Navigating Conflicting Crossing Jurisdictions for the St. Joseph Effluent Force Main

This paper describes complex permitting requirements and site conditions for a project which included a 64-inch (1625 mm) effluent force main from the St. Joseph, Missouri water protection facility to the Missouri River and is of interest to facility and pipeline owners and operators as well as designers of facilities and pipelines. The force main has a maximum capacity of 108 mgd (408825 M³/day) and is used when river levels are elevated and gravity flow through the treatment facility and levee is not possible. Previously, when the river level was elevated and the levee sluice gate closed, the City would rent temporary pumps and piping and stage them on top of the levee in order to pump treated effluent over the levee and to the river. The temporary pumping was costly and was required in 5 of 8 years at one point. The force main was constructed across KCP&L power line easements, Bartlett Grain Company property, Union Pacific Railroad property, and South St. Joseph drainage and Levee district property and is all contained within the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers critical area of the levee. The force main includes a 500 foot (152400 mm) long, hand excavated tunnel under multiple railroad tracks, a crossing up and over an existing levee, and a discharge structure on the river side of the levee. The force main tunnel is located within the critical area of the levee and under Union Pacific Railroad tracks and required resolving conflicting permitting requirements from multiple parties. The force main was designed during the flood of 2011, however, it was constructed during the drought of 2012. The drought lowered the water table by ten feet, and through value engineering and contractor partnering, the force main design, layout, and profile were changed during construction, saving the city over $400,000 in construction costs.