PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Begrudgingly, the City Council approved a $74 million upgrade to the wastewater system that is estimated to more than double sewer bills within the next three years.
The city has been under an administrative order from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to lower the levels of phosphorous and aluminum in the water coming out of the plant. The project proposed by the consultants, Kleinfelder, also called for a nitrogen optimization process as well.
The issue dates back to 2008 when the city went to renew the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit. The EPA issued a permit with the higher levels to meet Clean Water Act standards. The city fought the issue in court but lost the appeals.
An administrative order was issued in 2015 demanding the city break ground on a project to meet those standards this August. In 2012, the city allocated $1 million toward the design and last March, added $4.9 million toward it to complete the engineering.
In January, Mayor Linda Tyer put forth an authorization request to borrow $74 million for the construction. Read more about the wastewater upgrade >>