Council approves big loan application

A $27.6 million loan application for the construction of a replacement Wastewater Treatment Plant facility was approved by the Green River City Council last week.

The loan request will be made though the Wyoming Clean Water State Revolving Fund loan program and, according to Public Works Director Mark Westenskow, will represent 100 percent of the anticipated construction costs if awarded. The loan would have a lifetime of 30 years at 2.5 percent interest.

The treatment facility has been on the city’s agenda for the past five years, with discussions starting in 2014. There are multiple issues the city faces is with its current lagoon system used to treat wastewater from the city. The lagoons were initially built in 1962, with the last major revision taking place in 1989. Since then, the city has repaired equipment used at its current facility, which has become more costly as much of it is no longer produced and requires custom rebuilds to repair.

According to City Finance Director Chris Meats, the city is facing a catastrophe the longer it’s in use.

“The current wastewater lagoon headworks is shot,” he said. “It needs replaced today.”

A second issue lies with coming EPA regulations on phosphorus and nitrogen releases from the treatment facility into the Green River, which Westenskow said are a major contributor to the algae blooms that occur at the Flaming Gorge Reservoir. Westenskow said the city expected regulations to be included in its 2016 water release permits, but those regulations were not included at the time. Westenskow said he expects the regulations to become part of the 2021 permit because the city creates 1 million gallons of wastewater a day.

“We’re not one of the little guys,” Westenskow said.

In a best case scenario, Westenskow said the city could start building the facility in 2020 and be prepared for the new regulations when the facility would be completed in 2022.

However, because the city would be utilizing a loan to build the facility, rates would have to increase to help pay for the debt service on the loan.

Westenskow said the city’s wastewater fund is an enterprise account and must pay for itself.

This means residents will likely see rate increases over the next several years. Currently rates are at a flat $18.80 a month, with additional charges for heavier users.