The City of Marysville’s wastewater treatment plant is in a floodplain, running the risk of toxic sludge entering the area’s waterways when rivers rise and inundate the facility – something that happened during the Oroville Spillway event in 2017 after bank destabilization resulted in sewage discharge into the Yuba River. The Regional Water Quality Control Board (RWQCB) placed the City under a Cease and Desist order to decommission the wastewater treatment ponds by December 2021 or face a penalty.

The City contracted with BEN|EN to help meet the RWQCB’s order to decommission the plant and seek funding. Decommissioning involved first quantifying and then removing the contaminated sludge followed by regrading of the wastewater treatment plant ponds to a flatter and more usable site.  Responsibilities include project management, Regional Water Quality Control Board (RWQCB) permit management, preparing and supporting environmental documentation and permits, data review (including site visits, document research, and geotechnical investigation), preliminary design, State Revolving Fund (SRF) grant application assistance and reporting, producing plans, specifications, and estimate, providing bidding assistance, and construction management.