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HomeMy WebLinkAboutIR 10214 INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 10214 January 15, 2019 To the Mayor and Members of the City Council Page 1 of 2 SUBJECT: BIOSOLIDS PROCESSING AND DISPOSAL PROCUREMENT wastewater treatment plant, serving a growing population of retail and wholesale customers. Anaerobically digested solids (biosolids) produced at the VCWRF are pumped to a City owned solids processing facility where belt filter presses are utilized to dewater the material. Lime is added to ensure adequate pathogen control and chemical treatment performed to improve both dewatering and odor performance. The final product (dewatered biosolids) is loaded into trucks and transported to agricultural land application sites located in eight counties in North Texas. Farmers and ranchers request that biosolids be land applied on their fields to improve soil quality and boost crop production. The City of Fort Worth holds the permit for the long-term solids dewatering, processing and disposal issued by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) (Permit No. WQ0010494013). The City entered into a contract with Renda Environmental, Inc. (Renda) on processing facility and to provide beneficial land application of the material. The City has amended and renewed its contract with Renda over time and is now in its final five year renewal option, which expires on March 31, 2020. The current dewatering and disposal process has been utilized for the past 25 years. In recent years, the dewatered biosolids have generated odor complaints from the public that live near the land application sites. As the region continues to become more urban, it is anticipated that complaints of this nature will increase over time. Furthermore, costs to dewater and land apply biosolids have also increased. The City hired a consultant to evaluate alternatives to the current process, with the goal of producing a high quality Class A biosolids product that can be marketed to multiple end users, in addition to land application. The consultant recently completed their report, which recommends thermal direct drying of the material after the dewatering process. Staff researched options to migrate to thermal direct drying and has developed a plan that calls for entering into a public-private partnership to procure a design-build-operate (DBO) contract for construction of this proposed biosolids drying facility and future management of the disposal. This contract will require continuous operation of the existing dewatering facility and land application process until the new facilities are constructed. Pursuant to State law, staff is pursuing a DBO method of obtaining the best qualified contractor/operator team to design, construct, and operate the facility. The DBO contract needs to be in place prior to the expiration of the existing Renda contract on March 31, 2020. The following DBO procurement schedule has been developed: ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH, TEXAS INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 10214 January 15, 2019 To the Mayor and Members of the City Council Page 2 of 2 SUBJECT: BIOSOLIDS PROCESSING AND DISPOSAL PROCUREMENT PROCUREMENT ACTIVITY START END DATE DATE Request for Qualifications Biosolids Management and Beneficial Reuse Jan 2019 Mar 2019 Request for Proposals Biosolids Management and Beneficial Reuse May 2019 Jul 2019 Negotiations and Council Recommendation of Award Aug 2019 Nov 2019 Expiration of existing dewatering, trucking, and land application contract Mar 2020 Should you have any questions regarding this project procurement timeline, please contact Chris Harder, Water Director, at 817-392-5020. David Cooke City Manager ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH, TEXAS