Sewage authority advances construction project
WEST BROWNSVILLE – Members of the Center West Joint Sewage Authority reported Thursday that they are continuing to make progress on a new sewage system and things are going according to plan so far. Solicitor Melinda Dellarose said the authority is still in the right-of-way phase of the project, and she provided the authority with a list of rights-of-way her law firm had prepared. Included were indications of the rights-of-way that they had already obtained so that the authority could see which ones they had not received back yet.
Chairman Dan Kendall said he plans to be available at the West Brownsville Borough building every Wednesday evening to help expedite the process of obtaining rights-of-way.
Engineer Bob Bible said that he is getting all of the authority’s required permits in order, including a PennDOT highway occupancy permit, which he said he should be receiving within the next week.
Bible also reported that surveys submitted to the Conservation District indicated that there could be wetlands within the area of the upcoming project, and Environmental Court requires an investigation to make sure no wetlands will be disturbed.
The authority voted to add $300,000 in additional funds to cover those costs, and Bible said Rural Utility Service, the authority’s funding agency, should have no problem accepting the change.
“I don’t think RUS will have a problem with that,” said Bible, adding that they had approved additional funding for required studies in the past.
In another matter, the authority discussed their efforts to make an agreement with California Borough that would allow the authority’s new system to service areas of California that do not have sewage. Dellarose confirmed that they have not received a response from California regarding the offer.
“We’re moving forward with or without them,” said Kendall, who said he had hoped that the authority would be able to pick up some customers in that area.
The authority’s next public meeting will be on Nov. 9, followed by one on Nov. 17.