Terre Haute did not receive the $3 million from Powerdyne that Mayor Duke Bennett expected by year’s end as part of the city’s sludge-to-diesel fuel partnership.
Bennett had said repeatedly, and told the Tribune-Star as late as Monday, that he was anticipating the money to arrive in the city’s bank accounts by close of business Dec. 31. However, that payment has been delayed, he told the newspaper when reached late Wednesday afternoon.
Powerdyne, a California-based company, has entered into agreements with the city to convert wastewater treatment plant sludge into diesel fuel. The $3 million payment in 2014 and an equal payment anticipated in 2015 were what the mayor recently called “concession” payments designed to ensure the city’s role in the partnership.
The payment was delayed because of ongoing “renegotiating” of the contracts with Powerdyne, Bennett said on New Year’s Eve. The contracts were written more than a year ago, he said. The $3 million payment will be delayed until the new contract language makes its way through the Board of Public Works and Safety, he said. That board could see the new language as early as this month, according to Bennett.
Asked what he would say to people who might see the failure to make the 2014 payment deadline as an indication the arrangement is not going to work, the mayor said he remains confident in the partnership with Powerdyne.
“We’re moving forward with this,” said Bennett, indicating a facility at the sewage treatment plant designed to de-water (dry out) sludge will go “online” soon. He also noted that Powerdyne, through its subsidiary, Highland TH LLC, recently purchased property from International Paper on the city’s west side.
During the past several months, in public comments, including to the Terre Haute City Council, the mayor has said the city would be receiving a $3 million payment in 2014 and another $3 million in 2015 as part of the multidimensional Powerdyne/Sodrel arrangement.
The failure to receive the $3 million is partly “on us, too,” Bennett said Wednesday, when he alluded to ongoing negotiations. He also said the holidays were a factor in the delay.
The lack of payment in 2014 means the city’s end-of-year account balances will be deeper in the red than previously expected. However, the expected payment will make 2015’s budget figures look better, especially because the city is also to receive a second payment before the end of this year, Bennett said.
Powerdyne, in an announcement earlier this month, indicated its sludge-to-diesel fuel plant should be completed and operational in about 24 months.