PUB approves tank inspection agreement
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PARKERSBURG -- The Parkersburg Utility Board on Tuesday approved an agreement for its above-ground storage tanks to be inspected, a periodic expense Manager Eric Bennett said could be avoided with an in-house engineer.
A professional engineer position was added to the utility's fiscal 2015-16 budget and combined for the 2018-19 fiscal year with a vacant assistant manager position. But the board has been unable to hire someone for the job, which has a budgeted annual salary of $68,000.
"It's not just local," Bennett said after the meeting. "I know of other utilities of similar or larger size (that can't find someone) and they pay more than we do."
Bennett attributed the difficulty to a good job market for engineers due to oil and gas activity.
The tank inspections are required by West Virginia law passed in response to the 2014 spill of chemicals into the Elk River in Kanawha County. Annual inspections can be performed internally, but every three years, the work must be done by a professional engineer or someone else certified for tank inspections.
The agreement approved on a 3-0 vote Tuesday, with two members absent, is with locally based engineering firm Burgess & Niple for a cost not to exceed $25,000. That's a conservative projection, Bennett said. When the company previously did the work, the cost was $19,000 and this round is expected to be about $20,000.
"If we can get an engineer on staff, this will go away" for future inspections, he said. "We can do it ourselves."
Bennett said the salary might have to be increased to get the job filled.
The inspections must be completed by Jan. 1.