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Escanaba council approves up to $85,000 to convert wastewater plant from gas chlorine to liquid sodium hypochlorite
Summary
Council authorized a $70,000 equipment purchase for the Escanaba wastewater plant to transition from gas chlorine to sodium hypochlorite and granted the city manager discretion to approve an additional $15,000 if needed to cover contingencies.
Escanaba’s City Council voted Dec. 19 to approve a purchase of equipment, not to exceed $70,000, to convert the city’s wastewater plant from gas chlorine to liquid sodium hypochlorite and gave the city manager discretion to approve an additional $15,000 if necessary.
Administration presented the item as a compliance and safety measure: staff said converting to sodium hypochlorite would avoid the Process Safety Management (PSM) requirements that accompany gas chlorine and reduce long-term regulatory burdens. "We've heard enough to run scared and go with the safer easier chemical to use," a staff member said when summarizing the rationale.
Jeff (staff) told council that initial vendor pricing and evolving temporary-system requirements mean the $70,000 estimate is tight and the total could approach $80,000 depending on tank, storage and site modifications; he recommended moving forward to avoid purchasing more gas chlorine and potentially incurring fines. Staff also said prior contact with MIOSHA indicated the city must fix its system to avoid enforcement; staff referenced possible fines if noncompliant.
Council members debated whether to include a contingency and suggested manager-level discretion to avoid reconvening the council for modest overruns. A motion to approve the $70,000 purchase with up to $15,000 manager discretion carried on roll call.
Staff characterized the purchase as both a near-term expense to avoid continued use of gas chlorine and a step toward aligning operations with industry practice; they said funds are available in the wastewater department’s current fiscal-year budget.
