After decades of discussion, a deal was finally struck Monday to provide sewage treatment to residents in Lower Towamensing Township.

The township's board of supervisors unanimously approved a wastewater treatment agreement with the Tuthill Corporation, the operator of Blue Mountain Ski Area, now known as Blue Mountain Resort.The action by supervisors comes after no overtures were received in consecutive months to provide sewage treatment to township residents, which prompted the township to negotiate privately with the Tuthill Corporation.The Tuthill Corporation will pay an estimated $1,485,303 to construct a new plant. Meanwhile, the cost for the township to hook up to the plant once it is constructed is $598,604.The new plant would provide wastewater treatment services to residents in the Little Gap, Walkton and Aquashicola geographic area. The Weiner Trailer Court will be hooked up to Palmerton Borough's wastewater treatment plant.Before the vote, resident Herman Bollinger questioned supervisors about the sewage issue."It seems to me like Aquashicola is the black sheep of the township," Bollinger said. "Let the state pay for that line going to Palmerton."Supervisors Vice Chairman Ron Walbert told Bollinger, "The issue is how much it's going to cost.""We've debated it," Walbert said. "The most cost-effective way to do it is the way we're doing it."Bollinger told supervisors, "If you can get the state to use the money they were going to give us and put that line in through Palmerton, you'll have a lot of very happy people."Walbert responded: "That's exactly what we're doing. We're going to use Palmerton for certain portions of the township, and the ski area for portions of the township."Walbert then turned the tables and asked Bollinger a former township supervisor several decades ago why the sewage issue wasn't handled 30 years ago.Supervisors Chairman Brent Green told Bollinger, "There is no money (from the state)."Township solicitor Jim Nanovic added, "We don't have approved plans yet."Walbert attempted to address the situation."We're working our best," Walbert said. "We will explore every avenue possible to see if we can get any funding for the township."Walbert said a Bog Turtle Study must still be completed in the spring, and added, "We're 90-percent there in bringing this to a conclusion.""This should have been done 30 years ago," he said. "Then the people of Aquashicola wouldn't be suffering."In September, supervisors agreed to advertise to bid the project, at which time Nanovic said the township was looking for a single entity to provide sewage treatment to the township.Nanovic also said at that time that it would not be a township plant, but, rather a private plant, and that Blue Mountain Ski Area was eligible to bid on the project.In July, the Delaware River Basin Commission granted Blue Mountain permission to expand its wastewater treatment plant.At that time, the DRBC approved the application submitted by Keystone Consulting Engineers, on behalf of Tuthill Corporation, for the renewal of an existing discharge from the ski area wastewater treatment plant.That approval came as Blue Mountain began preliminary work on its new Summit Splash Water Park, where officials gathered last month for a ribbon-cutting ceremony to mark the completion of the new road to begin the construction project.Scheduled to open in 2016, the park is expected to create more than 200 full-time jobs.Once completed, Summit Splash will include a giant wave pool, a lazy river, and tubing slides all in a beautiful mountain setting.The approval means the ski area can now expand the facility from being able to treat and discharge .06 million gallons per day to .28 million gallons per day.The expanded plant will now consist of three communitors/bar screens, a surge tank, five aeration tanks, five clarifiers, four sludge storage tanks, two chlorine contact tanks, and two post aeration tanks.The wastewater treatment plant will continue to discharge treated effluent to the Aquashicola Creek, within the drainage area of the section of the nontidal Delaware River known as the Lower Delaware, which is classified as Special Protection Waters, in Lower Towamensing Township.The project facilities are not located in the 100-year floodplain.Waste sludge will continue to be hauled off-site by a licensed hauler for disposal at a state-approved facility.In November, supervisors agreed to award a contract in the amount of $13,300 to Environmental Consultation Services Inc. of Pen Argyl, to conduct a wetlands/bog turtle study.The Bog Turtle Study is an attempt to determine the presence of probable absence of the species, though it doesn't provide sufficient data to determine population size or structure will then be sent to DEP.