Escanaba City Council on Aug. 7 approved up to $34,400 to retain Fishbeck of Grand Rapids to evaluate odor-control measures and pretreatment options for leachate that enters the city’s wastewater system, after business owners reported recurring, sometimes severe odors along North Nineteenth Avenue. The study will examine short-term odor-control steps and long-term pretreatment alternatives and produce a draft evaluation and final alternatives analysis for council review.

The vote followed lengthy discussion among staff, council and affected business owners about the scope of the odor problem and who should pay for solutions. “This study is gonna set us in the direction to learn what we need to do and how we can do it,” said Jeff Lampe, a wastewater-department representative, as the council considered the proposal.

Why it matters: businesses along Nineteenth Avenue North described health and safety impacts during recent odor events, including nausea and headaches, and said operations were disrupted. Council members and staff said they want a technical analysis that can guide both short-term mitigation (chemical feed/odor control) and a longer-term pretreatment approach that may require substantial capital investment and coordination with the county landfill.

Council and staff described a range of options and costs in the meeting. Lampe told the council that a modest, “crude” temporary chemical feed system might be assembled for about $10,000–$15,000, while a full pretreatment system for leachate could cost roughly $1 million–$1.5 million. He also said that treating blindly with chemical feed without flow and composition data could cost $3,000–$10,000 per month. Lampe said Fishbeck was already familiar with city infrastructure and was an appropriate firm to perform the evaluation.

Landfill and business perspectives: several business owners, including Steve Cole of Delta Wilfroy, told the council the odor repeatedly made workplaces uninhabitable during peak events. Cole said employees were sent home and described nausea and breathing problems during a July incident. County landfill representatives attended the meeting and said the landfill and city need to coordinate; they noted historical arrangements that allowed the landfill to discharge leachate to the city sewer and warned that abruptly cutting off acceptance could require costly truck-hauling elsewhere.

Regulatory context and next steps: staff said state regulators (EGLE) promote treating leachate at wastewater treatment plants but also noted the city bears operational responsibility once leachate reaches the sewer system. Council members discussed cost-sharing and rate implications; staff said any significant pretreatment capital expense would require negotiated cost recovery arrangements with the landfill and likely be reflected in future wastewater rates. The Fishbeck scope calls for a draft evaluation within roughly 8–10 weeks after authorization and a final alternatives analysis after review.

The council approved the Fishbeck agreement unanimously. Staff said they would follow up with the landfill, coordinate stakeholder meetings and consider a short-term pilot mitigation while the study proceeds.