The city of Portland is moving forward with a nearly $18 million project to construct a treatment facility that will reduce the amount of lead in its drinking water.

The Improved Corrosion Control Treatment project is being carried out to meet the requirements of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency‘s Lead and Copper Rule. The Portland Water Bureau and the Oregon Health Authority agreed to a compliance schedule that requires the facility to be in operation by April 2022.

Portland City Council voted Wednesday to accept a guaranteed maximum price of $17,989,637 from MWH Constructors to serve as the project’s construction manager/general contractor. The global firm, headquartered in Broomfield, Colorado, is the parent company of Stayton-based Slayden Construction Group.

The new treatment facility will be located alongside the Water Bureau’s existing Lusted Hill treatment facility in east Multnomah County. The facility will include a new building to house treatment systems, a utility water pump station, and associated piping and support systems.

The aim of the project is to reduce lead exposure from home plumbing systems by using sodium carbonate and carbon dioxide to increase the pH and alkalinity of the water. The increased alkalinity will improve the stability of the pH, which increases the effectiveness of the treatment and reduces the levels of lead at the tap by decreasing the amount of metals leaching from pipes into the water.

MWH Constructors was selected as CM/GC by an evaluation committee that reviewed three proposals submitted in January 2019. The project’s design process commenced in mid-2018, and construction is expected to commence this summer following execution of the contract.

MWH Constructors has committed to dedicating 25.91 percent of the project’s hard construction costs, or $2,460,409, to firms certified by the state’s Certification Office for Business Inclusion and Diversity (COBID). The project is one of three being monitored by the city’s Community Equity and Inclusion Committee, which provides oversight of Community Equity and Inclusion Plan (CEIP) projects valued between $10 million and $25 million to ensure that contracting and employment opportunities are provided for racial and ethnic minorities, women and economically disadvantaged individuals.

Projects executed under the CEIP have higher participation goals than those that are not. The plan requires 22 percent participation by COBID-certified firms, as well as performance of 31 percent of total apprentice-level labor hours and 28 percent of total journey-level labor hours by minorities and women.

MWH Constructors will self-perform about $4.7 million worth of the project’s hard construction costs, and approximately $9.5 million of remaining work will be distributed through a subcontracting plan in accordance with the CEIP. As part of a pre-construction services contract, MWH Constructors has advertised four early procurement packages for various aspects. The remaining subcontracts will be advertised after a construction contract is executed.

The project is one of two included in the Water Bureau’s Bull Run treatment projects program, which also includes the approximately $800 million Bull Run filtration project. Both projects were included in a Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act loan application filed by the bureau earlier this year; that loan will provide up to $745 million of funding for the projects.

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Supporters of Community Benefits Agreements (CBAs) were told Wednesday by Portland City Council members that whatever happens, high standards for workforce diversity would apply to a major utility-based construction project now rolling into action.

The different sides are still debating an equity plan for city construction projects drafted by Mayor Ted Wheeler, the Community Equity and Inclusion Plan. CBA supporters want the CEIP to closely resemble CBAs, which are considered union-friendly, and others want greater opportunities for minorities who own open-shop firms.

On Wednesday, the council held a procedural hearing related to a $146 million upgrade of the city’s Columbia Boulevard Wastewater Treatment Plant. Heavy work on the project won’t begin for about two years, but CBA advocates who testified were assured by council members the project would feature ambitious targets for gender and racial diversity.

“We’re concerned the city could be missing an opportunity,” said Kelly Haines of the Metropolitan Alliance for Workforce Equity.

Wheeler said Wednesday the sides are “weeks, not months” from agreement on the CEIP. He confirmed the main sticking point has been a threshold of $25 million stipulating projects use the CEIP.

Also at the hearing, the council voted unanimously to use the construction manager-general contractor alternative contracting method for the wastewater treatment plant project. The method, preferred by many builders for complex and/or risky projects, is also said to help firms meet workforce and subcontracting goals.

The debate over equitable contracting was going on long before Wheeler took office in January, but in April, his office released a draft CEIP that had the support of the National Association of Minority Contractors-Oregon, whose membership includes both union and open-shop firms. But the region’s largest construction worker union, the Columbia Pacific Building Trades Council, along with many other nonprofit groups, opposed several conditions of the CEIP, notably a threshold exempting required use of the CEIP on projects valued over $25 million.

Built in 1952, the Columbia Boulevard Wastewater Treatment Plant today serves 600,000 Portlanders, handling an average of 76 million gallons per day. However, as a result of Portland’s , the plant now sees peaks of up to 450 million gallons in a day following heavy rain.

These wide variations require more biological treatment during a rain and increased resiliency, according to BES program manager Muriel Gueissaz-Teufel. The upgrades have been included in planning documents as far back as the 1990s. Beyond that, she said, regulators have mandated the city complete the project by 2024.

The first deadline is Saturday, when the city is required to notify the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality it’s implementing the project.

“The project is really about increasing the quality of treatment at the plant,” Gueissaz-Teufel said. “The EPA is asking that as much flow as possible be sent to biological treatment.”

The project addresses deferred maintenance needs, upgrades of technical systems and rolls in several long-needed capital projects at the treatment plant. It adds 15,000 square feet of storage space and 5,000 square feet of staff space, as well as add two wet-weather clarifiers and replacement of odor control systems. Wastewater clarifiers are large basins that allow for the separation of sediments.

“(Clarifiers) are low-profile structures that are essentially full of water,” Gueissaz-Teufel said.

The existing clarifiers at the treatment plant will remain in place.

Construction costs for the project are budgeted at $89 million. The overall project budget of $146 million includes predesign, design, construction and permitting. Funding comes from sewer ratepayers via the Sewer System Operating Fund.

Mike Jordan, director of the Bureau of Environmental Services, said the will help by providing the contractor more flexibility in scheduling, which for this project will feature complex sequencing and maintenance of operations.

“When you’re talking about $90 million you’re talking about considerable risk, and anything you can do to minimize risk would be supported by the ratepayer,” Jordan said.

Jordan showed the council a picture of equipment at the plant used for biosolids processing jerry-rigged to prevent leaks.

“As you know, big electrical equipment and leaks just don’t mix,” he said.

Contracts for the project will require frequent reporting by involved parties, to groups including the Portland Utility Board, the Citizens Utility Board and the City Council.

Management help sought for treatment plant work

Portland’s Bureau of Environmental Services is looking for program management and other support services as it embarks on major projects at its two wastewater treatment plants.

The Columbia Boulevard Wastewater Treatment Plant treats as many as 76 million gallons per day. Design for improvements is expected to begin next year.

The Tryon Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant treats an average of 6.5 million gallons per day. The facility was built in 1964 and expanded in 1976. An improvements program for the plant approved in 2014 includes five projects.

The overall project budget is $89 million. The program to expand secondary treatment in Portland is mandated by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality.

The winning bidder will work as an extension of BES staff to assist project managers with completion of the two large projects, according to the request for proposals. The initial contract will run for five years with provisions allowing for a five-year extension.

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The city of Portland is close to adopting a comprehensive plan for ensuring its lofty equity goals are employed on all city construction projects, after years of contentious debate.

But Wednesday’s hearing at City Hall showed the fight isn’t over for the new Community Equity and Inclusion Plan (CEIP), which Mayor Ted Wheeler’s office is calling one of the ambitious equity policies ever undertaken in Portland.

Dissatisfaction from longtime stakeholders was still present, but given the issue’s rancorous history in Portland, Wheeler’s plan may be close to the finish line.

“I bet a lot of you thought I was going to get up here and say bad things about it,” said James Posey, a contractor and longtime voice in equitable contracting in Portland. “But I’m not.”

Posey and nearly all of the two dozen others who testified said more work on the policy is needed. They asked for accountability for contractors who fail to live up to terms, a fine greater than $2,000 for failure to meet goals, and better data to ensure contractors don’t play with numbers to make a white, male workforce appear more diverse on paper.

Wheeler’s CEIP didn’t arrive at the hearing requiring the union-friendly policy tool known as Community Benefits Agreements (CBAs) on all projects – owners of projects over $25 million that use alternative contract methods are given the choice. This led to many speakers saying they could not support the policy as written.

“I urge you to not support this,” said Connie Ashbrook, executive director emeritus of Oregon Tradeswomen Inc.

The CEIP is intended to standardize equity requirements and keep project owners from having to devise new plans for each project. Currently, several city bureaus have their own plans, as do certain large capital projects. The CEIP was compiled with the help of various bureaus and is intended to provide a consistent approach to equitable contracting.

One issue that’s vexed Portland leaders going back to former mayor Bud Clark in the early 1990s is how to draft a policy like the CEIP that will stand up to legal challenges. City attorneys have warned that CBAs might increase diversity on city projects, but would put the city in a risky position.

The most charged issue in this arena going back to Wheeler’s predecessor, Charlie Hales, has been how to incorporate the signatory component of CBAs. Many people who’ve testified to the council have said this component is crucial to ensuring the engagement of stakeholder groups. These include industry-focused nonprofits like Oregon Tradeswomen, Constructing Hope, Portland Youth Builders, and the Metropolitan Alliance for Workforce Equity.

These groups, along with neighborhood organizations like the East Portland Action Plan, and construction worker unions under the Columbia Pacific Building Trades Council have said the signatory requirement is critical because there needs to be a contractual relationship tying contractors to their promises.

“The problem with (the CEIP) is it doesn’t have any method of delivery for equity in workforce,” Willy Myers, executive director of the council, told the 91ĘÓƵ.

But contractors, including the heads of black-owned open-shop firms, and city project managers have expressed concerns about their obligations and the city’s enforcement ability.

The chief administrative officer under Charlie Hales, Fred Miller, was critical of CBAs. Miller retired at the end of last year. His successor, Tom Rinehart, along with the head of the Office of Equity and Human Rights, Dante James, have taken the lead devising the CEIP for Wheeler.

CBAs were used for two Portland Water Bureau projects, and not without controversy.

They were regarded as successful in achieving diverse worker and owner participation, but an independent report criticized several aspects of how they were used in the pilot projects, including project set-aside money going to things unrelated to the projects. The report, by Framework LLC, also said the CBAs were employed in ways that could provide the appearance of conflict of interest.

Miller said at the time he did not want “pure” CBAs used for the Portland Building reconstruction project, which his bureau was gearing up to take on.

Wheeler’s solution to address this dilemma is a CEIP-supporting document to be signed by contractors selected for city projects – a . It will effectively serve as the signatory document to the CEIP.

The scope of the partnership agreement is narrower than that of the CBAs piloted by the city. But Wheeler thinks it can achieve the right level of stakeholder engagement while keeping separate the contractual relationship between the city and its prime contractor.

The proposed fix is intended to allow both union and open-shop firms to compete for city projects, which for years has been a major sticking point in the conversation around equitable contracting. A number of local businesses belonging to the National Association of Minority Contractors are open shop, and some of their owners say it’s easier to hire from their communities absent unions. And they point out that unions haven’t always lived up to equity goals.

Commissioner Dan Saltzman introduced an amendment requiring CBAs for projects over $25 million. But because Saltzman introduced his amendment at the start of Wednesday’s hearing, no one in the room had prepared to address it. NAMC Oregon Executive Director Nate McCoy said he needed to check with people before publicly agreeing to support the amendment.

McCoy has said he favors an equity plan that allows all NAMC Oregon businesses to participate. He and national NAMC board member and Raimore Construction head Jeff Moreland sounded open to it on Wednesday.

“So, just to be clear,” Wheeler said, “with this amendment, we don’t lose you, Nate, and we get you, Willy?”

Seated at the same table, Myers and McCoy offered signs of assent to Wheeler’s question.

The CEIP would also establish a body – the Community Equity and Inclusion Committee – to oversee the city’s and its contractors’ performance. Not all of the CEIC’s formal duties have been assigned.

James, of the Office of Equity and Human Rights, said at the outset of the discussion that underlying all of Portland’s struggles to achieve diversity in contracting are racism and sexism.

“I want to be clear about this,” he said.

Wheeler’s office on Wednesday forwarded three resolutions relating to the CEIP. They will return to the City Council next month, when votes, including on the new amendments, will be taken.

“We have 30 days to figure this out,” Wheeler said.

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(Editor’s note: The  Metropolitan Alliance for Workforce Equity was misidentified in an earlier version of this story. The name has since been corrected.)

Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler is waiting to present the City Council his minority contracting plan due to insufficient stakeholder buy-in.

The council was scheduled to consider on Wednesday whether to approve the final draft of the Community Equity and Inclusion Plan (CEIP), which aims to increase participation of women and minorities on city construction projects. But the plan has met resistance from a number of the groups at the table, including the Metropolitan Alliance for Workforce Equity and the Columbia Pacific Building Trades Council.

The mayor’s spokesman, Michael Cox, said it’s not known when the City Council will vote whether to accept the CEIP, or if additional meetings with stakeholders will be held.

“We want to make sure the city and the relevant stakeholders reach a higher level of consensus,” he said. “That’s our goal.”

The CEIP’s objective is a lofty one: to align all the equity plans of various city bureaus under one policy capable of withstanding legal scrutiny.

At the root of this issue is a discussion of the Community Benefits Agreement, a union-friendly policy tool. CBAs have been assailed by some stakeholders for excluding minority-owned nonunion companies. Opponents of CBAs say that owners of open-shop firms are better able to hire from within their own communities. They also point out that many nonunion companies are nonunion only because they’re small and/or starting out – and most companies partner with a union when they’re big enough.

Additionally, some city officials, as well as the city’s lawyers, have advised against using the language of pure CBAs in city contracts, because it could open the city to litigation.

Willy Myers, head of the Columbia Pacific Building Trades Council, expressed opposition to the CEIP at stakeholder meetings. The plan, he said, lacks the “mechanics for delivering” on the city’s expectations. CBAs are the best way for public agencies to meet both diverse contracting and workforce goals, he added, because unions have a proven record of getting results.

“The problem with the CEIP is the fact that it totally devalues union labor,” he said. “It takes out of the equation what the unions bring to the table when it comes to equity and inclusion.”

Eliminating the signatory component of CBAs would mean crucial stakeholders would not be engaged in the process, Myers said. Additionally, nonunion firms are free to sign the same agreement with the city, but generally choose not to, he said.

But some professionals in the minority contracting community complain that unions only “hit the numbers” by playing with their numbers. Many white male-owned businesses end up earning diversity points when their data isn’t “disaggregated.”

The city tested CBAs five years ago on two Water Bureau projects. Though the projects achieved equity and inclusion success, an independent audit found fault with how the CBAs were implemented – namely, that members of the committees that administered project contracts also received contracts.

The audit, by Washington-based Framework LLC, concluded that CBAs as applied under the pilot projects could create the appearance of conflict of interest.

CBA supporters counter that with such a small minority contracting community in Oregon, such an outcome is nearly inevitable. They also point out that everyone was acting properly under the CBAs, and no one has ever been formally accused of an actual conflict of interest.

Myers invoked the fight of African-Americans for civil rights.

“Dr. Martin Luther King had a dream,” he said. “He had a dream of equity and inclusion, and he knew that the way to accomplish that dream was to bring labor to the table. He valued union labor and what it could bring. It’s very unfortunate that the city of Portland’s own Office of Equity doesn’t share the same value.”

The has played a prominent role in the development of the CEIP, though it’s been strictly one of public outreach, not policy drafting, according to Jeff Selby, an OEHR spokesman.

Versions of the draft CEIP were sent to 44 community groups; 26 provided feedback. OEHR Director Dante James visited personally with 23 groups to discuss the plan, according to a letter to stakeholders from the city’s work group.

The National Association of Minority Contractors-Oregon represents both union and nonunion shops. Executive Director Nate McCoy said it’s a misconception that nonunion companies choose it to skirt worker protections.

With some of NAMC Oregon‘s members boasting workforces upward of 90 percent minorities, McCoy said it’s important for both union and open shop firms to be involved in city contracting efforts. The city has exhibited transparency while drafting the CEIP, he said.

“It’s not like they just did what they wanted to do,” he said. “They took my comments and the union’s comments, and more or less found language that they felt was appropriate to address both concerns.”

It’s not yet known if more public work sessions will be held or if the Equitable Contracting and Purchasing Commission (ECPC) will continue to meet, Cox said.

Under the draft CEIP, progress would be watched by the Equity and Inclusion Commission, a new body. An earlier version listed that that task would be administered by the ECPC, before the language was eliminated.

Maurice Rahming, an outspoken member of the ECPC, said he believes some city officials are still attempting to fold the ECPC into the city’s other equity-focused citizen committee, the Fair Contracting Forum.

“There are elements at the city that are either trying to: A, change out some of the commissioners, or B, dissolve it,” he said.

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