Delay of sewer project could cost $8 million

By Johnny Brannon
Advertiser Staff Writer

A contract dispute over a key component of the massive expansion of the Sand Island sewage treatment plant could further delay a tardy job and cost taxpayers an extra $8.5 million, city records show.

The city is under heavy federal pressure to upgrade the plant quickly and ensure that effluent dumped two miles offshore does not threaten fishing or recreational waters, especially around Ala Moana and Waikiki.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency cited the plant in September for multiple violations of its federal wastewater discharge permit, and ordered the city to come up with a compliance plan and schedule.

The city said it could not guarantee when the project would be completed because of the contract dispute — which could lead to further problems with the EPA.

The 28-year-old plant treats more than 70 million gallons of sewage and wastewater per day — about two-thirds of the total produced on O'ahu — and the $300 million upgrade is among the most expensive and complex public works projects in city history.

A $77 million sewage disinfection unit is already 18 months behind the original schedule because of major design changes and problems sealing out groundwater and anchoring the project to the dense coral beneath it.

The construction contractor for the unit, Robison Construction Inc., filed a claim with the city in August that asks for $8,574,807 more to complete the work, records show. The company also wants to push the completion date back more than seven months.

Officials are worried that Robison will refuse to continue unless the city pays, according to a resolution approved by the Honolulu City Council that authorized the city to sue the company if it stops work, and to spend as much as $75,000 on private attorneys.

Mark Robison, the company chairman, insists the company filed no claim, but was merely negotiating contract change orders with the city.

"Currently, there's not a battle going on," Robison said. "We're going gangbusters and we're not going to stop. All phases of our work are going forward."

City Councilman John Henry Felix, who was briefed on the dispute and sponsored the resolution authorizing legal action, said the administration had told him Robison wanted to negotiate a new contract for the disinfection unit.

"They feel the project's scope has changed, but our contention is otherwise," he said. "Hopefully we can settle this amicably without engaging in litigation."

City Department of Environmental Services director Tim Steinberger said he did not expect the project to grind to a halt.

"The contractor understands that this is a critical project that needs to move forward," he said. "We're in discussion now and we hope to bring it to a resolution soon."

The disinfection unit is one of eight major components in the project. Robison also is building an $82 million "headworks" unit to connect huge sewage pipes to the plant and filter wastewater inflow.

That component is expected to be delayed seven months because PCB contaminants discovered at the site must be removed or isolated, records show. Steinberger said some soil might be so contaminated it will need to be taken off island.

The entire project should be finished by October 2004, about a year and three months past the original schedule outlined in the city's discharge permit, he said.

The compliance plans submitted after the permit violations show, however, that the city will not firmly commit to a completion date because of the contract dispute.

EPA and state Department of Health officials said they are reviewing the plans, but could not immediately say what impact the lack of a solid schedule could have.

Environmental groups have long voiced concerns about the city's sewage practices, and in 1990 sued the city in an attempt to force a more intensive and costly wastewater treatment process.

After a study, the city opted instead to install the less expensive disinfection unit, designed to kill pathogens by blasting treated sewage with ultraviolet light.

In May, an EPA consultant found the city was not adequately testing the water offshore to determine when the plume of discharged waste moves shoreward and eastward — toward swimming and surfing spots.

Steinberger said the city already does extra testing not required by its discharge permit, and that tests have never shown the plume drifts back into recreational waters. The permit expires in November 2003.

Reach Johnny Brannon at jbrannon@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8070.