City is set to review its plan

A plan Portland has with the state to get its sewage treatment process to meet state regulations may be getting flushed down the drain.

Portland’s Board of Works voted to award a $27,400 contract to Jones and Henry Engineers to draft and propose a new long-term control plan to Indiana Department of Environmental Management.

The city has had a plan for years for its ongoing multi-million dollar project to eliminate combined storm and wastewater sewer lines and to overhaul its wastewater treatment plant, which is apt to discharge ammonia above state regulation.

The board’s goal is to see if there are any possibilities to reduce the amount of money the city has to pay for these projects. Currently, its projected the city will have to pay at least $900,000 each year throughout the next decade.

City clerk-treasurer Lori Phillips said there are possible alternatives and items that could be eliminated from the plan in order to make the project more cost efficient.

There was a sense of urgency at the meeting as Mayor John Boggs said the city is behind on the work, partly because efforts were paused last year to see if the plant was meeting regulations.

Boggs said IDEM will fine the city if it is not meeting the benchmarks in its plan.

Wastewater treatment plant superintendent Brad Clayton explained the situation is complicated because the plant has to meet ammonia output levels regardless of the weather, which could contribute to ammonia levels being higher on any given day.

The proposed improvements and ongoing efforts are designed to keep ammonia output at a minimum, regardless of the weather.

The board is expected to meet again Thursday to further discuss the plan.

In other business, board members Jerry Leonhard, Steve McIntosh and Boggs approved a $5,500 assessment of two properties — the Sheller-Globe south building at 510 S. Bridge Street and another on Seventh Street — for possible asbestos and other health related concerns, a needed step before they can be sold.