Bellingham advances $40.9m emission control upgrade at Post Point wastewater plant

Bellingham advances $40.9m emission control upgrade at Post Point wastewater plantThe city council has awarded a general contractor/construction manager (GC/CM) contract to Walsh Construction to overhaul air pollution equipment on the plant's solids incinerators, keeping the city on track to meet a looming regulatory deadline.

Walsh Construction Company II secured the contract with a 6.5% fee, covering an estimated $900,000 for preconstruction and $40 million for construction.

The upgrades are mandated by a 2025 settlement agreement with the Northwest Clean Air Agency, which required a contract in place by September 30, 2026.

The GC/CM delivery method is being utilized to help finalize the design and control costs for the complex air pollution control project.

City officials noted that despite the investment, Bellingham is still actively pursuing alternative, more sustainable methods for long-term sewage solids handling.

The Bellingham City Council unanimously approved a $40.9 million contract with Walsh Construction Company II, LLC on August 10 for the Post Point Wastewater Treatment Plant Emission Control Upgrades Project. The decision authorizes a General Contractor/Construction Manager (GC/CM) delivery approach to replace and upgrade air pollution control equipment for both of the plant's incinerator units. Walsh Construction was selected following a multi-phase scoring process, submitting the lowest contractor's fee proposal at 6.5%. The agreement includes an estimated $900,000 for preconstruction services—which will run into 2027—and $40 million for the construction phase. A notice to proceed for construction is anticipated in late 2027, with work expected to span three and a half years. The project is financed entirely through the city's Wastewater Fund. The overhaul is primarily driven by regulatory compliance. The upgrades will reduce air emissions from the wastewater treatment system's solids processing operations, maintaining safe and compliant operations at the Post Point facility. Crucially, the contract award satisfies a project delivery milestone established in a 2025 settlement agreement between the City of Bellingham and the Northwest Clean Air Agency (NWCAA). The agreement required the city to execute a GC/CM contract prior to September 30, 2026. Councilmember Michael Lilliquist, chair of the Public Works and Natural Resources Committee, explained that the collaborative GC/CM approach was chosen to optimize the final design and potentially lower costs for the complex project. He also emphasized that the capital investment does not permanently commit the utility to incineration. "This doesn't lock us into the incinerators forever and ever," Lilliquist stated during the meeting. "We are still actively pursuing better, more modern, more sustainable forms of handling the sewage solids. But in the meanwhile, we would like to reduce air pollution, and that is what this program will do."