Springfield City Council yesterday discussed whether to award a $32.4 million biosolids treatment improvements project to Crossland Heavy Contractors Inc. of Columbus, Kan.
The request for the three-year project at the Southwest Wastewater Treatment Plant includes a $3.2 million amendment to the fiscal 2017 budget of the city’s environmental services department, or roughly 10 percent of the overall project, to cover contingencies and construction management services.
Errin Kemper, assistant director of environmental services, presented the project to council members.
“This project is an expansion of our current anaerobic digester and is needed to meet some regulatory obligations,” he said at the meeting. “This expanded facility also will create a great deal of free biomethane gas.”
Kemper said the project would include two energy generators designed to convert the gases into electricity.
“Once online, this project will make enough electricity to provide about half of the treatment plant’s energy needs,” he said.
Project plans also call for improvements to the hauled waste and loading station.
“This is where folks that are bringing hauled waste in on a truck have a better place to unload, and we can accept more materials that way,” Kemper said, noting planned improvements to nitrification tanks and a processes building.
Councilman Ken McClure, who was sitting in for Mayor Bob Stephens, asked Kemper to elaborate on the methane gas portion of the project.
He said the anaerobic digestion process involves all organic matter flowing through the sewer systems that is not clean water and other materials like fats, oils and greases that are brought in.
“Any organic matter goes into a large anaerobic digester and there it sits for a period of 30 to 45 days,” Kemper said. “Just like your compost heap in you backyard, as that organic material breaks down, it deteriorates into methane gas. It makes a lot of methane gas - enough methane gas to produce several hundred thousand dollars worth of electricity in a year.”
McClure expressed his approval of that portion of the project, noting Springfield’s Northwest Treatment Plant has had success with a similar system.
The discussion then moved to whether the city examined Occupational Safety and Health Administration filings to see if Crossland Heavy Contractors - a sister company of Crossland Construction Co. Inc. - has any violations.
Kemper said the contractor had 13 documented inspections 2006-10.
“Of the 13 documented inspections, there was one violation resulting in a fine of $1,313,” he said.
Councilman Craig Hosmer said information given to him by unions in Springfield indicated differently.
“They say there have been, since 2002, 43 OSHA violations, and they’ve been fined almost a quarter of a million dollars for OSHA violations, including fatalities,” he said.
Hosmer said the city should examine those claims before council votes on the contract in two weeks.
