City officials told the Municipal Accountability Review Board of planned multimillion dollar upgrades to the city’s wastewater treatment plant that they hope to address quickly to avoid ballooning costs in the future or potential environmental catastrophe, but time is ticking on the permits.
Included in that package of projects is an estimated $30 million project to bring the Water Pollution Control Plant’s sludge incinerator back online following its closure in 2017 and an estimated $70 million project to replace a damaged outfall pipe.
City Engineer Abdul Quadir told members of the MARB, a state oversight board that reserves approval power over some city budgeting decisions due to past mismanagement, that the city has a state permit to upgrade its incinerator to meet U.S. Environmental Protection Agency standards, but that the permit expires shortly after the end of 2023. Getting another permit, he said, would be “almost impossible.” Quadir said the city would need to communicate with the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection about its desire to move forward with upgrading its incinerator and provide a schedule for that process.
Currently, the city ships biosolid waste to Naugatuck. Quadir said the cost in 2017 was $667,000, but it has since increased //to or by// $1.2 million and is likely to no longer be an option in the next five years. Quadir said another option besides upgrading the incinerator would be to gassify the waste, but that option is more expensive.
Quadir said the outfall pipe project would require replacing an old pipe that was exposed during Hurricane Irene and Super Storm Sandy. The project, which is projected to cost up to $70 million, has been difficult to fund because of its cost, Quadir said. But the city risks losing state Clean Water Fund money — which covers only 20 percent of the project — to assist with the project if it doesn’t act. Failing to do so, he said, exposes the steel pipe to the elements, which can lead to emergency repairs. Thus far, he said, the city has spent about $3 million on repairs.
Quadir said the city continues to pursue Federal Emergency Management Agency funding to cover 75 percent of the costs but thus far has been unsuccessful.
Acting Finance Director Dave Taylor said the borrowing proposed in the city’s five-year plan to address those infrastructure concerns is “a little front-ended.” However, he said that upgrading the incinerator could provide a potential revenue stream as the state faces a financial crisis caused by municipalities transporting waste outside of the state due to a lack of local incinerator and landfill facilities.
City leaders said they believe the projects raised by Quadir are worth pursuing as potential revenue streams and a means of addressing outdated infrastructure.
“Getting the incinerator up and running and getting the outflow pipe repaired will be a great asset to the city,” said Councilman Gary Donovan, D-At Large. “It will lower costs and save taxpayers money plus the city could benefit by having neighboring towns pay us to have their waste disposed of. Whatever grants are available for this to happen is something we need to go after.”
Councilwoman Colleen O’Connor, R-At Large, said she believes the repairs would be to the benefit of the city and its neighbors.
“The exposed outfall pipe needs repairs. By repairing the pipe it will affect all the cities that share our end of the Sound,” she said. “If there is money to be found to help with any or all of the costs involved in these projects, the Grants Department will find it.”
Councilman Ron Quagliani, D-At Large, said the issue of waste disposal is “a significant concern for many communities” because of dwindling economical options.
“The WPCA has made great strides over the past few years to ensure plant reliability,” he said. “I’m happy to see the MARB is engaged with the city discussing and prioritizing plant operations, maintenance needs and disposal options all to ensure the needs of our community are met well into the future.”
A spokesman for DEEP said discussions with the city on wastewater plant upgrades are “preliminary” and there is no formal application before the department.
“The formal permit application process would entail assessing potential air, water, and community impacts, as it would in any community considering infrastructure projects of this kind,” he said.
Dorinda Borer, a Democratic state representative who is running to for mayor to replace retiring Mayor Nancy Rossi, has obtained millions in state funding for shoreline infrastructure upgrades, including funding to dredge the New Haven Harbor.
“(W)e need to be mindful of the timing related to our outfall pipe,” she said in an emailed comment, because it “not only needs to be replaced but the pipe depth will need to change.”
“The outfall pipe will cost no less than $35 million, which is beyond City and State resources, therefore we need our federal partners to assist with contributing towards the infrastructure funds,” she said.
Borer said she has “reservations” about the incinerator due to “air quality emission implications.” She said that any solution to the issue will take an investment of time and money.
“I believe there are cleaner solutions but would need to further study our options,” she said. “The WPCA needs a complete overhaul, but I’m guessing it is sitting on contaminants and therefore upgrading the plant will not be a simple or timely resolution.”
MARB member Susan Weisselberg asked Quadir about the potential release of PFAS chemicals from the incinerator. Quadir told her the city is reviewing options to treat those chemicals in its preliminary stage, and the city’s bigger concern will be the disposal of ash waste.
Republican mayoral candidate Barry Lee Cohen said in an emailed comment it would be impossible to “fix forty years of neglect and mismanagement in one two-year mayoral term.”
“My administration’s focus will be to identify and then prioritize our city’s infrastructure needs first and foremost, determine the feasibility and financial requirements of each, and develop a long-term plan of action. These high-value, comprehensive, and costly projects rarely have sustainable short-term solutions,” he said.
Despite the price tag, Cohen said investing in infrastructure would lead to developers investing in the city as well as improving the quality of life for residents.
“Be assured that Westies will see substantial movement in this area,” he said.
MARB member Stephen Falcigno suggested the city look into creating a regional hub for biosolid waste disposal.
“You could mitigate the $30 million cost and add a new revenue stream,” he said.
MARB member Tom Hamilton asked the city if it looked into federal funding through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act that passed in 2021.
“Those kinds of funding efforts can typically take a long time to develop and involve quite a bit of background work,” he said.
Quadir said the city had been in touch with the office of U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., for assistance. An aide in Murphy’s office told the Register that Murphy supported the city’s application for federal funds to complete flood hardening for the Main Pumping Station and the Regional Wastewater Pollution Control Facility in the congressionally directed spending process, but the application was not included in the 2024 appropriations bill.