Three Panther Valley boroughs must pay $350,000 each for efforts to remediate sewerage system infiltration or lose a large government grant.

The grant is from COVID-19 funding and totals $2.5 million. To obtain it, the boroughs must collectively match it with $1.4 million, which totals $350,000 each.

Borough council members from Coaldale, Lansford and Summit Hill met on Wednesday with members of the Coaldale-Lansford-Summit Hill Sewer Authority where they received an update on pressing maintenance matters pertaining to the sewerage system and sewage treatment plant.

For now, the most immediate concern is stormwater infiltration and inflow into the sewerage systems in each of the municipalities.

Lansford and Coaldale officials said they are concerned that such a large immediate payment could financially shackle the boroughs, especially if another emergency expenditure would occur.

It was tentatively agreed that the municipalities would pay $50,000 as soon as possible and $100,000 by the end of the year, and then another $100,000 each in the next two years.

Coaldale and Summit Hill Borough Councils will meet on Tuesday to decide on such a payment schedule, while Lansford will meet on Wednesday.

The money would be used to scope sewerage system lines in all three boroughs and possibly perform slip lining where infiltration is a serious issue and in locations where total deterioration hasn’t occurred. Slip lining involves coating the lines to stop the infiltration.

Attorney Eric Filer, of the King Spry Law Firm, Bethlehem, solicitor for the authority, said authority members will meet with officials of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection on Jan. 15 to explain that sincere efforts are being made to reduce stormwater infiltration into the system so that no enforcement issues occur. He said he is hoping that he can report to the DEP that all three municipalities are in agreement with remediation efforts by that time.

Filer explained that the sewage treatment plant utilized by the three boroughs was constructed in 1964-1965, which was prior to the Pa. Sewage Facilities Act and other government regulations.

One of the rules for the treatment plant, he said, is there can’t be an overflow discharge more than four times a year.

Because of the large amount of infiltration, the DEP has imposed a moratorium on new sewer connections in the three towns, which prohibits new houses from being built and could even impede the locating of new businesses here.

Jeffrey Szczecina, the vice chairman of the authority, and Bill McMullen, chief engineer for ARRO Consulting of Lititz, the authority’s engineering firm, led the meeting.

McMullen stressed that the authority must show the DEP “that we’re making an effort to reduce infiltration.”

He said curbing the stormwater infiltration is only a small step to complying with the DEPs sewage treatment plant concerns.

The next step will be for the compilation of a voluminous Act 537, Sewage Facilities Act, compliance plan.

He said he believes the three boroughs could combine efforts for such a plan, which would detail the issues and solutions affecting sewage treatment, including improvements to the treatment plant.

“The Act 537 Plan has been delayed for a long, long time,” he said, adding, “Nothing’s been done for 60 years to the plant.”

Michael Radocha of Coaldale said the authority was told by a prior engineer that a new vortex separator was needed at the plant.

Szczecina said because of other issues involving the treatment plant, including the infiltration, the DEP would not approve the vortex separator project.

Filer said the treatment plant can handle the sewage from the population of the three towns but not the large volume of stormwater infiltration.

Szczecina agreed, adding that a previous study on the matter determined “the infiltration is significant and extreme.”

McMullen said that if the borough’s fail to begin immediate action, the DEP will take action.

“You will get a consent order from the DEP,” he said. “It’s not if, it’s when.”

He said that this work addresses only the infiltration and not the work that is going to be needed at the treatment plant to improve it to DEP compliance.