All bids for the town of Washington's wastewater treatment plant have been rejected by the Town Council because they were about one million dollars over budget.

"The bids were rejected for the treatment plant, not the collection system. These are two different things," said Mayor Eugene Leggett in an interview.

Laura Dodd, town clerk, said that bids will open up again for the wastewater treatment plant on Aug. 4.

"It will be open for 30 days," Dodd said. "The bids were rejected because they were all over budget."

The budget for both collection system and treatment plant combined is four million dollars. The bids for the treatment plant came in at "about one million dollars over budget," said Dodd. The bidding is open to anyone, not just the previous bidders.

The Town Council rejected the bids for the wastewater treatment plant Monday and voted to put it out for re-bid. The council also authorized the mayor to ask for a two-month extension on the loan commitment.

The current loan commitment is locked in at a zero percent interest rate. The current commitment expires on Aug. 31.

The council also agreed not to award the bid for the collection system until after the bid for the treatment plant comes in.

The low bid on the collection system is $1,724,351 by Franklin Mechanical Contractors of Kilmarnock, Va. according to Dodd.

The entire system was designed by WW Associates of Charlottesville and Lynchburg.

"I think there will be more interest in the second round. It will be more competitive," said Leggett.