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Board signs off on wastewater consultant, transfer‑switch design and Trane permit updates
Summary
The board approved a Donahue & Associates agreement to finish wastewater plant upgrades, authorized design work for a transfer switch to coordinate the plant's cogeneration with Xcel Energy, and approved an updated industrial discharge permit for Trane that clarified sampling language.
The La Crosse Board of Public Works approved three related wastewater and energy items on Sept. 2: a consultant agreement with Donahue & Associates to finish plant upgrades, a design proposal for a direct transfer switch to coordinate the plant’s cogeneration system with Xcel Energy, and an update to the Trane plant industrial discharge permit to correct sampling language.
City staff member Jared said the wastewater upgrade project has been under construction nearly 4½ years and that the original contract deadline was April 2024. He said remaining work includes warranty and startup issues for the heat dryer, odor control equipment (BioAir), defective sludge pumps and finishing a silo for heat‑dried biosolids; the Donahue agreement would provide consultant and project‑representation services to complete the work. “Donahue has worked with us to get to the point where we're at currently to finish up this project or upgrade at the wastewater plant,” Jared said.
On energy resilience, Jared described a requirement for a direct transfer switch and radio communication so the plant’s cogeneration system will shut down automatically when an outage occurs at the local substation. He said the work requires coordination with Xcel Energy and that the design proposal will produce bid specifications and radio‑communication requirements.
Jared also described minor corrections to the Trane industrial discharge permit issued earlier this year, clarifying language about grab sampling versus composite sampling to reflect how Trane batches and treats discharge; he noted the facility discharges about 500,000 gallons per year to La Crosse and characterized the item as an addendum to the permit.
Each item was moved and seconded and the board approved the agreements and permit update unanimously. The transcript does not record contract values for the Donahue agreement or the transfer‑switch design proposal; staff will return with contracting details and implementation schedules.
