Residents expressed concern last week over the Lower Towamensing Supervisors sewage plan.

Township engineer Greg Haas presented the Act 537 plan, which focused on three areas: the Little Gap, Aquashicola and Walkton sections of the township.Haas reported that 451 homes are included in these areas.Just over 51 percent of them have malfunctions of their current sewage system, either septic or cesspools.The township reaffirmed that the current costs estimates are a $4,000 tapping fee per household and approximately $940 per year in sewage fees.This does not account for the additional costs that homeowners will be forced to pay to have a contractor of their choice perform the service of hooking up their lateral sewage pipe from their homes to the sewage system and filling in their current sewage system.Three options were outlined in the plan. However, the current, more affordable option appears to be to design and install a sewage collection system that the township will own and maintain, and pump the sewage to a private sewage treatment facility.The township and Blue Mountain Sewer Systems, part of the Tuthill Corporation, have reached an agreement. The township will pay the Blue Mountain Sewer System to handle the sewage system for the township.Three financing alternatives are being discussed.Currently, the township supervisors have chosen a 40-year loan through the United States Department of Agriculture at a rate of 3.5 percent.Haas said the cost is for "fair current cost estimates," and does not take into account the possibility of any grants that the township may pursue for the project.Other concerns raised by residents in attendance was the low water table in the Little Gap area, and the possibility of disturbing the spring-fed wells in the area during the construction phase of the project.Although there was no direct answer to these concerns, supervisors will look into studies that could be performed to predict this during the design phase of the project. The primary concern was the cost of tapping into the system. Also, the township is working on an ordinance that will require and buildings provided sewage services within a 150-foot distance from any sewage line to require hook up to the township system.Additionally, housing units not required to hook up to the sewage system will have strictly enforced parameters to follow.Haas pointed out that the plan requires that the septic systems be emptied every three years and are subject to inspection.While this plan has been submitted to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, it has not been reviewed and accepted at this time.The estimated timeline is for review and approval of the winter months, which will put the township into the design phase in early 2016, with an anticipated project bidding and start sometime in 2017.Chairman Brett Green said, "The township has been working on this plan for many years. This is the fourth time we have submitted it to DEP. We want to be proactive and have the plan approved and a system in place before we are in the position of having to pay fines daily."