City Council Meeting Date: July 17, 2018
To: Mayor and City Council
City Administrator
From: David E. Bennett, Public Works Director/City Engineer
Title
Wastewater Treatment Plant Biosolids Fire Update.
Body
Action Requested:
The Northfield City Council discusses the update on the fire at the Wastewater Treatment Plant Biosolids Building.
Summary Report:
On May 29, 2018, a fire occurred in the Biosolids Process Building which caused extensive damage to equipment within the building which resulted in the treatment process going offline. Within this building, liquid sludge is processed and turned into a high quality fertilizer that is a dirt like material. A contractor then hauls and applies it to farm fields.
During the day of the fire, the City was operating the biosolids process as it typically does. This process typically runs for 10 hours during the days it is in operation and typically runs three days per week. Staff began the shutdown process of the equipment at 3:45 P.M, and then began cleanup procedures.
That evening at 9:26 P.M the City received its first alarm “PhoneLineFail”, 9:27 P.M Second Alarm (PhoneLineFail), 9:37 P.M “Biostyrcomm Communication Failure”. These alarms continued, as we believe it was the melting of the electronic communications line in the building. This building is not equipped with smoke/fire alarms, nor does it have a fire suppression system. The alarms from the plant were communication failure alarms.
A motorist passing by the plant smelled smoke at HWY 3 and CR 47 and called 911. At 9:39 P.M the fire department was then dispatched to the wastewater plant, and at 9:48 P.M they arrived on scene. Heavy smoke was found in the biosolids building, and the fire department began to extinguish the fire. At roughly 11:40 P.M the fire had been extinguished.
After the fire, the City notified its insurance provider, the League of MN Cities Insurance Trust. The League hired Whitemore Fire Consultants, Inc. to investigate the fire. The report is attached (Attachment 1). In consultation with the City Attorney, the City has redacted from the report employee names and titles to protect private protected employee data and operation times for security purposes. In the League’s investigation, Whitemore Fire Consultants, Inc. believed they ruled out electrical and mechanical issues as the cause of the fire. The only item they were unable to eliminate as the cause of the fire is the result of “excess lime/product obtaining moisture creating a self-heating chemical reaction as the cause of this fire”. The fire occurred at the end of the pasteurization vessel, where the end product is conveyed out of the building to storage.
The City is contracting to haul the sludge, which it is getting processed by the Met Council and a small amount by New Prague. Due to the volume, the City has ordered temporary mobile process equipment to process the sludge until all repairs are completed in the building. Staff believes that we are 8-12 months out before the process is back online.
Alternative Options:
Financial Impacts:
The first column in the table is for the new Biosolids Processing Equipment that has been ordered ($4,584,908). The second column is the replacement cost of the existing equipment ($4,484,683) which is what staff believes the City would be receiving from insurance. However, there are a few items under review that could be replaced at the full cost. The third column is what was identified in the 2015 Facility Plan as the cost to replace this equipment in 2021.
Tentative Timelines:
Aug/Sept bidding for installation of replacement equipment.