John Scarffe, Nederland.  The Town of Nederland was offered a grant award of $950,000 from the Colorado Department of Local Affairs (DOLA) for its Biosolids Handling Project on July 31, 2018. Town Administrator Karen Gerrity and Public Works Manager Chris Pelletier announced the grant at the August 7 Board of Trustees meeting and the August 8 Nederland Downtown Development Authority (NDDA) meeting.

The grant funds will be used for improvements to the existing Wastewater Treatment Facility, including adding an aerobic digester and a screw press for dewater, according to a Town news release. This grant offer was made from federal mineral lease proceeds.

The project was reviewed based on a variety of factors, such as connection to energy impact, degree of need, measurable outcomes, amount of request, relationship to community goals, level of local math and community support, management capacity and readiness to go. Competition for these limited funds was intense, and DOLA received many more requests than funds available, according to the release.

Mayor Kristopher Larsen said, “Awesome work by Chris Pelletier and Nicole Bratsos Ferdinandsen, utilities supervisor, and all the town staff responsible for making this happen.”

Gerrity told the Trustees that it is so rare to get 100 percent. Chris and Nicole worked hard on the application and did an excellent job. It speaks to the fact that the town’s finances are in a solid condition.

In March 2016, Pelletier introduced the topic of the Biosolids project to the Board of Trustees. The goal for this meeting was to inform the Trustees of the schedule for submission to the state of the Biosolids Process Design Report and 30 percent design for the Waste Water Treatment Facility.

The Engineering Firm JVA, Inc., had been contracted to produce and submit a Process Design Review (PDR) and 30 percent design to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE), for expansion of Nederland’s waste water treatment facility.

On September 19, 2017, the Town’s Engineers JVA, Inc., provided a presentation to describe the Biosolids Project and to inform the public of the Town’s intent to pursue a $2 million State Revolving Fund (SRF) loan for an expansion to the waste water plant.

The purpose of this presentation was to inform the public of the needs, impact and costs of the project. In 2013, the existing Waste Water Treatment Facility was completed, according to the presentation.

The project came in over budget, and the Town received funding from the Revolving Loan Fund. True Biosolids handling was eliminated.

The Board approved a task order at its October 21, 2014, meeting to allow JVA Inc., to perform the Biosolids Study. In February 2015, the Town received a letter from the State regarding the fact that the pond was creating odors. Town staff worked hard to mitigate odors through chemicals and monitoring.

In July, the State said the pond may be leaking. In 2015, a survey for the seepage study was conducted and an alternative was selected as a way to move forward. In 2016, the Biosolids project started.

The Biosolids Study completed in 2015 presented different options for waste treatment. The Board heard this presentation of results and options at its July 7, 2015, meeting and approved a task order at the August 2, 2016, meeting to allow JVA to perform the first task for design services for solids processing.

The first task was to submit a site application to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. According to background, staff received approval for moving forward with the second task of design services being 30 percent design of the expansion to the Waste Water Treatment Facility for Biosolids processing at its December 2, 2016, regular meeting.

At this meeting, the Board was given a schedule for implementing the project, which included the timeline for the Owner’s Project Requirements (OPR). The OPR was approved.

JVA was then approved to move forward with 60 percent design. On July 31, an application was submitted to the Colorado Department of Local Affairs (DOLA) seeking $950,000 in funds or roughly half the cost of the project.

Due to the National Environment Policy Act, JVA had to make sure the project would have no impact on the environment, and they did have a finding of no significant impact. In February 2017, the prequalification form was submitted, and a credit check for the Town concluded it is well-positioned for the project and should receive $2 million in funding.

In June 2017, the Project Needs Assessment (PNA) was submitted, and it was approved in July. The Town is doing this project because of compliance issues with odor and seepage and has existing facility limitations. With all the water being hauled downhill, they should be able to do some dewatering, according to JVA.

In August, the Town applied for a $950,000 loan through the Colorado Department of Local Affairs (DOLA). The minimum matching funds is 50 percent, which would come through the Revolving Loan Fund. The Town can spread the loan out over time.

“We’re going to spend $2 million to reduce operating costs. There will likely be some rate hikes for the customers,” JVA said.

The Town made the application after voters approved a debt authorization for this project in the April election. Trustees approved ballot language for the April 2018 election on Tuesday, February 6, 2018, and the voters approved the project in April.

Pelletier told the NDDA Board, “We’re on a good path to start this project in October.”

(Originally published in the August 23, 2018, print edition of The Mountain-Ear.)