The city of Akron is fighting a federal judge’s decision to appoint a $550-an-hour expert to oversee its massive sewer project, which is nearing completion and now partially operational.

In January, United States Northern District Court Judge John Adams appointed professor Craig Johnston to provide oversight on the Ohio Canal Interceptor Tunnel project and the city’s ongoing consent decree litigation.

The city said in a news release Friday that the appointment is unnecessary and costly for Akron ratepayers, who are footing the bill for the city’s $1.1 billion sewer reconstruction. Mayor Dan Horrigan has since filed an appeal to the decision in the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals.

The city said Johnson was appointed to unrestricted oversight even though the national and state’s environmental protection agency were already providing oversight. The city said Adams also did not clarify how long the appointment would last, or limit Johnston’s and two other experts’ review to just the tunnel project.

"At this time, the appointment of a costly expert is wholly unnecessary, and will provide no added value to the citizens of Akron in completing the work, or reducing the overall cost," Horrigan said in a prepared statement. "Two agencies currently monitor this project. We simply cannot stand by and allow Akron ratepayers to foot the bill for any unnecessary costs."

But in his earlier ruling, Adams alleged federal and state regulators failed to fulfill their oversight roles by not doing more to hold the city of Akron accountable for falling 13 months behind schedule on the massive Ohio Canal Interceptor Tunnel project.

The project, one of dozens engineered to prevent wastewater from flowing into nearby rivers and streams, involves a mile-long sewer tunnel beneath downtown. It should have been completed in 2018.

City officials say the Ohio Canal Interceptor Tunnel is nearing completion and taking water. By March 9, crews were able to tie in 30 percent of the flow to the tunnel.

The city expects to connect 55 percent of flow by the middle of May, and complete the project in June.

A 2014 consent decree signed by Adams set a timeline for completion of all mandated sewer reconstruction by 2027 while establishing penalties for any delays that could negatively impact the environment.