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Story Archives: Monroe looks to bond sale to pay for wastewater work


Monroe looks to bond sale to pay for wastewater work
by Scott Rogers - posted Wednesday, April 15th, 2009 @ 7:27 pmE-mail Story E-mail Story | Print Story Print Story 
The city of Monroe is moving forward with plans to issue up to $20 million in Utility Revenue Bonds for wastewater improvement projects.

The city council adopted a resolution to ask the state Bond Commission and the state Department of Environmental Quality for permission to issue up to $20 million in Utility Revenue Bonds for wastewater improvement work. Council members acted on the matter Tuesday night at the city council's regular meeting.

Bill Boles Jr. of the Boles Law Firm in Monroe will serve as bond counsel on the pending bond sale. The city hopes to have the Bond Commission entertain its bond sale request at the Bond Commission's meeting in May.

Work on the city's wastewater treatment system would help the city satisfy a consent decree related to its sewerage system. The city has been under an Environmental Protection Agency consent decree since 1997 for problems related to its sewerage system.

The city has worked for the past 12 years to address EPA's concerns. Approximately $108 million has been spent by the city to address the sewer system problems.

The engineering firm Camp Dresser & McKee in Baton Rouge was hired in 1997 to help resolve matters stemming from EPA's consent decree. A representative from Camp Dresser & McKee recently told the city that EPA was pleased with the city's work in addressing concerns the EPA aired in 1997.

The city also was informed that it would need to tackle up to $17 million in wastewater improvement projects before the consent decree could be relieved.

The proposed $17 million in additional sewer projects may not be all that is needed to fulfill the consent decree. However, Camp Dresser & McKee is optimistic EPA would look favorably at the effort.

"We are working towards that, and this (work) is recommended, but it's not a guarantee that it will relieve us," said city engineer Sinyale Morrison, referring to the consent decree.

"These were just some things that were recommended to us during the time we have been talking to EPA," Morrison said.

She said it is possible the $17 million in wastewater improvement projects could help the city be obtain relief from the EPA consent decree within a year.

The bulk of that work would involve improvements at the Forsythe pump station. That project would cost roughly $16.3 million. It would involve adding a new Forsythe pump station as well as upsizing the River Oaks pump station and the Forsythe No. 2 pump station as well as upgrading pipes to connect them all.

The Monroe City Council during Tuesday's regular meeting adopting a resolution to make an application to the State Bond Commission and the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality for approval to issue the $20 million in Utility Revenue Bonds.
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