HomeMy WebLinkAbout04.g. Amend agreement with Collison Engineering to increase cost ceiling re Zeolite-Anammox Pilot Plant StudyCentral Contra Costa Sanitary District
' BOARD OF DIRECTORS
POSITION PAPER
Board Meeting Date: October 2, 2014
subject: AUTHORIZE THE GENERAL MANAGER TO REVISE AGREEMENT
041599 WITH COLLISON ENGINEERING FOR PROFESSIONAL
ENGINEERING SERVICES BY INCREASING THE COST CEILING FROM
$95,000 TO AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $225,000 TO INCLUDE THE
SURFACE AREA METHOD WITH THE ZEOLITE - ANAMMOX PILOT
PLANT STUDY AND EXTEND THE AERATED METHODS BY 12
ADDITIONAL MONTHS
Submitted By Initiating Dept✓Div.:
Randy Schmidt, PE, Senior Engineer Operations Department
REVIEWED AND RECOMMENDED FOR BOARD ACTION: •
Jean -Marc Petit, Acting Deputy General Manager QH
Edgar Lopez, Provisional Capital Projects Division Manager
Roger S. Bailey
General Manager
ISSUE: Board authorization is required for the General Manager to execute a
professional engineering services agreement when aggregated revisions are expected
to total more than $100,000. Agreement 041599 with Collison Engineering for $95,000
to construct and operate the Phase 1 of the Zeolite - Anammox Pilot Plant was approved
by the Board on June 5, 2014 from the Fiscal Year (FY) 2013 -14 Capital Improvement
Budget (CIB). Phase 1 of the Zeolite - Anammox Pilot Plant consists of building and
operating blown aeration and re- circulating trickling filter aeration units mounted in an
insulated semi - trailer processing approximately 3,000 gallons per day of final effluent
for a period of 12 months, June 2014 to June 2015.
There is a third variation of the process called the surface area method which is a non -
aerated method with no energy demand. This method could potentially be used as a
polishing step for removal of low levels of ammonia. Additional funds are needed to
build the surface area pilot plant on a second semi - trailer, operate the surface area pilot
plant for 24 months, and operate the aerated pilot plant for an additional 12 months.
These additional funds total $130,000. The aggregate amount of the revised contract
would therefore be $225,000.
RECOMMENDATION: Authorize the General Manager to revise Agreement 041599
with Collison Engineering for professional engineering services by increasing the cost
ceiling from $95,000 to an amount not to exceed $225,000 to add the surface area
method to the Zeolite - Anammox Pilot Plant Study and extend the aerated methods by
12 additional months.
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POSITION PAPER
Board Meeting Date: October 2, 2014
Subject: AUTHORIZE THE GENERAL MANAGER TO REVISE AGREEMENT
041599 WITH COLLISON ENGINEERING FOR PROFESSIONAL
ENGINEERING SERVICES BY INCREASING THE COST CEILING FROM
$95,000 TO AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $225,000 TO INCLUDE THE
SURFACE AREA METHOD WITH THE ZEOLITE ANAMMOX PILOT
PLANT STUDY AND EXTEND THE AERATED METHODS BY 12
ADDITIONAL MONTHS
FINANCIAL IMPACTS: The total estimated cost for Phase 1 of the Zeolite - Anammox
Pilot Plant Study, including the Surface Area Method, is $250,000. Adequate funds are
available in the Treatment Plant Program of the FY 2014 -15 CIB to cover this project.
ALTERNATIVES /CONSIDERATIONS: The Board could decide not to authorize the
revision of the professional engineering services agreement with Collison Engineering.
However, doing so would prevent the investigation of the surface area method for
ammonia removal as well as limit the time that the aeration method could be tested.
BACKGROUND: Robert Collison, PhD, through his company, Collison Engineering, is
the researcher doing scale -up on the unique Zeolite - Anammox process to reduce
ammonia from a final effluent single vessel, two -stage bio- reactor. Dr. Collison has a
pending patent on the Zeolite - Anammox process and is the only local source of
Anammox bacteria to convert ammonia to nitrogen and water. Having just completed a
pilot test at Union Sanitary District and the Oro Loma Wastewater Treatment Plant, he
is now ready to pilot test another pilot plant at CCCSD.
This project has been identified and submitted to the Regional Water Quality Control
Board (RWQCB) in the 2013 Nutrient Visioning Plan as one of the preferred cutting -
edge nitrogen removal technologies to pilot test for meeting future ammonia limits in
final effluent and recycled water. In addition, the proposed pilot plant ties directly to two
of the goals specified in the draft 2014 Strategic Plan: Goal No. 1 includes an initiative
to explore technologies that use less energy and produce less greenhouse gases, and
Goal No.4 states the District's strategy to be a leader in the wastewater industry by
embracing innovation.
This Phase 1 pilot plant would collect data on the blown aeration, trickling filter aeration,
and surface area methods of ammonia removal for a larger Phase 2 pilot plant, at
approximately 100,000 gallons per day. It would demonstrate process and site - specific
viability, generate design data and parameters, determine site - specific nutrient removal
performance, and estimate capital and operational expenses for a full -scale treatment
for the District. CCCSD entered into an agreement with Collison Engineering in June of
2014 to pilot test the blown aeration and trickling filter aeration methods of zeolite-
anammox utilization to removal ammonia.
The challenge with either active aeration method is how to meet the energy demand.
There is an additional zeolite - anammox method called "surface area method," which
utilizes oxygen transfer across the water -air interface over a bed of submerged zeolite.
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POSITION PAPER
Board Meeting Date: October 2, 2014
Subject: AUTHORIZE THE GENERAL MANAGER TO REVISE AGREEMENT
041599 WITH COLLISON ENGINEERING FOR PROFESSIONAL
ENGINEERING SERVICES BY INCREASING THE COST CEILING FROM
$95,000 TO AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $225,000 TO INCLUDE THE
SURFACE AREA METHOD WITH THE ZEOLITE ANAMMOX PILOT
PLANT STUDY AND EXTEND THE AERATED METHODS BY 12
ADDITIONAL MONTHS
There is no energy demand for aeration. The goal of the addition of the surface area
method as polishing tanks is to determine the surface area requirement and optimize
the energy usage in the hope of reducing aeration - related cost in full -scale treatment.
Additional funds are needed to build the surface area pilot plant on a second semi-
trailer, operate the surface area pilot plant for 24 months, and operate the aerated pilot
plant for an additional 12 months. These additional funds total $130,000. The
aggregate amount of the revised contract would therefore be $225,000. The total cost
of Phase 1 of the Study is estimated at $250,000, which includes $225,000 for the
Collison Engineering Contract and $25,000 for purchasing equipment needed for the
pilot project. Therefore, the project will require a $155,000 allocation from the FY 2014-
15 Treatment Plant Program..
The Zeolite - Anammox Pilot Plant Study is included as part of DP 7315 - Plant of the
Future Roadmap project in the FY 2014 -15 CIB on page TP -10. Staff has conducted
an allocation analysis of the FY 2014 -15 Treatment Plant Program budget and
concluded that adequate funds are available for this pilot study, as shown below:
FY 2014 -15 Treatment Plant (TP) Program Allocation Budget:
Authorized Estimated Allocations for Projects $4,486,000
Supplemental Board Authorizations 0
Allocations Returned from Closeouts 0
Total Board Authorized Allocations $4,486,000
FY 2014 -15 Allocations to Date for TP Program $ (80,000)
This Allocation for DP 7315 (155,000)
Remaining Unallocated Budget for TP Program $4,251,000
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION: The Engineering and Operations Committee
reviewed this matter at its September 22, 2014 meeting and recommended Board
approval.
RECOMMENDED BOARD ACTION: Authorize the General Manager to revise
Agreement 041599 with Collison Engineering for professional engineering services by
increasing the cost ceiling from $95,000 to an amount not to exceed $225,000 to
include the surface area method with the Zeolite Anammox Pilot Plant Study and
extend the aerated methods by 12 additional months.
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