Aug. 15--BLACK LICK -- Officials in Burrell Township and neighboring Blairsville Borough this week agreed on a compromise plan for a sewage plant expansion, resolving differences that had divided them for months and had threatened to derail the project.

Blairsville Borough and the Blairsville Municipal Authority, which operates the plant, acted at a joint meeting Monday to approve a revised sewage facilities plan outlining an estimated $4.7 million expansion project. The project would increase the plant's treatment capacity from 903,000 gallons per day (GPD) to more than 1.3 million gpd -- to accommodate continuing development in Burrell Township's southwestern area, including the Rt. 22 corridor.

The township supervisors gave their approval at a special session Wednesday, and the township sewer authority was expected to follow suit later the same night.

By coming to terms, the parties have avoided a deadline that could have resulted in the loss of a $2.4 million state PennWorks grant. State Sen. Don White, who has been credited with assisting efforts to obtain the grant, later threatened to advise state officials to reallocate the funds if the local stalemate over the project was not resolved by mid-August.

In addition to the grant, PennWorks officials have approved a $56,000 loan for the project. Agreement on the required sewage facilities plan now moves Blairsville Municipal Authority (BMA), which is administering the project, a step closer to applying for an additional $2.1 million low-interest loan from the state PennVest program.

Sharing of the plant's capacity and of costs associated with some improvements were among issues settled in the revised plan.

While the overall scope of the expansion has not changed, chairman Dave Semsick noted the township sewer authority (BTSA) now will be allotted 450,000 gpd of capacity at the revamped plant, down from a previously proposed figure of 650,000 gpd. Burrell officials explained that 200,000 gpd of plant capacity previously assigned for treatment of township wastewater will be returned for use by BMA.

Under previous project plans, Burrell Township sewage customers were facing a fee hike of up to $8 per month to help pay for the plant expansion. The township supervisors later ruled that they would not accept an increase of more than $3 per month for the Burrell customers.

The plan approved this week meets that benchmark, with a proposed fee hike of $2.90 per month for the township customers.

BMA customers also will be expected to pay for some of the improvements included in the project. The plan cites a proposed hike of 90 cents per month for them.

Officials noted actual user rates will depend on additional funding that may be available for the project and where construction bids fall in relation to estimates.

Semsick noted a new major pool of state funding for which the project could be eligible has just been approved and a second funding initiative is anticipated in the fall.

Officials in the borough and the township said their agreement on the revised sewage plan is in the best interest of both communities.

Tony Distefano, chairman of the supervisors, said the plan is an equitable one. "I feel comfortable this secures (the township's) sewage needs for the foreseeable future," he said. "It doesn't put a great burden on the residents of Burrell Township or on the residents of Blairsville Borough."

He expressed belief that the grant would have been lost if disagreement on the plan had dragged on longer -- with the result that the township would need the expansion a few years down the road but would have to tackle the project without the same funding assistance.

"I think it would be irresponsible to do that when the funding is committed and available to us now," he said.

"I would consider it a fair agreement for all parties, who will be served well for long in the future," Michael LaMantia, BMA chairman, said of the revised sewage plan. "It will advance growth in Burrell Township and ancillary growth in Blairsville Borough."

Distefano said one of the major sticking points in arriving at an agreeable plan was the township's requirement for assurance that the extra treatment capacity its customers are paying for will remain available into the future.

The approved plan addresses that concern, stating that "BMA agrees not to sell or convey BTSA's exclusive rights to the 450,000 GPD capacity to any entity, public or private."

The plan projects that the sewage plant expansion will provide adequate capacity for both BMA and BTSA's needs for the next 20 years.

The sewage facilities plan also cites three project components that are not associated solely with expansion of the plant's treatment capacity: $30,000 in improvements to a main pump station and $100,000 each for addition of an emergency generator and upgrades to a phone system that is used to record data from sewage flow meters.

BTSA has agreed to share 33 percent of those costs, with BMA picking up the remaining 67 percent.

The project also includes $225,000 for work needed to address four areas of the BMA sewer system where storm water infiltrates the sanitary lines, adding extra flow into the treatment plant.

The plan notes that there also are "infiltration and inflow concerns" with BTSA's sanitary sewers.

The plan also cites a projected timeline for advancing the project.

Providing the state Department of Environmental Projection approves the revised sewage facilities plan by Oct. 31 and other permits are approved or issued by May 14, BMA would file an application for a PennVest loan by May 18.

Construction of the expansion would begin in October 2009, with completion targeted for July 2010.

Semsick confirmed that BTSA has hired Ed Smith, former BMA manager, as its project coordinator for the proposed plant expansion.

Jeff Himler can be reached at jhimler@tribweb.com or 724-459-6100, ext. 13.

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