Apr 16, 2015 3 min read

The state Department of Environmental Protection will meet next week with a troubled water authority in Fredericktown to discuss its proposal for removing a carcinogen from its supply.

The meeting Tuesday also will be held with Tri-County Joint Municipal Authority to discuss the DEP’s plan to fine the authority for its failure to file discharge records and modification permits for four years, said John Poister, the department’s spokesman in Pittsburgh.

“We are hoping that these talks will lead to a consent order and agreement that will allow the authority to deal effectively with the (trihalomethanes),” Poister said Thursday.

The DEP has said the authority needs to make costly improvements to its water treatment plant or purchase water elsewhere to deal with the trihalomethanes that have shown up in its supply.

The plant was in compliance with DEP regulations in January, but the problem needs to be solved regarding the chemicals that appear when bromides in the Monongahela River come in contact with chlorine. Poister has said other public water plants that draw their supplies from the Mon River do not have the same problem as does Tri-County, which has seen as many as three turnovers in its staff in the past year.

“At this time, I don’t know if there will be a final agreement at this meeting,” he said.

The authority has been exploring a number of alternatives for improving its water plant operation, ranging from using a different filtration system to switching to a new chlorination approach, authority board member Vince Bloom said.

Bloom said the DEP will have the final say in how the problem is solved. He said the authority also hired a new engineer, KLM Engineer Inc. of Pittsburgh, to guide it toward a resolution.

“Things are definitely moving in the right direction,” Bloom said.

He said the trihalomethanes were not elevated above standards in the past two quarters at the authority. However, its customers were notified recently about the problem because of high levels noted in the 12-month average.

East Bethlehem Township Supervisor Paul Battaglini estimated the authority’s debt at $6.5 million in January, when the township was delaying a decision to extend Tri-County’s life to 2034 to increase its borrowing power.

East Bethlehem supervisors last week adopted an ordinance approving the authority’s request, making it the last member municipality to do so, a township spokeswoman said.

The authority has about 3,500 customers in Washington and Fayette counties.