Minutes 01/24/1984 - Laserfiche WebLink

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2.. ~ L TUESDAY JANUARY 24, 1984 ---- The Regulatory Agencies Perhaps not enough has been said in recent months about the folks who have the trump cards in all this. There are three state agencies with varying degrees of control over what we do or don't do with our plant--the Health Department, the Water Control Board and the Air Pollution Control Board. During the past four years since all this began, these agencies have been monitoring our progress and reviewtng all our plans and counter-plans. They have been largely cooperative and patient. But they have extracted from us a variety of commitments and we are behind in honoring some of those commitments. One result of our lack of progress in expanding our plant is that we are now somewhat routinely exceeding the permitted capacity. In September, our flow averaged 6.14 MGD; in October, it averaged 6.30 MGD; and in November it was 5.80 MGD--for a three-month average in excess of 6.0 MGD. We are, therefore, vulnerable to sanctions or penalties, including the possibility of having a moratorium declared on new connections. The point is that we cannot reasonably expect these regulatory agencies to sit still indefinitely while we try to convince P.S.A. what's good for them or while we chase after a succession of new plans proposed by interested citizens. Conclusions and Recommendations On November 15 the consultants advised you to authorize them to proceed with improvements to the existing plant and expansion of its overall capacity to 8.0 MGD. Wiley & Wilson then revised its recommendation to the Council as to an immediate course of action and on January 10 the engineers recommended that you authorize (a) preparation of detailed plans and specifications on the proposed improvements to the existing plant and (b) renewed negotiation to devise a mutually beneficial financial arrangement with P.S.A. by which to "divert to Koehler first". This change of posture by Wiley & Wilson can be attributed to information and understandings coming from the December 19 meeting of the three policy bodies--when it became apparent that P.S.A. might never buy-in to an expansion of our plant and that it might be possible for us to buy-in to the Koehler plant on better terms than was originally considered. In response, you have requested this overview and a concrete recommendation on my part. The recommendation will follow a few general and concluding observations: