Conference Agenda

Looking to improve cybersecurity and SCADA system resilience, the cities of Gresham and Medford used a holistic approach to match funding opportunities with their capital projects. With so many funding opportunities, it can be overwhelming to determine where to focus, especially when the newer programs from recently passed legislation are still developing the rules and guidelines. This presentation will give an overview of both agencies’ successes and share lessons learned that will benefit other municipalities.

Federal water infrastructure funding opportunities include Water infrastructure Finance & Innovation Act (WIFIA), Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act (IIJA), FEMA Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC), Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022. There are also state and local utility programs for renewable energy and energy efficiency. In Oregon, funding opportunities includes the Water/Wastewater Financing Program and Special Public Works Fund (SPWF) through Business Oregon; the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) through the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality; the Community Renewable Energy Grant Program through the Oregon Department of Energy; and multiple renewable energy/efficiency programs through the Energy Trust of Oregon.

Capital program assessments documented eligibility, available funding options, terms/interest rates for loan programs, and local match requirements. Projects were categorized and ranked with regards to funding evaluation criteria, including security, resilience, and renewable energy.

For Gresham, their Digestion and Cogen project has a waste-to-renewable-energy focus, so that effort included an assessment of the various federal and state programs including the new Renewable Energy Generation Tax Credits under the IRA. Applicable funding was integrated into the business case evaluation to guide selection of a renewable energy approach to provide the City with the most value.

For Medford, a formal BRIC grant application was developed requesting $22M for seismic upgrades and backup power to reduce natural hazard risk. They will also apply for additional funding to improve cybersecurity and resilience of the SCADA system.

The City of Tacoma Environmental Services Department (City) maintains over 800 miles of wastewater sewers, 45 pump stations, and two wastewater treatment plants including the 60 MGD regional Central Wastewater Treatment Plant (CTP). In November 2015, a 15-minute power outage at the CTP resulted in a sanitary sewer overflow, discharging untreated sewage to the environmentally sensitive and commercial waters. Immediately after the event, the City commissioned Carollo Engineers to prepare an Electrical System Analysis Study that showed that CTP’s medium voltage electrical infrastructure was past its anticipated design life, did not provide independent redundancy, and could suffer a catastrophic outage leading to dangerous emergency situations threatening plant staff and the environment. The City prioritized and implemented the first level of recommended improvements including operating the plant with split power feeds and eliminating single points of failure at several process areas.

Subsequently, the City decided to build new infrastructure that provides independent electrical feeds, replaces the aged switchgear infrastructure, and eliminates other identified single points of failure. Advertised for construction in March 2020 and substantially completed August 2022, this joint City/Carollo presentation will address how this $33 million Electrical System Upgrade project overcame several key challenges during implementation:

1. Construction throughout a built-out site – includes replacement and centralization of the main plant switchgear, construction of a new electrical building, and routing of over 3,000 LF of concrete encased, medium voltage electrical duct banks.
2. Funding – low-cost loans from WIFIA and SRF programs. Project is one of the first complete WIFIA projects in the nation.
3. Keeping plant operational – planning between contractor, owner, and engineer to implement 74 power and utility cutovers impacting every process at the operating plant.
4. Construction during COVID-19 pandemic – partnership with contractor to keep the project on schedule and budget.
5. Easement negotiations – easement modifications and land acquisition with USACE and private railroad.