Agreement between sewer authorities key to Pucketa Creek watershed woes

Trapped between two municipalities, two sewer authorities, the state Department of Environmental Protection and Pucketa Creek, about 35 property owners in northern Murrysville may see a resolution to their long-standing sanitary sewer problems, if the various agencies work together.

At last weeks council meeting, chief administrator Jim Morrison told council that some properties along Pucketa Creek on Greensburg Road/Route 366 have a problem because they cannot tap into the nearby sanitary sewer line, which is across the creek in Washington Township.

The sewer line is owned by the Municipal Authority of Washington Township, and sewerage is pumped to the Kiski treatment plant in Vandergrift. Murrysville residents are served by the Franklin Township Municipal Sewer Authority and there is no service agreement that allows Washington Township to serve Murrysville.

As a result, homeowners with failing septic systems have nowhere to turn.

Unable to sell his house because the septic system was discharging sewerage in the creek, Jim Copal of Greensburg Road said he appealed to the DEP for assistance. Last month, the agency consented to allow Mr. Copal to connect to the sewer line, provided both sewer authorities and both municipal governments agree.

In a letter dated Oct. 3, Jack Crislip, a clean water specialist for the DEP, acknowledged that all four of the responsible entities have preliminarily agreed to allow Mr. Copal to connect to the Washington authoritys sewer. However, DEP recommended that the municipalities revise their respective Act 537 plans to address the needs of all homes in the Pucketa Creek watershed. All municipalities in the state are required to submit an Act 537 plan to the state DEP, defining how the municipality handles sewage within its borders. The municipality is responsible to ensure that no sewage facilities, public or private, pollute any waters.

As part of the process, DEP has recommended that a study be done todetermine the capacity of the Kiski treatment plant,identify homes with malfunctions,perform a cost analysis of an alternative solution and do an environmental impact assessment.

Mr. Morrison estimated that the cost of the study would be between $25,000 and $50,000.

There has been an ongoing, and at times contentious, dialogue among Murrysville, Franklin and Washiington authorities about the Pucketa Creek watershed. To service homes in this area, the Franklin authority historically preferred to build a new 3-mile-long gravity feed line that would connect to the New Kensington treatment plant. According to Franklin authority manager James Brucker, reaching an agreement between the two sewer authorities is the problem.

Ive tried. I spent probably $20,000 in attorneys fees to get this done, Mr. Brucker said. Ive offered them anything they want, with one caveat: that if we ever get a line in to service the area, then those customers would come back into our system. The hang up is in Washington Township.

More:
Agreement between sewer authorities key to Pucketa Creek watershed woes