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PUC hears odor-control progress; staff seeks interim fixes and $10–15M to stabilize digesters
Summary
Wastewater staff reported projects completed since the 1998 master plan and outlined interim digester repairs and gas-management upgrades estimated at $10–15 million to reduce odors ahead of a longer-term master plan; commissioners pressed to fast-track repairs for state-of-good-repair items.
Tommy Moala, Wastewater Assistant General Manager, briefed the commission on the odor-control program and the condition of digesters at the Southeast plant on April 22. He said staff have completed multiple mitigation projects identified in an updated survey, closed loading-bay doors and installed air-scrubbing systems in targeted areas, and executed upgrades intended to stabilize gas-handling for the cogen facility.
Moala presented options for interim repairs and rehabilitation of digester steel covers, replacement of gas compressors and heat exchangers, and cleaning of digesters to reduce odors and improve seismic reliability. He estimated interim work to cost in the $10–15 million range to carry the plant to the time when a full master plan and environmental review can proceed. "Estimated total cost, dollars 10,000,000 to 15,000,000," Moala said, describing the scope as bridging work until master-plan projects can be executed.
Commissioners repeatedly asked staff to distinguish between projects that correct deferred maintenance and those that require full environmental review as program changes; several urged staff and the general manager to identify funding sources that could accelerate R&R (repair and replacement) projects and to return with clear separations in the master-plan documents. Commissioners also discussed tenting or covering clarifiers and digesters as odor-control options; staff cited safety and explosion-risk analyses that limited tenting as a viable solution in dense urban settings.
Why it matters: neighbors in the Southeast plant service area repeatedly complain about odors; commissioners emphasized the human health and quality-of-life implications as justification to prioritize repairs.
What’s next: staff will return with workshop materials, a prioritized list of emergency R&R projects, and recommendations for funding acceleration to address community odor concerns.
