It will take months and millions of dollars to completely remediate plumbing problems and an ailing air-conditioning system at the Manuel Lujan Sr. Building, but the state General Services Department said Wednesday that it's making progress after reconnecting a sewer line and resealing several toilets.

The department says it is working as hard as it can to keep employees comfortable inside the state office building on St. Francis Drive.

"Some employees feel we haven't moved quickly, but from the first advice of it, we've had someone over there," General Services Department Secretary Art Jaramillo said.

While the problems are unpleasant — and at least one state union official believes that state or federal environmental health officials should look into the situation — they don't rise to the level of having the state Occupational Health and Safety Bureau investigate.

A New Mexico Environment Department statement issued Wednesday said "NMED's Occupational Health and Safety Bureau looked into this complaint twice, including today." Marissa Stone Bardino, communications director for the department, said, "We determined Taxation and Revenue addressed the issue and there is no threat to the health of employees. However, we encourage workers to report any health concern to us in the future if there is a similar incident."

Employees remain unhappy with conditions at the building, where some reported Wednesday that a sewer smell still lingered and the building wasn't very cool.

Among the problems is an aging chiller, which the department is running longer hours to keep the building as cool as possible for employees during the current warm weather.

Employees twice in the past two weeks have been sent home from the building, whose main tenant is the Taxation and Revenue Department. About 325 employees work in the building.

The 76,262-square-foot building on St. Francis Drive is 35 years old. Its entire mechanical system, including HVAC and plumbing, is scheduled to be renovated this fiscal year.

The estimated cost of upgrading the heating, cooling and plumbing systems in the building is between $7 million and $10 million.

The department has access to about $5.6 million in capital repair funds, Jaramillo said, but will still have to ask the Legislature in 2010 for more money.

Contact Kate Nash at 986-3036 or knash@sfnewmexican.com. Read her blog at www.greenchilechatter.com.