Agenda Date: 02/20/2018
Subject:
Title
An ordinance on second reading amending the 2018 Littleton Sewer Utility Enterprise budget
Body
Presented By:
Keith Reester, Public Works Director
REQUESTED COUNCIL ACTION:
Does city council support amending the Sewer Utility Enterprise budget by $4,000,000 to fund the biogas project at the Littleton Englewood Wastewater Treatment Plant (LEWWTP)?
BACKGROUND:
The Englewood and Littleton city councils provided feedback to the LEWWTP Supervisory Committee to pursue a change in operations to reduce the vented and flared gases by investing in a project to convert biogas generated from the wastewater treatment process (i.e. methane) into Renewable Natural Gas (RNG). In the fall of 2017, both city councils directed staff to begin the preliminary engineering for creating the systems to inject the biogas into a nearby transmission line owned by Xcel Energy. Currently less than 10% of the methane gas created through the wastewater treatment process is recaptured and the balance is flared as carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. The proposed change in operations serves two complimentary purposes: recapture gas and convert it into resaleable gas in the transportation market generating revenue, and substantially reduce greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere.
Based on prior city council study sessions included in the initial design services package for the Biogas to Renewable Natural Gas (RNG) Project, the project team evaluated financing approaches that best align with the LEWWTP's project drivers and the cities' financial goals. The council presentation included financing options recommended by staff and approved by the LEWWTP Steering Committee. The team recommended an approach that balances risk, maintains control and allows the wastewater facility to have maximum flexibility as market conditions or treatment processes change within the RNG marketplace or plant operations. The discussion considered financing options includi...
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