Woodward sewer project continues

DUNNSTOWN -The Woodward Township Sewer Authority remains between a rock and a hard place these days, waiting for federal money for needed work on the sewer system, while being told by the state that, money or not, the work must be done.

The authority recently received a letter from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, asking for payment of $15,250 in fines for failing to keep to schedule in completing the pump station and river crossing project.

"We remain consistent in our stance that any failure to meet the timeframes established in the consent order that result from funding procurement issues is not acceptable," the letter states.

That's a fancy way of saying the project must move forward even if the authority hasn't received the money it needs to move the project forward.

June 1, 2008 was established by the DEP as the deadline to begin construction. Any delay beyond that date results in civil penalties amounting to $250 per day.

DEP officials have told the authority and Woodward Township to forward payment in the amount of $15,250 for the months of June and July.

The township sewer authority has applied for a 2008 appropriation request of $500,000 for a new pump station and force main in Woodward Township. The Fiscal year 2008 Department of Interior bill contains language for the funding, but the money hasn't been released.

On May 28, the Woodward Township Authority was told its request for a three-month extension to complete the project was turned down by the Department of Environmental Protection.

"We believe that you will agree that our office has been consistently clear in our position that the authority's commitment to complete the projects under the COA is completely independent of financing," R. Curt White, Environmental Group Manager wrote to the authority. "Having stated that at the conclusion of the projects we will agree to exercise reasonable regulatory discretion when settling any stipulated civil penalties."

"Funding is the problem," said Randy Dunlap, the authority's vice chairman.

"We recently went to Sovereign and Northwestern banks to get a $1 million line of credit in case the funding doesn't come through," he said. "We are seeking funding through PENNVEST (Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority) and a $477,000 federal grant through Rep. John E. Peterson's office.

Dunlap said local officials met with DEP last month, and were told the department will hold off on additional fines "for a couple of weeks."

"Just until we get our funding in place or at least find out what's going on," Dunlap said. Grants Coordinator Jessica H. Sheets, of Innovative Consulting Group Inc., has said that many aspects of the project, including the slip lining construction contract work were "well underway" with the contractor, State Pipe Services Inc., performing the work under that contract.

At Thursday's county commissioners' meeting, Sheets agreed with Dunlap's assessment that the delay in federal funding is holding the project up, and there are ongoing discussions on how the fines will be handled.

She said the delay in federal funding is due to language in the original appropriations bill being changed.

"It caused a substantial delay. We are moving at a fast pace and they realize that," Sheets said, adding authority officials hope to start construction on the sewer line next month.

She said it's a fine line between moving ahead with the project or waiting for the federal funding in the face of more fines.

"Once they put a shovel in the ground it's vulnerable," she said. "If any language should change in a bill in an appropriation that's applicable to that project, they could lose their money. So, you really have to walk softly and DEP is aware of that.

"One of the things is you have to weigh the fines that may be waived by DEP or you could look at losing a half million dollars," Sheets continued. "I know $250 a day is not a good thing at this point, but... it's comparing one thing to another."

Sheets noted flows are down in the township with no bypassing at all over the last several months.

She reminded eligible township residents funding is available through the county's Community Development Block Grant to help pay for any laterals that must be replaced to properties.

So far, Sheets said, about a dozen residents have applied for the funding.

Similar sewer work is being planned in Bald Eagle Township and Flemington Borough, with work already completed in Mill Hall. However, those three municipalities have not requested the county to release CDBG funding to help income-eligible residents there to pay for required laterals.

The commissioners on Thursday later passed a resolution urging Bill Suydam, grants coordinator, to request the three municipalities ask for funding to help their residents.

Sheets said the Clinton County Sewer Authority last month applied for nearly $1.8 million in PENNVEST funding for a line across the Susquehanna River for the Woodward Township project, along with work in the hill section of Flemington and a pump station and new six-inch line in Bald Eagle Township.

The authority, ICG, the Clinton County Planning Director Tim Holladay, EPA officials and Congressman Peterson's staff met in early May to review the federal appropriation for the pump station project.

Local officials have been told there is a delay because the language of the earmark legislation conflicts with other regulations, and resolutions were required to be approved by a number of agencies, resulting in an additional, unexpected layer of red tape.

Sheets said she was assured by Peterson's office that the language change will be expedited in Washington to help the local government meet the consent decree.

The pump station and river crossing project will be a 55/45 match requirement, making it impossible to split the project up for bidding purposes in order to be compliant with the COA, Sheets said.

"At this point, if the project should move forward without the proper paperwork and agreement in place, this could jeopardize the funding, and this is not a viable option or alternative at this point in the project," Sheets wrote to local officials. "It's unfortunate that all the progress made to date by the authority and the construction being met have to have a delay on the last phase of the COA. Based on conversations with EPA officials, we feel that the Consent Order Agreement will be delayed being completed by three months."

The overall construction contract, when bid, will allow for a four-month construction period.

A large sewer fee hike occurred last year, and the recent $1.39 million project is requiring expensive hook-on fees of individual homeowners, many of whom are elderly and living on limited income.

In the meantime, the authority moves forward with major sewer improvements in various sections of the township, a process that has been felt in the pockets of many township residents. The authority needed to raise monthly fees to do the work, and instituted $1,500 tap-on fees.

The sewer rates jumped at the beginning of last year, from $100 to $160 a quarter, or 65 percent. The authority is also following through on a warning to customers that it will be taking the matter of bill collection very seriously.

The authority has been in the hot seat in recent years because of a DEP mandate requiring expensive sewer repairs to solve stormwater infiltration problems.

The authority has an ambitious plan to improve the entire system with the help of a financial partnership with the Clinton County Government and Woodward Township supervisors.

Completion of a major sewer line rehabilitation project in two approximately equal phases will consist of the rehabilitation of approximately 32,000 feet of sewer mains, replacement of all defective laterals and the restoration of all defective manholes. The work also requires the completion of a new main pumping station and river-crossing forced main.