The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink AboutMN-SJC-2026-09-09ITHACA AREA WASTEWATER TREATMENT FACILITY TOWN OF ITHACA CITY OF ITHACA TOWN OF DRYDEN, OWNERS 525 THIRD STREET ITHACA, NEW YORK 14850 (607) 273-8381 SJC MEETING September 9, 2026 P = Present, PZ = Present Via Zoom, E = Excused and A = Absent STAFF PZ Wendy Cole, City of Ithaca A Kelly Anderson, Town of Ithaca P Scott Gibson, City of Ithaca P Joe Slater, Town of Ithaca PZ Kelly VanRiper, City of Ithaca P Justin McNeal Town of Ithaca PZ Carissa Ralovsky, City of Ithaca P Matt Sledjeski, City of Ithaca PZ Brodey Zarzynski, City of Ithaca GUEST PZ Peter Wernsdorfer, Camden Group PZ Jesse Semanchik, B & L P Ken Scherrieble, Camden Group A Brigid Mulroe, B & L P Fernando Figueroa P = Present, PZ = Present Via Zoom, E = Excused and A = Absent Called to Order 1:02 pm Agenda Review 1. Approval of Minutes: 08/12/26 a. Motion by Rich DePaolo b. Second by Dave Warden c. Approved by all 2. Financials - Carissa a. Review 2026 monthly ﬁnancials b. 2027 Budget Progress with discussion 3. Operations & Engineering Report - Peter, Matt a. August 2026 Op Report In current events, there were several cybersecurity incidents at water and wastewater plants throughout the US. We submitted for and were awarded an EFC SECURE Cybersecurity grant in the amount of $50,000 for assessment. We are working closely with the City’s IT team as we spearhead the eﬀort within the plant as they will within the City system. This is vitally important and we expect to complete the work by the end of November. i. Regulatory Compliance – With no issues to report, the treatment process is using one primary settling tank, two aeration tanks, and two ﬁnal settling tanks. As the student population returns, we expect to add treatment units to accommodate increased loads (note: as of 31 August, full load from student body is here and we have activated another aeration basin) 1. Pe New York State has put together a new regulation Part 253 which deals with Green House Gases. Treatment Facilities with Anaerobic digestion are required to develop a monitoring and reporting system and submit it by December 1, 2026, with the ﬁrst annual report due by June 1, 2027. This will require additional testing and assistance from an engineering ﬁrm. ii. Personnel – No changes iii. Inﬂuent – Inﬂuent Pump No. 4 will be ordered this year. There is a multi-month lead time iv. Blowers – We await the warranty replacement actuator on a six-week timeline v. Digesters – We are monitoring a keyway issue on the secondary digester mixer. It may need modiﬁcation in the future. vi. Micro Turbines (CHP) – All turbines are operational with 93% uptime in the past month. Gas quality is steady and high although the higher seasonal temperatures reduce generation capacity vii. ActiFlo (Tertiary Treatment) - ActiFlo continues to be problematic and requires inordinate labor to keep operational. Aspects of this are being addressed now as well as in the short-term ﬁnancing. We are meeting our Phosphorus limit currently viii. Clariﬁers – We have an eight-week lead time for parts and expect to aﬀect the repair in the week after the parts arrive ix. Aeration – The coarse bubble diﬀuser experiment was not successful and was abandoned. We do not recommend pursuing this further and cancelling the purchase of a second set of diﬀusers x. Trucked Waste – Repairs are underway of the door and odor control system. An odor masking spray assembly was installed as an interim measure. The Honey Monsters are undergoing repair and installing some additional/improved features to decrease wear and tear. Once complete, the revenue stream will be returned (more as of 31 August, door is repaired) xi. Facility Improvements – There are two items this month 1. The outfall pipe inspection was completed. B&L will update. 2. The new facility gate (automated with access RFID) is installed xii. Asset Management – We are reﬁning the asset details and asset health data for completion by end of October xiii. Staﬀ Management - Safety Toolbox Talks are distributed weekly b. Reporting - no issues noted i. Regulatory reports were sent as scheduled c. Business, Long-Term Development i. Capital Planning - Semi-monthly meetings continue, B&L will update ii. Energy Management – No changes this month d. Operations Data - The MOR and Gas Data Tables are attached. e. Update on possible partnership with Casella 4. NYSDEC permit modiﬁcation - Jesse a. Update on NYS communications – Per 8/20 DEC Outfall Study Meeting, DEC still anticipates draft permit going to public notice this year. b. Data acquisition, lake monitoring update – B&L is ﬁnalizing the details of the sampling plan with Geosyntec and CSI. c. Geosyntec progress – Kickoﬀ meeting conducted 8/20 with DEC. Geosyntec reviewed approach to modeling and dilution study. Geosyntec modeling work was initiated following DEC meeting, beginning with data inventory and data requests. Anticipate 4-6 weeks for initial model results. 5. Capital Improvement Projects Update - Jesse a. Amendments 3 and 4 approval progress i. B&L Amendment 3 (Additional CIP Planning and Headworks Study/Local Limits) and revised Amendment 4 (Near-Term Design, Bid, CA-CO). 1. Initial design tasks following authorization: Matterport scanning, Revit model generation, site survey, drawing preparation, equipment selection benchmarking and selections b. Discuss owner plans for funding ~1.8MM in emergency repairs – DEC emergency loan program (0% for 12 months), emergency declaration for inclusion in EFC loan, or operating funds. i. Total - $1,792,000 ii. City of Ithaca - $1,024,000 iii. Town of Ithaca - $732,500 iv. Town of Dryden - $35,500 c. Long-term CIP plan/WQIP updates i. B&L will complete the WQIP budget and workplan for uploading to grants portal. ii. EFC Draft Intended Use Plan lists $37.84M project in hardship category, eligible for interest- free ﬁnancing. iii. CWSRF ﬁnancing application following SEQR, bond resolutions, winter. d. SEQR progress – Coordinated review period ended 8/20. DEC response received. FEAF Parts 2 and 3 nearing ﬁnalization for next City board meeting. 6. Misc. Updates a. Foundational Agreements approval progress – Rich b. Interceptor study/ ﬂow metering – Joe S c. Gang of Six meetings report - Rod d. City water meter replacement progress – Matt Adjournment – 2:33 pm Upcoming Meeting Date: October 14, 2026 Please See Attached Appendixes: 1 – September 9, 2026, Agenda 2 – 09/09/2026 Unapproved Minutes 3 – 08/12/2026 Approved Minutes (Minus Appendixes) 4 – Financials 2026 5 – Operator’s & Engineer’s Report 6 – DMR Report 7 – Gas usage Report 8 – MOR Ithaca Report 9 – Draft IAWWTF operating Budget