ASH POND CLOSURE AND RDF ASH POND RECONSTRUCTION
The City's Power Plant operated for over a century by combusting coal to generate electricity. The combustion of coal generated coal ash as a byproduct, which was conveyed from the boilers to an ash impoundment pond several hundred yards to the East of the Power Plant. Although the Power Plant no longer burns coal, a substantial amount of coal ash remained at the ash pond.
On April 17, 2015, a Final Rule entitled "Hazardous and Solid Waste Management System; Disposal of Coal Combustion Residuals (CCR) From Electric Utilities" was published in the Federal Register, which regulated the disposal of ash in surface impoundments and landfills resulting from the burning of coal in electric utility boilers.
Compliance with the CCR rule required a major project at the City's ash pond to reconfigure the existing ash site, where one-half of the site became a closed-in-place impoundment. Ahead of the CCR pond closure, in April 2021, the Power Plant stopped discharging ash and water into the area of the pond that contained CCR. This allowed the pond to dry for closer inspection. Soil samples suggested favorable conditions to work with the ash.
On March 12, 2024, a contract in the amount of $2,606,093.15 was awarded to JB Holland Construction Inc., of Decorah, IA, to perform the closure project. Five change orders have subsequently been approved for the project:
- Change Order No. 1 was approved by City Council on July 23, 2024, in the amount of $417,344.79 to incorporate a drying additive into the ash in response to encountering conditions that were wetter than anticipated. This change order also included items modified from the original scope of work to better accomplish the overall design of the project.
- Change Order No. 2 was approved by City Council on October 8, 2024, in the amount of $108,907 for additional ash removal, fill material, and gravel road restoration.
- Change Order No. 3 was approved by the City Manager's Office in the amount of $45,345.60 for additional fill material.
- Change Order No. 4 was approved by City Council on June 24, 2025, in the amount of $9,672.50 for labor and materials to install new conduit to the site.
- Change Order No. 5 was approved by the department in the amount of $10,940 for additional seed material to establish vegetation around the site.
THIS ACTION:
Staff is requesting Council approval of Change Order No. 6 to deduct $172,498.01 to adjust for contract quantities. Several items in the contract included a unit price cost. For the initial bid, an estimated quantity was used. During the project, actual quantities were measured. Change Order No. 6 is reconciliation of these quantities, which brings the contract total to $3,025,805.03 (inclusive of sales tax). Approving this change order will bring the project to a close and allows staff to accept the project.
- Approve the following for the Ash Pond Closure and RDF Ash Pond Reconstruction project:
a. Balancing Change Order No. 6 to JB Holland Construction Inc, of Decorah, IA, in the amount of ($172,498.01).
b. Accept completion of the contract with JB Holland Construction Inc, of Decorah, IA, in the total amount of $3,025,805.03 (inclusive of sales tax), and release retainage. - Do not approve the requested change order and do not accept completion of the project.
The project is complete and has been approved by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. Approving Change Order No. 6 allows for payment of actual installed quantities and then close out of the project. Therefore, it is the recommendation of the City Manager that the City Council adopt Alternative No. 1, as described above.