The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Sewer upgrades could cost $72.26M
WPCA has had few improvements since 1970
TORRINGTON » The City Council voted to borrow up to an additional $20.3 million for improvements and renovations to the Water Pollution Control Facility Monday evening, bringing the total price tag up to $72.26 million.
The project will bring the facility into compliance with regulatory requirements for flood protection and the filtration of phosphorus and nitrogen, according to a presentation from WPCA Administrator Ray Drew, Public Works Director Jerry Rollett and Middletown-based engineering firm Wright-Pierce, before the
council’s vote.
Aging equipment at the facility will be replaced as part of the project, as well, according to the presentation. The last significant upgrade to the plant took place in 1970, Drew said. The work will also improve energy efficiency at the facility, he said.
Drew said the city’s National Pollutant Discharge Eliminate System permit will expire in April 2020, requiring a portion of the work.
City residents approved borrowing $52 million for the project in a September 2014 referendum. The projected cost of the project has increased since then, in part due to changes to requirements for mitigating hazardous materials, such as PCBs, and flood protection standards.
Residents weighed in on borrowing the additional funding Monday, with resident Mike Banziruk prompting the greatest stir by suggesting contingency funding included in the current estimate was high and could be used to defray some of the potential cost.
“When we have all these contingencies and government (costs), it’s unbelievable that it will all get used up,” said Banziruk. “I mean, we are not the cash cow here in Torrington.”
The contingency funds included in the project were fine-tuned during the engineering process, decreasing them from the 2012 levels, Mayor Elinor Carbone said.
Council member Paul Cavagnero, drawing on Banziruk’s comments, made a motion to table the project vote to allow for further review and consultation. This motion was rejected, with Cavagnero and council member Luisa Noujaim voting for it.
Carbone said the $72.26 million figure represents the highest likely estimate for the work, with actual bids yet to be received. Approximately 22 percent of the work, or $15.9 million, is expected to be paid with grant funding, according to the presentation.
“There’s a lot of unknowns as to what those final numbers will be,” Carbone said.
All funding for the project will be borrowed from the Connecticut Clean Water Fund, Drew and Carbone said. This fund was established in 1986 to “provide financial assistance to municipalities for planning, design and construction of wastewater collection and treatment projects,” according to the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.
If the $72.26 million projection holds true, this would lead to $56.36 million being borrowed at 2 percent interest, according to the presentation. This would lead to the loan being paid off in an annual installment of $3.4 million over 20 years, Drew said.
Drew said bids for the work are expected to be received in November, with construction scheduled to begin in April or May 2018.
The work is expected to be completed by 2021, with the needs of the permit addressed by the April 2020 deadline.
Not complying with the phosphorous filtration standard could leave the city vulnerable to lawsuits and prompt fines of up to $25,000 per day from the state, Drew said.