Hampton wastewater treatment project hits potential snag Thursday

Hampton could see delayed progress with the city’s future wastewater treatment plant if new federal regulations aren’t defined within the next two weeks.

Engineer Tom Madden met with the Hampton City Council at their Feb. 13 meeting and informed the group about a new requirement that’s caused some confusion recently. Madden said the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has introduced a new “buy American” policy that stipulates public entities use only America-made materials for large projects like the wastewater facility. Madden believed the new rules could create added costs for Hampton’s project, but he felt time was the city’s biggest concern at this point.

Madden explained some big question marks still remain about the policy’s requirements. The EPA hasn’t figured out the guidelines for the new regulations and has left things in limbo until they determine a finalized set of rules.

Read the full article in the February 19 edition of the Hampton Chronicle.