Nov 29, 2013 4 min read

An attorney and member of Donora Borough council has notified Washington County Court that he is withdrawing a class-action lawsuit against the Mon Valley Sewage Authority and the city of Monessen due to a consent agreement reached in Westmoreland County.

Thomas Kostolansky and his wife, Patricia, brought suit earlier this year against the sewage authority, its board members and the mayor and council members of Monessen over the rezoning of land intended for a treatment facility, claiming that if the project doesn’t proceed as planned, it will add an estimated cost of $10 million to authority customers’ collective bills.

In withdrawing the class-action suit, Kostolansky noted in court documents that at the heart of the Westmoreland County case was a dispute between the sewage authority and Monessen that stalled construction of a satellite treatment facility in Monessen.

Westmoreland County Judge Richard E. McCormick Jr. approved a consent agreement between the parties that permits the authority to proceed with construction of the treatment facility.

Kostolansky told Washington County Court that the project is now within the scope of original costs, so he does not want to pursue litigation that was based on the authority having to pay “substantial increased professional fees and costs in … additional engineering and accounting services, construction and the like” which would result in increased bills for sewage treatment.

“The Washington County users have been protected,” Kostolansky told Washington County Judge Katherine B. Emery.

On Friday, Kostolansky said that Monessen voters replaced the mayor and council that amended an ordinance in 2012 rezoning the land on Seneca Street where the facility was to be constructed, which prohibited its use as the site of a sewage treatment plant.

“We feel very confident in and comfortable with mayor-elect Louis Mavrakis and the new members of Monessen city council that they will abide by the terms and conditions” of McCormick’s consent order, Kostolansky said Friday.

The calendar on Monessen’s website showed that Friday was a holiday for all employees, and a message for John Harhai, city administrator, was not immediately returned.

“My discussions with officials from (the sewage authority) indicate that Washington County users will not have to pay higher sewage bills as the result of litigation.”

He placed the cost of building the new sewer plant at $10 million to $20 million dollars that would have been passed onto all customers of the Mon Valley Sewage Authority.

“This would have been especially troubling to the Washington County customers since they were blameless in the dispute and prior to the class action, had no voice,” Kostolansky said.

The authority, which has offices in Carroll Township, collects storm water and treats sewage for about 2,000 customers from Donora and parts of Carroll before discharging it into the Monongahela River. The authority also has about 3,500 customers in Monessen, Westmoreland County.

The matter dates back to 1991, when the sewage authority initiated its combined sewer overflow and long-term control plan, which called for the construction of the new sewer plant.

The Kostolanskys had also asked the court to direct the sewage authority to amend its by-laws to increase the number of board members to seven, with an additional appointment made by Donora and another by a majority vote of board members.

Named as defendants along with the sewage authority are its board members, J. Tony Menendez, Ronald Barran, Paul Berardelli and Dennis Wince, and the city of Monessen, including Mayor Mary Jo Smith and council members Lucille D’Alfonso, Martin M. Dudas, Jonmichael Retos and William Manus.

The sewage authority has five board members, two appointed by Donora Borough Council and three appointed by Monessen City Council.

Kostolansky said Friday he’d like to see Washington County have representation on the sewage authority board equal to the representation given to Westmoreland County.