LEWIS RUN -ðLewis Run Borough officials voted to raise the
Emergency Municipal Services Tax to $40 on Thursday.

The tax is the former Occupational Privilege Tax that those
working in the borough pay.

Prompted by a question by council member Diane DeCasper, borough
Chairman Frank Langianese explained the funds were to be used for
road construction, police and fire emergency services and a
reduction of property tax.

“We can go to $52, but decided $40 was enough,” said Langianese.
“And we got a donation from Mel Bizzarro. We are in pretty good
shape.”

Langianese is referring to a $2,500 donation made by Bizzarro,
who owns Togi’s Family Restaurant on East Main Street, to enable
the borough to sustain the services of the Bradford City Fire
Department ambulance service.

In other news, the borough will soon set up a meeting with state
Department of Environmental Protection officials to discuss the
water supply and what course of action the borough should take to
ensure a clean water supply for its residents.

In recent months, the water supply in the borough had developed
problems with an odor and taste. The well was tested and found to
contain benzene in October, but the borough was able to continue to
use it with approval from DEP. The well was later shut down due to
additional complaints.

Benzene is a carcinogen and component of gasoline.

At this time, the borough is able to use the spring that feeds
the water supply, but officials are concerned about the upcoming
spring and summer when the spring has the greatest potential to dry
up.

Normally the borough would use a supplemental well to supply
residents with water, but they do not have a supplemental well set
up at this time.

The borough drilled a well in the mid-1990s for use as a
supplemental well, but DEP officials asked the borough to
discontinue its use because drawing from it had the potential to
bring up contaminants that lie below the surface.

In 2004, the DEP drilled a new well for the borough to use as
they pursued the responsible parties for the contamination, which
currently continues. The DEP was able to drill the well with funds
from the Hazardous Site Cleanup Program.

The DEP then presented a plan drafted by URS Corp., for the
hook-up of the well and because of concerns raised by the borough’s
engineers, the well remains un-hooked and the concerns
unaddressed.

The borough says the DEP can’t prove the well they drilled
themselves is still contaminated and want to continue to use it.
They also want to find a way to recuperate the cost they incurred
for drilling that well that they are paying $1,000 a month for a
PennVEST loan.

Meanwhile, to hook up the well that the DEP drilled would cause
them to incur more costs they don’t want.

The DEP has said in the past the borough could either do the
work needed to connect the new well themselves and seek
reimbursement through the Hazardous Sites Cleanup Program or they
could pursue the responsible parties for the contamination.

To date, the DEP has been able to reach an agreement with
McCourt Label Cabinet Co., for its part in the contamination. They
continue to pursue other possible parties for the
contamination.

Borough officials plan to get representatives to attend the
meeting with DEP officials while they discuss the problems with
current and unused wells in the borough.