NOTICE OF PUBLIC MEETING
The City of Green River, Wyoming, will conduct a public hearing at 7:00 PM, local time, on March 15, 2016, in the Council Chambers at City Hall, 50 East 2nd North Street, Green River, Wyoming. The purpose of the hearing is to allow citizens to review and comment on the following project.
City of Green River Wastewater Treatment Plant Replacement Facility Design:
The City of Green River currently operates one of the largest lagoon wastewater treatment systems in the Colorado River Basin. Wastewater treatment plant discharge permit requirements for this type of facility are becoming more stringent throughout the nation. In anticipation of stricter requirements, the City of Green River used local funds to develop a Wastewater Treatment Master Plan to define what improvements are necessary for the City’s wastewater treatment facility to meet future discharge permit requirements, expected for the City’s 2016 and 2021 permit cycles. The resultant Wastewater Treatment Master Plan, completed in May 2015, recommended that to meet future discharge permit requirements, the City pursue the design and construction of a new mechanical treatment plant for its wastewater, estimated to cost approximately $30 Million.
The study noted that while renovations to the existing treatment plant may allow the lagoon system to meet short term discharge regulations, the plant’s existing physical condition would make those renovations extensive and expensive, and still only extend the life of the plant for a few permit cycles at best. Overall, the study recommends that a more modern treatment technology will be needed for the Green River facility to meet long-term discharge requirements in a fiscally prudent manner, benefiting the community well into the future.
The City of Green River recognizes that a project of this magnitude will have a significant impact on our ratepayers. It is for this reason that the City is seeking to leverage its local funds and borrowing capacity to obtain State and Federal assistance where possible to temper the steep rate increases that will undoubtedly accompany this project.
The City has established a proactive schedule that would allow it to meet the expected discharge permit requirements in the next five years. As the first step to meeting this schedule, the City has applied for a State Revolving Fund (SRF) Loan in the amount of $1.2 Million to generate funds necessary for the replacement facility design phase. The City has been conditionally approved for the SRF Loan, and intends to begin the design process in 2016. Throughout the design process the City expects to submit other funding requests, directed towards a variety of funding agencies, with the ultimate goal of allowing construction to begin in time for the City’s next wastewater treatment plant permit cycle, scheduled for 2021.
The City of Green River intends to use funds from the Wyoming Clean Water State Revolving Loan Fund administered by the Wyoming Office of State Lands and Investments. The City of Green River will present the preliminary plan and schedule of the proposed project and discuss the estimated cost of the improvements. Based on current estimates, the City of Green River plans to borrow $1,200,000 from the Wyoming Clean Water State Revolving Loan Fund for the project design phase. Increased user fees will repay the loan. The average rate increase is estimated to be $1.50/month per user (combined residential and commercial, to be effective July 1, 2016) to repay this $1,200,000 loan, which has terms of 2.5% and 20 years. The Wastewater Treatment Master Plan of improvements and estimates can be reviewed at the City of Green River Public Works Department, 325 East Teton Boulevard, Green River, Wyoming. Contact Mark Westenskow at 307-872-0525.
Written comments are also welcome and must be received by 5:00 PM on March 18, 2016. Send written comments to Mark Westenskow, Director of Public Works, 50 East 2nd North Street, Green River, WY 82935.