Monday, May 25, 2009

A private group of wastewater consultants told Monroe County commissioners Wednesday that they could give the commission "101 million reasons" why they should take over the Cudjoe Regional wastewater project, referring to the dollars county residents could save over 20 years.

A consulting group is calling itself Florida Keys Partnership, which is comprised of several Florida wastewater design and construction firms, claimed it could guarantee the system would cost residents from Cudjoe Key to Big Pine Key $295 million over 20 years. The county and Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority plans for Cudjoe Regional would be $396 million over 20 years, which includes capital, operation, maintenance and finance costs, said Lee Grant, vice president of AECOM Inc., a member of Florida Keys Partnership.

Florida Keys Partnership also wants to change the project plans from one central plant to four or five smaller plants. Grant said doing so would keep from running pipes, which could break or be damaged in major storms, along bridges.

The partnership includes general contractors Globe Tec, wastewater engineering firm AECOM and the wastewater company Veolia. It made a pitch to the commission to put the project out to bid.

However, the presentation was vague when it came to costs and savings, the location of plants and whether the treatment facilities would meet state-required advanced wastewater treatment levels. Grant said the group did not go into detail because they did not want to reveal too much information that could benefit competing firms. He did say their project would have a smaller footprint and use smaller pipes that could be placed at shallower depths than the current proposal.

"We feel comfortable with these numbers," Grant said Friday.

The consultants were brought in by County Administrator Roman Gastesi, who has worked with some members of the firms in the past. Gastesi has been a lobbyist on wastewater issues, and worked for the South Florida Water Management District. For months, Gastesi has argued the county should look at other approaches to the Cudjoe Regional project now under the supervision of the county and Aqueduct Authority.

County Commissioner Kim Wigington and Aqueduct Authority officials questioned the savings and the fact that the private group wants to abandon plans for one central treatment plant. Building multiple plants multiplies the difficulty of acquiring sites acceptable to the public, and the purchase of multiple sites increases costs. Aqueduct Authority officials dealt with "nimbyism" -- not in my back yard -- when acquiring sites in residential neighborhoods for less offensive water storage tanks, said Aqueduct Authority spokeswoman Colleen Tagle.

The utility initially proposed building three plants on Cudjoe Key, Sugarloaf Key and Big Pine Key. Last year, the agency decided to go with one plant adjacent to an old county landfill site on Cudjoe Key. The move lowered land purchase and staffing and maintenance costs, as well as public objections.

"They are the best neighbor we could find," said Aqueduct Authority Director of Engineering Tom Walker, referring to the fact that no one at the old landfill will complain about smell.

The Florida Keys Partnership's pitch comes after the Aqueduct Authority has been working on the project for more than a year, and has already spent $2.1 million on initial design work for the regional plant and wastewater system, estimated to cost $194 million and serve about 9,000 homes and businesses.

Aqueduct Authority Deputy Executive Director Kerry Shelby challenged the group's projected costs if the public utility handles the project. While the partnership claims residents would pay $396 million for the Aqueduct Authority project, Shelby said the number is inflated by at least $24 million due to exaggerated projections of monthly operation and maintenance costs.

County Mayor George Neugent called the Florida Keys Partnership's proposal intriguing, but he, too, questioned their numbers. After Commissioners Heather Carruthers and Mario Di Gennaro expressed interest, Neugent asked county staff to further investigate the partnership's proposal.

Commissioner Kim Wigington, a longtime critic of a controversial private wastewater project on Stock Island, was more skeptical of the pitch.

"I raised concerns because of this county's past history with involvement in wastewater, and the tendency of individual commissioners and county officials to be involved with, or have inappropriate relationships with, private for-profit companies," Wigington said. "We, as the county, by agreement with the state, are not allowed to be in charge of wastewater like in the past. The Aqueduct Authority is Monroe County's wastewater authority, partly as a result of a grand jury that penned a scathing report of the county's involvement in wastewater."

Wigington also noted that the Aqueduct Authority does put projects out to bid with its projects.

Cheaper costs usually are a result of cost-cutting in areas that place a greater financial burden on individual property owners, Wigington said.

"There are also cheaper systems that cost less to build, but much more to maintain, so any savings in the beginning are quickly overcome by higher maintenance costs that can never be overcome unless the system is replaced with another type system," she said. "I am convinced that the county's 11th-hour wrestling with authority over wastewater, or any individual commissioners or county officials being involved in relationships with private for-profit companies, will jeopardize any and all state funding in the future."

tohara@keysnews.com