JAMESTOWN – The Jamestown Public Works Board has unanimously approved, without recommendation, that the City of Jamestown join with the cities of Bismarck and Minot to construct a regional food-grade carbon dioxide storage facility.

If approved by the City Council in September, the city would spend about $205,000 to store 30 tons of carbon dioxide at the regional facility. The regional storage facility would have the capacity to store up to 200 tons of carbon dioxide, with Bismarck receiving 100 tons and Minot receiving 60 tons.

Tyler Michel, public works director, said the city’s water treatment plant uses 30 tons of food-grade carbon dioxide each month. He said there is no lifespan for the carbon dioxide.

Food-grade carbon dioxide is used to treat drinking water.

Michel said having enough carbon dioxide as a pH stabilizer for water plants has been a problem for several years. He said the main supplier for the state comes from Beulah, North Dakota.

“They close the plant arbitrarily and at short notice when supplies become scarce,” he said.

An unstable market for food-grade carbon dioxide is making drinking water treatment more expensive for North Dakota water treatment plants, The Jamestown Sun reported in October 2022. Switching to alternative options could also be costly.

As The Sun reported in October 2022, a shutdown will increase the cost of purchasing food-grade carbon dioxide at water treatment plants across the state.

In 2022, cities and organizations affected by carbon dioxide market instability called for a collaboration between the North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality, Environmental Protection Agency, North Dakota National League of Cities, and American Water Works Association to raise awareness of the situation and its impact on water treatment processes and costs. They requested funding from the state for a National Science Foundation-approved food-safe carbon dioxide facility or a state facility to store a steady supply of carbon dioxide to treat drinking water in the state and provide access and transportation of the product to water treatment facilities.

Michel said the city has enough food-grade carbon dioxide to last until next Saturday, August 31.

He said the regional storage facility will allow each city’s water utility to source carbon dioxide from that site.

He said the project received grant funding from the state Department of Water Resources.

“It’s 60% funded,” he said. “They (Bismarck) have done that so far for preliminary planning and preliminary costs. I believe they’re either on the agenda for approval or have received approval for construction. Construction would start next year.”

Michel said it will take the city of Jamestown at least two years to build its own carbon storage facility.

“If we were to build our own storage tank of that size … we would have to get on the project list and get approval to get financing,” he said. “It would take two years before we could even start,” he said.

Travis Dillman, city engineer, said it would cost the city about $600,000 to build its own warehouse without state funding. If the city could approve a grant with 60% state funding, the local share for building the warehouse would be about $240,000.

Mayor Dwaine Heinrich said it was necessary for the city to join forces with the other cities. He said a plan needed to be put in place on how the city would pay for its share of the project.

The Jamestown City Council approved a storm sewer project in northwest Jamestown by a 4-0 vote in a special meeting on Thursday, August 22.

The project will take place on 7th Street Loop Northwest.

Michel told the Jamestown Public Works Committee, which had previously recommended approval of the project, that the project is budgeted for 2021. He said the city of Jamestown has attempted to solicit bids for the project from several contractors but has not received a response.

He said CC Steel, the general contractor for a 96-inch stormwater replacement project, recently submitted a discounted bid to the city for the project. The bid totals more than $48,000.

Dillman said the offer was made at a discounted price because CC Steel’s supplier will train its employees in ultraviolet technology for ultraviolet hardening of field-cured pipe.

“This is something we could very well use in the future for stormwater drainage or other utilities,” he said.

Funds from the Prairie Dog program will be used to finance the project. The program is a source of funding for infrastructure for cities, counties and towns in non-oil producing counties, as well as for airports throughout North Dakota.

Masaki Ova joined The Jamestown Sun as a reporter in August 2021. He grew up on a farm near Pingree, ND. He studied communications at the University of Jamestown, ND