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PUC launches Sewer System Master Plan work; proposes Digester Task Force and wide cost range for digesters
Summary
PUC staff presented a draft Sewer System Master Plan and proposed a Digester Task Force to work with neighbors on digester siting, design and community mitigation. Staff estimated the digester component could cost between about $700 million and $1.4 billion and said CEQA and public workshops will proceed through 2011.
San Francisco Public Utilities Commission staff outlined the draft Sewer System Master Plan on Jan. 27 and proposed establishing a Digester Task Force composed of neighborhood representatives, technical advisers and agency staff to guide siting and design of new digesters and biosolids facilities.
John Liachenault and Tommy Moala presented the plan’s purpose: a 15‑year capital improvement program to address aging sewers (average pipe age ~70 years), treatment plant upgrades, odor control, biosolids management and long‑term recycled‑water opportunities. The presentation noted the Southeast Treatment Plant treats the majority of the city’s wastewater and that some digester infrastructure dates to the 1950s.
Staff said two candidate sites are being evaluated for digesters and described community engagement to date, including a technical advisory committee, public workshops that produced roughly 12,000 mailed response cards and initial meetings that drew about 500 people in early rounds. The Digester Task Force would focus on local issues—site selection, vessel profile, architectural integration and neighborhood impacts—before the project moves into project‑level design and CEQA.
A senior staff member outlined a broad cost range for the digester and biosolids center: roughly $700 million to $1.4 billion, inclusive of planning and design; staff characterized that as a program‑level estimate that will be refined as project alternatives are developed. Environmental review, staff said, will be a multi‑year process stretching into 2011.
Community commenters and environmental groups urged strong mitigation and community benefits, reminded the commission of prior community agreements tied to past plant projects, and recommended early, explicit attention to environmental justice, job training, and local hiring or apprenticeship opportunities tied to project work.
Next steps: staff plans monthly Digester Task Force meetings starting next month, a published draft master plan, continued technical advisory committee review and a March 10 commission briefing with more detailed project lists, options and cost ranges to support future CEQA scoping and project prioritization.
