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July 19, 2005Septage plant repairs tagged at $2 millionCause of failure still not made publicByRecord-Eagle staff writer TRAVERSE CITY - Engineers estimate it will take six months and $2.1 million dollars to rebuild the Grand Traverse County septage treatment plant. Jim Minster of Gourdie-Fraser Associates - the engineering firm that designed the plant - told the county's water and sewer committee Monday that he was waiting for final reports to come in before commenting on what happened in mid-June when a concrete tank burst. About 150,000 gallons of partially treated septage spilled out of the tank and that damaged several buildings in the complex. "We think (the cause) is pretty clear," Minster said. Investigations by half a dozen insurance companies into the cause of the collapse have been completed but no reports have been filed. The Grand Traverse County Board of Public Works will meet July 25 with subcontractors, and county attorney Mike Houlihan said he expected someone to take responsibility for the collapse. "I expect by the 25th one or more subcontractors is going to stand up and say we made a mistake, and here is how we are going to fix it," Houlihan said. He declined to comment on who he suspects is responsible. The county is relying on the independent investigators hired by the insurance companies to affix blame, but Houlihan acknowledged even the county's own insurance company is not required to share its report with the county. "This whole report thing is pretty murky," he said. Minster asked permission to start reconstruction of the plant, but the committee took no action. Reconstruction costs not covered by insurance is the responsibility of the design/build team of Gourdie-Fraser and Christman Company - not the county - Houlihan said. County administrator Dennis Aloia questioned how the county can allow reconstruction to go forward until the cause of the failure is determined. Houlihan recommended the county hire an independent consultant to review designs for reconstruction of the plant. "We need some reassurance as we go through this these repairs are appropriate structurally and that we are not adding on to a building that is already defective," Houlihan said. He also wants an independent inspection of all other components of the plant. "We want a complete evaluation of all of the buildings so that everybody is damn sure that this is a unique event and isn't going to happen again six months from now," Houlihan said. See Related Stories: Health risk from septage plant failure said minimal - July 19, 2005 Well owners near GT County's septage plant fear contamination - June 25, 2005 GT County's septage treatment plant may reopen - June 22, 2005 Septage plant 'structural failure' is investigated - June 21, 2005 Burst tank rocks GT County's new septage plant - June 19, 2005
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