Latest news with #IllinoisNutrientLossReductionStrategy
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Sterling invokes eminent domain, will pay $450K to obtain land for new wastewater treatment plant
Jun. 4—STERLING — Sterling city officials have taken action that will finalize the location of its yet-to-be-constructed wastewater treatment facility. The City Council unanimously approved an ordinance Monday night to accept a court order allowing the city to use eminent domain to purchase several parcels of property near the current facility's discharge line, at a cost of $450,000, to house the new plant. Eminent domain grants governments the power to take private property for public use, even if the owner does not want to sell it. The government must be taking the property for a public purpose and pay the owners "just compensation." After searching for possible locations for the new facility, engineers and city officials decided properties located near the current wastewater plant's existing discharge line were the ideal location. Those properties and their owners include: * Valley Bio Consulting Inc.: Parcel ID number — 11-20-351-009 (two parcels). * Illinois Rock Tech Inc.: Parcel ID number — 11-20-351-004 (one parcel). * Daniel & Roberta Witmer: Parcel ID number — 11-20-352-006 (one parcel). After appraising the properties, which were already listed for sale, the city entered negotiations with the owners, who, according to City Attorney Tim Zollinger, were asking for a "substantial" amount above fair market value. Despite the city offering above the appraised value, it could not reach a reasonable price for the properties with the owners, leading to eminent domain legal proceedings, according to city documents. During those litigations, the city and the owners negotiated the $450,000 selling price. Wastewater Superintendent Cory Bradshaw said the project to replace the city's 46-year-old plant has been planned for several years to address upcoming state regulatory changes, including phosphorous reduction, which the current facility cannot accommodate. Wastewater treatment facilities in Illinois are facing tougher phosphorus reduction regulations. The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency's new restrictions mainly apply to larger plants treating at least 1 million gallons a day. By 2030, these facilities will need to lower phosphorus levels to 0.5 milligrams per liter, as part of the Illinois Nutrient Loss Reduction Strategy. Bradshaw said construction is expected to begin two to three years after the acquisition, with an additional two years for completion. The new plant will replace Sterling's aging wastewater facility at 2400 W. Lynn Blvd., which was built in the 1970s. Bradshaw said the current lagoon-based treatment system is becoming outdated and inefficient in terms of cost and environmental performance. Original cost projections for the project from several years ago were calculated at $50 million to $60 million, although that figure may increase. While the exact size and square footage of the new plant has not been finalized, Bradshaw said it will be "completely different" from the current facility. The current plant will not be decommissioned, but will instead be converted into a large lift station. Half of its 32-acre lagoon will be filled in, while the remaining portion will be used for stormwater retention. From there, wastewater will be pumped to the new facility for treatment. Despite the size of the project, Bradshaw does not anticipate any service disruptions for residents, and the new facility will not require additional staff.
Yahoo
04-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Dixon council accepts bid for $21M project to update wastewater treatment plant
May 4—DIXON — Dixon city officials are moving forward with a $21 million project to update the aging infrastructure at the wastewater treatment plant. "This is going to be a long-term project," Public Works Director Matt Heckman said. "It's the revamping of all of the major systems at the wastewater treatment plant. Although they're still functioning properly at this moment, they have reached a point of mechanical life where we need to update or repair these things before they start to give us fits." At the April 21 Dixon City Council meeting, the council approved a bid of $18.257 million from Vissering Construction Co. of Streator. The project is expected to take about 18 months to complete, but next steps are dependent on the city being formally accepted into the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency Water Pollution Control Loan Program, which is how the city is paying for the upgrades, Heckman said. So far, the city has received preliminary approvals from the program and expects to get that formal approval within the next two months, Heckman said. Based on the preliminary approvals, the entire project is eligible to be financed through the program, and the principal forgiveness increased from $4.8 million to $6.3 million, Heckman said. Principal forgiveness is a portion of the loan that is permanently removed; the borrower is not responsible for paying that amount. "That's a big win for us. It's been a pretty good week for the city of Dixon," Heckman said. The remaining costs will be financed at 1.2% interest over 30 years with an annual payment of about $600,000, "which is exactly where we want to be," Heckman said. This type of financing for costly needed projects "is a fairly effective way of doing the infrastructure," Mayor Glen Hughes said in an interview with Shaw Local Radio. Dixon's wastewater treatment plant "is over 20 years old. A lot of things need to be upgraded," Hughes said. "We've been talking about these improvements for many years," Heckman said, adding that if left as is, "you could have a critical failure at the wastewater treatment plant, which would not be ideal." Heckman said the updates also incorporate some upcoming regulatory changes from the IEPA mandating that by 2030, plants treating at least 1 million gallons a day must lower their phosphorus levels to 0.5 milligrams per liter, as part of the Illinois Nutrient Loss Reduction Strategy. "The Illinois EPA sets the standards for wastewater effluent. We take meeting and exceeding those standards very seriously. We want to keep our waterways clean. ... That's super important to us," Heckman said. Other repairs to the plant also were completed in late 2024. There were a couple screws — one broken, another fractured — that needed to be fixed because they're an important structural part of the system that moves the waste, Hughes said. The council approved a bid of $439,905 for that project at its Nov. 4 meeting. Those screws needed to be replaced for a long time. The issue was first brought to the city's attention under former Comptroller Rita Crundwell and was expected to cost about $35,000, council member Dennis Considine said in a previous interview with Shaw Local. Considine was elected to the council six months before Crundwell was escorted out of Dixon City Hall in handcuffs in April 2012 and convicted in 2013 of embezzling $53.7 million from the city. While Dixon struggled to pay for infrastructure and other projects, she used the money to fund a lavish lifestyle raising champion quarter horses, a $2 million tour bus, multiple homes and other trappings. The completion of that screw project wrapped up the list of backlogged projects. Dixon City Manager Danny Langloss said Friday "we're not catching up with anything from Crundwell" that he's aware of.
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Sterling announces land agreement for site of new wastewater treatment facility
Apr. 24—STERLING — Sterling officials have reached a preliminary agreement with a private landowner to secure a site for a new wastewater treatment facility. The announcement was made by City Manager Scott Schumard during Monday's Sterling City Council meeting. "The city recently came to an agreement with the property owner for the purchase of land for the city's next wastewater treatment plant," Schumard said. "That happened last week. With that secured, the city will begin planning and engineering to replace the 46-year-old plant currently in use and unable to meet upcoming regulations." Wastewater Superintendent Cory Bradshaw said the project has been planned for several years to address upcoming state regulatory changes, including phosphorous reduction. "We have to start reducing the phosphorus, and that is going to be a whole new treatment process that we're not capable of doing here," Bradshaw said. Wastewater treatment facilities in Illinois are facing tougher phosphorus reduction regulations. The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency's new restrictions mainly apply to larger plants treating at least 1 million gallons a day. By 2030, these facilities will need to lower phosphorus levels to 0.5 milligrams per liter, as part of the Illinois Nutrient Loss Reduction Strategy. Although some details of the project currently are confidential while the land deal is being finalized, including the new facility's location and the landowner's name, Bradshaw said construction is expected to begin two to three years after the acquisition, with an additional two years for completion. The new plant will replace Sterling's aging wastewater facility at 2400 W. Lynn Blvd., which was built in the 1970s. Bradshaw said the current lagoon-based treatment system is becoming outdated and inefficient in terms of cost and environmental performance. Original cost projections for the project from several years ago were calculated at $50 million to $60 million, although that figure may increase. While the exact size and square footage of the new plant has not been finalized, Bradshaw said that it will be "completely different" from the current facility. "It should be state-of-the-art once it's finished," Bradshaw said. "We're looking at being a lot more efficient. As far as the treatment process, it should cost a lot less to treat the water." The current plant will not be decommissioned, but will instead be converted into a large lift station. Half of its 32-acre lagoon will be filled in, while the remaining portion will be used for stormwater retention. From there, wastewater will be pumped to the new facility for treatment. Despite the size of the project, Bradshaw does not anticipate any service disruptions for residents, and the new facility will not require additional staff.
