Ottawa’s 2nd wastewater plant moving forward

The Ottawa City Council took a second step Tuesday toward building a possible second wastewater treatment plant.

Narendra Patel, project manager for the design firm of Fehr Graham Engineering and Environmental in Champaign, showed Ottawa commissioners at a public hearing his company’s work toward the new station’s permits with the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System and the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, as well as information on the State Revolving Fund loan applications.

Included in the presentation were preliminary infrastructure designs for the plant, which would be located on the west side of Route 71, north of where U.S. 6 turns east to Marseilles and south of the Hank’s Farm Restaurant.

According to Ottawa City Engineer Tom Duttlinger, the cost of the project would be $29.9 million, with 1.5% interest for a 30-year loan, with a possible 15% loan forgiveness based on the median income of city residents.

“The meeting technically was about the preliminary environmental impact determination,” said. “The council hadn’t been fully informed on this until (Tuesday) because there was no reason to until we found out if we could do it ... The city’s intent is to go forward with this.”

Fehr Graham began work on the preliminaries from May 2021-February 2022, then completed IEPA facility and SRF Loan application planning from May 2022-May 2023. The meeting begins a 10-day period for public comment. With council approval, Fehr Graham will begin design work expected to take two years.

The bidding process will take place from August-November 2025, with the four-year construction effort starting in December 2025.

The plan Patel revealed included two options other than the new plant. The others were converting the existing plant to Biological Nutrient Removal specs at a cost of $74 million and a no-discharge option that would store wastewater for transportation to other plants for treatment, at a cost of $47.9 million.

As the city already has water and sewer going to Interstate 80, the new plant would relieve the stress on the current plant and allow for expansion to right now unsewered property outside the city limits on the northwest and north central area, the industrial park along U.S. 6, along Route 71 and in the Heritage Harbor area.

At the regularly scheduled council meeting, Mayor Robb Hasty reported of an intergovernmental agreement with other cities in the area and the North Central Illinois Council of Governments to help with the Community Development Block Grant’s Coronavirus Business Resiliency Program. The program allowed businesses that paid for alteration during the pandemic to apply for reimbursement up to $20,000.

The mayor encouraged businesses to contact Economic and Community Development Director David Noble or Ottawa Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Jeff Hettrick to see if they qualify.

In other action, the council:

Entered into a lease agreement between North Central Area Transit and Horizon House of the Illinois Valley in Peru for transportation.

Hired Cortney DeArcos as an office assistant at City Hall.