Drilling company seeking $6.3 million from City of Eureka in claim

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Construction recently stopped on a phase of the Martin Slough Interceptor Project, which is designed to improve Eureka's Waste Water Treatment System.  Now the company that stopped working on that phase has filed a claim against the City of Eureka.

The claim states that the City of Eureka and its engineering consultants informed Apex Directional Drilling LLC before they started working that the soil they would drill through was hookton formation, which is hard and stable.  The claim goes on to state the soil they encountered was not stable and they informed the city of that, but city officials told them to keep going because they would come across proper soil conditions, which Apex officials state they never found.  City of Eureka officials confirm Apex drilled the entire 4,200-foot section, but didn’t complete the phase due to the reasons they stated.  Now, Apex representatives are looking for a settlement of $6.3 million dollars.  At the upcoming council meeting on Tuesday, city staff will recommend the council rejects the claim, and moves forward with construction.

"Of course, the number one thing is to complete the project.  That is the city's priority and that's what the staff is working on," said Bruce Young, the Public Works Director for the City of Eureka.