An industrial utility system that reportedly has experienced past indications of lead in its drinking water is now engaged in a $1 million dispute with a contractor that performed recent upgrades.
Excel Contractors was hired in October 2015 to perform electrical and instrumentation construction for the Air Liquide Geismar Utility System on La. 30 in Geismar. According to a 112-page construction contract, the project called for improvements in the river water supply, increased clarified water capacity, expanded filtration supplying the demineralization and debottlenecking the demineralization facilities. Invoices indicate that change orders more than doubled the cost of the project, to nearly $2.5 million.
Excel is now suing Air Liquide Large Industries U.S. LP in Baton Rouge federal court, alleging nonpayment for the original contract amount of just over $1 million. It has also filed a lien against the facility, asking U.S. District Judge Shelly Dick to seize the property and sell it to satisfy the claim.
Air Liquide has filed a counterclaim against Excel, alleging the construction firm violated the terms of the contract with delays and installation errors, costing Air Liquide nearly $3.7 million in damages, which it details in court documents.
A scheduling conference before Magistrate Judge Rich Bourgeois is tentatively scheduled for January.
Earlier this year, Air Liquide’s Geismar Utility System was noted in a USA Today analysis of EPA’s Safe Drinking Water Information System database as one of 13 systems in the state with at least one instance of lead in the water exceeding the public health limit from 2012 to 2015. According to the newspaper, EPA records indicated the Air Liquide system had seven exceedances during the four-year period reviewed.
—Penny Font
