On this date

Dave Digilio, the plant operator, threw a switch at 2 p.m. today and the Nesquehoning sewage treatment plant went into operation. For most people in the downtown area of the borough, the service had begun with little fanfare and unnoticed in the homes and businesses of the borough. With 27,000 gallons of seed sludge from the Lansford/Coaldale Joint Sewer Authority, the plant went on line. The seed sludge provides the "bugs" that are the working part of every sewage plant, Robert Watral, plant manager said.