The Dalles City Council authorized moving ahead with phase two work on improvements to the municipal wastewater treatment plant.  That will include the completion of the design for a second phase that is enlarging capacity and finding a way to use the methane gas the plant produces to power it.  Mayor Steve Lawrence says to qualify for grant funds for the methane generator, work has to start fairly quickly so it can be finished by December of next year.  Some changes are being made to the design to accommodate challenges that arose in the upgrade, including a new structure to house the headworks, additional piping work, and a second backup power generator to handle the electrical loads of an upgraded plant.  The cost is just over $10.9 million dollars, with most of that having been included in the 2016-17 City budget without requiring the issuance of bonds.