Jul 9, 2015 3 min read

About 600 residents of Mt. Pleasant and Cecil townships could soon have access to a sanitary sewer system.

Mt. Pleasant Township Municipal Authority is moving forward with a $19.3 million project that includes a single plant in Westland to treat water from that village as well as Southview and Hickory.

The project is more than 10 years in the making.

“There was a lot of number-crunching and looking at what’s best,” said Paul Battista, president of the authority board.

The board’s first action was to hire KLH Engineers to prepare a required comprehensive plan for the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, called Act 537. The original plan, which included a single “package” plant in Southview, was approved by the DEP in 2007.

“The original idea to serve these people was a small, all-inclusive plant that, in time, can be expanded,” Battista said. “But those are not always efficient and can get a lot of odors. They do not process as well as a regular plant, so the concept changed.”

Battista said the DEP guided the authority toward a larger plant to serve the three communities. Westland was chosen because it has the lowest elevation. The authority is looking at a 15- to 20-acre parcel of land there for development, about one-half mile from the nearest home.

A special study is required by the DEP for the amendment. Because Southview is divided between Cecil and Mt. Pleasant townships, the plan had to first be approved by Cecil’s board of supervisors, who looked into absorbing Southview into the existing Cecil Township municipal authority. They approved Mt. Pleasant’s plan in June after learning it would cost about $6.2 million for Cecil to take on Southview’s wastewater; the estimate for Mt. Pleasant is $4.5 million.

“It ended up being reinforced that this is the most cost-effective way,” said Tom Casciola, Cecil board chairman.

Because there are large stretches of undeveloped land with no tap-ins between Cecil’s plant and Southview, extending the line would be a considerable expense.

“Water doesn’t know township boundaries, it knows elevation boundaries,” said Battista.

The new plan is available for review at the Mt. Pleasant Township office until Thursday. If approved by DEP, the next step will be to put out a bid for construction, followed by an application to Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority, or PENNVEST, for a low-interest loan and/or grants.

Battista guessed, based on informal talks between the two groups, PENNVEST will expend about $11 million, requiring a user tap-in fee of about $7,500 and a monthly charge of $95. The estimates increased significantly because of a rise in the median household income.

“Our goal is to work that money down to be more affordable,” Battista said.

Mt. Pleasant Township gave more than $1 million to the authority, including a large portion of its Act 13 impact fees. Battista said the authority continues to search for gap funding sources. Local Share Account funds can’t be applied for until PENNVEST money is secured.

“We’re out there trying to put the project together. There are no political motives. We’re doing it for our community,” Battista said of the volunteer board. “We want to be totally transparent.”

If it remains on schedule, the authority will begin construction in late 2016 and begin tap-ins late in 2017.

A public meeting will be held in September to discuss the overall project, and subsequent meetings will be held with each of the three communities involved.

For information on the project and upcoming meetings, visit www.MPT-PA.com and go to the municipal authority page.