An agreement has been reached between the state Department of
Environmental Protection, the Bradford Sanitary Authority and five
surrounding municipalities on the DEP’s consent order.
The DEP, authority and municipalities agreed to improve sewage
treatment and services and resolve violations of the state’s Clean
Streams Law, according to a DEP news release.
The sanitary authority accepted the final revision of the
consent order during a special meeting May 8, and were waiting for
all the municipalities named in the order to sign, which was done
by May 15.
The authority’s treatment plant accepts sewage from Bradford,
Bradford Township, Foster Township, Lewis Run and Lafayette
Township. All those municipalities were included in the consent
order.
The DEP said that the authority’s system is hydraulically
overloaded and, during wet weather, manholes in Bradford overflow
into the Tunungwant Creek or onto properties. Bradford Sanitary
Authority Chairman Dan Hartle had previously said that the consent
order was spurred by overflows at Harding and Lowell avenues,
Charlotte Avenue and Neva Drive.
“A poorly functioning sewage system is a burden on a community,
affecting its environmental well being and limiting its potential
for economic growth,” DEP Regional Director Kelly Burch said. “The
work and financial resources that will be invested under this
agreement will pay big dividends for the Bradford area.”
Hartle had said at the May 8 special meeting that the latest
revision of the consent order addressed some of the authority’s
main concerns – additional equivalency dwelling units, or hook-ups,
this year, a carry-over of those EDUs into next year and the right
to appeal the DEP’s decision.
That revision allows for a limited right of appeal. Upon signing
the agreement, the authority received an allocation of 85 EDUs
through next year.
“I think the agreement was a lot better than it started out to
be,” Bradford Township Supervisor Chairman Don Cummins said
Thursday. “The development of the Tuna Valley is very important. As
I had said at the meeting before, 99.9 percent of the time our
system in the conveyance and the treatment plant works fine.”
“Of course, our lawyer who was taking care of our water (well
situation with the DEP) was in on the deal, and there was a few
things he didn’t like about it,” Lewis Run Borough Council Chairman
Frank Langianese said, adding he was glad it was over. “But
overall, it was (good enough that) we signed it, and we’re going to
have to live with it.”
Foster Township Supervisor Chairman Robert Slike Jr. had no
comment on the matter Thursday night, and calls left for Hartle
were not returned Thursday night.
Under the agreement, each municipality that contributes to the
Bradford Sanitary Authority system will prepare and submit to DEP
sewage plans detailing current and future needs. The authority will
use that information to develop a plan to provide adequate sewage
conveyance and treatment throughout the system.
Each municipality will be responsible for reducing stormwater
inflow and groundwater infiltration into its sewage lines.
Following that work, any upgrades necessary to eliminate overflow
must be made by 2013.
Cummins said he was satisfied that the DEP agreed to consider
any possible special needs for future development.
“The DEP consented to looking at on an individual basis … if
there’s a major development in the municipalities such as a big
business coming in that will … eat up a bunch of EDUs,” Cummins
said.
The agreement contains connection limitations, but any “special
needs” areas that are identified will be accommodated and will not
count against the limitation, according to the DEP.
In 2003, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S.
Department of Justice and DEP filed a complaint against the
authority for ongoing overflows. As part of a settlement, the
authority submitted and completed a corrective action plan to DEP.
And while significant improvements have been made under that plan,
the agreement is still warranted because overflows persist,
according to the DEP.
The agreement includes upfront civil penalties for past
overflows, with the authority and Bradford Township required to pay
$2,500 and $750, respectively.
No penalties will be sought for overflows that occur for the
first three years of the agreement. Afterwards, a $1,000 penalty
will be paid each month an overflow occurs. The Bradford Sanitary
Authority and the municipalities are jointly liable for paying the
penalty, which may include a $15,000 fine if overflows occur after
Jan. 1, 2014, according to the DEP.
