Published: September 30, 2009 08:10 pm      

Hatchery on hold

Faulty drainage system to delay completion of $27 million East Texas facility

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s hatchery and inland fisheries divisions are dealing with some big league construction woes these days following the discovery of at least two joints of large diameter drainage pipe that have collapsed underground at the new John D. Parker East Texas Fish Hatchery.

The facility is currently under construction below the dam at Sam Rayburn Reservoir in Jasper County. Once complete, it will include a state-of-the-art production building spanning 34,000 square feet, an 8,200-square-foot administrative building and 45-acres of production ponds.

The ponds are expected to kick out close to five million largemouth bass, channel catfish, blue catfish and bluegill sunfish fingerlings for stocking in Texas lakes each year.

While the root of the pipe failure is yet to be determined, TPWD officials say the two sections of crushed pipe may only be the tip of the iceberg in terms of repairs that are needed before this portion of the project can move forward.

Further inspection has since revealed that as much as 11,000 feet of 60-inch, 48-inch and 30-inch diameter drainage pipe buried beneath 10 to 17 feet of soil may have to be exhumed and replaced in order to shore up the integrity of the hatchery pond drainage system, according to Scott Boruff, TPWD deputy executive director for operations.

It is worth noting that TPWD officials were made aware of the problem nearly six months ago. However, no one within the department bothered to make their constituents — Texas’ freshwater fishermen — aware of the mishap until late Friday morning. That might be perceived as a risky choice, considering the project’s shaky history.

The hatchery complex is being built using funds generated by annual sales of a $5 Freshwater Fishing Stamp to an estimated 1 million freshwater anglers. The stamp is required of anyone who fishes in public freshwater in Texas.

The stamp endorsement was created in 2003 by the 78th Texas Legislature as a way to raise money to build a modern fish hatchery to replace the outdated one in Jasper, and to conduct other freshwater projects. The original deal forecast a 2008 completion date with a turn key price tag of $15 to $18 million to be paid in full using money from stamp sales.

Everyone was excited about the deal until the 79th Legislature spoiled it by freezing the fish stamp funds to help balance the state budget.

In the process, politicians followed up with an appropriations bill that would force TPWD to rely on “bond” money to build its hatchery as opposed to using angler cash already on hand. Interest paid on the bonds under the bill were projected to soar as high as $9 million or more on a 20-year note.

Special interest groups such as Texas Black Bass Unlimited were outraged by the switch-hitting Legislature and they attacked politicians through any media outlet that would listen.

The ploy worked to a degree. Shortly before the session ended, new legislation was introduced to allow the bonds to be retired in two years using available fish stamp funds. Translation: Exponential cuts in interest payments.

More good news came from Austin in May 2007, when the 80th Texas Legislature gave TPWD the green light to begin spending about $12.3 million sitting in the freshwater stamp fund kitty. Added to the $15 million made available through bonds guaranteed by future stamp sales, TPWD had slightly more than $27 million available to build its hatchery.

That was a good thing, because the price tag had nearly doubled as the result of inflated construction prices associated with hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

Shift to the present.

The projected cost of the hatchery when construction finally got underway during July 2008 was around $27 million. However, Boruff said the figure could rise exponentially, possibly by several million dollars, before the problem with the failed drainage pipe is ironed out. Another unknown is who is going to foot the bill to pay for the glitch.

“We are still going through a lot of engineering analysis and testing at this point to determine exactly what caused the problem,” said Phil Durocher, TPWD director of inland fisheries.

“If it turns out to be as bad as it looks initially, it is certainly not going to be cheap to fix. Both the construction company that installed the pipe and the engineering company that designed the project are saying they did everything right, but it is real obvious something went bad wrong here. It could be that multiple parties have some culpability here. We’ll just have to wait and see.”

Todd Engeling, TPWD’s chief of inland hatcheries, said the department awarded the construction contract to ALLCO, Inc., of Beaumont in June 2008. The company performs services in commercial, utility, highway and heavy construction.

The design of the hatchery was prepared by HDR/FishPro of Omaha, Neb. Inc. The firm specializes in fisheries resource biology and engineering, hatchery design, fish passage and barrier design and aquatic ecosystem restoration. Engeling said FishPro also designed renovation plan for the TPWD’s A.E. Woods Fish Hatchery in San Marcos in the mid-1980s.

The drainage pipe in question is corrugated HDPE, a high density polyethylene pipe that provides high resistance to corrosion and chemicals and carries a load well, according to Engeling. He said the pipe is commonly used for sewer lines, storm water and drain applications.

Boruff said department engineers initially suspected that the pipe used in the project might have been inferior, but subsequent testing proved the theory wrong.

“Pipe has very specific parameters under which it will collapse,” he said. “We removed a segment of the pipe for testing, and it stood up to what it was supposed to stand up to.”

Like Durocher, Boruff said he thinks the problems incurred with the drainage pipe system are likely attributed to some combination of design and installation faults. The department has hired Tulunay-Wong Engineering, Inc. of Beaumont to perform geotechnical testing to help determine the exact cause of the failure and the best way to remedy it.

“At this point I don’t want to venture to guess whether the problem is mostly with the design or installation,” Boruff said. “But once I get the testing data in my hand, I am committed to getting the parties together and trying to resolve this in a way that minimizes the impact to our constituents. We hope to resolve this issue without any legal action, but we reserve the right to use that option if we have to.”

While other aspects of construction remain in progress, the pipe failure is likely to delay the project’s scheduled March 2010 completion date by several months, possibly longer should it wind up in a courtroom. If that is the case, Boruff said the department will seek reimbursement for any additional costs that may arise as the result of the pipe collapse. This includes accumulated interest on any borrowed money being used to fund the project.

TPW Commission Chairman Peter Holt of San Antonio said he was disappointed to learn of the pipe failure, but is thankful the problem was discovered early on as opposed to a year or two down the road after the hatchery got up and running.

“That really would have been a mess,” Holt said. “The main issue now is to get the problem figured out and fix it. We are dedicated to this project and ready to move forward. So far, everybody involved is cooperating. Hopefully we can keep that spirit of cooperation and collaboration going and get it figured out.”

HDR/FishPro delivered the following statement via its media relations manager, Jackie Fox:

“HDR is working closely with the TPWD to make sure the project proceeds as successfully as possible,” Fox said. “If any issues arise during the construction of a project, we always work with all parties to make sure the client receives the quality project we design.”

Repeated phone calls to Allco, Inc. president Tom Harrison were unreturned.