MWRD approves Hanover Park farming tender as PFAS dispute delays $35.8m biosolids procurements

MWRD approves Hanover Park farming tender as PFAS dispute delays $35.8m biosolids procurementsChicago's Metropolitan Water Reclamation District has authorised advertising for a $1.125 million farming contract at its Hanover Park Water Reclamation Plant in a 7-2 vote. However, commissioners deferred two contracts for transportation and beneficial reuse of biosolids from LASMA and CALSMA as they pressed management on PFAS data disclosure and source tracking.

The board approved advertising Contract 27-753-11, Farming at the Hanover Park Water Reclamation Plant, estimated at $1.125 million, with Commissioners Cameron Davis and Sharon Waller voting against it.

Contracts for $4.154 million of air-dried biosolids utilisation and transportation and $31.648 million of beneficial reuse from LASMA and CALSMA were deferred.

Executive Director Murray said further PFAS sampling would be undertaken in the fall and that the district intended to publish the combined data online in January 2027.

MWRD staff said the district is already conducting PFAS source tracking among industrial-user categories identified by EPA as potential dischargers.

The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD) has approved a $1.125 million tender for farming at the Hanover Park Water Reclamation Plant, despite a dispute over the timing of PFAS-data publication that also prompted the deferral of two larger biosolids contracts. At its 1 October board meeting, the utility authorised advertising of Contract 27-753-11 for farming at the Hanover Park plant. The procurement, which had been deferred from the 17 September meeting, passed by seven votes to two. Commissioners Cameron Davis and Sharon Waller voted against it. Davis said he understood the short-term need for the contract but would vote no to encourage the district to develop and implement a longer-term PFAS-management plan. Waller questioned why PFAS results generated through almost $300,000 of taxpayer-funded work were not yet publicly available. Executive Director Murray said MWRD intended to conduct further sampling in the fall, create additional PFAS web pages, and publish the results together in January 2027. He said the existing sample set was small and that the district wanted to provide more comprehensive information. The data could be obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request in the interim, according to the discussion. Murray said the district's biosolids programme currently complies with every applicable permit for biosolids application. He noted that EPA guidance was out for public comment and that future federal and state regulations could address PFAS. MWRD would follow all applicable requirements, he said. The board then deferred two biosolids procurements: Contract 27-692-11, valued at $4.154 million, for utilisation and transportation of air-dried biosolids from LASMA and CALSMA; and Contract 27-690-11, valued at $31.648 million, for beneficial reuse of biosolids from the same facilities. Waller asked whether delaying the tenders until PFAS data were posted would affect operations. Murray said January could be late because land application was intended to start in May and the contracts would need to be advertised, bid and reviewed. He said a two-week deferral would be acceptable, but asked the board not to wait until January to grant advertising authority. The discussion also focused on source tracking. A Monitoring and Research Department staff member said MWRD was already sampling industrial users in categories EPA identifies as potential PFAS dischargers. Murray said testing is conducted in service areas before flows reach treatment plants, as well as on influent, effluent and biosolids. He said field surveillance could narrow potential sources to a particular area or user. Commissioner Eira Corral Sepúlveda supported the Hanover Park item, saying the plant's treatment, biosolids spreading and disposal activities occur in one location. Chairman of Finance Marcelino Garcia said the district should continue pursuing a source-control and polluter-pays approach. The board's split action leaves the Hanover Park farming procurement moving into the market, while the $35.802 million LASMA and CALSMA tenders await further consideration.