The state Department of Environmental Protection has reviewed the joint Act 537 plan for West Penn and Walker townships, and kicked it back for revisions.

The townships submitted the plan in October, and on Dec. 9 DEP responded with a letter outlining 10 corrections which must be accomplished before the agency again reviews the plan.The response from DEP did not find fault with the fundamental plan, which addresses wildcat sewers as well as lack of proper sewage treatment in four service areas: Andreas, South Tamaqua, Clamtown/Reynolds, and Snyders.The 10 plan deficiencies named by DEP include:The lack of proper maps, to illustrate the location of the proposed sewage facilities, as well as the location of wetlands and floodplains.No archaeological study for the Bureau of Historical Preservation. If such a study is not included in a plan, the plan will not be eligible for PennVest funding.Resolutions and ordinances involving sewage treatment, passed in both townships, do not conform to DEP guidelines.The Uniform Environmental Review was not amended from the original Act 537 plan submitted by Ludgate Engineering in March 2007. Although the scope of the Act 537 plan changed significantly, the Uniform Environmental Review was not changed.The original plan, submitted by Ludgate Engineering and calling for a public system, had a price tag of $11.5 million. The most recent plan, developed by Rettew Engineering and using a combination of individual and "cluster" solutions, has an estimated cost of $1 million.As of April 2013, the combined engineering costs for the plans was $356,107. Under the terms of the agreement, based on the needs assessments for both townships, West Penn shoulders 82 percent of the bill and Walker covers 18 percent.Now what?"There are 10 items the townships must address that involved administrative issues, such as proper legal notice in newspapers and some paperwork that might be missing, before DEP can continue considering the plan," said Colleen Connolly, Community Relations Coordinator for DEP's northeast regional office. "The townships do not have a deadline to address the issues but the sooner the better would be instrumental in getting this plan to the final stages."West Penn Township Chairman Jim Akins said that the township has requested a meeting with DEP to clarify the remaining outstanding issues "as some confusion still exists with their requests."The supervisors have reviewed the comments with Rettew and feel that these are requests for some minor clarification and are the type typically made of townships going through the Act 537 process," Akins said. "The comments do not require any excessive additional testing or major changes to the submitted plan, as was the case with prior submittals."