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Completing core drilling into the chlorine contact tank
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Monthly report—June 2003
Metro projects 80% complete
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June was a very busy month for all of the prime
contractors on the new ammonia/phosphorus removal
facilities at Metro. The project is approximately 83%
complete based on earned revenue of the 11 prime
contractors. 85% of the concrete has been poured to
date totaling 23,865 cubic yards.
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Construction work on Brighton Sewer Separation
project continued this month with installation of new
sewer lines and lateral connections in the 8-block
area on the City's south side. Restoration activities
began this month with installation of replacement
sidewalks. Work is expected to be finished by early
August.
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At the end of the month, City officials filed an
appeal of a federal judge's ruling in favor of the
County regarding the County's right to use eminent
domain to take city-owned properties for the Midland
Project allowing for just compensation. The city is
seeking a temporary restraining order to prevent work
from proceeding on the Midland project while the
appeal is taking place in the 2nd District Circuit
Court of Appeals.
(ACJ Completion date for Ammonia Full Scale—11/3/03—schedule concerns)
(ACJ Completion date for Phosphorus Removal Stage II—4/1/05—on schedule)
Summary of structural work to date on major component facilities
BAF structure (ammonia removal)
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North BAF influent channel ready for concrete
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This month a total of 358 cubic yards of concrete was
placed in the upper level of the BAF complex. The
areas poured were the south upper BAF influent and
effluent channels and the upper channels walls and the
North BAF influent channel slab on deck.
BAF utility building
Application of the exterior architectural brick veneer
work was the primary activity at the Utility Building
this month. It is nearly complete.
HRFS facility (phosphorus removal)
Work this month included the placement of 509 cubic
yards of concrete. At this point, the majority of the
tank walls, and a section of the north and south
influent and effluent gallery slab-on-deck are
completed.
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Installing CMU for stairwell No. 2 at the UV disinfection facility
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UV disinfection facility
The contractor continued with the installation of
block work with installing the stairwell walls and
about 25% of the brick on the stairwell.
Secondary effluent pump station and chemical gallery
The concrete foundations were poured for the two
exterior concrete stairs and the contractor completed
about 50% of the tie-in to the existing chlorine
contact channel. Roofing is planned to start on the
electrical room side of the pump station during the
first week in July.
Mechanical work
All four of the prime contractors on the BAF facility
continued working at a brisk pace this month. The
mechanical contractor, J.W. Danforth, finished
installing the high-pressure air lines to the valve
actuators and the 4-inch air vacuum lines along the
bottom of the gallery.
HVAC contractor continued to install the steam and
condensate piping to the heat exchanger on the second
floor of the BAF Utility Room. Jacketing of insulation
of the piping also continues.
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Conduit work in the SEPS electrical room
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Electrical work continues with the installation of
conduits and control wiring to the North gallery
valves, electrical room and the BAF Pump Room. The
main power feeders were tested, and the switchgear
duct banks have been installed. The final leg of the
duct banks will be installed during the beginning of
July. The Plumbing contractor is currently installing
the small diameter water piping in the Gallery and
continued to install the drain leader over the
backwash tanks for the roofing system drains.
Low lift pump station
The general contractor, Pike, continued replacement of
the trench grating and prepping the floors and walls
for the coating system.
Other information
Meetings are held on various aspects of the
construction on a regular basis with biweekly
progress, start-up, and construction progress and
weekly meetings of contract superintendents for
coordination and periodic meetings with equipment
supplier U.S. Filter/Krüger involving County staff,
engineering and construction management contractors
and U.S. Filter/Krüger personnel.
This is the largest and most costly single project in
the Amended Consent Judgment program and will have the
greatest positive impacts on the water quality of
Onondaga Lake by removing more ammonia and phosphorus
from the Metro effluent discharge.
(ACJ Project milestone—January 1, 2012—Project ahead of schedule)
Project stays on schedule—completion by early August
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Construction on Marguerite Avenue, May 2003
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With the addition of a second crew from the contractor
on this project, construction continues to proceed on
schedule despite encountering large tree roots and
boulders in an uphill section of Marguerite Ave. This
month, the crew completed installation work on Bishop
Avenue and much of Brighton Avenue. By the end of the month,
installation of laterals were only remaining on the
last block of Brighton Avenue.
A total of 2,445 of sewer main has been installed in
the project along with 1470 feet of house laterals, 8
new manhole structures, and 26 lead water services
replaced in rights-of-way.
Progress meetings held every two weeks
The County holds progress meetings every two weeks to
help maintain coordination among all the parties
involved in the project. Representatives from the
school district transportation office, Niagara Mohawk,
the City DPW and City Water, County contractor, and
county personnel take part in the meetings.
Meetings and site visits have taken place by those
involved, and a special effort to coordinate
responsibilities for site restoration between the
County and Niagara Mohawk was a priority this month as
lawn restorations began.
This sewer separation project involves about 8 blocks
on the City's south side and about 100 homes.
Residents are being kept informed as work progresses.
Work to be done includes the installation of new sewer
lines and conversion of existing combined lines to
stormwater use only. Lead water services encountered
during sewer construction are being replaced by the
County to reduce presence of lead services.
(ACJ completion date—Phase II RTF—5/01/04 & Phase III Conveyance—5/01/07)
City's decision to appeal federal ruling threatens further delays
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Onondaga County modified the plan in March 2003 by proposing to locate most of the RTF and the underground disinfection tank adjacent to the Centro Bus Garage.
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The City's decision to appeal a decision which was
rendered by the federal district court judge on May
29th, supporting the County's right to use eminent
domain with just compensation to acquire the
City-owned property, could result in further delays to
this project which is designed to end the release of
untreated sewage and stormwater into Onondaga Creek on
a regular basis every time it rains. Despite this
decision by the City, the County is proceeding with
necessary testing on the properties acquired. The
testing is to help assess properties prior to
demolition and gather necessary subsurface information
needed for finalizing design.
The County is proceeding with acquisition of needed
private properties as well. By the end of June, the
County had closed on four private properties and
issued relocation compensation to four families. These
four properties are now vacant.
Reports forwarded to DEC
An amended Facility
Plan was forwarded June 3 and a revised
Engineering Design Report forwarded on June 25 to the
State DEC for review. The new reports reflect the
current option being pursued by the County to site the
facility nearer to and on existing Centro property
with increased adjacent underground storage. A meeting
was held on June 23 with DEC staff to discuss the
documents and the sequence of operation of the
facilities.
Meeting on building architecture held
Meetings were held this month with the County, Group 1
Design and MacKnight Architects to discuss
architectural design development for the Midland
facility.
Field activities continue
Supplemental sub-surface exploration work continues.
Initiated investigations of creek to prepare stream
disturbance permit application to DEC and USACE.
Initiated and completed field testing for lead-based
paint and asbestos in buildings slated for demolition.
Other activities
Submitted the draft 50% design to the County on June
11 and continued design development.
Design documents received by County
Design documents were finalized and forwarded to the
County for the additional ten areas in the City of
Syracuse proposed for sewer separation under the ACJ.
Funding for this design effort was through the US Army
Corps of Engineers. Design documents for the Brighton
Avenue and the Water Street projects were completed
under this contract and finalized earlier so that
projects could be moved along into construction. Water
Street is completed, and the Brighton Avenue project is
underway.
An RFP for engineering services was issued on January
10 to review designs and facilitate construction for
the remaining sewer separation projects over the next
5 or more years. A post-proposal/pre-award meeting was
held on May 27 with one of the proposers. A contract
award has not yet been made.
(ACJ dates—Commence construction of conveyances and RTF—May 1, 2003—milestone revision requested.)
Activities this month
The following work activities were accomplished this month:
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A meeting was held on June 17th between the
County and environmental consultants, SGD
Environmental Services, to discuss the County's
comments on the May 2003 draft of the Environmental
Information Document and discuss SEQR requirements.
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This month, following discussions with city officials regarding access, the County initiated the ground penetrating radar survey of the Clinton Station site to support the Phase 1B Archeological Field Reconnaissance work to be done.
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A meeting was held on June 26th with the Clinton Mitigation Advisory Committee to discuss current status of the project and selection of the Clinton Station-Trolley Lot site as the preferred site for the proposed facility.
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Work continued on the Phase I Environmental Assessment for the preferred site.
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Work also continued on the conceptual design of the project.
The goal of the Clinton project is to address the
abatement of ten CSOs between Fayette and Adams
Streets to be served by a Clinton Area Facility
located near downtown Syracuse. The Clinton CSO Abatement Facility Plan (March 2002 draft) evaluates
alternative technologies to address the overflows and
alternative sites for a storage/treatment facility.
(ACJ completion date for In-Water system- 7/1/02—Not implementable—Milestone Revision requested )
Activities this month
This month, the County and design engineers continued
to make contacts with local residents about the
project, develop plans for the environmental
information document, and update timetable for
facility plan finalization. Development of the Phase
IB work plan for archeological investigation was begun
and work to finalize the contract for the completion
of the environmental information document was
conducted. Meetings with the residents and other
interested parties continue to be scheduled.
The draft Harbor Brook CSO Abatement Facilities Plan was released in March 2002. The draft
plan outlines and evaluates alternative technologies
including the in-water system for abating and treating
the 18 CSOs which release into Harbor Brook. This
draft plan also identifies potential sites for CSO
abatement facilities.
During 2003, the County will continue to proceed with
public participation activities with interested
residents and organizations in the Harbor Brook area
and hopes to finalize the Facility Plan with a
recommended alternative and necessary environmental
review by the end of 2003.
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County Executive Nicholas Pirro debuts the new educational materials at a news conference on "Lake Day 2003." The City's new vacuum truck is in background.
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Information on two components of the UBMP program were
prepared for use at the Partnership's Lake Day event
on Saturday, June 7. A press conference was organized
and held at Lake Day to highlight the new litter
vacuum truck purchased for the City through Federal
Corps funds and County funds and the new educational
materials for teachers and students highlighting the
title, "Onondaga Lake is my Home—Please Don't Trash
it!" The new materials are designed to attract the
attention of students and gain their interest in doing
what they can to reduce the amount of litter and
debris which reaches the lake and its tributary
streams. The County plans to work with area schools to
get the poster and information in area classrooms
starting this coming fall.
In addition, filming was completed this month for a
30-second public service announcement encouraging the
public to reduce street debris and litter. The PSA
will begin to air this summer on local television
stations.
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County legislators see project progress at Metro
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The County Legislature's Environmental Protection
Committee held its June 10th meeting at WEP offices.
Following the meeting, WEP personnel led legislators
on a tour of the current construction at the Metro
site.
Legislators viewed the work underway to add new state
of the art ammonia and phosphorus removal facilities
to the treatment plant. These new facilities will
provide further treatment to the Metro effluent and
are expected to bring about the greatest improvements
to water quality of any project in the County's Lake
Improvement Program.
County LIPO staff maintained communication and
coordination with CNY Aquatic Harvesting, the firm
hired under a service contract to collect and dispose
of floatables debris from the Inner Harbor. Collection
activities began on a twice a week basis this month.
The County sent out a Request for Bids to provide
collection services for a 5-year period of time
beginning in the Spring of 2004. Two bidders
responded. A post-bid meeting was scheduled for July
with apparent low bidder.
The County continues to have representatives attend
and participate in the monthly meetings of the three
subcommittees of the Partnership—Resource, Project
and Outreach and the Executive Committee. The Outreach
Committee was very involved this month in finalizing
plans and conducting the annual Lake Day event that
was held Saturday, June 7th.
Despite wet weather, many people attended the event
and learned more about the lake from the displays and
narrated boat tours. The County had a number of
displays including WEP's Lake Improvement and Ambient
Monitoring programs, the County Parks Department and
the Zoo. Photos of the event were taken and added to
the County's lake web site.
Over 570 people visited the County's Lake Improvement
website during June.
The year 2002 was important in the Amended Consent Judgment program because
ten CSO-related projects met their major milestone
completion date of July 1, 2002 (ACJ, Appendix B pages
10-12). Some of these interim projects were completed
well ahead of the major milestone dates, and all but
two met the major milestone. The Kirkpatrick
Street Pump Station and the Harbor Brook In-water
System required milestone extensions. New York State is
reviewing the County's requests for the extensions.
The projects are listed below by date completed:
(ACJ Project milestone—January 1, 2012—Project completed 2003)
Pipe installation and restoration work was completed.
Under this $2.1 million project, 2,864 feet of
mainline sewer was installed in the streets along with
a total of 1,760.5 feet of lateral sewers to
eighty-four houses, thirty-nine new copper water
service lines in the right-of-way, fifteen new
manholes, and twelve new catch basins hoods. The
project was completed on time and under budget.
This sewer separation project involved about eight
blocks on the City's south side. Work included
installation of a new mainline sewer and conversion of
existing combined lines to use for stormwater only.
The County replaced lead water services encountered
during sewer construction to reduce lead services.
With the project completed, two former combined sewer
overflows (053 and 054) no longer release combined
untreated sewage and stormwater to Onondaga Creek when it
rains. The overflows now only release stormwater. All
wastewater from these areas goes to Metro for
treatment.
Under Appendix A of the ACJ, certain improvement
projects at Metro were designated as interim projects
and given a major milestone date for completion of
July 1, 2002. All six projects were completed by the
milestone date and most well ahead of schedule. The
projects are listed below by date completed:
Tributary sampling
Bi-weekly tributary sampling events were conducted on
June 3 and 17. Appropriate notification was provided
to DEC and ASLF prior to sampling dates.
Lake sampling
Sampling in the Lake was conducted at the South Deep
station on June 10 and special weekly sampling during
the recreational season began in May and was conducted
this month on June 2, 10, 16, 24 and 30. Appropriate
notification was provided to DEC and ASLF prior to
sampling dates.
River sampling
None to report.
Fisheries sampling
Completed event 1 of 2 electrofishing sampling events
this summer. Dr. Ferrante from DEC accompanied the
crew on the sampling. Also conducted juvenile seining,
littoral larvae, and pelagic larvae sampling, and gill
netting.
Other
No event based sampling was conducted this month.
The draft 2002 AMP report submitted to DEC on June 2nd.
Lake monitoring buoy put back in Lake in April
after winter season. Data available from web site. New
buoy deployed in May by County AMP staff in the Lake
outlet on a trial basis. Buoy moved to Seneca River
site and deployed on June 13. River buoy data not yet
tied into web site.
Ambient monitoring representatives staffed
displays and responded to numerous questions at the
Partnership's Onondaga Lake Day (June 7) and the WTVH
5 Fishing Tournament (June 28-29).
Ammonia/phosphorus removal
Contract with Energy Automation for energy audits and assistance with negotiations with Niagara Mohawk
Contract amount: $10,000. Executed 6/3/03.
Midland Avenue conveyances & RTF
Contract with Wolf Construction Management for property management services.
Contract amount: $32,000. Executed 6/9/03.
Erie Boulevard storage system
Contract with HCI Engineering for development of data collection and integration system to collect rainfall data.
Contract amount: $13,200. Executed 6/10/03.
Midland Avenue conveyances & RTF
Contract with EEA amended for pre-demolition building assessments.
Contract amount: $51,772. Executed 6/17/03.
Contract with EEA amended for work included with Phase II environmental assessment.
Contract amount: $72,344. Executed 6/25/03.
None to report this month.
Action items of the County Legislature in the month of June:
No items presented.
Upcoming for July Legislative Session:
No items presented.
Upcoming for July Committee Session:
Appropriating $1,250,000 of the proceeds of the bonds authorized to be issued pursuant to Bond Resolution No. 231-1999, to provide funds for engineering and legal fees, including studies, surveys and testing of the site.
State Bond Act funds
Payments received this month from State Bond Act Funds:
Ammonia/Phosphorus Removal—Request #1-5 for $8,441,324.85 received for aggregate total of $13,500,000.
Teall Brook FCF—Request #12 for $28,402.51 received on 6/17/03 and Request #13 for $104,516.23 received on 6/13/03 for aggregate total of $1,045,162.32.
Total received to date in State Bond Act funds—$46,682,016.
Federal EPA funds
Payments received this month from Federal EPA Funds:
None to Report.
Total received to date in Federal EPA Funds—$29,911,709.
Federal Army Corps of Engineers funds
Urban Best Management Practices (UMBP)—Request #3 for $13,172.72 received on 5/30/03 for aggregate of $35,270.95.
Total received to date from US Army Corps of Engineers Funds—$4,866,598.
The following reimbursement payments were received
from EFC during the month of June:
Ammonia/Phosphorus Removal—Request #12 on Loan No. 2 for $1,989,945.33 received on 6/2/03 and Request #13 for $4,867,880.57 received on 6/30/03 for aggregate total of $31,934,652.28. Total for both loans: $85,275,651.88.
Kirkpatrick Street PS/Force Main—Request #28 for $69,654.74 received on 6/3/03 for aggregate total of $10,976,870.60.
Total reimbursement monies received to date through EFC Loans for the funded ACJ projects: $121,378,148 (short term), $7,694,490 (long term).
—Photos: Metro by Joe Lorah
Sewer separation, Lake Day, and legislative committee by Sue Miller
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Susan Miller, Project Deputy Director
Onondaga County Dept of Water Environment Protection