Fulton sewage contract delayed, two years after major leak

The commission then voted to rebid the contract, worth an estimated $153 million over five years, with Pitts abstaining.

The county issued the first solicitation in March for a contractor to operate the Big Creek, Johns Creek Environmental Campus and Little River sewage treatment plants — along with 28 associated pump stations in north Fulton.

Fulton owns its sewage treatment plants but contracts operations out to Veolia, an international company.

Veolia submitted a proposal this year to keep running the north Fulton facilities, but the county’s bid evaluation committee recommended another bidder, Inframark-Slater.

The recommended bidder was a joint venture between two national companies, Texas-based Inframark and Slater Infrastructure Group, which has some corporate offices in Alpharetta.

Veolia sent a letter of protest Monday to Fulton’s purchasing department, alleging one member of the evaluation committee, Public Works Operations Administrator O.P. Shukla, unduly influenced the results. In the letter, a Veolia executive said Shukla was biased against the company for reporting him twice to Fulton County over alleged ethical violations.

Veolia employees alleged Shukla directed them to perform tasks unrelated to their work, such as improvements at Shukla’s home and assistance hiring contractors in Shukla’s neighborhood and the Charlie Brown Airport, according to a notarized affidavit sent to Fulton County.

Shukla also asked Veolia’s director of operations to “disappear” lab records reporting unusually high concentrations of solids over a few days in December 2023, the affidavit states.

The Fulton County Attorney’s Office and the public works department investigated those incidents and disciplined Shukla, said county spokesperson Jessica Corbitt.

Shukla did not respond to a request for comment.

District 3 Commissioner Dana Barrett said she did not know whether the allegations of bias in the evaluation process were true, but she supported rebidding the contract.

“It’s important to me that there is no personal or political pressure involved in our procurement process and we get the literal best company,” Barrett said.

In Veolia’s protest letter, the company said the 2023 incident at Big Creek occurred “due to illicit industrial dumping outside of Veolia’s control.”

Contaminated wastewater was released from the plant because a toxic substance killed bacteria involved in the treatment process, Corbitt said.

“This incident could not have been prevented,” Corbitt said in an email. “Veolia has fully participated in addressing all elements of the (Georgia Environmental Protection Division) consent decree, including financial penalties levied by EPD.”

Advocates and constituents in recent days also expressed concerns about Inframark to county officials.

Inframark’s project manager for the contract, Doug Worsham, was Veolia’s regional manager for all of Fulton County at the time of the Big Creek incident. Worsham told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that he also directly oversaw a different facility, the Camp Creek sewage treatment plant in South Fulton, at the time.

Worsham said he chose to resign from Veolia soon after the Big Creek incident to take another job, which he held for about a year before joining Inframark.

Chattahoochee Riverkeeper Executive Director Jason Ulseth said he told Public Works Director David Clark on Monday that he opposed awarding the contract to Inframark, given the involvement of Worsham and possibly other former Veolia employees.

“We have tremendous concern with that, given their track record here on the Chattahoochee River,” Ulseth told the AJC.

Ulseth said Clark “became belligerent and yelled” during their phone call. Through a county spokesperson, Clark denied raising his voice or disrespecting Ulseth.

Worsham declined to comment on the board’s decision Wednesday.

The city of Houston fired Inframark two years ago from operating five sewage treatment plants after inadequately treated wastewater was released, according to the Houston Chronicle.

Houston police said they found evidence that operators forged documents to cover up the problem, the newspaper reported. An Inframark spokesperson told the newspaper the company’s internal investigation had not found evidence of illegal activity.

Fulton County Chief Purchasing Agent Felicia Strong-Whitaker told commissioners Wednesday she recommended rebidding the contract partly due to Veolia’s protest.

“There were several things that we noticed that we probably need to do better with the solicitation,” Strong-Whitaker said.

Clark told the commission some language will change in the new solicitation. It will allow for a better understanding of bidders’ engineering services and environmental compliance history, Corbitt said.