Waste not, want not

PALMER — Palmer sees wastewater treatment as a regional issue and wants to focus on developing a regional facility to serve the Mat-Su Valley.

Mayor John Combs said the City Council has decided a regional approach is more cost-effective way of dealing with Palmer’s need to upgrade its wastewater handling ability.

“Our preference is to come together with the borough and city of Wasilla to lay out a plan,” Combs said.

After discussing building a new treatment plant with U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, a regional facility presents the best option for garnering federal funding, Combs said.

The Palmer Wastewater Treatment Plant Preliminary Engineering Report, produced by Hattenburg Dilley & Linnell and G.V. Jones and Associates, estimates the costs of a new Palmer-only plant from $24 million to $50 million. Along with construction costs, annual operation and maintenance costs range from just under $1 million to $3 million. Based on particular preferences like construction, operation and maintenance costs, the report recommends an integrated fixed-film activated sludge system (IFAS) as the preferred system for a Palmer-only plant. If built, the plant is expected cost about $43 million.

Trying to attract that kind of money will be easier if area entities cooperated to build a facility they could all use, Combs said. Not only would a regional plant help alleviate some costs associated with such a project, it also would address the needs of all entities involved. Palmer needs a new facility to meet the demands of a growing population and new regulations set by the Environmental Protection Agency. According to the engineering report, population in the Palmer wastewater service area is expected to triple by 2037. If growth goes as planned, the city’s current facility will be inadequate.

Combs said the city is anxious to develop a new facility and comply with federal regulations.

“If we move on this as quickly as I think we can, we will be in full compliance by December 2011,” he said.

If a regional plant doesn’t pan out, Combs said the city is ready look at its own treatment plant. With an engineering report already compiled, the city will be prepared to go either way.

“We agreed to use the [engineering report] as a back-up plan,” he said. “But we feel pretty confident that we can come to agreement with a regional facility.”

Archie Giddings, public works director for Wasilla, said the city has been lobbying for money to study its own wastewater facility for the past three years. In Wasilla, the main issue is size.

“The current site just can’t be built out forever,” Giddings said.

Although the lobbying efforts have come up empty-handed, Giddings said talk of a new regional facility provides another option to receive federal or state funding.

Similar to Palmer, Giddings said keeping up with growth is a main concern for Wasilla. Although Wasilla hasn’t compiled its own report, it is known in the city that Wasilla’s current facility can’t handle the amount of waste projected for the future.

Now it’s a matter of making a joint effort happen, Giddings said.

“It’s kind-of a brainstorming session right now,” he said. “We’re trying to get everybody on the same page so we can work toward the same goal.”

John Duffy, Mat-Su Borough manager, said Borough officials are hopeful a regional plant can come on line.

“I think at this stage we’re exploring options,” Duffy said. “It makes sense for the long run to sit down and talk about it.”

Compared to Palmer and Wasilla, Duffy said the Borough’s situation is a little different. Those who live outside of Palmer or Wasilla rely on septic tanks and leach fields to handle waste. When it comes time to empty tanks, septage haulers have to transfer the material to Anchorage. With a new regional plant, the design could include a way to handle such waste and eliminate travel time.

The Borough manager said a new plant is a necessary step to address the future of wastewater in the Mat-Su Borough.

“It’s a major event that’s going to happen,” he said. “It’s just a matter of when.”

Contact Chris Gillow at chris.gillow@frontiersman.com or 352-2284.