Palmerton continues to consider a proposal for several homes and a business connect to Lower Towamensing Township’s sewer system.

Jens Damgaard, bond counsel, spoke via a conference call during last week’s borough council meeting to discuss the financial scope of the project.

Damgaard told council the purpose of the discussion was to help Lower Towamensing find money to build its sewer system, and explained the benefit to the township to have customers in the borough.

He said if there was just one municipality involved, the township could only look to borrow $12 million from PENNVEST. However, if there is more than one municipality, it could look to borrow $20 million.

“It’s an expensive project for them,” Damgaard said. “The vision is to try to make this thing affordable.”

Damgaard said the township would need the borough to adopt an ordinance that would authorize them to mandate the customers in the borough to connect to the new sewer main.

He said the process would entail an easement from the borough for the township to construct the line that the township would maintain; a mandatory connection construction ordinance; and making sure the existing agreement between the township and the borough allows for these new connections.

Damgaard asked if there was any current agreement between both municipalities in place.

Council President Terry Costenbader said an agreement is in place, adding that the borough previously agreed to take on the Weiner Trailer Court. “We had the capacity at that time to do that.”

Damgaard said that the township engineer has not presented the proposal to the township’s board of supervisors.

Council plans to wait to hear from the township once they have had an opportunity to review the proposal.

Costenbader noted that in order for this to go through, the borough has to grant the township an easement.

Borough Manager Donna McGarry explained how the properties would be charged to hookup to the system.

“They would be charged the same rate as all the other customers,” McGarry said. “We would actually bill the township (for customers in the township).”

McGarry said there are two businesses and four homes along State Road that currently are not connected to the borough’s sewer system.

McGarry said that the township is willing to extend the sewer main that it would come to the motorcycle shop so that those homes could connect to the main, and that by working with the township, it qualifies them as a multimunicipal project.

The township is planning to install a main and connecting to the borough’s sewer system for their properties on Red Hill Road, and may be willing to extend the sewer main from their border, along State Road in Palmerton, toward the Delaware Avenue intersection.

The township including this work in its plan would qualify them for a higher loan amount from PENNVEST.

New treatment plant

Supervisors announced in 2017 that the Department of Environmental Protection approved the township’s Official Sewage Facilities Plan for a new sewage system.

The sewage system plan will service Aquashicola, Walkton, Little Gap, Red Hill Road and Weiner Mobile Estates. Plans for the sewer system have been in the works for several decades.

According to the plan, the new sewer system will consist of gravity lines, manholes and pump stations and their associated force mains.

A portion serving Aquashicola, Walkton and Little Gap will be treated at the Blue Mountain Ski Area Wastewater Treatment Plant. Another portion of the line serving Red Hill Road and Weiner Mobile Estates will be treated at the Palmerton Borough Wastewater Treatment Plant.

The total cost of the project, including surveying, engineering, land acquisition, inspection, legal and administrative fees and interest, had previously been estimated to be about $12.4 million.

The system will connect to the existing Blue Mountain Ski Area wastewater treatment plant, which will be upgraded to account for the additional sewage flow.

The alternative also provides for the Weiner Mobile Estates and homes along Red Hill Road to connect to the Palmerton Borough wastewater collection system and be treated at the borough’s plant.

Various other alternatives are considered in the plan, such as the conveyance of sewage from Aquashicola, Walkton and Little Gap to the Palmerton wastewater treatment plant, construction of small flow sewage treatment facilities throughout the areas of need, and construction of community land disposal facilities.