Chesapeake Beach wastewater plant expected to qualify for Bay Restoration Fund grant; solids-handling contract must be rebid

Chesapeake Beach water reclamation staff reported that the town’s wastewater treatment plant met enhanced nutrient-removal targets in 2024 and should qualify for a fourth consecutive Bay Restoration Fund operations-and-maintenance grant, Town staff said at the council meeting.

The town’s water reclamation superintendent, identified in the meeting as Josh, told the council that the plant’s 2024 annual average discharge concentrations were 1.34 milligrams per liter for total nitrogen and 0.12 milligrams per liter for total phosphorus. He said those levels are below the enhanced nutrient-removal thresholds used by the Maryland Department of the Environment and that the plant should therefore qualify for the Bay Restoration Fund O&M grant program for a fourth year.

In a technical explanation to the council, Josh said the base grant calculation used by MDE is tied to a facility’s design capacity (base rate of $30,000 per 1 million gallons per day up to the program cap). He said staff’s tabulation of flows and concentrations indicates the town should receive an increased base grant compared with earlier years, and that additional outperformance funding for nitrogen is allocated from remaining state O&M funds. Josh said the plant received $61,096 from the program in the prior year as a payment that offsets O&M costs.

Josh also briefed the council on recent plant work: preventive maintenance checks are complete, HVAC replacements for outdoor control panels have been finished and punch-list items closed, and staff resolved issues stemming from a power flicker in late December. He listed the chemicals the plant adds for process control — polyaluminum chloride for phosphorus removal and methanol as a supplemental carbon source for nitrate removal — and explicitly said the town does not fluoridate drinking water at the plant.

The meeting included operational and budget questions from council members. Josh said funding for spare parts is included in the plant’s capital projects line item and that staff have identified plant locations for spare-part storage. He told the council the current solids-handling contract has been renewed twice under the original RFP limits and will expire Aug. 1, 2025; he said the town will need to put the work back out to bid when the contract expires.

Council members asked for the plant’s previously submitted budget document and for a breakdown of operating costs; Josh said he could provide the last-submitted budget and would look into per-day operating cost estimates. He also said staff will consider timing for issuing an RFP for the solids-handling contract so the town can include anticipated costs in the upcoming budget process.

The town’s mayor and other council members asked staff to share numbers and follow up with more-detailed cost projections before formal rate changes are considered. Josh told the council he would provide the 2024 budget submittal and work with the mayor and finance staff on any additional documentation the council requests.

The council did not take a formal vote on rates or on awarding contracts during the meeting; staff noted next steps (providing budget documents, preparing an RFP timeline) and identified the contract expiration date that will trigger a formal procurement process.

Ending: Council members thanked plant staff for the report and commended the recent grant performance. Staff will provide the requested budget documents and return with procurement timing for the solids-handling contract.