WILLMAR - A nearly $2.8 million project was approved Tuesday to install a unique filtering system that engineers guarantee will remove contaminants from the liquid that seeps to the bottom of the Kandiyohi County landfill.
The contract with two metro-area engineering firms, Apex and Clark Engineering Corporation, was OK’d by the Kandiyohi County Board of Commissioners, pending a review by County Attorney Shane Baker.
But barring any language disputes, contractors are expected to start construction next month and the system will be in operation before the end of the year.
Besides the clean water guarantee, the two companies also guarantee the system will not only pay for itself but will save the county at least $225,000 a year for the next 20 years.
The county currently trucks the liquid, called leachate, to the Willmar wastewater treatment facility. This year that process will cost the county about $180,000.
The new filtering system, which will be the first of its kind installed in the United States, underwent two trial runs at the county landfill during the past year.
Results from independent testing labs showed nearly 90 percent of contaminants were completely removed from the leachate and all contaminants were well below levels set by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.
Those results were confirmed Tuesday by the MPCA, which is currently reviewing the companies’ application to become a demonstration site.
Anthony Bello, staff engineer with the MPCA told the Commissioners the trials “look promising” and the agency is “excited about this system.”
Bello said the county can proceed with a contract to build the system before MPCA finishes its review in the next one to three months.
If approved, the MPCA will monitor the project for one to two years and could eventually approve it for continued use.
“This is new technology,” said Bello. “We don’t want to jump the gun.”
The MPCA oversight will ensure that the county is not getting into something that’s not environmentally sound.
This type of filtering system of leachate is currently in operation in Europe but this will be the first in North America.
Bello said if the system is successful after undergoing “due diligence” from the agency, then other landfill operators “will want to join the bandwagon.”
Commissioner Roger Imdieke said the board has “an abundance of caution” when proceeding with the leachate project.
Commissioner Harlan Madsen expressed concern about authorizing expenditures without having the “final I’s dotted and T’s crossed.”
The commissioners were assured that if MPCA does not approve the project as a demonstration site, the county would not be responsible for any construction costs and that Apex and Clark would pay the county the $225,000 annual savings, even if the leachate continued to be trucked to Willmar.
“We’ll guarantee pay back and give you
$2.5 million over the next 20 years,” said Greg Ackerson, an engineer with Apex.
“It’s all on our head,” Ackerson said. “That’s our risk.”
In a later interview, Ackerson said he fully expects the MPCA will OK the demonstration site permit.
“It’s our neck on the line,” he said, adding that if there was any doubt about the MPCA’s support, “I’d be the first one to say let’s wait.”
Getting construction going now means the companies can “flip the switch” as soon as the MPCA review is completed and the county can begin “saving money” by ending its practice of trucking leachate to Willmar, Ackerson said.
Launching the project now also means the system can undergo the rigors of being tested during a winter season, said County Administrator Larry Kleindl.
Vladimir Scheglowski, an engineer with Clark Engineering Corporation, said the companies will continue to monitor the system for the next 20 years. “We’re not going to be leaving the county holding the bag.”
Kleindl said the county will use reserve funds to pay for the initial construction costs but it’s expected that bonds will be secured to repay that money and fund the rest of the project costs.
