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McAlester council OKs Garver contract for wastewater facility plan to address ODEQ ammonia consent order
Summary
The council authorized the mayor to sign a contract with Garver Engineers for a facility plan and engineering report required under an ODEQ consent order addressing repeated ammonia exceedances at the West Wastewater Treatment Plant. City staff said documentation must be delivered to the Department of Environmental Quality by this fall.
The McAlester City Council on a unanimous vote authorized the mayor to sign a contract with Garver Engineers to prepare a facility plan and engineering report as part of the city's response to an Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality (ODEQ) consent order over repeated ammonia excursions at the West Wastewater Treatment Plant.
City staff described the work as two linked tasks: a broad facility plan to examine capacities across the plant and a targeted engineering report to specify the initial upgrades needed to reduce ammonia releases. "We do have a consent order for ammonia at our West Wastewater Treatment Plant," a city staff member said during the meeting, adding the plant's aeration system — last upgraded in the early 1980s — needs improvements and could require "an upgrade either through liquid oxygen or forced air." The staff member said the contract will produce cost estimates and a roadmap for future investments.
The staff presentation said the city has experienced repeated ammonia occurrences more for frequency than for very high levels; those occurrences can encourage algae growth and reduce dissolved oxygen, potentially harming wildlife downstream. The city told council that it is negotiating with ODEQ to submit required documentation by the fall, after which ODEQ would issue follow-up task orders setting design and construction timing.
Staff emphasized that while consent orders impose schedules, they can also facilitate financing opportunities the city could use for design and construction. "A consent order opens a lot of doors from a financing perspective," the staff member said, noting that staying "upfront" with regulators helps secure reasonable time frames for design and construction and for financing.
Councilor Gilmore moved to approve the contract and Councilor Boatwright seconded. The roll call vote recorded Gilmore, Boatwright, Beatty, Woodley, Stone, Roden and the mayor as voting yes; the motion carried.
The contract authorizes Garver to assess plant units (clarifiers, digesters, aeration, solids handling), prepare cost estimates and issue an engineering report focused on measures to control ammonia under the consent order. Staff said the work is intended to avoid narrowly upgrading only one unit and missing other process limitations that affect permit compliance.
Council members asked for follow-up communication to the public explaining the consent order timeline and what the report will and will not decide. Staff said they will provide more specific percent/exceedance data to council and the public after they compile the facility assessment.
The council action funds the planning and reporting step; design, procurement and construction would follow later task orders and budget approvals.
