Three Panther Valley boroughs have long had problems with storm and sewer waters flowing together, overwhelming their aging joint treatment plant and spilling into the Panther Valley Creek.

The problem has drawn the attention of the state Department of Environmental Protection, which is demanding something be done. But a solution could be decades away, said Mike Tirpak, the engineer for the Coaldale Lansford Summit Hill Joint Sewer Authority and for Summit Hill."The process of addressing the problem is going to be very long term, 18-20 years or longer," Tirpak said."It's tough because there's not a lot of money in the communities. The tax base isn't there. Finding the money will be daunting. It won't be something that happens overnight."DEP believes the best way to begin to resolve the problem is to bring ownership of the three wastewater collection systems under one regional entity.It's not that the boroughs have been slacking. They've each been working to correct the problem since 1991, Tirpak said."Different levels of progress were made, but none satisfactory to DEP," he said.Now, DEP wants the three boroughs and the sewer authority to submit documentation that they are talking about the problem during meetings and are moving to resolve it.DEP wants the communities to provide meeting minutes where sewage facilities were discussed, copies of agendas, designations of lead contacts, the status of discussions, including planned activities scheduled for July, August and September, and steps that have been taken to initiate the preparation of a regional sewage plan.They have a July 31 deadline to do that. Tirpak said the boroughs and authority will meet to share their thoughts at 6:30 p.m. June 24 at the Summit Hill community center."The authority and communities have to agree on who is going to handle the issues. Then, we'll start coming up with a plan of action to solve the problem" Tirpak said.The boroughs and authority on May 6 met with DEP to discuss the matter, and have been following through."We had a productive meeting on June 3 with the authority and the communities. Everyone's agreed there is a problem, and they agreed something needs to be done. It was a good first step. Now we have to decide who is going to be a lead on solving the problem," Tirpak said.In Lansford, council President Martin Ditsky said he's planning a discussion with council members to prepare for the June 24 meeting.Overwhelmed collection systems in Summit Hill flow downhill into Lansford.In 1996, Lansford council enacted a $50 sewer transmission fee to help pay off $604,290 it borrowed for repairs to a sewer line that collapsed in 1995, and to begin to build separate stormwater and sanitary sewers.In 2008, the borough embarked on a $2.9 million sewer separation project.Coaldale, which is where the treatment plant is, and Summit Hill are also gathering their information in preparation for the July 31 deadline.In a May 12 letter to the boroughs and authority, Michael J. Brunamonti, program manager of DEP's Clean Water Program, recapped the May 6 meeting."The consideration of bringing all three wastewater collection systems under the same ownership and the manner in which to accomplish this task generated the most discussion," he wrote."The department believes a regional approach would produce the most feasible solution to wastewater collection and treatment system problems in the area."