Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Infrastructure Project topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Land Use Committee backs CEQA findings for SFPUC biosolids digester project, releases appropriated funds
Summary
The committee moved forward CEQA findings and the release of appropriated funds for the SFPUC Southeast Plant biosolids digester project, a $1.2 billion component of the $2.9 billion Sewer System Improvement Program; SFPUC highlighted odor control, seismic safety and on-site renewable energy benefits.
The Land Use Committee considered Item 3 on April 9: a resolution adopting CEQA findings and a mitigation and monitoring program for the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission’s Sewer System Improvement Program (SSIP) biosolids digester project at the Southeast Plant in District 10. Brittany Chiquata, legislative aide to Supervisor Cohen, spoke in support and said the upgrade is long overdue given odor and visual impacts on Bayview residents.
Karen Kubik, SSIP director at the SFPUC, told the committee that the SSIP is a 20-year, $2.9 billion investment in San Francisco’s wastewater system and that the biosolids project represents about $1.2 billion of that total. She said the Southeast plant treats roughly 80% of the city’s sewage, and that the project would replace aging, seismically vulnerable digesters, reducing the number of digesters from nine to five, improving treatment levels and odor control, and capturing process gas to provide about 50% of the plant’s energy needs. Kubik also said the project secured a $625 million Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) allocation and is pursuing a low-interest state revolving loan for remaining financing.
Kubik summarized the environmental review timeline: draft EIR published May 2017, approximately 20 comment letters received, responses published February 2018, and the EIR certified at the planning commission before coming to the committee for adoption of CEQA findings. With no public comment on the item, the committee moved the resolution forward with a positive recommendation "without objection," enabling the SFPUC to proceed toward construction.
The committee's action adopts the CEQA findings and authorizes release of appropriated funds at the committee level; final project approvals and construction phase steps remain subject to SFPUC processes and any further Board action required for specific budgetary items.
