$51.3M treatment plant bid awarded to Utah company

Green River's long-needed wastewater treatment plant is one step closer to realization after the Green River City Council awarded the project's construction bid Tuesday afternoon.

The $51.3 million bid was awarded to Bodell Constriction from Salt Lake City. According to a media release from the city, city engineers plan to work with the company to find potential savings that could rein in the costs for the project.

The city had already attempted to award a bid for the project two prior times and was forced to reject bids because the costs associated with construction had outgrown the amount of money the city had for construction. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, construction estimates had placed the cost at approximately $30 million, but due to inflation, a skilled labor shortage, and other factors, the estimated cost had grown to more than $50 million and a point where city representatives were forced to seek additional money to start the project.

The city was recently awarded a $6.2 million grant from the State Loan and Investments Board to keep up with cost increases, as well as receive loans at 0.5% interest rates from the State Revolving Fund.

The most recent bid process wasn't entirely smooth as the city was forced to reject two of the bids.

Earlier this month, the Council rejected two bids because they deviated from requirements stipulated in bid documents. Mark Westenskow, the city's public works director, said the bids did not use the pre-approved equipment identified by the city and did not clear the use of different equipment with the city before submitting the bid. He said the estimate used by the city was based on the utilization of specific equipment within the treatment system. Without the bidder approaching the city with potential changes to bid specifications, the city was unable to judge how those changes would impact costs prior to awarding a bid. Despite that hiccup, Westenskow was happy with the bids the city received.

"I feel confident in every one of the bidders we had," Westenskow told the Star last week.

Green River's current wastewater treatment system was originally built more than 60 years ago and utilized what was then a state-of-the-art treatment system utilizing sewer lagoons. However, the city's population has since outgrown the aging system and the city violates EPA standards with each discharge into the river. Additionally, equipment used in treating Green River's wastewater is no longer in production and forces the city to have parts custom built to keep the system going.

The city plans to host a groundbreaking ceremony in mid-June.