More work in store for Veolia?

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This article was published 04/10/2010 (5497 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The City of Winnipeg’s contract with environmental consulting firm Veolia Canada may eventually involve $1 billion worth of sewage-treatment upgrades — about 50 per cent more work than city council has approved.

But Bryan Gray, one of the city officials in charge of the project, said Sunday night the scope of the Veolia contract has not increased. He also described the notion of handing the firm more responsibilities as just a conversation among engineers.

In May, council voted to approve a plan to have Veolia design, build and possibly maintain $661 million worth of new facilities at the city’s North End and South End Water Pollution Control Centres. The work is part of a broader $1.8-billion waste-water-treatment upgrade ordered by the Clean Environment Commission in 2003.

The city’s intention is to use Veolia’s expertise to find more efficient ways to conduct the upgrades and hopefully shave 10 to 20 per cent off a tab that might otherwise cost $1.2 billion over the course of 30 years.

Water-and-waste officials hope the deal will save the city money. But some are concerned Winnipeg is “betting the farm” on the environmental consulting giant, in the words of a senior city official who spoke under condition of anonymity.

The plan on the table will see Veolia work closely with water and waste staff to avoid the sort of design and communication errors that led to problems at the West End Water Pollution Control Centre last decade, when upgrades originally pegged at $26 million wound up costing $47 million.

Engineers are also considering giving Veolia oversight of other improvements at the North End and South End sewage-treatment plants, said Gray, one of three managers responsible for developing Winnipeg’s forthcoming water and sewer utility. “That was something thrown on the table for discussion,” said Gray, insisting no new responsibilities have been heaped on to Veolia’s plate. “This was an idea that came up, and nothing new has been added.”

At a seminar in early August, several dozen water-and-waste officials were told Veolia may be made responsible for approximately $1 billion worth of projects, and the entire scope of the improvements under the firm’s oversight may be worth more than $1.5 billion over the life of the contract.

Engineers mused it makes no sense to give Veolia responsibility for nutrient-removal upgrades and the expansion of a bio-solids-handling facility, but not allow the firm to have oversight of other capital upgrades at the North End and South End plants, Gray confirmed.

But he insisted this remains talk. Veolia will simply be managing the upgrades, as most of the actual spending will wind up going to other firms. The City of Winnipeg does not possess the in-house expertise to conduct the design work, which would have wound up being contracted to external consultants with or without the involvement of Veolia Canada, a company chosen following a 10-month search by a city selection team headed up by Gray. The city is still determining Veolia’s precise responsibilities — as well as the mechanisms that will determine how much it gets paid — in an effort to move forward on the sewage-treatment upgrades as soon as possible.

This will happen with or without a new water-and-waste utility, whose creation has been held up in discussions between the city and province. The city must move quickly on the upgrades to meet provincial environmental deadlines, Gray said.

The deadlines facing the city are causing anxiety within water-and-waste, said a senior official, who also expressed concern council has not been kept abreast about the potential scope of the Veolia work.

“If people had presented a more literal interpretation of the report, they would have gone back to council,” the official said.

City council is currently prorogued due to the civic election and is not slated to meet again until Dec. 15.

St. Boniface Coun. Dan Vandal, who voted against the Veolia contract in May, said he is not surprised the scope of the work may increase. But, he said, as a member of council’s public works committee, he should have been informed.

“If you’re not on executive (policy) committee, you’re not in the loop,” he said. “I’m not saying the mayor knew about this, but when you’re the mayor of the City of Winnipeg, you should have a handle on a $1-billion file.”

A spokesman for Katz deferred to Gray on Sunday.

Mayoral challenger Judy Wasylycia-Leis, who has attempted to portray the Veolia contract as a backroom deal, said the increased scope of the contract is another reason why details of the deal must be made public.

Other sources insisted the contract has not been completed, and described Wasylycia-Leis’ position as a conspiracy theory.

 

bartley.kives@freepress.mb.ca

What council approved in May:

 

Have Veolia Canada immediately design and build $661 million worth of upgrades to the city’s North End and South End sewage-treatment plants, and also enter into a 30-year management agreement with the environmental consulting firm.

 

What the city is thinking about doing now:

 

Adding other upgrades already planned for the North End and South End plants to Veolia’s responsibilities, to improve the efficiency of the overall project.

 

What happens next:

 

An amended contract could face another council vote, if in fact the city chooses this route.