Jun 6, 2002 By Christine Haines 2 min read

BROWNSVILLE – The Brownsville Municipal Authority on Tuesday signed a consent order with the state Department of Environmental Protection, requiring plans for a new treatment plant to be completed by Nov. 15. The authority and the DEP have been negotiating a consent order for the past year. The authority already completed some of the upgrades and tests required by the order, including flow monitoring at various pump stations in the sewer system to determine the size of the plant needed.

Widmer Engineering has worked on the plant design in conjunction with the authority’s engineering firm, Fayette Engineering.

Bills for the plant design work were tabled at the authority’s last meeting and nearly were tabled again Tuesday.

“If you’re in a position where the engineering costs are getting to be a burden, you have to look at interim financing. The engineers are doing the work and deserve to be paid,” said solicitor Ernest DeHaas.

So far, the authority has not needed to borrow any money to pay the ongoing engineering fees. Funds are available for that expense through the authority’s construction fund. DeHaas said that once the plant design is submitted to the DEP, the authority can apply for PENNVEST funding for the project and may be able to use that money to reimburse the construction fund.

The authority voted to pay the engineering invoice of $14,671.10.

Engineer Rusty Mechling presented his firm’s annual report, including operating costs to help the authority determine the budget and rates for the next year. Mechling said the current rate schedule meets the daily expenses of the authority, though it does not take into consideration future construction expenses.

Authority member Henry Vulcan made a motion to accept the report and to keep the rate constant for the next year, with no increase.

Although a group of Hiller residents had attended the last authority meeting seeking payment for damages caused by flooding last month, no damage estimates have been submitted to the authority.

The authority also is still negotiating a settlement with Pennsylvania-American Water Co. for sludge treatment over the past year. The two bodies have not yet reached an agreement regarding the retroactive fees.