Sewerage lines may have delayed prison’s opening
Officials now say the incomplete sewerage line being constructed to service the new state prison more than budget issues played a role in the decision to delay the opening of the State Correctional Institute in Fayette. In early January, the state Department of Corrections announced that SCI-Fayette would not be opened until 2004 because of a $433 million state deficit forcing the DOC to trim $15 million from its annual budget.
Officials have since speculated that the prison will open in the fall of this year, a six-month delay until the sewage project that will service the prison and 180 residents in Dutch Hill, LaBelle and Maxwell is completed.
The delay, however, did not sit well with local officials who vowed to argue against and seek a reversal of the postponement.
State Sen. Rich Kasunic (D-Dunbar) and Fayette County Commissioner Vince Vicites in a letter to the Gov. Ed Rendell urged the governor to reconsider the decision.
Rendell’s office responded by saying he would consider their concerns and make decisions based on budgetary times.
However, Jeffrey Beard, secretary of corrections, recently released a response pointing out that construction issues (with the sewer line), more than budget issues played a significant role in the decision to delay the opening of SCI-Fayette, a $135 million facility that will house 2,000 prisoners and provide 680 jobs.
The $6 million sewerage line is expected to be complete in late August, according to Supervisor Ron DeSalvo.
DeSalvo admits the sewer line does pose a problem, but he added the prison probably won’t be ready to open until May anyway.
“The sewerage has been held up a long time, but the prison is still not finished. They probably won’t be completely done until May anyway,” DeSalvo said. “But they (DOC) will be ready before us. The sewerage will hold them up.”
DeSalvo explained that electricians are still at work perfecting the electrical wiring at the prison.
He said that the sewerage project was delayed from the onset, but since construction began the three-part project is progressing steadily.
He said paperwork was the primary reason the sewerage project had a slow start. He explained that every document that came through had to be approved by both the DOC and Rural Utilities Services (RUS). He said the process was slow and documents could be passed along for a month before both parties approved them.
RUS provided a grant and loan for the project and DOC funded three-fourths of the project.
“There was a lot of paperwork going back and forth, before you know it, months go by,” DeSalvo said. “It’s not the sewerage authority’s fault, we all want this to happen, it just had a slow start. Now, everything is running smooth.”
DOC spokeswoman Susan McNaughton said although the DOC originally blamed budget constraints for the delay, the fact is that the sewerage project has played a significant role in the decision.
She said that it “just didn’t make sense” to open in April, as they had originally wanted to, when the sewerage line was not complete.
The DOC had considered opening the prison in April, but would have had to hire a contractor to truck sewage from the facility daily, which was considered too costly an option, according to McNaughton.
She said the prison will most likely open when the sewerage project is complete.
DeSalvo expects the prison to tap-in by late August and no later than Sept. 1. He said Dutch Hill, Maxwell and LaBelle residents will tap-in after the prison.
McNaughton said in the meantime, the DOC is not forgetting their budget woes.
“We’re still doing more with less, but so far so good. The budget is still an issue that we can’t forget about,” she said.