Delmont prepares for $4.85 million project to address sewage overflows

Delmont officials are proposing to replace two sewage lines and possibly construct a large holding tank to help deal with sewage overflows and infiltration and inflow of storm water into its sewage system.

As part of a consent order finalized with the state Department of Environmental Control in late April, borough officials have proposed relocating and replacing a gravity line and a force main that run through Salem despite being part of Delmont’s system. The lines run through the property of the Rock Springs Trust, where, during significant wet weather, manholes have discharged a mix of stormwater and untreated sewage into a tributary of Beaver Run. The lines have required multiple repairs over the years, and stormwater runoff has relocated portions of the stream, exposing several sections of line.

A second phase of the proposed $4.85 million project would be the construction of a 325,000-gallon equalization tank, which would hold excess flow and allow it to drain more slowly so as not to overwhelm the system.

On Monday, state Sen. Kim Ward and state Rep. Eric Nelson, both Hempfield Republicans, announced the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Financing Authority has approved a $311,000 grant from the PA Small Water and Sewer Program to Delmont to help relocate the sanitary sewer main along the Beaver Run tributary.

Borough solicitor Dan Hewitt said the town’s sewage system may have been built too small from the start.

“The system was not designed for existing capacity as of day one,” he said.

The last time the borough updated its Act 537 plan — which lays out sewage logistics — was 1988, borough engineer Kevin Brett said. Since then, the town’s population has increased by nearly 700.

‘Very costly buckets’

Ed Rebitch and his family live on the Rock Springs Trust property in neighboring Salem and have borne the brunt of the sewage overflows for nearly three decades.

“I want to make it clear: we’re happy that after 30 years, the DEP is finally doing something,” Rebitch said. “But to us, it’s like putting buckets in a leaky attic. And these are very costly buckets. You really don’t want to treat rain water or put it in the (sewage) mix.”

The borough’s proposal was the most cost-effective solution, said borough engineer Kevin Brett of Lennon Smith Souleret Engineering.

Brett said that one alternative — increasing the capacity of the Cramer pump station — would be too costly, since Delmont is the farthest town serviced by the Franklin Township Municipal Sanitary Authority, or FTMSA, and the borough would be required to help pay for infrastructure upgrades to pump additional sewage to the authority’s plant on Meadowbrook Road.

Brett also said that replacing all of the defective private laterals upstream of the pump station would be too expensive for residents or the borough.

“You’re talking about a number upwards of $20 million,” Brett said. “No community so far has put this on its residents.”

Delmont officials approved a resolution last week to submit their updated Act 537 plan to DEP. If approved, the borough must apply for permits for the work replacing the gravity and force mains within 60 days. Once those permits are approved, the work must be completed within two years.

Brett estimated that borough sewage rates would increase from $65 to $75 monthly after the project is complete.

Eliminating ‘I&I’

Delmont is also party to a second DEP consent order, hammered out between the department, FTMSA and all of its client communities.

Part of that order requires the towns involved to identify and eliminate inflow and infiltration in their entire systems, according to Salem solicitor Gary Falatovich.

“Delmont is required to do the same thing Salem is doing under both agreements,” Falatovich said. “Delmont is required to identify and eliminate inflow and infiltration under the FTMSA (consent order), and also address more immediate problems with (overflows) under the Delmont/Salem (consent order).”

Delmont officials and others involved in the FTMSA consent order were also required to pass an ordinance mandating that private lateral lines be tested whenever a property is sold or transferred. Any defects must be repaired.

However, borough officials can still look at where problem areas exist through flow monitoring, “and if illegal connections are located, the ordinance allows for an enforcement action to compel remediation,” Hewitt said.

For its part, DEP is interested primarily in one thing: eliminating the unauthorized discharge of raw sewage, officially referred to as a “sanitary sewer overflow,” or SSO.

“Excess inflow and infiltration is one of the issues contributing to the SSOs … including a gravity line and force main sewage line in Salem that were not properly graded and had fallen into a state of disrepair,” said DEP Spokeswoman Lauren Fraley.

Fraley said DEP does not generally prescribe engineering solutions.

“Rather, DEP evaluates the proposals made by the operator and its consultant engineers and experts and determines whether or not the project is compliant with applicable laws and regulations,” she said.

Fraley said DEP had determined Delmont’s proposal to be “feasible and effective.”

Rebitch disagreed.

“We’re happy finally that the DEP is making something happen,” he said. “What we’re not in agreement with is the way they’re putting this plan forth.”

Brett said the borough has applied for a U.S. Department of Agriculture grant to help fund the project, and is also considering municipal bonds as well as a low-interest loan through the state-run Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority.

The consent order between Delmont and the DEP terminates either two years after Delmont fulfills all the requirements, on Dec. 31, 2031, or when DEP officials determine it is proper to do so.