West Penn looks at sewer system fixes

West Penn Township officials are willing to see if a neighboring treatment plant could be the cure to what ails a faulty sewer system in the Andreas area.

Board solicitor Paul J. Datte told supervisors at Monday morning’s meeting that the owner of an operating treatment plant in East Penn Township is “very amenable” to taking on the sewage.

Board Chairman Tony Prudenti said he’d want to know the distance between the township line and the treatment plant’s system, and added he’s a little hesitant to spend township funds because it’s a private sewage facility.

Datte said the bigger concern is how much it would cost.

“You’d really have to study it,” Datte said, adding that the township should ask its engineer to check into a cost estimate, financing options and number of users.

“Then, the individuals have to hook up.”

Prudenti said there are people “who would like to fix their system, but are hearing this is coming and don’t want to spend $12,000 to $15,000.”

Datte said they would have to put a holding tank in, which would have to be pumped frequently, and once the holding tank comes out, have them hook up to the system.

He added that the township would need to talk to the adjacent community to see if they may have to amend their Act 537 (plan).

Datte said that the township would have to find out how many people would be connecting to it, and whether they could even shoulder such a financial responsibility.

“I just don’t see how this is possible, unless you have a substantial amount of funding for the project,” he said. “It’s something that’s not a short-term fix; you might not be placing a stake in the ground for another two years.”

Supervisor Tim Houser said he believes there would be about 17 properties in the Andreas area that would need to hook up.

Prudenti said the township should ask township sewage enforcement officer Bill Brior to look at the new systems that are out to see if they’re Department of Environmental Protection approved.

Datte reiterated that the process wouldn’t come cheap.

“You would need significant grant dollars,” he said. “It’s going to be very expensive.”

Prudenti said he didn’t want to spend money on a feasibility study if it wasn’t going to be cost-prohibitive.

Supervisors agreed to have Houser get in contact with East Penn to make them aware this may be a potential option for the Andreas area.

Prudenti asked participants at a recent meeting to let the board know if they had any ideas about what can be done to fix a faulty sewer system that has been plaguing neighboring property owners in the Andreas area.

Brior previously contacted the treatment plant in East Penn, which has an operating treatment plant capable of handling 100,000 gallons per day that’s only utilizing 30,000 gallons per day, as an option for the Andreas area.

At that time, the board agreed to have Datte get in contact with the treatment facility in East Penn and ask what there intentions are, and what West Penn should do.

Prudenti previously listed three alternatives under the Act 537 plan for the Andreas area: An on-lot sewage management program ($67,600); a packaged wastewater treatment facility ($1.4 million); and a community on-lot disposal system ($1.1 million).

In the meantime, a holding tank has been put in as a temporary solution, supervisors said.