Jim Thorpe Borough is embarking on a $10.67 million upgrade to its sewage treatment facility.

Kim Mazur, of Entech Engineering, said the plant is now 50 years old with a majority of original equipment needing to be replaced."The plant is not set up to meet current regulations," he said. "Replacement and service of some of this equipment is really non-existent. We'll be putting in state-of-the-art equipment that will bring everything up to date."The project will take the plant from a contact stabilization to a biological nutrient removal process using an integrated fixed-film activated sludge process.That change will allow the plant to meet the more stringent monitoring and discharge criteria to be imposed by the Department of Environmental Protection and Delaware River Basin Commission for nitrogen and phosphorus removal."We'll also be removing nitrogen and upgrading the lift pump station," Mazur said. "Ninety percent of the improvements will be at the treatment plant, but there are a few key pipes that need work throughout the town."Included in the project is the replacement or relining of approximately 4,500 linear feet of sanitary sewer line and manholes along Switchback Road and South Street within the borough to resolve inflow and infiltration problems.Mazur said the current plant will remain in operation during the project, which is still a year away from the start of construction."We're going to spend the next year in the design phase and getting our permits lined up," he said. "We're hoping to bid the project in 2016 with construction starting in spring or summer of 2016. We expect construction to last around a year."The plant currently services around 2,100 existing equivalent dwelling units or 1,866 total customers.The U.S. Department of Agriculture is providing the funding for the project through Rural Development's water and environmental program.Of that, $6.129 million is a loan that will need to be paid back at 3 percent interest over 38 years, and a $4.549 million grant."A lot of our ruralcommunities have aging infrastructure and small budgets," said USDA Deputy Secretary Krysta Harden."We are glad we have programs and an ability to help small communities with this type of project. Reliable, clean and safe water is essential to any community. They need that to thrive and grow."U.S. Rep. Matt Cartwright planned to be at Jim Thorpe's Memorial Hall today to announce the project.