer construction and operation and certifying that the manner of drainage is satisfactory and proper.
It has been the District’s practice to require permit applicants seeking to become Sole Permittees under the auspices of Section 2(h)5 of the Sewer Permit Ordinance to furnish certain documentation, including financial statements for review in order to determine the financial soundness of the applicant, and to provide surety for the maintenance and operation of the sewerage facilities to be constructed under the permit.
However, the subject applicant has requested a deviation from the aforesaid District’s established procedure with respect to the guarantee of maintenance and operation for the proposed facilities. In lieu of disclosure of financial soundness documentation and a surety bond for system maintenance and operation, the applicant has provided a copy of the property’s “Declaration of Condominium Ownership” relative to the development. This document was amended based on review input from the District’s Law Department, and meets with its approval.
To ensure that the required maintenance and operation responsibility for the proposed facilities will “run with the land” and be assumed by future owners as applicable, the MWRD will require that the Declaration be recorded with the Cook County Recorder of Deeds as a condition of the permit.
Both the Engineering and Law Departments consider the aforesaid requested procedure for Sole Permittee status to be, in this case, equal to or better than the established procedure, and in the best interest of the District. The related documents have been examined and accepted by the Law Department, which has found them sufficient, in totality, to satisfy the District’s Sole Permittee ordinance requirements.
Project buildings have already been built in advance of obtaining the MWRD permit, at the owner’s risk. However, it came to the attention of the Engineering Department that sewers and treatment facilities also had been installed, and were operating in advance of issuance of an approved District permit and without inspection by the District. Also, it was revealed upon MWRD site investigation that additional sewers had been installed that were not shown on the permit application drawings. Consequently, the District issued the owner of the project a citation for violation of the Sewer Permit Ordinance (Violation Case VC-20080020).
Resolution of this violation case necessitated that the owner televise the sanitary sewers, and excavate and expose pipe at certain locations. District field personnel inspected for proper materials and workmanship and determined that the installation was acceptable. Additional technical issues relating to permit approval are also now resolved to the satisfaction of the Engineering Department.
By letter dated April 23, 2008, the District was approached by the Forest Preserve District of Cook County (FPD) regarding its concerns over the project’s drainage system. Specifically, the FPD objected to the discharge of the project effluent and drainage discharge south to FPD land. In cooperation with the FPD, the District met with the FPD and the permit application plans were shown to FPD staff for examination. At this meeting, the FPD’s engineer noted that the overall drainage scheme originally received and reviewed without objection by the FPD (i.e. discharge from the west end of the project site, away from FPD land) differed from the scheme shown on the plans submitted for District permit approval (i.e. discharge from the south side of the project site, onto FPD land).
The FPD was advised that the discharge point and design were approved by Northfield Township, the Permittee for drainage on the MWRD permit application. It was also pointed out that the discharge is being made to what the FEMA Flood Rate Insurance Map (FIRM) shows to be part of the existing floodway of the West Fork of the North Branch of the Chicago River. The FPD was also advised that the MWRD permit, if issued, will carry a special condition stating that its issuance does not grant authority to the Sole Permittee/Co-Permittee to discharge onto, or construct on, adjoining lands without permission from the landowners.
Attached is a list of special conditions to be placed on this permit if/when issued.
Except for the need to obtain Board approval for Sole Permittee status for the sanitary sewerage facilities as being addressed herein, at this time the subject permit application meets District requirements for permit issuance.
It is hereby recommended that the Board of Commissioners authorize and direct the Chief Engineer to accept the “Declaration of Condominium Ownership” in lieu of disclosure of financial soundness documentation and in lieu of the posting of a surety bond for maintenance and operation, and to authorize the Engineering Department to allow issuance of Permit No. 06-015 to 600 Waukegan Road LLC as Sole Permittee, subject to the final approval of the Chief Engineer.
Please advise the undersigned if further clarification is required.
Requested, Joseph P. Sobanski, Chief Engineer, NV:JRR:AD
Respectfully Submitted, Frank Avila, Chairman Committee on Engineering
Disposition of this agenda item will be documented in the official Regular Board Meeting Minutes of the Board of Commissioners for August 14, 2008
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