PORT ANGELES — After a contentious, hourlong discussion of permits and funding methods, the Port Angeles City Council approved the 11th amendment to the Combined Sewer Overflow Project contract for professional services.

The council Tuesday night voted 6-1, with City Councilman Max Mania dissenting, to approve Amendment No. 11 to the agreement with consultant Brown and Caldwell.

The amendment added $224,500 to the contract — raising the total cost so far to nearly $4.2 million, about 10 percent of the CSO project’s projected $42 million price tag to prevent combined sewer overflow from polluting Port Angeles Harbor.

It was the second time the amendment had been brought before the council.

On July 19, the council voted 3-3 on the amendment, with City Council members Mania, Brad Collins and Cherie Kidd voting no. Deputy Mayor Don Perry was absent.

City Council members questioned a $3,678 fee for a state Department of Ecology “construction stormwater individual permit” for work to be done at the site and the piecemeal approach to approving and paying for the Brown and Caldwell contract for project engineering.

Amendments

Mania questioned the many amendments to the initial contract, pointing out that the original contract for $338,000 has ballooned to 12 times its original cost.

Mania provided a history of action on the contract, from its approval in 2006 to Tuesday’s amendment.

What Mania’s list did not show was the context behind those amendments, City Manager Kent Myers said.

One lump sum

The City Council in 2006 did not want to award the entire project in one lump sum, Myers said.

The engineering project, which was projected to cost $4 million to $5 million in 2006, was broken up to allow the city staff and elected representatives to monitor the project one step at a time, he said.

“We want your challenges,” Myers said.

If the City Council had approved the project in one lump sum, council members would not have this chance to grill the staff, he said.

“It’s expensive,” Mayor Dan Di Guilio agreed, adding that the CSO project is one of the biggest, most expensive projects the city has ever undertaken.

Instead of writing a blank check, the council can control the cost with amendments, he said.

Two Ecology representatives, Robert Bergquist and Greg Zentner, attended by telephone to tell council members why the city cannot use a less expensive general permit for the project.

Previous approval

Previously, Ecology had told the city that its existing stormwater management permit was sufficient.

But a general permit was not designed for the situation the city is working with in putting the line through the Rayonier site — which once housed a pulp mill — and could easily be appealed by environmental groups, likely forcing the city to get an individual permit later, they said.

The Olympic Environmental Council has unsuccessfully appealed permits for the project twice.

“Why is only a small portion reimbursable by Rayonier?” Di Guilio asked.

Rayonier retains the liability for the cleanup of the site and must pay for any costs the city would not have had to pay if not for the contamination of the site, said Kathryn Neal, city engineering manager.

Collins urged due diligence in recovering as much as possible for all expenses that the city incurred because of the site contamination.

“We will try to recover as much as we can,” Cutler said.

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Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-417-3535 or at arwyn.rice@peninsuladailynews.com.