After bountiful dialogue on the subject, West Penn and Walker Township officials plan to get together to review the proposed sewage plan.

A joint meeting between the two townships will be held at 7 p.m. Monday at the West Penn Township Municipal Building, 27 Municipal Road, New Ringgold.The meeting will be held to review the proposed Act 537 Plan, and to discuss any additional comments submitted by the Walker/West Penn Township board of supervisors, and the West Penn/Walker Township Joint Sewer Committee, before submission to the state Department of Environmental Protection.West Penn Township board of supervisors Chairman Jim Dean said he's hopeful "the plan meets with the approval of all the supervisors from both townships, that everything is in compliance with what DEP wants.""We have been working at this hard to get this put together," Dean said. "We have spent enough time and money on this. I'm hoping that this one is one that DEP says well done, we can process this, review it, and OK our plan of action."At a joint public meeting in January 2016, both Walker and West Penn's boards of supervisors tabled resolutions for revisions to their Act 537 plan.The boards requested a meeting with DEP and the West Penn/Walker Township Joint Sewer Committee, and to discuss a time extension with DEP.Engineer Charles Myers of Rettew Associates, outlined three options at that joint meeting.One option is a community on-lot disposal system to each of the South Tamaqua, Andreas, Clamtown, Snyders and Reynolds at a cost of over $1 million. The costs would include five systems, legal fees, engineering fees, property acquisition and several contingencies.A second option is for multiple treatment plants to serve the five areas, which would cost substantially more.Another option is an on-lot disposal system, where the 30 residences would either repair or replace their current system.Myers said at that time that was the preferred option, because there are no big infrastructure costs.Walker Township engineer Dave Horst said there were 30 units, 24 in West Penn, and six in Walker, that the plan identifies as potentially needing a community on-lot sewage disposal.Horst said of the units in West Penn, 12 are in South Tamaqua, six in Andreas, four in Clamtown, and two in Snyders; while the remaining six are in Reynolds in Walker.Myers said the preferred option remains an on-lot disposal system, where the 30 residences would either repair or replace their current system.DEP wants a solution presented in the plan for every user. If there are any users that cannot do on-lot systems, they have to have access to a community system.Work on the plan has been ongoing since 2003, when Ludgate Engineering Firm developed a community sewage plan with a $17 million price tag.On Oct. 18, 2013, DEP received the updated plan prepared by Rettew Associates Inc., and incorporated the Ludgate Engineering Corporation's March 5, 2007, submission.The plan proposed a sewage management program for each municipality, and corrective cluster or small community on-lot sewage disposal facilities, but DEP kicked it back as incomplete.Rettew Associates revised the plan and resubmitted it in November 2014.Former West Penn Township solicitor Gretchen Stearns said after a time lapse she contacted DEP and was told that the plan had been misplaced.Rettew resubmitted the plan.