Borough to consider feasibility of sending septage to Palmer

PALMER — The Mat-Su Borough Assembly will consider Resolution 21-019, a resolution which would support a feasibility study to evaluate the city of Palmer’s Waste Water Treatment Plant as an alternative for borough septage disposal, and suspend the application for construction funding of a septage facility at the central landfill until the study is complete.

The Informational Memorandum attached to RS 21-019 notes that rates at the Anchorage Water and Wastewater Utility are expected to rise due to capital and operating expense increases at AWWU, affecting the costs of haulers between the Valley and Anchorage. However, AWWU will continue to receive septage at the disposal station on Turpin Street and said they have no plans to close the station to Valley septage haulers.

“A local Mat-Su facility is being considered to mitigate the transportation impacts and cost increases to borough residents for septage disposal. The borough conducted a site selection process in 2015 to identify the most suitable location for a new septage and leachate treatment facility on Borough-owned land,” reads the IM.

The borough settled on the central landfill and the Assembly approved studies that were funded by a $93,000 Clean Water Revolving Fund loan from the state of Alaska for construction and design work. Plans were originally to construct a combined septage and leachate treatment facility, but the borough decided to separate the projects.

“To date, a portion of the loan funding, approximately $80,000, has been used for septage studies to conduct a preliminary engineering report (PER) and to develop a solicitation for a public/private partnership (PPP) for septage treatment at the central landfill. The PPP solicitation in 2020 did not generate any offers, and the Borough has again turned its attention to funding the project through public financing”

The city of Palmer entered into a consent decree after action from the United States Environmental Protection Agency in 2016. A feasibility study to transfer borough septage to the WWTP in Palmer would provide detailed information of capital and operating costs, disposal station locations and potential impacts to both communities.

“The city’s WWTP improvements could be combined with improvements to the city’s sewer system to allow it to receive and treat septage generated throughout the Borough. A cooperative approach between the Borough and the City could provide a benefit to both government agencies and minimize capital and operating costs for Borough and city residents,” reads the IM.