Panel finalizes agreement
BROWNSVILLE – The Brownsville Municipal Authority has finalized its consent agreement with the state Department of Environmental Protection to improve sewage treatment, but it looks as if it’s going to be up to the DEP whether the authority will be able to meet all of its deadlines. The consent order calls for the design for a new treatment plant to be submitted by Nov. 15. Solicitor Ernest DeHaas said Widmer Engineering is about half done with the design, but the company needs information from the DEP before it can complete the plans.
“Until they know if the DEP has accepted the flow monitoring, they can’t complete the design. They have about three months of work left on the design. They means they would have to have an answer back next week,” DeHaas said.
DeHaas said he has sent a letter to the DEP informing them of the time problem, so there shouldn’t be a problem with the consent order. Other deadlines in the order are based on DEP approvals, DeHaas said.
The authority was required by the DEP to either flood-proof the existing plant or to build a new plant outside the flood plain. It is also required to make various upgrades to pump stations and the collection system to reduce overflows during stormy weather. The authority decided constructing a new plant would be the more cost-efficient plan in the long run.
In other matters, although the Pennsylvania American Water Company has agreed to a payment plan for excessive sludge discharged from the processing plant in Brownsville, the company still hasn’t submitted a payment. The authority and the water company agreed to payment of $40,740 toward the cost of the construction of a sludge holding tank, $$15,183.12 for sludge treatment from Jan 1 through Sept. 30 2001 and a payment of $44,741.63 for sludge treatment from October 2001 through May 2002.
The authority voted to withhold payment from HydroTechnology Services until work is completed. The company was hired to inspect a number of sewer lines using a video camera and cleaning those lines of any debris. The company billed the authority $5,900, although some of the work still needs to be done.
The authority will hold its annual plant tour on August 20 at 5 p.m., during the next scheduled meeting.