On Friday, Veolia filed a lawsuit in Wisconsin Eastern District Court to stop the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District Commission from moving forward with the next 10-year contract to manage the district’s two wastewater treatment plants.
Veolia says it has compelling evidence that MMSD "permitted an external advocacy campaign and political pressure directed specifically at (the) Plaintiff to interfere in evaluating the the competing proposals."
Veolia says the recommendation of the ad hoc committee tasked with reviewing the proposals "does not reflect a lawful, independent evaluation of the parties."
Veolia has managed the Jones Island and South Shore plants for 18 years, but has come under intense scrutiny when whistleblowers stepped forward last spring with allegations of mismanagement.
On June 8, the MMSD commission ordered a third-party audit of both the district and Veolia.
In the meantime, the commission’s process to consider the 2028-2038 wastewater treatment plant management contract was already in motion.
An ad-hoc committee, made up of former MMSD commissioners, handles the review process. On Aug.17, its chairman, Dennis Grzezinski, announced the committee recommended Jacobs Engineering Group for the new contract, not Veolia.
“Awarding the contract to Jacobs will provide the district with, one, a significant price or cost advantage estimated at $54 million in savings over the 10-year contract. Number two, an operator with a much more systematic approach and considerably greater experience with implementing and using data-driven real-time tools and technology in operations and maintenance, which is crucial to achieving the district's goals for the next 10 years,” Grzezinski said.
After the announcement, spokesman Adam Lisberg said Veolia was surprised and disappointed, but that the MMSD commission has the final say.
Two weeks later, Veolia sent MMSD executive director Kevin Shafer a letter asking that the commission carry out its own independent review of both companies' proposals and records.
The commission was slated to review the ad hoc committee’s recommendation on Sept. 14 and vote on it two weeks later.
Veolia wants to bar that process with its Sept. 11 legal complaint, citing MMSD’s “flawed procurement process” for the next 10-year contract.
