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Springfield plant decommissioning advances; agency pursues easements, handles pending condemnations
Summary
Agency engineers reported progress removing basins and lagoons at the former City of Springfield wastewater treatment plant, said NDE offered no negative feedback on decommissioning, and reported ongoing condemnation proceedings with two property owners; staff also described pending master service agreements and flow-metering work.
Agency project engineer Jeff Thompson reported that decommissioning work at the City of Springfield wastewater treatment plant is progressing, with an aeration basin, clarifier and one lagoon removed from service and site cleanup and rough grading underway.
"As you can see the aeration basin clarifier and one of the lagoons at that facility have been completely removed and taken out of service," Thompson said while showing board members photos of the site. He told the board that staff met with the Nebraska Department of Environment (NDE) on Monday and that NDE provided no negative feedback on the decommissioning process.
Thompson also said the agency is working to close out its SRF loan and to secure a final payment from NDE of about $2.5 million; staff are providing requested paperwork to complete the closeout.
Regarding property access, Thompson said the agency has active condemnation proceedings involving two property owners connected with project easements. "I can't really disclose anything right now in public forum, but, we'll tell you that we have been deposing several of their expert witnesses and working through that whole process as far as coming to some resolution there and hopefully have something relatively soon to report," he said.
Thompson told the board staff are drafting master service agreements with Bellevue and Papillion (the agency has an existing master service agreement with Springfield and an MOU with Sarpy County) so those jurisdictions can be placed to receive service without lag if development occurs. He also said RJN Engineering is finalizing a flow-monitoring software platform and will provide flow-metering services and oversight.
Why this matters: The decommissioning work and easement-acquisition process are necessary steps to bring the regional system into service and to ensure capacity and service agreements are in place for member cities. Condemnation proceedings can affect schedule and costs.
What’s next: Staff will continue decommissioning work, pursue SRF closeout paperwork to secure the final NDE payment, continue condemnation depositions and negotiations, and circulate drafts of master service agreements to city staff for review.
