Septic Receiving Stations and Leachate Treatment Facility to be Built in North Central Landfill
by James Coulter
A new septic receiving station and leachate treatment facility areset to be constructed at the North Central Landfill now that county commissioners have approved a construction contract and an amendment to an agreement for professional engineering services.
At their regular meeting on Tues. Apr. 15, the Polk County Board of County Commissioners Polk County Manager Bill Beasley presented two items about the construction of a new septage receiving and leachate treatment facility at the North Central Landfill. The landfill is located at 7425 De Castro Rd in Auburndale.
The first item was for a construction contract with C&T Contracting Services, Inc., which would require a one-time budget transfer of $18,343,741 from the Utilities Capital Expansion Fund Reserve for Future Capital Expansion. The second item was for an amendment to an agreement with Hazen and Sawyer, P.C. to provide professional engineering services, which would require a one-time expense of $488,410.
“Due to newer restrictive Federal and State biosolid management regulations, there are fewer companies that are authorized to receive and dispose of biosolid materials,” wrote Ari Goldstein, Senior Procurement Analyst, in the agenda item. “As a result, local private septage haulers requested the County consider providing septage receiving stations at its wastewater treatment facilities.”
A feasibility study, last updated in July 2021, recommended that septage receiving stations be built at local wastewater treatment facilities. It was later determined, as Goldstein wrote, “that the North Central Landfill (NCLF) was the best location to offer a site-ready, easily accessible location for a new septage receiving station and leachate treatment system, as well as a disposal site for the biosolids.”
Not only would the centralized location of the septage receiving stations at the landfill provide a benefit to haulers seeking to dispose of solid waste outside the county boundaries, but the treatment facility will likewise allow leachate to be treated from the landfill.
C&T Contracting Services will be awarded the contract to provide construction for these new amenities, while Hazen and Sawyer, P.C. has been awarded an agreement to provide professional engineering services.
Commissioner Michael Scott commended this effort as an exemplar of private-public partnership, with both the private and public sectors working together to meet the needs of the local community.
“Hats off to the county for putting together the ultimate facility that the community needs,” he said. “This is a collaborative effort that should be replicated in other counties across the state, and I am proud to be part of this decision.”
Both items received a motion and second for approval, and the county commission voted unanimously for their approval.
